It’s the middle of Overwatch 2 season four, and that means a new balance patch is hot and fresh off the presses for players who have spent the past month unhappy with the state of the meta.
With a whopping 10 different heroes getting a balance change today, there’s a lot more to digest than players might be used to from the typical mid-cycle patch. While some nerfs and buffs are extraordinarily minuscule and are only for one or two abilities, a major set of Junker Queen buffs serve as the highlight of the patch.
Related: How to play Galactic Rescue in Overwatch 2’s Starwatch event
Here are the patch notes for today’s Overwatch 2 update.
Overwatch 2 season four midseason hero balance patch notes
Junker Queen
- Scattergun ammo increased to eight, up from six.
- Jagged Blade projectile size increased to 0.2 meters, up from 0.15.
- Rampage deals 40 impact damage, but wound damage is decreased to 60, down from 100.
- Adrenaline Rush healing multiplier increased to two times damage dealt by wounds, up from 1.25.
Junker Queen is one of the least represented tanks in the game. The developers said the aim with these changes is to give the hero a stronger “front-line presence.” The improvement to Adrenaline Rush is where this goal will most likely be felt the strongest.
Orisa
- Augmented Fusion Driver damage increased to 13, up from 12.
The change is extremely small, but with just a few tanks dominating the meta, it’s clear Blizzard is looking to work toward an equilibrium in the tank meta without hitting the top tanks with heavy nerfs.
Winston
- Jet Pack damage radius before falloff begins increased to 1.3 meters, up from one.
Similar to Orisa, this small change is aimed at equalizing representation on the competitive ladder. Winston’s balance is especially tricky for the team because while the scientist is severely underrepresented on the ladder, he is the most-used tank in professional play among Overwatch League players.
Wrecking Ball
- Adaptive Shield effect duration decreased to seven seconds, down from nine.
This is the only true nerf to come to a tank, but it’s for a good reason. Any player who has played enough solo queue on the competitive ladder has seen just how annoying a Wrecking Ball player can be, especially with all of the health the hamster can give his disruptive machinery.
Echo
- Duplicate cost reduced by 25 percent.
- Duplicate ultimate generation decreased to four times normal while Duplicate is active, down from 5.5 times.
The time it takes to get Echo’s Duplicate ultimate is lower. But while the robot is in its Duplicated form, it won’t generate its copied ultimate nearly as quickly. The aim here is to get players to use Duplicate to provide team utility as opposed to using it in an effort to quickly generate multiple copied ultimates.
Junkrat
- Concussion Mine damage increased to 110, up from 100.
This slight buff is in response to a previous adjustment that made Junkrat’s mine-grenade combo a little bit underwhelming.
Ana
- Biotic Grenade healing decreased to 60 from 100.
Ana is the most-used healer both on the ladder and in pro play. Her Biotic Grenade is some of her strongest utility, and the burst healing being 100 was extremely powerful in a pinch.
Baptiste
- Immortality Field cooldown decreased to 23 seconds, down from 25.
This is a super slight adjustment that many players may not even recognize. It’s certainly a buff, but not one that should shake up the meta in any way.
Kiriko
- Kunai reloads after 65 percent of its animation is complete, down from 75 percent.
- New Hero Option to have Healing Ofuda cancels Kunai reload.
This is less of a buff and more about quality of life. The hero’s healing can sometimes interrupt Kunai reloads in a way that can be frustrating to deal with.
Lifeweaver
- Life Grip can no longer target Reinhardt during Earthshatter. Using Earthshatter will cancel Life Grip.
This one almost goes without discussion. The number of clips of Reinhardts having their Earthshatter ruined by a Life Grip floating around social media is astronomical. This is surely a day of celebration for Rein mains across the world.
