Overwatch 2 Illari guide: How to play, tips, abilities, and more

Overwatch 2 's Season 6 Invasion is here, and so is its newest hero Illari. Hailing from Peru, she harnesses the power of the sun to deal damage and heal. While the reception to Season 5's Lifeweaver was generally middling, Illari, on the other hand, is the polar opposite. Her kit is simple to grasp yet complex in execution and will certainly reward players who take the time to learn her.

With that said, let's take a step back to see how she works and how players can maximize her efficiency.

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Exploring Illari's abilities in Overwatch 2

Illari's main method of dealing damage in Overwatch 2 is the Solar Rifle. This is a hitscan weapon that can go long-range. Her primary fire has an auto charge mechanic where, when the gauge below the reticle is full, the gun will power up passively, which can deal massive damage, especially when headshotting.

Fire immediately, and it deals much less damage, but players only need to wait about 1.5 seconds between the gauge recharging to fire a max-powered shot again. It is not unlike Sojourn's secondary fire from her railgun. Here are the stats for reference:

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Solar Rifle (Primary fire)

Illari's key weapon in Overwatch 2 (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

• Damage: 75 (max charge) and 25 (min charge)
• Damage fall-off: 30-50 meters
• Rate of fire: 1 shot per second (max damage), 1.7 shots per second (min charge)
• Headshot multiplier: 1.5x
• Ammo count: 14 per magazine
• Reload time: Two seconds

Throw in the headshot multiplier, and she can two-shot most DPS heroes. Of course, players need to have good aim to be good with her. Illari's alternate fire button is a medium-range healing beam. Here are the details.

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Solar Rifle (Secondary fire)

• Healing: 120 health per second
• Reload up to full charge: 2.9 seconds
• Cooldown upon emptying the gauge: 3.36 seconds

The gauge operates like Moira's. However, it does a massive amount of healing, even in short bursts. To compensate for this, the meter runs out of juice in three seconds. But Illari has one more healing trick up her sleeve: a turret that heals allies.

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Healing Pylon

This is similar to Symmetra's turret, except it heals (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

• Health: 75 Health + 75 Shield
• Healing: 50 per second
• Rate of fire: 1.25 shots per second
• Cooldown: Eight seconds (default) and 12 seconds (under attack)

The Healing Pylon is stationary and heals allies (including Illari herself) in its line of sight. It can stick to most surfaces. The most important aspect, however, is that it's Illari's main mode of healing. In fact, expect this turret to do most of the job for her since her beam is not a viable solution like Baptistse or Moira's healing. With that said, she has an additional ability that helps her maneuver around maps.

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Outburst

This ability will help Illari move around quicker in Overwatch 2 (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

• Movement speed: 18.4 m/s (horizontal input, uncharged), 16.7m/s (horizontal input, charged), 6 m/s (no input, uncharged), 13.5 m/s (no input, charged), 18.5 m/s (knockback)
• Cooldown: Seven seconds

This handy ability launches Illari toward the movement button while also knocking back enemies around her. Holding the jump button while using this ability to jump higher. However, this ability will take players some getting used to. Now finally, her Ultimate in Overwatch 2: Captive Sun.

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Captive Sun

Harness the power of the sun to decimate foes in Overwatch 2 (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

• Damage: Five (on hit), 50 (splash damage), 120 (explosion)
• Projectile speed: 32 meters per second
• Area of effect: Eight meters
• Duration: 5.2 seconds

This Ultimate launches Illari into the air like Overwatch 2's Sigma does during his ult. She charges up her weapon to launch a ball of solar energy at the target. The issue is that this ability does not inflict any good damage. That is because any foe hit by this weapon will be marked and slowed down. However, if allies hit these marked foes, they will take more damage with the energy building up within them.

At the end of the explosion, all enemies that have been marked and damaged will explode, dealing significant damage. This explosion is also AOE (area of effect), meaning those around the marked targets will also be damaged.

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How to play Illari in Overwatch 2?

Illari is capable and perhaps even one of the best Supports in Overwatch 2 right now (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

As it stands now, Illari is a Support that will appeal to DPS mains in Overwatch 2. Her primary fire is immensely powerful, making her a threat on the battlefield, even as a support. Her Pylon is an incredibly strong healing tool that can sustain the entire team if positioned right. Be sure to operate from the midline and aim at squishies like Zenyatta or Tracer.

However, due to her slow rate of effective fire, she should fight alongside a tank or a DPS. Her Pylon can sustain her ally while she doubles down on the offensive. Her Outburst is also excellent for moving out of harm's way, like Reinhardt's dash or Orisa's Terra Surge. This can even allow her to be a little risky by pushing the frontline and pressuring opponents.

But be sure not to overextend. A great way of using Outburst to scale vertical spaces is to jump and then hold the ability button without any directional input. Keep Outburst in reserve to escape tricky scenarios and dive back into Pylon range. On that note, the Pylon has a range of 40 meters, so players can place it in vertical locations.

Given her current power level, expect a few changes and tweaks to arrive in the near future (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

This will, quite often, keep it out of the foe's reach while also healing allies - just ensure it does not poke out to allow unnecessary shots. Furthermore, be sure to move around the Pylon's location to keep the opponent guessing. As for her secondary fire, it is great for healing teammates in a pinch, particularly those out of reach from the Pylon.

Fire it in brief bursts, and do not empty it as it runs out quickly. As for her Ultimate, it is as skill-based as nearly the rest of her kit is. Players should aim for lesser mobile and mainly DPS or Support targets like Ana, though the ability itself should slow down most opponents enough. Players will need to be quick to deal damage, however, as the duration does not last more than 5 seconds.

For the best-case scenario, combine other allies' ults with her own. Zarya's Graviton Surge can group together enemies, and Illari can mark as well as damage them easily. Other heroes can also help deal damage to marked targets, like Moira Coalescene or Hanzo's Dragonstrike.

Overall, Illari is an excellent addition to the Overwatch 2 roster, but given how strong she is now, expect some nerfs to arrive in the future.