Overwatch 2 - Mei Hero Guide

Mei in Overwatch 2 faced one of the biggest hero nerfs when Blizzard removed the freeze effect from her primary weapon. That leaves her with just one average DPS ability that can’t handle multiple threats at once. While Mei fans might think that’s the end of the road for Mei, she still has a strong role to play in battle. Here's how best to play Mei in Overwatch 2.

You can see how all heroes, including this one, stack up in our Overwatch 2 tank tier list, DPS tier list, and support tier list. Where did your favorite land?

Mei overview

Mei is a hybrid support and DPS character whose abilities can inflict debuffs on enemies and help control the battlefield. Her primary weapon slows foes down, while her Ice Wall ability can divide the opposing team, block passageways, and even provide a temporary shield for your party depending on the situation. Unlike some DPS heroes, Mei can heal herself in a pinch, blocking all incoming damage and restoring her HP. Where Mei struggles is against more than one opponent, since her attacks are slow and can only target one enemy at a time.

Mei abilities

• Endothermic Blaster (primary fire): Emits a blast of frost that slows enemies down
• Endothermic Blaster (alt-fire): Launches an icicle projectile
• Cryo-Freeze: Encases Mei in a block of ice for four seconds, negates damage, cleanses negative effects, and heals up to 150 HP
• Ice Wall: Mei generates a tall wall of ice horizontally or vertically
• Blizzard: Summons a drone to create an ice storm over a broad area. Slows and damages enemies. Those who remain in its field of effect will be frozen

Mei, the snow troll

You can play Mei as a very annoying DPS, trolling the enemy with her ice wall and then retreating into your frosty cocoon when things start to get dicey. Her impressive array of self-healing and field abilities means that, as long as the enemy doesn’t overwhelm her, Mei can control the flow of battle. Set up an ice wall and force your opponents to take a different path or shut down an enemy DPS by blocking their line of sight.

If you’re paired with Reinhardt, you can block all but one avenue and either funnel your party safely along it or completely disrupt your enemy’s plan. Or Genji can climb over the wall and pursue the enemy from behind as they scramble to find a new path. Get creative and see what happens.

Safety in numbers

Mei’s Cryo Freeze ability temporarily encases her in a block of ice and, over the next few seconds, restores almost all her HP while blocking enemy attacks. The ability is an excellent one that lets Mei keep going even without a healer, but there’s one glaring weakness. All your opponent has to do is wait until the block breaks and then keep attacking.

A well-timed ice wall can mitigate this problem, but the better strategy is tagging along with someone else. An extra DPS or a tank can help deal with problems while Mei recovers, and then she can emerge from her frosty prison and launch an icicle or two to finish the job.

You’ll put someone’s eye out... if you’re lucky

Mei’s endothermic laser still deals a hefty amount of damage, even if it doesn’t freeze, but you need to keep contact with the enemy to get the most out of it. That means Mei is well-suited to taking on tanks, especially with her self-heal ability, but the laser’s alt-fire is ideal for taking on other DPS characters and support heroes. It fires an icicle at high speeds that deals approximately 90 damage when it hits.

You need precision, admittedly. However, sometimes it’s easier to land a shot with it than it is to keep the laser constantly on your foe, so through the icicle shot in the mix from time to time to help supplement Mei’s damage.

• Mei’s ultimate takes a few seconds to set up, during which time she’s vulnerable. Be careful with your timing
• Mei struggles in fights with more than one opponent. Use the ice wall to isolate your enemies and give her a better chance of survival
• The laser’s slow debuff won’t affect enemy movement abilities, such as Tracer’s Blink
• If an enemy finds a different target while Mei is in Cryo-Freeze’s shell, you can end the shell early and use the advantage to attack them from behind
• Use Ice Wall to block your opponents’ spawn area and keep them inactive for a little while longer

If you’re keen on experimenting with other Overwatch 2 roles, check out our tank hero tier and support hero tier to see how they all match up.