As Overwatch 2’s second competitive season comes to a close, the developers have released a small balance patch that goes into effect on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 1pm CT.
This patch focuses on smaller tweaks to a few heroes and specific mechanics that have been receiving complaints from the game’s player base. Roadhog, Sojourn, and Kiriko are the main targets for this small update.
Overwatch 2’s third competitive season should start in early February and will likely come with another much larger patch to accompany it. The developers have already hinted at some big overall changes coming next month.
Here are all of the changes coming with the Jan. 24 Overwatch 2 patch.
Overwatch 2 Jan. 24 patch notes
Roadhog
- Chain Hook – Impact damage reduced from 30 to five. The enemy’s final position after being pulled by the hook is now four meters away from Roadhog instead of three.
- Scrap Gun – Damage per pellet reduced from 6.6 to six, recovery time reduced from 0.85 to 0.8 seconds, reload time reduced from two to 1.75 seconds, and maximum ammo increased from five to six.
These changes to Roadhog will majorly nerf the hero’s one-shot kill potential after hooking an enemy. Before this patch, the Chain Hook damage plus immediate follow-up with the Scrap Gun meant most non-tank heroes would get one shot after being hooked.
Now, the damage done by the actual hook has been decreased to just five HP, and the target will end up a bit farther away from Roadhog.
This means enemies have more of a fighting chance of being able to escape from Roadhog after being hooked. Heroes with high mobility might be able to move in time to avoid a follow-up shot and will likely not die from the Chain Hook itself.
To compensate for this major nerf to the infamous hook combo, Roadhog’s main weapon got a few small buffs. Though the damage per pellet has been reduced, the buffs to the reload and recovery time mean Roadhog can now fire a bit faster. The ammo increase is a slight buff as well.
Orisa
- Fortify – Health bonus reduced from 125 to 75.
Orisa is just getting one very small tweak in this patch to her Fortify ability. The ability has been deemed too powerful with a 125 HP bonus in addition to its other benefits, so Orisa is receiving a slight nerf. This won’t be a huge change, but Orisa players might want to keep a closer eye on their HP bars when using Fortify.
Sojourn
- Railgun – Energy gain is no longer based on damage done by primary fine, but instead, each primary fire hit on an enemy now grants five energy. Primary fire damage per projectile is reduced from 10 to nine.
Players have been calling for nerfs to Sojourn’s railgun for a long time. This nerf will reduce the charge time for her railgun in almost all circumstances.
Damage boost on Sojourn or armor on enemies both become nullified with this change. Damage-boosted shots will still only grant five energy, and even if she hits targets with armor or discord orb, for example, she still gets five energy per shot. This transforms her railgun into a bit of a unique weapon.
Something to note from this is the patch notes specify energy will now only be given for hitting enemy players, not enemy shields or other utility. OW2 players might still be able to charge their railgun quickly, but this forces them into tighter situations where they are actually confronting enemies face-to-face.
Kiriko
- Healing Ofuda – Recovery time increased from 0.85 to one second.
This is a big nerf for Kiriko’s overall healing output and transforms her playstyle even more toward a dual-purpose support hero.
Each Ofuda still carries the same amount of healing, but players now have to think more carefully about how they are using the papers instead of spamming their primary fire. Since it takes longer to recover after use, Kiriko players have to think more carefully about how they are directing their healing and have the opportunity to use secondary fire more often.
Kiriko has been a top support pick since her release, largely due to her incredible damage output, but her healing has also been borderline broken. The skill ceiling for Kiriko should become a bit higher with this change and players should be even more focused on using damage.
