Best Supports to Climb Solo Queue in Overwatch (Season 5)
The best climbing support is the one whose impact you can deliver every fight. Here are the Season 5 numbers, what each strong pick asks of you, and how to build a pool that survives hero bans.
Supports carry games four ways: saving an ally, creating a pick, denying an enemy play, and surviving pressure so your team is never a player down. The best climbing support is the one that delivers at least one of those every fight, in your hands, with random teammates. This guide covers Role Queue 5v5 in Season 5, which launched October 6, 2026.
- Zenyatta tops Season 5 support win rates; Brigitte and Doctrine follow.
- Popular is not winning: Ana and Kiriko are among the most picked and lowest win rates right now.
- Run a primary plus a complement. Hero bans mean your main will not always be available.
Season 5 by the Numbers
All-rank data mixes Bronze with Grandmaster and moves every patch. A 52% hero in someone else’s hands can be 45% in yours. Use this as a sanity check, not a verdict.
The Picks, Ranked by What They Demand
| Hero | Carries by | Demands |
|---|---|---|
| Zenyatta | Discord picks, real damage, Transcendence | Aim and positioning, no escape |
| Brigitte | Peeling divers, keeping the backline alive | Close-range fighting, staying near the team |
| Lúcio | Speed for engages and escapes, Sound Barrier | Movement and timing, little aim |
| Juno | Mobility, burst healing, Hyper Ring | Moderate aim, spatial sense |
| Moira | Easy aim, Fade escape, self-sustain | Knowing when to damage instead of heal |
| Doctrine | Damage and heal in one weapon, Infuse, flight | High mechanics, resource management |
| Sombra | Cyberspace halves enemy damage and healing | Fight timing, not flanking alone |
Three Picks Worth a Closer Look
Zenyatta, the strongest all-rounder. Discord makes a target take more damage, so you create picks without landing every shot. No escape means every positioning mistake is a death. Discord the target your team can actually reach.
Doctrine, strong but new. His scepter damages and heals at once, Infuse upgrades his next ability (Shrouded Momentum becomes free flight), and his ultimate gives allies overhealth while cutting enemy max health. Mechanically demanding. Learn him in Quick Play before betting a climb on him.
Sombra, a different hero now. Hack and Virus are gone. She heals with Hotfix and Cyberspace, and keeps Stealth, Translocator and EMP. The big mistake: playing her like DPS Sombra and vanishing on long flanks while your team fights without a support.
Pro play picks are the best solo queue picks.
Ana and Kiriko are pro staples and near the bottom of all-rank win rates this season. Coordination changes what is strong.
Moira is a free climb.
Easy to survive on, but 50% on a 26% pick rate says many players get little from her. Her value comes from pressure, not tank-healing.
Low pick rate heroes can have high win rates.
Brigitte and Lúcio sit around 5 to 6% pick rate with above-average results. The people picking them tend to know them well.
Heal or Shoot? The One-Line Rule
The ruleHeal when someone is about to die. Deal damage when no one is.
Most of a stable fight, nobody is in danger. That is when your damage, Discord or pressure on the enemy support matters. The moment a teammate drops low or gets dived, switch back. Flanking follows the same timing check: during a quiet moment with a path back is a pick; while your tank is about to be focused is a throw.
Your team keeps dying through your healing. Best fix?
- Swap to the support with the biggest healing numbers
- Remove the threat: Discord it, use Cyberspace, or pressure the enemy healer
- Stand further back so you survive
- Ask the team to stop taking damage
More healing rarely wins a damage race. Reducing the incoming damage, or the enemy’s healing, usually does.
Build a Ban-Proof Two-Hero Pool
Competitive has hero bans, so a one-trick will sometimes be locked out. Pick a primary and a complement that covers its weakness:
- Zenyatta + Brigitte: Brigitte when dive lives on your backline.
- Juno + Lúcio: Lúcio for speed engages, Juno for burst healing and safety.
- Moira + Zenyatta: Moira under heavy pressure, Zenyatta when it is stable enough to hold an angle.
Swap to solve a named problem (“we keep getting dived and I have no escape”), not because you lost a fight.
Climb support faster with coaching from a Grandmaster or Top 500 coach, play with a carry through duo boosting, or let us do it with rank boosting. Related: getting unstuck and how long a climb takes.
FAQ
What is the best support to climb in Overwatch right now?
In Season 5, Zenyatta has the highest all-rank support win rate (53.5% on Counterwatch, October 22, 2026), with Brigitte and Doctrine close behind.
What is the easiest support to climb with?
Moira and Juno are the most forgiving. Brigitte is easy on aim if you like close-range fights.
Is Kiriko bad in Season 5?
Her all-rank win rate is the lowest among supports right now (46.3%). Strong Kiriko players still win; most players are not getting value from her this season.
Is Sombra a support now?
Yes, since Season 5. She lost Hack and Virus, gained Hotfix and Cyberspace, and kept Stealth, Translocator and EMP.
- Counterwatch support tier list, Season 5 win and pick rates.
- Blizzard patch notes, October 2026: Season 5, Doctrine and support Sombra.
- Overwatch Wiki: Sub-roles (Medic, Tactician, Survivor).
- Overwatch Wiki: Hero bans.
- Overwatch Wiki: Doctrine and Sombra.
