Ultimate ability

Ultimate abilities are powerful abilities that must be charged before using. Progress is shown on the Ultimate Meter.

Ultimate types

Ultimate abilities can be classified under four basic categories.

1. Cast-Time: These ultimates have a brief time in which they are cast before being used. In general, these can be interrupted when casting, but once active, they can no longer be interrupted. For example, Reinhardt's Earthshatter, Tracer's Pulse Bomb, and Lúcio's Sound Barrier are ultimates that are cast.
2. Channeled: These ultimates are constantly being channeled and the user cannot use their weapons or abilities. In general, these can be interrupted at any time. For example, Roadhog's Whole Hog, Pharah's Barrage, and Moira's Coalescence are ultimates that are channeled.
3. Transformation: These ultimates modify or change the user's HP, weapon, abilities, and/or provide other benefits (e.g. seeing through walls via Infra-Sight). These cannot be interrupted. The difference between transformation ultimates and channeled ultimates is that transformation ultimates allow their users to use their weapons (potentially a different weapon) and/or abilities. For example, Winston's Primal Rage, Genji's Dragonblade, and Mercy's Valkyrie are ultimates that transform them.
4. Built: These ultimates first prompt the user for a location before being built by the user. The prompt can be interrupted or manually cancelled while the actual building of the ultimate cannot. The ultimate is not paid for until it is actually built, meaning if the prompt is interrupted or cancelled, it can be used again immediately. The only ultimates of this type are Symmetra's Photon Barrier and Baptiste's Amplification Matrix.

The above are guidelines and exceptions exist. Zarya's Graviton Surge and Ashe's B.O.B., for some reason, cannot be interrupted while casting. D.Va's Self-Destruct is effectively a hybrid between a cast-time ultimate and a transformation ultimate, and cannot be interrupted. Doomfist's Meteor Strike brings him out of the map, so even though that it is channeled (Doomfist cannot use any of his other abilities throughout the duration), it is not feasible to interrupt. Zenyatta's Transcendence renders him immune to Crowd Control effects, making it impossible to interrupt despite being channeled. Sigma's Gravitic Flux is initially channeled, but after the area is selected, he "transforms" (he can fire his weapon). Previously, this meant that it cannot be interrupted once the area is selected like all other transformation ultimates, but due to balance, it was changed so that it can be interrupted.

Ultimate charge

Ultimate charge is the currency used to pay for an ultimate ability.

Ultimate charge is gained in the following ways:

• Heroes gain 5 charge every second.
• Heroes gain charge equal to the amount of damage they do to enemy players, including by environmental kills. (Self-damage and damage done to non-heroes do not count.)
  • Exception(s): Damage to shields created by Wrecking Ball's Adaptive Shield does not give any charge.
  • Damage from ultimate abilities do not give any charge. (Genji does not gain any charge from ultimates he deflected.)
• Heroes gain charge equal to the amount of healing they do to themselves or their teammates.
  • Exception(s): Reaper does not gain any charge from The Reaping. Mercy does not gain any charge from Regeneration. Sombra does not gain any charge from hacked Health Packs.
  • Healing HP lost by self-damage does not give any charge.
  • Healing HP lost by the environment (e.g. the passing cars in Oasis) does not give any charge. (Note that environmental damage is usually fatal. The only way to survive is with Immortality Field.)
• Mercy gains charge equal to the damage she amplified against enemy players. (Amplifying her damage boost target's self-damage or damage to non-heroes does not count.)
  • Mercy does not gain any charge if she damage boosts an attack that cannot be boosted.
  • B.O.B. is an interesting case because damaging or healing him does not grant ultimate charge, but amplifying his damage with Mercy does grant Mercy ultimate charge.

The automatic ultimate generation over time is the passive ultimate generation. The ultimate generation from doing damage or healing is the ultimate generation from combat. The ultimate generation from Mercy's damage boost appears to be its own category, because modifying Mercy's combat and/or passive generation in custom games does not affect it.

Most heroes cannot gain charge while their ultimates are active. Ashe, D.Va, Hanzo, Torbjörn, Tracer, and Wrecking Ball are the exceptions. In the case of D.Va, she gains Call Mech immediately after Self-Destruct finishes, regardless of her charge.

Echo can also gain ultimate charge while using her ultimate, but to charge the ultimate of the hero she is duplicating, not Duplicate itself. Additionally, if Echo is using Duplicate, the amount of charge she gains from all sources is multiplied by 6.5.

Ultimate cost

dThe ultimate cost is how much charge an ultimate requires. Each ultimate has a different cost.

Higher costs does not equal longer charge times when ultimate generation from combat is accounted for. Coalescence is considered a fast-charging ultimate despite its high cost due to Moira's immense healing capabilities. Whole Hog has a far higher cost than Self-Destruct, but Roadhog usually gets his ultimate faster than D.Va because he has better damage output and can self-heal. To judge how fast an ultimate charges, the hero's entire kit must be considered.

List of ultimate costs

Cost	Ultimate(s)	Max. charge time
319.2	Call Mech	1 minute, 4 seconds
1260	Pulse Bomb	4 minutes, 12 seconds
1400	EMP	4 minutes, 40 seconds
1540	Earthshatter Infra-Sight Minefield Primal Rage Self-Destruct	5 minutes, 8 seconds
1610	Blizzard	5 minutes, 22 seconds
1680	Deadeye Dragonstrike Meteor Strike Photon Barrier Supercharger	5 minutes, 36 seconds
1820	Valkyrie	6 minutes, 4 seconds
1925	RIP-Tire	6 minutes, 25 seconds
1932	Dragonblade	6 minutes, 27 seconds
1960	Gravitic Flux	6 minutes, 32 seconds
2100	Barrage Death Blossom Graviton Surge Nano Boost	7 minutes
2142	Molten Core	7 minutes, 9 seconds
2240	B.O.B. Whole Hog	7 minutes, 28 seconds
2254	Duplicate	7 minutes, 31 seconds
2310	Amplification Matrix Configuration: Tank Tactical Visor Transcendence	7 minutes, 42 seconds
2800	Coalescence Rally	9 minutes, 20 seconds
2940	Sound Barrier	9 minutes, 48 seconds

(The max. charge time is how long an ultimate takes to passively charge, without any damage or healing.)

Ultimate abilities

Hero	Ultimate ability	Description	Cost	Audio cue
Ana	Nano Boost	After Ana hits one of her allies with a combat boost, they deal more damage, and take less damage from enemies’ attacks.	2100	"You're powered up! Get in there!" (self and target) "Nano boost administered!" (friendly) "Warīhum quwitak!" (male) (hostile) Arabic: !وريهم قوتَك English: "Show them your strength!" "Warīhum quwitik!" (female) (hostile) Arabic: !وريهم قوتِك English: Show them your strength!
Ashe	B.O.B.	Ashe summons her trusted omnic sidekick, B.O.B., who charges forward and knocks enemies into the air, then lays down suppressing fire with his arm cannons.	2240	"B.O.B.! Do something!" (self and hostile) "Get in there B.O.B." (friendly)
Baptiste	Amplification Matrix	Baptiste creates a matrix that doubles the damage and healing effects of friendly projectiles that pass through it.	2310	"Light them up!" (self and friendly) "Vide bal sou yo!" (hostile) English: "Rain bullets on them!"
Bastion	Configuration: Tank	In Tank mode, Bastion extends wheeled treads and a powerful long-range cannon. The cannon’s explosive shells demolish targets in a wide blast radius, but Bastion can only remain in this mode for a limited time.	2310	Charge Fanfare (self and hostile only)
Brigitte	Rally	Brigitte moves faster and provides all nearby allies with armor that lasts until it’s removed by damage.	2800	"Rally to me!" (self and friendly) "Alla till mig!" (hostile) English: "Everyone to me!"
Doomfist	Meteor strike	Doomfist leaps into the sky, then crashes to the ground, dealing significant damage to nearby opponents.	1680	"Meteor Strike!" (self and hostile) "Incoming!" (friendly)
D.Va	Self-Destruct	D.Va ejects from her mech and sets its reactor to explode, dealing massive damage to nearby opponents.	1540	"Nerf this!" (self and hostile) "Activating self-destruct sequence." (friendly)
	Call Mech	If her armored battle suit is destroyed, D.Va can call down a fresh mech and return to the fray.	319.2	"MEKA activated." "Suiting up." "All systems checked out." "All systems buzzing!" (B.Va/Junebug skin) "Firing up!" (Cruiser skin)
Echo	Duplicate	Echo duplicates a targeted enemy hero and gains use of their abilities.	2254	"Adaptive circuits engaged: [Hero Name]." (self and hostile) "Duplicating: [Hero Name]." (friendly) "Duplication initiated" (friendly)
Genji	Dragonblade	Genji brandishes his katana for a brief period of time. Until he sheathes his sword, Genji can deliver killing strikes to any targets within his reach.	1932	"Ryūjin no ken o kurae!" (self and hostile) Kanji: 竜神の剣を喰らえ！ English: Taste the dragon's blade! "The dragon becomes me!" (friendly) "Oni no ken o kurae!" (self and hostile with Oni skin) "The demon becomes me!" (friendly with Oni skin) "Byakko no ken o kurae!" (self and hostile with Baihu skin) "The White Tiger becomes me!" (friendly with Baihu skin)
Hanzo	Dragonstrike	Hanzo summons a Spirit Dragon which travels through the air in a line. It passes through walls in its way, devouring any enemies it encounters.	1680	"Ryū ga waga teki wo kurau!" (self and hostile) Kanji: 竜が我が敵を喰らう！ English: The dragon consumes my enemies! "Let the dragon consume you!" (friendly) "Ōkami yo, waga teki wo kurae!" (self and hostile with Lone Wolf/Okami skin) Kanji: 狼よ、我が敵を喰らえ！ English: Come, wolf! Devour my enemies! "The wolf hunts its prey!" (friendly with Lone Wolf/Okami skin)
Junkrat	RIP-Tire	Junkrat revs up a motorized tire bomb and sends it rolling across the battlefield, climbing over walls and obstacles. He can remotely detonate the RIP-Tire to deal serious damage to enemies caught in the blast, or just wait for it to explode on its own.	1925	"Fire in the hole!" (self and hostile) "Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!" (friendly) "Get ready for a shock!" (self and hostile with Dr. Junkenstein skin) "Ladies and gentlemen, my latest creation!" (friendly with Dr. Junkenstein skin)
Lúcio	Sound Barrier	Protective waves radiate out from Lúcio’s Sonic Amplifier, briefly providing him and nearby allies with personal shields.	2940	"Oh, let's break it down!" (self and friendly) "Vamos esculachar!" (hostile) English: Let's do this!
File:Icon-mccree.png McCree	Deadeye	Focus. Mark. Draw. McCree takes a few precious moments to aim; when he’s ready to fire, he shoots every hostile in his line of sight. The weaker his targets are, the faster he’ll line up a killshot.	1680	"It's high noon!" (self and hostile) "Step right up." (friendly) "It's high tide!" (self and hostile with Lifeguard skin)
Mei	Blizzard	Mei deploys a weather-modification drone that emits gusts of wind and snow in a wide area. Enemies caught in the blizzard are slowed and take damage; those who linger too long are frozen solid.	1610	"Dòng zhù! Bùxǔ zǒu!" (self and hostile) Hanzi: 冻住！不许走！ English: Freeze! Don't move! "Freeze! Don't move!" (friendly)
Mercy	Valkyrie	Gain the ability to fly. Mercy’s abilities are enhanced.	1820	"Heroes Never die!" (self and friendly) "Helden sterben nicht!" (hostile) English: Heroes never die! "My servants never die!" (self and friendly with Witch skin) "Til Valhalla!" (self and friendly with Sigrún/Valkyrie skin) "Heroes never die... for a price!" (self and friendly with Imp/Devil skin)
Moira	Coalescence	Moira channels a long-range beam that both heals allies and bypasses barriers to damage her enemies.	2800	"Surrender to my will!" (self and friendly) "Géill do mo thoil!" (hostile) English: Surrender to my will!
Orisa	Supercharger	Orisa deploys a device to increase damage inflicted by allies within its line of sight.	1680	"Cease your resistance!" (self and hostile) "Team up for special attack!" (friendly)
Pharah	Barrage	Pharah directs a continuous salvo of mini-rockets to destroy groups of enemies.	2100	"Justice rains from above!" (self and hostile) "Rocket barrage incoming!" (friendly)
Reaper	Death Blossom	In a blur of motion, Reaper empties both hellfire shotguns at breakneck speed, dealing massive damage to all nearby enemies.	2100	"Die! Die! Die!" (self and hostile) "Clearing the area." (friendly)
Reinhardt	Earthshatter	Reinhardt forcefully slams his rocket hammer into the ground, knocking down and damaging all enemies in front of him.	1540	"Hammer down!" (self and hostile only) "Touchdown!" (self and hostile only with Gridironhardt skin) "For the Crusaders!" (friendly only)
Roadhog	Whole Hog	After cramming a top-loader onto his Scrap Gun, Roadhog pours in ammo. For a short time, he can crank out a stream of shrapnel that knocks back enemies.	2240	(Mad laughter and coughing)
Sigma	Gravitic Flux	Unleashing his full powers, Sigma takes flight, lifts enemies in a targeted area, and launches them into the sky before slamming them back down.	1960	"Het universum zingt voor mij!" (self and hostile) English: The universe sings for me! "What is that melody?" (friendly)
Soldier: 76	Tactical Visor	Soldier: 76’s pinpoint targeting visor “locks” his aim on the threat closest to his crosshairs. If a hostile leaves his line of sight, Soldier: 76 can quickly switch to another target.	2310	"I've got you in my sights!" (self and hostile) "Tactical Visor activated." (friendly) "Tactical Sunglasses activated!" (friendly with Grillmaster: 76 skin) "Tactical goggles activated!" (friendly with Alpine: 76 skin
Sombra	EMP	Sombra discharges electromagnetic energy in a wide radius, destroying enemy barriers and shields and hacking all opponents caught in the blast.	1400	"Apagando las luces!" (self and hostile) English: Turning off the lights! "EMP activated!" (friendly)
Symmetra	Photon Barrier	Symmetra deploys a massive energy barrier which prevents ranged attacks and is big enough to cut through the entire map.	1680	"Yahi param vaastavikata hai!" (self and hostile) Hindi: यही परम वास्तविकता है! English: This is the ultimate reality! "Reality bends to my will!" (friendly)
Torbjörn	Molten Core	Torbjörn creates pools of molten slag that deal massive, sustained damage (plus bonus damage to armor), and can prevent enemies from moving through key locations.	2142	"Molten core!" (self and hostile only) "Setting out the welcome mat!" (friendly) "Merry molten core!" (self and hostile with Santaclad skin)
Tracer	Pulse Bomb	Tracer lobs a large bomb that adheres to any surface or unfortunate opponent it lands on. After a brief delay, the bomb explodes, dealing high damage to all enemies within its blast radius.	1260	(Stuck) "Gotcha!" "Nailed it!" "Right on target." "You need a timeout!" "Locked on!" "Gotcha something!" (with Jingle skin) "That's some coal for your stocking." (with Jingle skin) (Thrown onto ground) "Wait for it..." "Bombs away!" "Time's up!" "Here ya go!"
Widowmaker	Infra-Sight	Widowmaker’s recon visor allows her to see the heat signatures of her targets through walls and objects for a moderate amount of time. This enhanced vision is shared with her allies.	1540	"No one can hide from my sight..." (self and friendly) "Personne n'échappe à mon regard." (hostile) English: No one escapes my sights. "No one can hide from the Huntress." (self and friendly with Huntress/Comtesse skin)
Winston	Primal Rage	Winston embraces his animal nature, significantly boosting his health and making him very difficult to kill, strengthening his melee attack, and allowing him to use his Jump Pack ability more frequently. While raging, Winston can only make melee and Jump Pack attacks.	1540	(Roars)
Wrecking Ball	Minefield	Wrecking Ball deploys a field of long-lasting proximity mines which explode on contact with enemies.	1540	"Area denied." (self and hostile) "Minefield deployed." (friendly)
Zarya	Graviton Surge	Zarya launches a gravity bomb that draws in hostile combatants and deals damage while they’re trapped.	2100	"Ogon’ po gotovnosti!" (self and hostile) Cyrillic: Огонь по готовности! English: Fire when ready! "Fire at will!" (friendly)
Zenyatta	Transcendence	Zenyatta enters a state of heightened existence for a short period of time. While transcendent, Zenyatta cannot use abilities or weapons, but he moves faster, is immune to damage, and automatically restores his health and that of nearby allies.	2310	"Experience tranquility." (self and friendly) "Pass into the Iris!" (hostile) "Experience festivity!" (self and friendly with Nutcracker skin) "Experience nothingness." (self and friendly with Cultist skin) "Pass into the unknown." (hostile with Cultist skin)

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.
• Most ultimate costs are multiples of 70. It was 50 originally, then it became 62.5 with the 25% increase, and now it is 70 with the 12% increase.
  • The five exceptions—Call Mech, RIP-Tire, Molten Core, Dragonblade, and Duplicate—are due to hero balance changes.
    • Call Mech's cost was reduced by 20% (400 → 320) during the open beta. It was reduced twice to counteract the two global cost increases. It is now 319.2.
    • RIP-Tire's cost was increased by 10% (1562.5 → 1718.75) in patch 1.34. It became 1925 with the 12% global cost increase.
    • Molten Core's cost was reduced by 10% (2380 → 2142) in patch 1.42.
    • Dragonblade's cost was increased by 15% (1680 → 1932) in patch 1.58.
    • Duplicate's cost was increased by 15% (1960 → 2254) in patch 1.60.
• In Snowball Deathmatch, Mei gains 125 ultimate charge for catching snowballs thrown at her.