With the arrival of season 6, Overwatch 2 has welcomed an impressive amount of new content. Story Missions are progressing the lore of Overwatch in new and exciting ways. The new game mode, Flashpoint, has arrived with two gorgeous maps. Last but not least, we have Illari, who wields the power of the sun as the 38th hero and 10th support to hit Overwatch 2.
Illari is another addition to Overwatch 2's roster of dynamic support heroes. (Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment)
Illari is another in a long line of mechanically demanding support heroes for Overwatch 2. Players who love Zenyatta, Kiriko, and Ana will feel right at home on Overwatch’s newest addition. Her kit provides plenty of playmaking opportunities, so here are our tips to help you get the most out of Illari.
Illari’s Abilities
Solar Rifle
Illari’s primary fire is a single-shot hitscan weapon that deals a solid amount of poke damage from range. The gun features a charge mechanic where a fully charged shot is available one second after the previous shot. Getting the timing down is going to be incredibly important for getting the most out of Illar in Overwatch 2. She does some serious damage but only if you let the shots charge fully before unleashing on your enemies.
Healing Beam
Illari’s secondary fire works off a resource bar in the same vein as Moira’s Biotic Grasp healing. The beam has a relatively short range of only 15 meters, so you’ll need to stick close to your teammates. At 120 HP/second, the healing is incredibly strong, but you only have 3 seconds of healing total before you run out and have to let it charge up again.
Outburst
Outburst provides Illari with some much-needed mobility, allowing her to distance herself from flankers, find high-ground positions, and take aggressive angles. When activated, Outburst launches Illari in the direction of her movement and knocks enemies back alongside some small damage. Outburst can used just for horizontal movement, but you can also add some verticality if you jump while activating.
Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.
Healing Pylon
Illari brings a new deployable turret to Overwatch in the form of her Healing Pylon. Similar to Symmetra’s turrets, the pylon can be attached to any surface and lasts until destroyed or redeployed. The pylon auto-targets the nearby ally with the lowest percent health, shooting bursts of healing every 0.8 seconds.
Healing Pylon has a sizeable 150 HP itself, but placing it in a safe location is still a priority. It cannot be redeployed while taking fire, and if enemies destroy it, the turret goes on a longer cooldown. That said, the Healing Pylon’s consistent output is important to compensate for the periods when Illari’s Healing Beam is recharging, so make sure you keep it positioned where your team is fighting.
Captive Sun
Illari’s ultimate can be a massive fight-winner, but it requires both setup and followthrough to get the most out of it. First, Captive Sun launches Illari into the air and gives her flight for the four-second channel. During that time, she can launch a projectile that explodes in a large area on impact. Damaged enemies are then marked for six seconds, during which they become prime targets. If a marked enemy takes 90 damage, the mark detonates after a brief delay and deals another 125 damage, potentially triggering other marks.
How to Play Illari
Illari functions best in Overwatch 2 when her team wants to poke the enemy from medium or long range. Her damage falloff will make her ineffective down extremely long sightlines, but most maps won’t be a problem for her. Pair her with tanks like Sigma and Ramattra to give Illari opportunities to put down damage from behind their barriers.
In the same vein, Illari wants a team that can stand its ground against dive comps. Her burst healing can help keep teammates alive while they gun down any over-aggressive enemies. Still, Illari is lacking when it comes to defensive tools and mobility, so try to position safely and use Outburst to escape any sticky situations.
Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.
Ultimately, success on Illari in Overwatch 2 is going to come down to two things: positioning and mechanics. Maintaining the space she needs to deal damage is tough given the pace of Overwatch 2, but it will be essential for Illari. When enemies do close the gap, great aim can be the difference maker with both her primary and secondary fire.
Advanced Tips for Illari
Don’t exhaust your healing. Illari’s healing comes in short, intense bursts, but try your best to avoid using the entire resource bar. If you do there is a short delay before the bar begins to fill, and you can’t use it at all until it fully replenishes.
Duel it out with a pylon pocket. Healing Pylong gives Illari a great tool to win out duels against enemy damage dealers. Drop it during the 1v1 to force your attacker to target the pylon and buy you precious time to win the fight or get some backup.
Get into a rhythm. There is an interesting cadence that comes with Illari’s kit in Overwatch 2. Alternating three primary fire shots between bursts of healing will optimize her overall output during a fight.
Be careful with your ultimate. Captive Sun has tremendous potential to swing teamfights, but it can also be countered in numerous ways. D.Va and Sigma can eat it. Genji can deflect it. Several abilities, including Kiriko’s suzu, can cleanse the Sunstruck mark before it explodes.
Pick your moments. With her incredible burst healing and damage output, Illari has an incredibly high ceiling. Finding the opportunities to be aggressive without getting punished will be vital to getting the most out of Illari in Overwatch 2.
