| Type | Represents a hero's base or standard health pool. | Represents additional protective layers that absorb incoming damage before affecting health. |
| Icon | Represented by a white bar with a white cross icon. | Represented by a yellow bar with a yellow hexagon icon. |
| Absorbed Damage | Does not provide damage reduction; damage is subtracted directly from health. | Provides damage reduction, reducing incoming damage by up to 5 points per individual hit. |
| Effective Against | Equally susceptible to all types of damage, whether it's from bullets, energy weapons, melee attacks, or abilities. | Particularly effective against rapid, low-damage attacks like machine gun fire or shotgun pellets, as it mitigates a fixed amount of damage per hit. |
| Vulnerabilities | No specific vulnerabilities; health can be affected by all types of attacks in the same way. | Vulnerable to attacks with high burst damage or abilities that can bypass armor, as they can quickly deplete the armor pool. |
| Examples | Most heroes in Overwatch have health as their primary health pool. | Some heroes have armor as part of their health pool, such as Reinhardt, Brigitte, Bastion (in turret mode), and certain abilities like Torbjörn's Overload. |
| Healing Effects | Affected by healing abilities and health packs that restore health points. | Health restoration is prioritized before armor; healing effects restore health first and then armor if health is already full. |
| Regeneration | Health does not naturally regenerate; heroes require external healing to restore lost health. | Armor does not regenerate naturally either; it remains at its current level until repaired or restored by abilities or health packs. |
| Armor Packs | Can be provided by specific abilities or support heroes like Brigitte, Torbjörn, or Symmetra to grant additional armor to allies. | Armor packs can provide additional armor to allies, enhancing their overall durability. |
| Mitigation | Offers no damage mitigation; incoming damage directly affects the hero's health pool. | Provides damage mitigation, making heroes with armor more resilient against rapid, low-damage attacks. |
