Overwatch 2: What does main & flex support mean?

The term main and flex support in Overwatch 2 have been around for so long that their meaning has almost completely changed and can be confusing to many new players. With that being said, here’s what you need to know about the in-game lingo.

From when it was first released to the modern era of Overwatch 2, a lot has changed in the game, especially when it comes to its roles. However, as time passes by and the game fundamentally changes, the terms we use to describe roles have largely stayed the same. 

Tanks saw the idea of main and off-tanks die with 5v5 while supports saw the concept of flex and main supports get very murky, to the point its meaning is lost on many new players. 

Don’t fear as we’ll help you understand just what it means to be a flex and main support, and why its meaning has deviated so much since 2016. 

What is main and flex support in Overwatch 2? 

Main support is generally seen as Support heroes that focus on providing non-cooldown utility. This can be utility like speed boost, damage boost, Inspire, or Discord orb. 

This includes heroes such as Lucio, Brigitte, Mercy, and Zenyatta.

Flex support meanwhile is seen as the most mechanically demanding role, needing to balance their cooldowns to help the team while at times doing the most healing in the team. 

This includes heroes such as Ana, Baptiste, Illari, Kiriko, Lifeweaver, and Moira. 

However, these terms should be used loosely, with hero categorization often highly contested.

The main problem with the terms main and flex support is that they were initially established in 2016 before role lock and when teams needed a player to always play a certain support hero for the meta, and thus lost much of their original meaning. 

To some players, Baptiste is a main support while Zenyatta is a flex. And to some, Baptiste can switch between both depending on the team composition, especially when Baptiste Illari was meta.  

Generally in team compositions, it’s best to have a main and flex support to complement the team. Currently, Lucio Kiriko is meta. Other duos like Ana Brigitte, Zenyatta Baptiste, and Lucio Moira are quite common. 

Origins of main and flex support in Overwatch 2

Back in the early days of Overwatch in 2016, Lucio was so good that you needed a main Lucio while another player could flex to different supports or roles depending on what the team needed. Which is where the term main and flex support came from. 

As the meta evolved, Mercy became a main support during the Moth Meta, then Brigitte during GOATS. In fact, during GOATS, we saw mostly main supports becoming meta. 

However, when role lock came around thanks to GOATS and the meta changed drastically, the terms almost became irrelevant from their original meaning, as teams could see Baptiste Ana or even Mercy Lucio played. 

Nowadays, their roles are separated based on which character focuses on providing non-cooldown utilities to the team. 

It’s important to note that these terms have become very loose in the modern era of Overwatch, to the point it’s hard to solidify their meaning, so do take all of this with as just a general guideline.