TL;DR
- Ashe is a DPS hero in Overwatch 2 who has been around since 2018, when the game was Overwatch 1.
- Ashe’s abilities and weapons combine mid and long-range damage with crowd control and manoeuvrability.
- She wields a semi-automatic rifle called The Viper along with her Coach Gun and explosive, throwable Dynamite. She also uses her omnic butler, B.O.B., as her ultimate ability.
- Even though she is strong, Ashe isn’t an S-Tier DPS in the game’s current meta, though she sits comfortably in A-Tier.
Ashe is a hero in Overwatch 2 who was first introduced to the game in November 2018, back when it was still Overwatch 1. Since her release, Ashe has established herself as a solid DPS hero, with a respectable pick rate and a win rate of over 50% for both console and PC.
After being born into an extremely wealthy but negligent family, Ashe decided to make her own way in life, even if it meant turning to the criminal underworld. She formed and became the leader of the Deadlock Gang, causing chaos alongside Cassidy and her childhood Omnic butler companions, B.O.B. Now that we have an idea of who Ashe is in the Overwatch lore, let’s take a closer look at her skill kit to see how to play her as effectively as possible.
Ashe’s skill kit, explained
Ashe is all about dealing high damage with her weapon – a semi-automatic rifle called The Viper – from either long range or mid-range. She isn’t exactly a sniper, but she isn’t a pure middle-ground shooter like Soldier 76 or Cassidy. She’s a combination of both sniping and mid-range shooting, offering some versatility to her skill kit.
Ashe’s Coach Gun is a short-range weapon that doesn’t do tons of damage, but it does blast both enemies and Ashe herself backwards, giving her an opportunity to escape if she is struggling in close combat. It’s also useful for finishing off enemies who are close and have low health.
The Dynamite that Ashe throws out applies a Burning effect to enemies caught in its blast zone. This effect lowers enemy health for a set amount of time and can cause chaos as enemies attempt to get out of the blast radius or try to stay out of combat while the Burning effect drains their health. Dynamite can be great for crowd control, but it takes some skill and practice to use it as effectively as possible. Skilled Ashe players can shoot her Dynamite in midair, allowing for full control of the explosion.
For her ultimate, Ashe unleashes B.O.B., who charges forward – knocking anyone into the air caught in his path and damaging them–before he stands still and shoots enemies in his line of sight with his arm cannons. B.O.B acts as a stationary turret of sorts, but he is not the same as the turrets used by heroes like Symmetra or Torbjörn. He is treated as a hero, so he can be boosted, healed and can contest objectives. However, he is also vulnerable to enemy abilities. He can be put to sleep by Ana or hacked by Sombra, putting him out of action for a few seconds, which can make a big difference, as B.O.B. is only active for a certain amount of time before Ashe’s ultimate ends, and he leaves the battlefield.
These are the main abilities that Ashe has in Overwatch 2. Let’s look at each of these abilities in more detail, along with her Perks. Be aware that Perks in Overwatch 2 can change frequently, with some being altered and others completely replaced with new Perks. The Perks mentioned below are those currently applicable to Ashe at the time of writing (September 2025).
Ashe ability guide
| Ability type | Ability name | Ability stats | In-game description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon hip fire | The Viper | • Ammo: 12 • Damage: 35 -10.5 • Falloff range: 20–40 metres • Headshot:✓ (x2) • Projectile radius: 0.07 meters • Rate of fire:3.9 shots/s with a 0.256 second recovery • Reload time: 0.5 seconds (initial animation) • +0.25 seconds per bullet • 3.5 seconds (full reload animation) • Spread: Maximum of 1.85 degrees | Ashe’s semi-automatic rifle fires quick shots. |
| Weapon Aim Down Sights fire | The Viper | •Ammo: 12 •Cast time: 0 + 0.19 seconds for scope in. • 0 + 0.16 seconds for scope out. • Damage: 75 -22.5 • Falloff range: 30–50 metres • Headshot:✓ (x2) • Movement speed penalty: -25% • Projectile radius: 0.07 meters • Rate of fire:1.52 shots/s with a 0.256-second recovery • Reload time: 0.5 seconds (initial animation)+0.2 seconds per bullet2.9 seconds (full reload animation) • Spread: None | Ashe can use her aim-down sights for a more damaging, precise shot. |
| Regular ability | Coach Gun | • Cast time: 0.16 + 0.38 seconds. • Cooldown: 10 seconds. • Damage: Six per pellet and 90 per shot. • Headshot: X • Knockback speed: 20 m/s for enemies, 18 m/s for self. • Maximum range: 15 metres for enemy knockback, 9.4 metres for self knockback. • Projectile radius: 0.45 metres. • Shots per volley: 15. • Spread: 20 degrees. | Ashe blasts enemies in front of her, knocking them away and propelling herself backwards for added mobility. |
| Regular ability | Dynamite | • Cooldown: 12 seconds. • Damage: 50-20 for enemy explosions. 100 over five seconds for enemy burning. 25-10 for self-explosion, 50 over five seconds for self-burning. • Duration: Two seconds for explosion delay on the ground. Five seconds for the burning effect. • Headshot: X • Projectile radius: None.Projectile speed: 25 m/s • Radius: Five-metre radius. | Ashe throws an explosive that detonates after a short delay or immediately when shot. The explosion from Dynamite also lights enemies on fire, dealing damage over time. |
| Ultimate ability | B.O.B. | • Cast time: 0 + 0.5 seconds • Damage: 120 with charge, 17 with arm cannons. • Duration: 10 seconds after B.O.B. stops. • Health: 1,000 • Headshot: X • Maximum range: 70 metres for charge, 40 metres for arm cannons. • Movement speed: 15 m/s • Rate of fire: Eight shot/s • Spread: 1.45 degrees • Ultimate points needed to charge: 2450 points | 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. |
| Passive ability | Role: Damage | • Duration: Three seconds. • Healing modification: -15% for tanks, -30% for non-tanks. | Damaging an enemy temporarily reduces their healing received. |
| Minor perk | Remote Detonator | • No cast time | After using Dynamite, pressing Ability 2 again causes it to explode after a 0.5-second delay. |
| Minor perk | Sidewinder | • Knockback speed: 20.16m/s for self | Coach Gun pushes Ashe and enemies 12% farther. |
| Major perk | Airburst | • Radius: Seven metres | Dynamite has a 40% increased detonation radius while airborne and refunds three ammo when thrown. |
| Major perk | Viper’s Sting | • Ammo: +2 ammo • Damage: 25 • Duration: One second • Headshot: X | Hitting two consecutive scoped shots on a target deals 25 extra damage and reloads two ammo. |
Ashe’s Overwatch 2 meta impact
At the time of writing, Ashe is a pretty solid hero pick in Overwatch 2, often ranking in the higher ends of tier lists because of how well she can do with certain team compositions and when playing on a particular map. She’s relatively reliable as long as she is played by someone with experience and familiarity with her skill set, though she can easily become a target of dive tactics and B.O.B., her ultimate ability, can easily be countered by prepared enemies. She’s also not particularly effective against shields, which can become a problem depending on the composition of the enemy team.
Ashe has had some tweaks which have changed up her dynamics in the meta (mostly nerfs that have weakened the power of her shots) but all in all, she can be a top DPS choice, even if she isn’t a dominant force in the Overwatch 2 meta right now.
That’s everything you need to know about Ashe’s abilities and her current role within the Overwatch 2 meta. She can be a tricky hero to get to grips with for beginners, but an experienced Ashe can cause some serious headaches for the enemy team, making her a strong, but not domineering, DPS hero in Overwatch 2.
FAQs
Is Ashe a hero or villain in Overwatch 2?
When it comes to putting Ashe in the hero or villain category, she definitely veers into villain territory. She is a criminal and the leader of the Deadlock Gang, a group of dangerous outlaws known for robbing trains and smuggling in the American Southwest. She’s not on the same level as the Talon members in Overwatch lore – such as Reaper, Moira or Doomfist – who are almost terroristic in their devious plans, but she is a villain within her own group and story.
How old is Ashe in Overwatch 2?
According to the official Overwatch 2 website, Ashe is 41 years old, and her birthday is October 1.
Is Ashe the best DPS in Overwatch 2?
The best DPS in Overwatch depends on various factors, such as who suits the team composition best, who each player excels with, and personal preferences. Ashe is definitely a strong DPS, but at the time of writing, she isn’t as strong as the likes of Sojourn or Torbjörn in terms of S-tier DPS heroes. That isn’t to say that Ashe players can’t dominate a game, as it all comes down to those aforementioned factors. In general terms, though, Ashe is strong, but not the absolute best DPS in Overwatch 2.
References
- Hero Statistics (Overbuff)
- Ashe (Blizzard)
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