Vanguards also known as tanks, are Heroes with large health pools, allowing them to endure longer and absorb opposing team damage without dying. To increase their survivability, each of these characters has at least one method of blocking or mitigating damage.
| Vanguard Types | Gameplay Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Shield Vanguards |  |
Shield is one of the most powerful effects in all of OW on par just about with doing damage and healing people. Healing keeps momentum. Damage lets you actually win fights. Shield stops all ultimate generation from the stuff it blocks. It blocks most all CC effects. It blocks most all healing effects. It blocks the damage. All while letting your own team effects through unphased. |
| Dive Vanguards |  |
Dive tanks do NOT have the shielding or self sustain to be able to fight prolonged battles against tanky targets. Instead, they look to harass the more vulnerable targets from off angles while taking as little damage as possible. This is why the dive tanks were built with short term defensive abilities. They can block the IMPORTANT damage, in short engagements, not the bulk of damage in long ones. |