'Ovewatch 2': Big Nerfs Coming To Problem Heroes

The "Overwatch 2" meta is set to get shaken up in an upcoming patch before the start of Season 2 after developers acknowledged that some of the game's best picks are too dominant compared to others.

Several popular picks like Genji and Zarya are getting nerfed as per Blizzard's announcement, and the changes will particularly target the most problematic parts of their kits. Here's a summary of the upcoming hero changes scheduled for Nov. 15:

Zarya

• Barrier duration down to 2.0s
• Barrier cooldown increased to 11s

Despite sitting within acceptable win rate bands, many players have expressed how hard fighting against Zarya feels. To alleviate this issue, Blizzard is extending her vulnerability window between Barrier casts while simultaneously weakening Zarya's ability to stack her Particle Cannon's damage buff.

Genji

• Shuriken damage down from 29 to 27
• Max ammo down from 30 to 24

According to the developers, they neglected to balance Genji the way they did to Reaper and Tracer, which made him feel more oppressive in 5v5 scenarios. As such, his primary weapon will be tuned down a bit to better fit the new game environment.

Sombra

• Bonus damage against Hacked targets reduced to 25%
• Hack ability lock-out shortened to 1.5s
• Hacked enemies cannot be hacked again while the effect is still active

Sombra's ability to harass backlines and shut down ability-heavy characters was deemed too frustrating to play against. Additionally, her strong 40% damage buff against Hacked targets offered very little counterplay. Both effects are getting nerfed, so her enemies have more opportunities to defend themselves.

D.Va

• Boosters impact damage reduced to 15
• Fusion Cannon shot spread increased slightly

D.Va's overall damage output is getting reduced to compensate for her high mobility and defensive capabilities. Players can expect her damage output against small targets to be reduced but remain almost the same against larger heroes.

Kiriko

• Swift Step invulnerability duration decreased to 0.25s

When using Swift Step, Kiriko becomes temporarily invulnerable to prevent her from instantly dying to unfortunate circumstances. However, this was found to be too long of an effect. The invulnerability duration is getting decreased so it can retain its original purpose without the added hassle.