Ultimate ability

Ultimate abilities are special abilities that must be charged before using. Progress is shown on the ultimate meter.

Ultimate charge

Ultimate charge is measured in charge points. Heroes begin each round with no ultimate charge and passively start gaining 5 charge points per second once the doors open. However, in Escort and Hybrid modes, charge only begins to accumulate after the attacking team's door opens. Charge can also be gained through combat, with points awarded equal to the damage dealt to enemy heroes or the healing done to yourself and your allies, with some limitations and exceptions outlined in the section below. Heroes stop gaining charge once they reach their ultimate cost, meaning it’s not possible to "bank" charge for the next ultimate while the current one is available.

When the ultimate ability is used, all charge is consumed immediately upon activation. This means that the ultimate will never be refunded if it is interrupted during its cast time, such as by receiving crowd control or if the hero is eliminated.

Limitations and exceptions

There are few limitations to gaining charge:

• Heroes do not gain ultimate charge while their ultimates are active.
• Heroes do not gain charge from the global self-healing passive.
• Damage and healing from ultimate abilities do not generate ultimate charge.
  • Genji does not gain ultimate charge from ultimates he deflected with Deflect.
• Self-inflicted damage and healing from self-inflicted damage do not generate ultimate charge.
• Dealing damage to overhealth generates only half the usual ultimate charge.
• Damage or healing dealt to tanks grants 40% less charge, due to the tank role passive ability.
• If a player switches heroes, they keep their current ultimate charge points, but no more than 15% of the new hero's ultimate cost.

Hero- and ability-specific exceptions

• Hanzo, Torbjörn, Tracer, and Wrecking Ball start gaining ultimate charge right after casting their ultimate, but the damage dealt by their ultimates does not generate any charge.
• Echo can gain ultimate charge while using her ultimate, but only for the ultimate of the hero she is duplicating, not for her Duplicate ability itself.
  • Additionally, during Duplicate, the amount of charge she gains is multiplied by 5.5.
• Mauga does not gain ultimate charge from the lifesteal provided by Cardiac Overdrive.
• Mercy gains ultimate charge equal to the damage she amplifies from enemy players.
  • Mercy does not gain charge if she damage boosts an attack that cannot be boosted.
  • Damaging or healing B.O.B. does not generate ultimate charge, but Mercy does gain ultimate charge from amplifying his damage.
• Reaper does not gain any ultimate charge from his passive ability, The Reaping.
• Sombra does not gain ultimate charge from hacked Health Packs, even though the healing is credited to her.

Ultimate cost

Each ultimate has a cost, which represents the number of charge points required before it can be used. While ultimates have different costs, higher costs do not necessarily mean longer charge times when combat-based ultimate generation is considered. For example, Coalescence is considered a fast-charging ultimate despite its high cost due to Moira's high healing and damaging capabilities allowing her to quickly build up ultimate charge. To judge how fast an ultimate charges, the hero's entire kit must be considered.

Ultimate meter

The Ultimate Meter in Overwatch.

The ultimate meter is a user interface element that shows the player's progress toward their ultimate ability as a percentage. It is found at the bottom center of the in-game display. At 0-99%, the Ultimate Meter displays the current progress towards the ultimate. Once 100% is reached, the Ultimate Meter transforms into the hero's Ultimate ability icon.

Ultimate status communication

By communicating the ultimate status, the hero will announce their ultimate charge status to the team with different voice lines based on the charge level, and there are hero-specific variations that may change depending on the situation. Here's how it works:

• 0% to 89% charge: "My ultimate is charging!"
• 90% to 99% charge: "My ultimate is almost ready!"
• 100% charge: "My ultimate is ready!" (or specific hero variations, such as Genji saying, "My ultimate is charged. Attack with me!")

Some heroes have special voice lines that trigger based on context:

• Ana: If her ultimate is ready and she is pointing at a teammate, she might say something like, "Nano boost is ready! Get in there, and I'll hit you!"

List of ultimate abilities

Ultimate abilities

Hero	Ultimate ability	Description	Cost	Max charge time	Interrupted by Hack
Ana	Nano Boost Nano Boost	Increases an ally's damage, while reducing damage taken.	2300 points	07 minutes 40 seconds	Yes (during cast)
Ashe	B.O.B. B.O.B.	Deploy Bob. He charges forward and knocks enemies into the air, then attacks with his arm cannons.	2450 points	08 minutes 10 seconds	Disabled by Hack and EMP
Baptiste	Amplification Matrix Amplification Matrix	Project a matrix that doubles the damage and healing of allied projectiles.	2550 points	08 minutes 30 seconds	Destroyed by EMP
Bastion	Configuration: Artillery Configuration: Artillery	Become immobile and fire up to three powerful artillery shells.	2050 points	06 minutes 50 seconds	No
Brigitte	Rally Rally	Gain armor, empower Barrier Shield and provide extra health to nearby allies.	2700 points	09 minutes 00 seconds	No (shield destroyed)
Cassidy	Deadeye Deadeye	Face off against your enemies. Press Q to lock on, then Q or to fire.	1800 points	06 minutes 00 seconds	Yes
D.Va	Self-Destruct Self-Destruct	Eject and overload your mech, causing it to explode after a short time.	1700 points	05 minutes 40 seconds	No
	Call Mech Call Mech	Call down a new mech.	280 points	00 minutes 56 seconds	Yes (during cast)
Doomfist	Meteor Strike Meteor Strike	Press Q to leap up into the air. Move the targeting circle, then press to strike the targeted area.	1975 points	06 minutes 35 seconds	No
Echo	Duplicate Duplicate	Become a copy of the targeted enemy hero. They cannot swap heroes for the duration.	1850 points	06 minutes 10 seconds	No
Freja	Bola Shot Bola Shot	Fire an explosive bola. Hitting an enemy wraps them up and pulls in other nearby enemies.	1750 points	05 minutes 50 seconds	Yes (during cast)
Genji	Dragonblade Dragonblade	Unsheathe a deadly melee weapon.	2125 points	07 minutes 05 seconds	No
Hanzo	Dragonstrike Dragonstrike	Launch a deadly Dragon Spirit that devastates enemies it passes through.	1700 points	05 minutes 40 seconds	Yes (during cast)
Hazard	Downpour Downpour	Rain down a torrent of spikes, Immobilizing enemies.	2150 points	07 minutes 10 seconds	Yes (during cast)
Illari	Captive Sun Captive Sun	Fire an explosive ball of solar energy. Enemies hit are slowed and explode after taking significant damage.	2975 points	09 minutes 55 seconds	Yes
Junker Queen	Rampage Rampage	Charge foward. Wounds enemies, dealing damage over time and preventing them from being healed.	2700 points	09 minutes 00 seconds	Yes (unless Rampant Charge perk has been applied)
Junkrat	RIP-Tire RIP-Tire	Drive and detonate an exploding tire.	2100 points	07 minutes 00 seconds	Yes (during cast)
Juno	Orbital Ray Orbital Ray	Call down a ray that travels forward, healing allies and increasing their damage.	2900 points	09 minutes 40 seconds	Yes (during cast)
Kiriko	Kitsune Rush Kitsune Rush	Summon a fox spirit that rushes forward, accelerating the movement, attack speed, and cooldowns of allies that follow its path.	2725 points	09 minutes 05 seconds	Yes (during cast)
Lifeweaver	Tree of Life Tree of Life	Place a tree that instantly heals allies upon sprouting and continues healing periodically as it lives.	2200 points	07 minutes 20 seconds	No
Lúcio	Sound Barrier Sound Barrier	Create temporary extra health for nearby allies.	2900 points	09 minutes 40 seconds	Yes (during cast)
Mauga	Cage Fight Cage Fight	Deploy a barrier that traps yourself and enemies. Automatically reloads Mauga's Chainguns at the start of the ultimate.	2700 points	09 minutes 00 seconds	Yes (during cast) Destroyed by EMP (while active)
Mei	Blizzard Blizzard	Launch a weather control drone that freezes enemies in a wide area.	1925 points	06 minutes 25 seconds	Yes (during cast) Disabled by EMP (while active)
Mercy	Valkyrie Valkyrie	Gain the ability to fly. Abilities are enhanced.	2000 points	06 minutes 40 seconds	No
Moira	Coalescence Coalescence	Fire a beam that heals allies and damages enemies.	2700 points	09 minutes 00 seconds	Yes
Orisa	Terra Surge Terra Surge	Sweep in enemies and anchor down, gaining the effects of Fortify and charging up a surge of damage. Use Primary Fire to unleash the surge early.	2150 points	07 minutes 10 seconds	No
Pharah	Barrage Barrage	Launch a continuous volley of mini-rockets.	2200 points	07 minutes 20 seconds	Yes
Ramattra	Annihilation Annihilation	Enter Nemesis Form and create a deadly swarm that lashes out at nearby enemies, persisting longer when damaging enemies.	2300 points	07 minutes 40 seconds	No
Reaper	Death Blossom Death Blossom	Damage all nearby enemies.	2050 points	06 minutes 50 seconds	Yes
Reinhardt	Earthshatter Earthshatter	Knock down all enemies in front of you.	1960 points	06 minutes 32 seconds	Yes (during cast)
Roadhog	Whole Hog Whole Hog	Damage and knock back enemies in front of you.	2700 points	09 minutes 00 seconds	No
Sigma	Gravitic Flux Gravitic Flux	Manipulate gravity to lift enemies into the air and slam them back down.	2300 points	07 minutes 40 seconds	Yes
Sojourn	Overclock Overclock	Railgun energy auto-charges for a short duration.	2300 points	07 minutes 40 seconds	No
Soldier: 76	Tactical Visor Tactical Visor	Automatically aims your weapon at targets in view.	2750 points	09 minutes 10 seconds	No
Sombra	EMP EMP	Deal damage to all nearby enemies based on their current health, hacking them and destroying barriers around you.	1850 points	06 minutes 10 seconds	Yes (cast)
Symmetra	Photon Barrier Photon Barrier	Deploy a massive energy barrier.	2025 points	06 minutes 45 seconds	Destroyed by EMP
Torbjörn	Molten Core Molten Core	Create pools of molten slag that damage enemies. Deals additional damage to armor.	2350 points	07 minutes 50 seconds	No
Tracer	Pulse Bomb Pulse Bomb	Throw out a powerful sticky explosive.	1375 points	04 minutes 35 seconds	Yes (during cast)
Vendetta	Sundering Blade Sundering Blade	Cleave through most defenses, dealing severe damage to enemies in front of you.	2400 points	08 minutes 00 seconds	Yes
Venture	Tectonic Shock Tectonic Shock	Send out damaging shockwaves.	2125 points	07 minutes 05 seconds	No
Widowmaker	Infra-Sight Infra-Sight	Provide your team with a view of the enemy's location.	1400 points	04 minutes 40 seconds	No
Winston	Primal Rage Primal Rage	Gain immense health, but you can only leap and punch enemies.	2525 points	08 minutes 25 seconds	No
Wrecking Ball	Minefield Minefield	Deploy a massive field of proximity mines.	1850 points	06 minutes 10 seconds	Yes (during cast) Disabled by EMP
Wuyang	Tidal Blast Tidal Blast	Protect an ally or yourself with water that detonates after a short duration. The explosion knocks down enemies and massively heals the host target.	2800 points	09 minutes 20 seconds	No (on ally) Yes (during cast on self)
Zarya	Graviton Surge Graviton Surge	Launch a gravity well that pulls enemies to it.	2500 points	08 minutes 20 seconds	No
Zenyatta	Transcendence Transcendence	Become invulnerable, move faster, and heal nearby allies.	2500 points	08 minutes 20 seconds	No

Trivia

• Passive ultimate generation originally did not exist and was implemented in the February 9th, 2016, beta update to replace ultimate generation from damage taken.
• Ultimate costs were increased by 25% in patch 1.5, then again by 12% in patch 1.39, and again by 10% in Season 9 of Overwatch 2.
• In Snowball Deathmatch, Mei gains 125 ultimate charge for catching snowballs thrown at her.
• The voice line the player hears when using their ultimate is the friendly voice line for Support heroes as well as Widowmaker, and is the hostile voice line for all other Damage and Tank heroes.