This New Overwatch Hero Has Become an Insta-Ban for Me

The 5 new heroes added in Overwatch Reign of Talon Season 1 have been some of the best new content the game has seen in a long time, and I have fully re-embraced the game after taking a break for a few months. As much as I love the direction Overwatch is headed in after dropping the “2” and debuting its new UI, revamped Stadium mode, and introducing a cascade of new heroes, one of these characters has been a headache for me to play against. At this point, I essentially will vote to ban them every time I get the chance to, because I feel they are too overpowered right now to be worth the hassle of playing against them.

I appreciate how the new batch of Overwatch heroes released with the relaunched Season 1 are trying to do something different and unique with their kits. Anran having the ability to inflict burning damage buildup on enemies is a useful feature for a DPS hero to have, and of course, Jetpack Cat’s Lifeline ability has opened the door for all kinds of crazy strategies to be implemented. However, I feel like Domina has too many advantages going for her that make her quite overpowered at the moment, and it reminds me a lot of how broken Sigma was when he was first added to Overwatch back in 2019.

PSA: If You Just Got Back Into Overwatch, Don’t Sleep on This Feature

Any Overwatch players jumping back into the game for the first time in a while to check out the Reign of Talon won’t want to skip a crucial feature.

Overwatch Reign of Talon Season 1 Has Me Banning Domina Every Chance I Get

Unlike most players, I was lucky enough to try out Domina early at a hands-on preview event for media held at Blizzard’s Irvine campus. Even during this preview playtest, I could tell that Domina was going to be a massive threat in the meta when she was released. Unfortunately, my suspicions were correct, and now that Domina has been officially released into Overwatch, I have had more time to experience both playing as her and against her, and I’m realizing just how overpowered her kit really is.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

Domina’s Abilities in Overwatch

Photon Magnum (Primary Fire): Medium-range beam that culminates in a high-impact shot.
Barrier Array: A segmented hard‑light barrier deployed in front of Domina. Each segment must be individually destroyed, creating dynamic defensive angles.
Crystal Charge: Project an explosive crystal and reactivate to detonate it.
Sonic Repulsors: Push enemies back, stunning them if they hit a wall.
Ultimate — Panopticon: Fire a hard-light projectile that imprisons enemies and detonates on expiration.
Passive – Reconstruction: Dealing damage with abilities restores shields.

As a poke tank, Domina excels at planting herself behind her Barrier Array and damaging enemies from a distance with her Photon Magnum. In general, I’ve found that Domina struggles to deal with attackers that get up close to her, with her Sonic Repulsors being the only real way to get separation from enemies. Whenever I’m facing an enemy Domina, I try to play a close-range hero, such as Reinhardt if I’m a tank, or Anran if I’m a DPS. However, even with this strategy in mind, I feel like I still struggle to take the enemy Domina down, leading to my primary criticism of Domina’s current state.

Why Domina is So Frustrating to Deal With

Anyone who has played as or against Domina in Overwatch likely knows that she can be a tough target to take down. Between her Barrier Array and Reconstruction passive skill, Domina has the defensive capabilities to survive an onslaught of attacks from unprepared players. Barrier Array is massive and wraps around Domina in a half-circle, making it difficult to break through, even with the ability to destroy sections of the shield individually. Reconstruction is even more of an issue, since Domina can continually restore her own shields as long as she is dealing damage.

This issue is further compounded by the fact that Domina’s Photon Magnum is particularly lethal. It has a long range and deals continuous damage, ending in a burst of increased damage that is difficult for squishier heroes to survive. So Domina’s combat loop revolves around picking off weaker enemies with her Photon Magnum while restoring her own shields, essentially allowing her to ignore a lot of the incoming enemy damage with solid healers like Mercy or Baptiste on her, all while her Barrier Array stands there as an additional wall players will need to break through in order to damage her. I can’t count how many times I’ve nearly finished off a Domina before she retreats to her back line, and I get killed by an enemy DPS because the time it takes to kill her is so long.

No, Overwatch’s Season 1 Heroes Didn’t Copy Marvel Rivals, But They Did Copy This Game

Some of Overwatch new heroes have come under fire for “copying” Marvel Rivals, which doesn’t hold up, though one feels right out of a different game.

How Domina Should Be Reworked to Be More Balanced

While I still want Domina to retain the majority of her abilities and overall identity as a poke tank in Overwatch, I think that some of these skills need a major nerf. A reduction to the damage her Photon Magnum does over time, potentially dropping from 60 to 50, would be a good start. I’d also like to see her overall shields reduced to compensate for the fact that Reconstruction can restore them as she does damage. A reduction from 400 to 350 shields would help Domina feel more proportional defensively compared to her offensive capabilities.

Even After Her Recent Nerf, Domina is Still Overpowered

In the February 13 hotfix for Overwatch, Domina received a small nerf that reduced the health of her Barrier Array’s panels, making it easier to destroy individual pieces of her barrier. While this definitely helps reduce Domina’s survivability, I still feel like it doesn’t do enough to correct how much damage she can output while simultaneously restoring her own shields. Until Overwatch releases an update that reduces Domina’s total shields and Photon Magnum damage, she will continue to be my number one ban priority.