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Venture portrait

YOUR MAIN · DAMAGE

PLAYING VENTURE

Who to ban, which matchups hurt, where to play and who has your back.

VENTURE CHANGED IN THE 6 OCT 2026 PATCHHit volume · torso / legs · See the impact
TierS
Win rate53.4%
Pick rate2.7%
Ban rate0.4%

OFFICIAL KIT · DAMAGE

KIT

  1. SMART Excavator

    Weapon

    Launch a seismic charge that bursts after a short distance.

  2. Drill Dash

    8s

    Ability

    Dash forward while above or underground, pushing enemies back. The cooldown is accelerated while Burrow is active.

  3. Burrow

    8s

    Ability

    Move underground and become invulnerable. Press or hold LSHIFT to emerge and damage enemies.

  4. Tectonic Shock

    2,125 pts

    Ultimate

    Send out damaging shockwaves.

Minor perksLevel 2 · pick one

  • Deep Burrow

    Drill Dash distance is 75% longer while burrowed.

  • Excavation Exhilaration

    While Tectonic Shock is active, cooldowns refresh 300% faster.

Major perksLevel 3 · pick one

  • SMART Extender

    Empower SMART Excavator with E to increase its maximum projectile range by 100% for 4 seconds.

  • Covered In Dirt

    Dealing damage with Clobber grants up to 40 Explorer's Resolve shields.

Cooldowns from the Overwatch Wiki and the patch notes, ultimate cost in points.

Ability and perk icons and descriptions © Blizzard Entertainment.

KNOW YOUR PROBLEMS

TOUGH MATCHUPS

Heroes that counter Venture, strongest first. Tap one to see what beats them.

STRONG1 PICK

Pharah Strong Damage S

Vertical pressure keeps Pharah outside Venture's preferred range and forces them to fight on unfavorable angles.

  • VERTICAL SPACE
HOW TO PLAY IT

You can't pressure Pharah from the ground. Stay under cover and let your hitscan teammates deal with her.

PERK PICK Solid pick

MinorDeep BurrowMajorSMART Extender

Pharah plays as a recon, so anti-air and range matter most. Deep Burrow brings mobility; SMART Extender brings range and anti-air.

GOOD4 PICKS

D.Va Good Tank D

High mobility lets D.Va stay on Venture, deny free angles and punish failed disengages.

  • CLEAN ENGAGE REQUIRED
HOW TO PLAY IT

D.Va can stay on you. Keep your escape until she commits, and fight near your team.

PERK PICK Solid pickDefault build

MinorDeep BurrowMajorCovered In Dirt

D.Va plays as an initiator, so anti-dive and crowd control matter most. Deep Burrow brings mobility and anti-dive; Covered In Dirt brings sustain.

Doomfist Good Tank S

High mobility lets Doomfist stay on Venture, deny free angles and punish failed disengages.

  • CLEAN ENGAGE REQUIRED
HOW TO PLAY IT

Doomfist can stay on you. Keep your escape until he commits, and fight near teammates who can help.

PERK PICK Clear pickDefault build

MinorDeep BurrowMajorCovered In Dirt

Doomfist plays as an initiator, so anti-dive and sustain matter most. Deep Burrow brings mobility and anti-dive; Covered In Dirt brings sustain and duels.

Winston Good Tank S

High mobility lets Winston stay on Venture, deny free angles and punish failed disengages.

  • CLEAN ENGAGE REQUIRED
HOW TO PLAY IT

Winston will follow you. Stay near your team and keep your escape until he commits.

PERK PICK Solid pickDefault build

MinorDeep BurrowMajorCovered In Dirt

Winston plays as an initiator, so anti-dive and crowd control matter most. Deep Burrow brings mobility and anti-dive; Covered In Dirt brings sustain.

Wrecking Ball Good Tank B

High mobility lets Wrecking Ball stay on Venture, deny free angles and punish failed disengages.

  • CLEAN ENGAGE REQUIRED
HOW TO PLAY IT

Wrecking Ball can stay on you. Keep your escape until he commits and fight near your team.

PERK PICK Solid pickDefault build

MinorDeep BurrowMajorCovered In Dirt

Wrecking Ball plays as an initiator, so anti-dive and crowd control matter most. Deep Burrow brings mobility and anti-dive; Covered In Dirt brings sustain.

SITUATIONAL2 PICKS

Mei Situational Damage B

Timing and team support matter. Crowd control and peel punish Venture's engage and make clean escapes much harder.

  • CLOSE-RANGE MAPS
  • MAP OR COMP DEPENDENT
HOW TO PLAY IT

Expect crowd control when you engage. Wait for Mei's tools to be spent, and keep your escape ready.

PERK PICK LeanDefault build

MinorDeep BurrowMajorCovered In Dirt

Mei plays as a specialist, so mobility and burst matter most. Deep Burrow brings mobility; Covered In Dirt brings sustain.

Reinhardt Situational Tank S

Shielded approach and close-range pressure reduce Venture's poke value and force a direct brawl.

  • MAP OR COMP DEPENDENT
  • CLOSE-RANGE MAPS
HOW TO PLAY IT

Don't poke into Reinhardt's shield. Engage around it, or wait for it to break before diving in.

PERK PICK Lean

MinorExcavation ExhilarationMajorCovered In Dirt

Reinhardt plays as a stalwart, so anti-barrier and area damage matter most. Excavation Exhilaration brings burst; Covered In Dirt brings sustain.

LEVEL UP RIGHT · FLANKER

PERK BUILD

One minor perk at level 2, one major at level 3. The highlighted pair is the default; each tough matchup above says when to switch.

MINOR PERKLevel 2 · pick one
  • DEFAULT

    Deep Burrow

    Drill Dash distance is 75% longer while burrowed.

    • Mobility
    • Anti-dive

  • Excavation Exhilaration

    While Tectonic Shock is active, cooldowns refresh 300% faster.

    • Ult charge
    • Burst
MAJOR PERKLevel 3 · pick one

  • SMART Extender

    Empower SMART Excavator with E to increase its maximum projectile range by 100% for 4 seconds.

    • Range
    • Anti-air
  • DEFAULT

    Covered In Dirt

    Dealing damage with Clobber grants up to 40 Explorer's Resolve shields.

    • Sustain
    • Duels

WHY THIS BUILD Covers what Venture's toughest matchups punish most: anti-dive, crowd control and sustain.

Perk names, text and icons as published on the official Venture page. Picks are rule-based from this hero's matchups, not win-rate data.

YOUR TARGETS

VENTURE IS GOOD INTO

These matchups depend on timing, positioning and teammate follow-up. Check the conditions before swapping.

AnranDamage · goodAsheDamage · goodBaptisteSupport · goodKirikoSupport · goodWidowmakerDamage · good

HERO BANS

BAN THESE

The counters you're most likely to actually face in Bronze → Diamond.

  1. 1PharahStrong counter · S tier4.9%pick rate
  2. 2WinstonGood counter · S tier8.4%pick rate
  3. 3DoomfistGood counter · S tier7.0%pick rate

Ranked by counter strength × how often each hero is picked.

MAP VOTE

WHERE TO PLAY

Venture's win rate on each map compared with Venture's own All Maps average. All ranks, PC Competitive.

VOTE FOR

  • Shambali Monastery+3.1 pts
  • aatlis+1.7 pts
  • Rialto+1.3 pts

AVOID

  • Numbani−4.3 pts
  • Havana−3.0 pts
  • Paraíso−2.4 pts

Blizzard Hero Statistics, 2026-10-15. Maps with low pick rates are left out.

Map images © Blizzard Entertainment, via OverFast API.

TEAM UP

COVERS YOUR WEAK SPOTS

Teammates who answer the heroes that counter Venture. One pick per role.

  • Tank MaugaD AnswersWinstonDoomfistReinhardt
  • Damage PharahS AnswersDoomfistReinhardtMei
  • Support JunoB AnswersPharahMei

Weighted by counter strength and observed pick rate.

NEXT STEP

BUILD AROUND IT

Your main needs backup picks for the matchups above.

Rate Venture + Pharah as a pool All Venture counters How the latest patch hits Venture Full tier list Analyze my last match
CHANGE YOUR MAINSearch all 54 heroes
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Matchups reviewed for 2026-10-06. Rates from Blizzard Hero Statistics (2026-10-20). Use the explanation, not just the label.