Summary
Overwatch 2’s ninth season ushered in the biggest changes to the game so far, with a competitive system overhaul, larger bullets, healing over time outside of combat for all roles, larger health pools, and a new damage role passive. The design and development team kept a close eye on how these adjustments and additions impacted the game and have scheduled some significant tweaks in the coming mid-season. According toOverwatch 2game director Aaron Keller’s blog post, these changes will buff some tank and support heroes and adjust the damage role’s new passive.
TheOverwatchfranchise is no stranger to sweeping changes to gameplay. Here are some of the most significant ones:
It seems like theOWteam is starting to pump the brakes this mid-season 9, improving sustain for all roles and giving its popular supports better healing options.
Main Healers Get a Boost in Overwatch 2 Midseason 9
Thedamage role’s new passive inOverwatch 2, which reduced the healing received by its targets by 20% for a few seconds, will be adjusted to 15%. This new ability had too significant an impact on the game, causing tanks to burn health points faster than expected in fights even when receiving constant healing, according to Keller. While it’s just a 5% decrease, it should make it easier for supports like Ana and Lifeweaver to top up their allies.
The Best Healing Utility in Overwatch 2 Gets Even Better
Speaking of Ana, one ofOverwatch 2’s best supports, is also getting buffed this mid-season. Her already powerful biotic grenade’s damage/healing will be increased from 60 to 90 to give her better self-sustain. It will also make her a better heal bot for her team. A well-placed grenade can now give a 90-HP burst to most, if not all of her allies, which is enough to turn the tides of a fight. It can also counteract the healing received debuff from DPS characters, making it one of the most important abilities in the game right now. Lifeweaver’s maximum heal will also be improved from 70 to 80 and its max charge will be increased to 1.15 seconds, making his healing bursts more effective overall.
Doomfist’s Meteor Strike Gets Scarier in Overwatch 2
Doomfist lost a lot of his assassination capabilities whenhe transitioned into the tank role inOverwatch 2. However, he’s seen some incremental adjustments that make it easier for him to secure kills with his team. This mid-season patch will only improve his elimination capability, as his Meteor Strike’s minimum damage will be increased from 15 to 50. Keller reminds readers that this may seem negligible, but his ult damage scales significantly from the edge to the center. As such, enemies should be more terrified when they hear him activate his ult than before.
Magua also receives some adjustments in this patch. TheOverwatch 2team wants his Cardiac Overdrive skill to give the hero better sustain, so the decision was to decrease its cooldown to 10 seconds. It will now add 100 points to his passive overhealth. However, its duration will be a second shorter. The stomp damage to his Overrun ability will also be improved by 15 points. Mauga is one of the most underutilized tanks in the game right now, according to Overbuff’s competitive and quickplay stats. These buffs, together with hisOverwatch 2xCowboy Bebopcollaborationskin could make him a more popular pick.
Overwatch 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Power up your railgun and disrupt the battlefield as Sojourn, or yield your axe and command attention as Junker Queen. Battle to take control of a robot and move it toward the enemy base in the new Push Mode. Bring the fight to new destinations across the globe in iconic locations like New York, Rome, Monte Carlo and Rio. Daily challenges and frequent updates mean there is always something new to play.
