Overwatch (Switch, Switch 2): all the updates (latest: Ver. ???)
On this page, you will find all there is to know about the various updates for Overwatch on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
Note: until February 10th/11th 2026, the game was known as Overwatch 2 but has now been renamed to Overwatch.
Archives: launch to December 2023 / 2024 / 2025
Click here for more games and consoles updates!
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: May 12th/13th 2026
- Patch notes:
10th Anniversary
The last 10 years have been full of countless memories and epic matches, and we couldn’t be more grateful to this amazing community. Whether you’ve been here since Day 1 or since our most recent Season 1, thank you for playing!
To celebrate, from 5/12 – 6/1 you can complete challenges to earn unique Anniversary Lootboxes packed with both new and nostalgic cosmetics – many created by players just like you! On top of that, each challenge you complete contributes to a Global Community Progress Bar. Every week, the community can work together to progress the reward bar past each checkpoint – upgrading that week’s reward of a single regular Lootbox to include Epic and Legendary boxes as well!
And for those who like going the extra mile, there will be especially tough Prestige challenges to complete, which will net you even more rewards and extra progress toward upgrading the Community reward.
We’ll also be running a different special Arcade card each week, where you can step into the state of the game as it existed in Overwatch eras past. The cards are as follows:
- Week 1: Overwatch Classic 2016
- Week 2: Mystery Showdown
- Week 3: Overwatch Classic 2020
We’re excited to share the next 10 years and beyond with all of you, and can’t wait to celebrate the game’s history (and it’s future) together. Are you with us?
Junkrat’s Loot Hunt
Junkrat’s Loot Hunt is back again, running from June 5-8! Earn lootboxes by completing challenges that unlock as you play!
General Updates
- All heroes now level up faster.
Whether you’re trying a new hero or aspiring towards Ascended on your favorites, we want to make it faster to earn levels and rewards.
- Changed the default setting for “Play Sound When Teammate Eliminated” and “Play Sound When Enemy Eliminated” to “On”.
- Added new keyword “Swap Reloads” to the Advanced Info Panel.
- Definition: “Fully reloads the hero’s weapon after a delay when using another weapon, an alternate mode, or during a Transformation.”
- This keyword has replaced the “Reloads” keyword on all relevant, with the key difference being that these are not instant reloads and have various unique passive reload times that are also now displayed in the line items of the Advanced Info Panel for all relevant abilities.
- Abilities that instantly reload weapons still use the “Reloads” keyword.
- Adjusted Post Match Accolades cards to show underrepresented statistics more often and lessen the frequency of overrepresented statistics.
Competitive Play Updates
- Increased requirement to unlock Competitive Play from 20 wins to 50 wins.
Hero Updates
UI Updates
Ramattra
- Cooldown is now visible while Nemesis Form is active.
Brigitte
- Added a custom UI element showing how many allies are currently being healed by Inspire.
- This UI element can be toggled on/off in Brigitte’s Hero Options.
Tank
- No longer triggers while airborne.
- Now triggers when using a specified movement ability:
- Winston – Jump Pack
- D.Va – Boosters
- Hazard – Violent Lunge
- Wrecking Ball – Grappling Claw
- Doomfist – Rocket Punch
- Heal amount reduced from 60 to 50.
This change makes the Initiator subrole more deliberate. Rather than activating passively while airborne, tying the trigger to specific movement abilities better integrates the subrole into each hero’s core gameplay loop and gives players more agency over when to access its healing. The healing amount has also been reduced to lower overall effectiveness of the subrole.
D.Va
This change reduces Micro Missiles’ effectiveness at quickly eliminating lower maximum health targets, lowering D.Va’s assassination potential.
- Impact damage reduced from 3 to 2.
Doomfist
Seismic Slam’s shockwave is now more tightly synchronized with its visual impact, preventing cases where the effect could appear misplaced. This also ensures the camera lock occurs at the moment of impact, rather than triggering early if the camera is adjusted during the slam.
- Camera lock and shockwave effects now trigger later to better align with the animation.
- Added new visual and sound effects that play when Empowered Punch is about to time out.
Junker Queen
With limited defensive mitigation, Junker Queen struggles to sustain during extended engagements. This adjustment increases the reward for successfully applying Wounds and reinforces her aggressive playstyle.
- (5v5 only) Wound damage self-healing multiplier increased from 2.25x to 2.5x.
Damage
Emre
Emre’s ability to sustain while applying consistent close‑range pressure was exceeding intended levels. Reducing Siphon Blaster’s healing conversion lowers survivability. Cyber Frag’s minimum radius has also been reduced to require greater precision to get maximum value.
- Healing conversion reduced from 80% to 60%.
- Radius of maximum explosion damage reduced from 2 to 1.5 meters.
Freja
Reducing Updraft’s cooldown and removing Rising Winds’ height penalty improves Freja’s mobility and positioning. Increasing Bounty Hunting’s Ultimate charge bonus rewards players for securing final blows with more frequent access to Bola Shot.
Rising Winds – Major Perk
- No longer reduces the height gained from Updraft.
- Cooldown reduced from 12 to 10 seconds.
- Bonus Ultimate charge increased from 25% to 33%.
Sierra
- Weapon fire volume reduced.
Pharah
Pharah’s recent damage‑focused perks have improved her kill potential, but their combined consistency has pushed her burst damage too high and are being reduced.
Concussive Force – Minor Perk
- Damage reduced from 50 to 30.
Rocket Salvo – Major Perk
- Damage reduced per rocket from 40 to 30.
Support
Baptiste
Regenerative Burst’s long cooldown limited its availability during fights. Reducing the cooldown and increasing its healing output allows Baptiste to more reliably support himself and his team during engagements.
- Instant healing increased from 40 to 50.
- Healing over time increased from 40 to 50.
- Cooldown reduced from 14 to 12 seconds.
Illari
While Illari remains a strong offensive support, Solar Rifle’s base projectile size was too large relative to the damage output. Removing the additional base projectile size better aligns the weapon’s accuracy with other hitscan heroes.
- Base projectile size reduced from 0.05 to 0.
- Hitscan Global Projectile Size Bonus still applies (0.07).
Kiriko
Protection Suzu offers strong defensive utility across many scenarios. Removing the additional healing on cleanse lowers its burst healing potential.
- Additional healing after negative status cleanse removed (was 30).
Lúcio
Sound Barrier remains one of the most impactful defensive ultimates when timed well. Reducing both its overhealth and duration shortens the mitigation window and places greater emphasis on timing.
- Overhealth granted reduced from 750 to 625.
- Duration reduced from 6 to 5 seconds.
Mercy
Mercy’s Season 2 mobility reduction had an outsized impact on her core gameplay flow. Restoring Guardian Angel’s base functionality reestablishes that feel, while removing Divine Momentum addresses the extreme mobility cases that motivated the original change.
Divine Momentum – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Winged Reach – Minor Perk
- New.
- Guardian Angel’s range is increased by 30%.
- Launch speed increased by 10%. (Reverted to previous value)
Mizuki
Allowing Kekkai Sanctuary to absorb projectiles from both directions improves clarity and creates meaningful interactions when enemies push inside the barrier. Healing and duration have been reduced to offset the additional defensive value.
- Now absorbs enemy projectiles exiting the Sanctuary in addition to enemy projectiles entering the Sanctuary.
- Healing over time reduced from 50/s to 40/s.
- Duration reduced from 7 to 6 seconds.
Major Hero Bug Fixes
Lúcio
- Passive self-healing penalty is now correctly at 60% (was 70%).
Wuyang
- Fixed an issue where armor’s damage reduction was being applied twice to Xuanwu Staff orbs.
Core Game Updates
- Re-enabled Perks.
Stadium Updates
- Increased the timer for a match to end automatically due to a player leaving the match to 3 minutes to cover the Armory timer.
Tank
Doomfist
Doomfist has been struggling in Stadium, so we’re improving the damage and survivability of some of his core powers and some underutilized options. We’re also treating his Passive similarly to many non-scaling Barriers, where they will naturally scale over time from currency.
- [The Best Defense] now scales proportionally with the Passive Health Gain from Currency.
Asteroid Smash – Power
- Cooldown reduced to 8s (Down from 10s).
Block Party – Power
- Ally Healing increased to 20% (Up from 15%).
Helping Hand – Power
- Overhealth Max Life Scaling increased to 10% (Up from 8%).
Overpowered – Power
- Level 3 Punch Bonus Damage increased to 50% (Up from 25%).
Rising Uppercut – Power
- Bonus damage increased to 20 (Up from 10).
Reinhardt
To Me, My Friends has been overperforming, granting too much output for how easy to use and consistent it is. We’re tuning down the effectiveness to better match its execution burden.
To Me, My Friends – Power
- Barrier Healing per 1s decreased to 3% of Max Life (Down from 5%).
Damage
Freja
We’re reducing the consistency of Freja’s Machine Gun build by requiring her to play closer to her enemies to get full value from her powers.
- Decreased Currency from Healing and Damage by 5%.
Volley à Deux – Power
- Spread of extra bolts increased by 66%.
Forager – Power
- Max Life Healing reduced to 4% (Down from 6%).
Reaper
This is a mini rework designed to give Reaper a more potent anti-air build option, especially with the introduction of the Cat to the roster.
Backstabber – Power
- Reworked to “[Dire Triggers] deals 30(AP) additional damage over 3s to Airborne enemies and to enemies beyond 8m.”
Trigger Finger – Power
- New.
- After use an ability or reloading, refresh cooldown of [Dire Triggers].
Vampiric Touch – Power
- Removed.
Soldier: 76
This interaction of Powers combined with Double Helix has proven to be out of bounds, so we’re limiting how much Overhealth this setup grants to be more in line with Soldier: 76’s other Power options.
Frontliners – Power
- Applied reduced effectiveness of Biotic Fields spawned via Hunker Down (50%) to Overhealth.
Vendetta
Vendetta’s nerfs in Core have caused her to underperform in Stadium so we’re bumping up her currency gain to be more in line with other Damage heroes.
- Increased Currency gain from Healing and Damage by 5%.
Support
Jetpack Cat
Cat.
Lindholm Inspiration – Power
- When [Purr] ends, all other allies within [Purr]’s radius gain Overhealth equal to 40% of damage dealt during [Purr] and 10% to yourself for 3s.
Purr-sistence – Power
- [Purr] persists 15% longer for each ally or enemy currently affected by [Purr], up to 75%. Amount of healing pulses resets every 4 pulses.
Territorial – Power
- Enemies within your [Purr] take damage equal to 30% of its healing.
Battle Fur-mation – Power
- [Lifeline] can tether to 1 additional ally.
Bell Bomb – Power
- Ability: [Lifeline] tethers an explosive Toy Ball, that explodes for up to 100 (AP) damage on impact. (6s Cooldown).
Tow Beans – Power
- When you release a target from [Lifeline] or [Catnapper], restore 20% Fuel. Restore 1% Fuel for every 10 Ability Damage dealt.
Frenzy – Power
- Ability: Your next [Quick Melee] deals 40 damage over 3s and increases [Quick Melee] Attack Speed by 100% for 1s (12s Cooldown).
Tomcat Reserves – Power
- While [Frenetic Flight] is active, [Purr]’s cooldown refreshes 40% faster and all other ability cooldowns refresh 80% faster.
Zoomies – Power
- After activating [Frenetic Flight] for 0.5s, next time you collide with an enemy, explode for up 120 damage and restore up to 40% fuel based on distance travelled.
Ambidex-fur-ous – Power
- While [Purr] is active, shoot both guns. The bonus shot deals 25% damage.
Bouncing Biscuits – Power
- When hitting an ally with [Biotic Pawjectiles], it bounces to 1 nearby ally within 5m at 25% effectiveness.
Scratch-ageddon – Power
- +25% Starting Ultimate Charge. [Catnapper] scratches enemies on impact, slowing them and dealing 150 damage over 3s.
Toxmoplasmosis – Rare Weapon Hero Item
- 5% Ability Power
- 10% Melee Damage
- [Quick Melee] damage Slows enemies by 10% and Reveals them for 3s.
- 4000 Cost
Recycling Rounds – Epic Weapon Hero Item
- 15% Attack Speed
- While [Purr] is active, restore 20% Max Ammo every 1s.
- 11000 Cost
Tether Speed – Rare Ability Hero Item
- 25 Shields
- 5% Ability Power
- When an ally is released from [Lifeline], they gain 30% Move Speed for 3s.
- 4000 Cost
Purr-imeter Expander – Epic Ability Hero Item
- 10% Ability Power
- 40% [Purr] Radius
- 10000 Cost
Big Boop – Rare Survival Hero Item
- +25 Armor
- +50% [Purr] Knockback Power
- [Purr] Knockback Damage slows enemies by 30% for 3s.
- 3750 Cost
Tether Toughness – Epic Survival Hero Item
- 50 Health
- While [Lifeline] is active, gain 1% Ultimate Charge for every ally tethered and grant 20 Overhealth to them, up to 100, every 1s.
- 9000 Cost
Fuel Pod – Epic Survival Hero Item
- 25 Shields
- 25% [Frenetic Flight] Fuel
- 10000 Cost
Wuyang
The burst damage of Paindrops has been an outlier, so we’re shaving off a bit of damage here.
Paindrops – Power
- Bonus Orb Damage decreased to 30% (Down from 40%).
Splish Splash – Power
- Cooldown reduced to 10s (Down from 15s).
Zenyatta
Zenyatta’s survivability has been an outlier among the supports, so we’re reducing some of his self healing capabilities.
Enlightenment – Power
- Healing from damage dealt decreased to 20% (Down from 30%).
General Item Changes
Skyline Nanites – Rare Ability General Item
- Bonus Damage to Airborne targets increased from 20% to 25%.
Aerial Distresser – Epic Weapon General Item
- Bonus Damage to Airborne targets increased from 25% to 30%.
Sundering Vial – Epic Survival General Item
- Overhealth Reduction internal cooldown reduced from 5s to 3s.
- Overhealth reduction effect duration increased from 3s to 5s.
Necrotic Repellant – Epic Gadget
- Range increased from 6m to 8m.
Colossus Core – Epic Gadget
- Duration decreased from 5s to 3s.
Refresher – Epic Gadget
- Cost decreased from 13000 to 12000.
We’re improving some under-utilized counter options and improving some of the anti-air options due to the increased number of fliers in the roster.
Website Updates
- Hero Stats now appear under Heroes → Hero Stats.
- Hero Ban Rates are now displayed on the PlayOverwatch website in Hero Stats.
- Hero Pick Rates and Win Rates are still included in Hero Stats.
- The existing Heroes page has been renamed to Hero Gallery.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where Mizuki’s soft targeting would no longer show while dead.
- Fixed an issue where Doomfist’s Seismic Slam would sometimes cause a desync issue when landing on the floor.
- Fixed an issue that incorrectly disabled the Requeue and Leave Game buttons in competitive modes during the post‑match accolades screen.
- Fixed an issue preventing stick and d‑pad navigation during “While You Wait.”
- Fixed Vendetta’s overhead not getting kill credit when forcing enemies into pits.
- Fixed Brigitte’s VO for Repair Packs being on cooldown not being played under the correct conditions.
- Fixed an issue where Ramattra’s Power Final Form was not properly activating when entering Nemesis Form via Annihilation.
- Fixed an issue where Ramattra’s Item R-7000 Powercell was not properly granting Weapon Power after its max Weapon Power bonus was reached.
- Fixed an issue where Ramattra’s Power Void Blight’s damage was not scaling with Weapon Power.
- Fixed an issue where Barrier Size was not increasing when Ramattra picked both Recursion Relay and Ramparts.
- Fixed an issue where Ramattra’s Void Barrier was not triggering On Ability items.
- Fixed an issue where combining Swirling Ward and Final Form would cause Ravenous Vortex to heal enemies on Ramattra.
- Fixed an issue where Cybervenom applies Healing Reduction debuff to allies that are critically healed via Juno’s Power MediMaster.
- Fixed an issue where Mercy’s Flash Heal wasn’t triggering On Ability Items
- Additional notes: none
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: April 28th/29th 2026
- Patch notes:
4v4 Evolved
4v4 Evolved is a limited time team deathmatch where it’s all Emres with even starts, tweaked to make everyone a little more lethal when you lock in. That’s right – it’s Emre vs Emre, slaying each other in classic FPS style: spawn, engage, adapt, repeat. Put your skills to the test and finish the fight from April 28 – May 11!
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where players were unable to jump while the scoreboard was open.
- Fixed an issue where Ramattra’s ultimate could sometimes play louder than intended.
- Additional notes: Replay codes have been wiped.
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: April 23rd/24th 2026
- Patch notes:
Hero Balance Updates
These changes aim to re-adjust heroes whose win rates have fallen further than intended since the start of Season 2. We’re continuing to monitor mobile heroes adjusted this season to help inform the mid‑season changes. Our focus is on ensuring heroes feel viable and fun to play both as and against, while still meeting our goal of addressing mobility.
Roadhog
- Cooldown reduced from 8 to 7 seconds.
Sombra
- Movement speed bonus reduction while revealed by damage reduced from 50% to 33%.
Vendetta
- Health increased from 175 to 200. (Total health increased from 250 to 275.)
Major Bug Fixes
Mizuki
- Enemies can no longer prevent Mizuki from recalling by standing on Katashiro Return’s starting point.
Stadium Hero Updates
Hazard
We’re lowering the ceiling and total resource that Hazard’s Spike Guard oriented builds gain, so there’s more windows of opportunity for counterplay.
Off the Wall
- Damage decreased from 60 to 40.
Woof Woof!
- Extra [Spike Guard] Resource reduced from 30% to 15%.
- [Violent Leap] Hit Bonus Energy decreased from 15% to 10%.
Hit Me Again
- Movement Speed penalty reduction decreased from 90% reduced to 50% reduced.
Phreak Foil
- Extra [Spike Guard] Resource bonus decreased from 50% to 25%.
- [Jagged Wall] Hits Bonus Energy decreased from 25% to 15%.
Junker Queen
Royal Bullets has enabled Junker Queen to be dominant for several seasons now, so we’re tuning it down to bring her more in line with other tanks in Stadium.
Royal Bullets
- Wound damage decreased from 40 to 25.
Orisa
Restortify
- Healing reduced from 8% of Max Life per second to 5% of Max Life per second.
Enhanced Target Sensors
- Bonus damage decreased from 25% to 10%.
- Attack Speed stat bonus decreased from 10% to 5%.
- Cost increased from 4000 to 5000.
Ramattra
Ramattra has started with a middling win rate in Stadium, but as his builds become more optimized, some of them have proven to be outliers. We’re tuning back some of his Ravenous Vortex / Nemesis Form oriented Powers, and we’re improving his Weapon Power oriented options.
Retaliation
- Maximum damage increased to 150.
Dreadknight
- [Annihilation] Duration bonus decreased from 2s to 1s.
Conversion Protocol
- Healing decreased from 50% to 25% of damage mitigated.
Voracious Maelstrom
- [Nemesis Form] Cooldown Reduction per enemy hit by [Ravenous Vortex] reduced from 1s to 0.5s.
Void Blight
- Void Blight damage increased from 20 to 30.
R-7000 Powercell
- Cost decreased from 12000 to 10000.
Recursion Relay
- Damage amplification increased from 10% to 15%.
Second Phase
- [Ravenous Vortex] cooldown reduction reduced from 100% to 75%.
Final Form
- Final Form healing reduced from 80 to 50.
Nano-Mender
- Re-enabled.
Zarya
- Increased currency earned from Healing and Damage by 7.14%.
Freja
Volley à Deux
- Additional bolt damage decreased from 50% reduced damage to 60% reduced damage.
Ana
Cluster Core
- Re-enabled.
Brigitte
Packstacker
- [Repair Pack] Duration bonus decreased from 50% to 25%.
Juno
We’re fixing some bugs that popped up with the recent changes to Juno and adding a bit more firepower to her Weapon Power oriented builds.
MediMaster
- Critical damage increased from 175% to 200%.
Long Range Blaster
- [Mediblaster] Falloff range bonus increased from 5m to 15m.
Heal Formation
- Re-enabled.
Wuyang
Water College Hat is a little too efficient for its cost, causing it to be mandatory for many Wuyang builds. We’re adjusting it to give value more in line with its cost.
Water College Hat
- Passive [Restoration Stream] Duration bonus reduced from 50% to 25%.
- Overhealth per second reduced from 10 to 5.
- Max Overhealth decreased from 30 to 15.
- Cost increased from 4000 to 5000.
Bug Fixes
- In a previous update, fixed an issue where custom bindings would not be saved.
- In a previous update, fixed an issue causing the framerate limit on Nintendo Switch 2 to be lower than intended.
- In a previous update, fixed an issue with Reaper’s Trigger Finger Perk that allowed for an unintended animation cancel.
- In a previous update, fixed a bug with Sierra’s Tight Grip Perk erroneously granting cooldown reduction on Tremor Charge.
- In a previous update, fixed a bug with Mercy’s Double Dose Perk not correctly reducing the healing on Flash Heal.
- Fixed an issue where players could be kicked for inactivity during the Armoury Phase.
- Fixed a bug where Ramattra’s Insatiable Spiral bonus [Ravenous Vortex] damage was calculated additively instead of multiplicatively.
- Fixed a bug where Ramattra’s Void Blight applied to barriers.
- Fixed a bug where Ramattra’s Void Blight could not be cleansed.
- Fixed an issue where Ramattra’s Nano-Mender could heal enemies.
- Fixed an issue where Gloomgauntlet’s Melee Damage stat bonus did not apply to Ramattra’s [Pummel].
- Fixed a bug where Vendetta’s Overloaded Strike’s [Sundering Blade] strike incorrectly calculated the 50% bonus damage additively and not multiplicatively.
- Fixed a bug where Ana’s Cluster Core Hero Item would count certain non-player entities towards Cluster Core’s cooldown reduction.
- Fixed a bug where Juno’s Heal Formation would heal more than intended.
- Additional notes: none
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: April 17th/18th 2026
- Patch notes:
Damage
Sierra
Sierra has not been as effective as intended since her launch. Her weapon damage is being increased to improve overall output, while the damage increase to Tracking Shot better rewards players for successfully landing it. The Anchor Drone changes improve mobility responsiveness and drone survivability, allowing for more aggressive playstyles. Sierra’s ultimate cost has also been increased due to its already fast charge rate in combination with her improved damage output.
- Ultimate cost increased by 30%.
- Damage per projectile increased from 7 to 9.
- Damage per projectile increased from 7 to 9.
- Health increased from 30 to 80.
- Grapple move speed increased from 20 to 22.
- Healing increased from 75 to 100.
- Additional notes: none
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: April 14th/15th 2026
- Patch notes:
Season 2: Summit Patch Notes
The story resumes in Reign of Talon – Season 2: Summit, raising the stakes as new Damage Hero Sierra joins the Overwatch ranks, and letting you learn her lore in an Operation: Grand Mesa event. Then celebrate your squad with the return of Post Match Accolades and explore a reworked Antarctic Peninsula. Plus, overclock justice as Mythic Volted Overdrive Soldier: 76 and wield the Sumi-ichimonji Genji Mythic weapon to cut down your foes in style. Ramattra steps into Stadium alongside a new Lijiang Night Market map to expand experimentation and test your skills. And Spring has sprung in the Battle Pass and Shop, with Spring Fairy and Sakura looks for you to truly bloom on the battlefield. The climb is on, find out what lies beyond the summit!
Operation: Grand Mesa puts Sierra’s arrival front and center with a three-week event built around the aftermath of her stand against Talon. Uncover more details surrounding the assault on Watchpoint: Grand Mesa, and the reasons it was targeted by Talon. Get to know Overwatch’s newest Damage Hero as you step into her story from April 14 – May 12.
- In Week 1, you will have access to Tier 1 challenges which grant you progress on your event Rewards Pass.
- Also available are tougher Meta challenges; these take longer to complete than typical challenges, but completing them nets you better rewards.
- In Week 2, Tier 2 challenges unlock (provided you’ve completed all non-Meta Tier 1 challenges).
- As you progress your event Rewards Pass, you’ll also unlock additional lore entries and insights that shine a light on the story.
- You have all 3 weeks that the event runs to complete every Tier 1, Tier 2, and Meta challenge, giving you plenty of time to snag every reward and unlock all lore pieces.
Rewards you can earn over the course of the event include:
- 1 Epic Lootbox
- 1 Legendary Lootbox
- 1 Rare Title
- 3 Battle Pass Tier Skips
- Rewards for all-new hero, Sierra!
- 2 Sierra voicelines
- 1 Sierra Spray
- 1 Sierra Avatar
- 1 Sierra Namecard
- Junkrat’s Loot Hunt is back again, running from May 8 – 11! Earn lootboxes by completing challenges that unlock as you play!
- Our Nintendo Switch 2 version has officially launched! Please be sure to download the correct version for your platform from the Nintendo eShop.
General Updates
The end of round cards return to Overwatch in an improved new format, now letting players show off their favorite skins on a 3D stage and crown an MVP based on your votes! The two top-performing heroes on each team will be selected for the stage. The hero we think did the best on each team gets one bonus vote, giving them a slightly higher chance to win MVP. Players can now easily Endorse each other by selecting a hero portrait on the left or right sides of the stage, but all of the other social options can also be accessed from these portraits too!
For the first time in Unranked and Competitive Play, players will be able to access Match Voice Chat as Post-Match Accolades begin. Players can join just before the stage appears but always need to manually opt-in by pressing a button. Keep in mind that Match Voice Chat is monitored for disruptive communication in the same way that other voice channels are, so while banter is encouraged, abusive communication is not.
Epic and Legendary voice lines are played for heroes that win MVP, giving you a chance to hear some older lines you haven’t heard in several years for our original heroes, and several entirely new lines for all the heroes we’ve released since this system was available last! New heroes also have new hero-specific stats they can be recognized for. The ability to Endorse players for specific positive traits has also returned in the form of Heroic Endorsements.
- Tags have been added for New Maps and Reworked Maps. Any map with a New or Reworked tag gives bonus Battle Pass XP in Quick Play and an automatic +10 Competitive Points in Competitive Play. The penalty for losing in Competitive Play on a map with one of these tags is also reduced, so give them a shot and don’t worry as much about losing!
- A new Random Map option has been added as a 4th choice. The Random Map will never be one of the 3 visible maps.
- When a map has 6 or more votes than any other map it wins by a Landslide, skipping the roll entirely. For example, King’s Row with 7 votes does not win by a Landslide against Dorado with 2 votes, because King’s Row only has 5 more votes than Dorado. 8 votes ensures a Landslide in 5v5 and 9 votes in 6v6. Even the Random Map option can win by a Landslide!
- New Attack and Defend icons have been added to map cards for Hybrid and Escort, allowing players in Quick Play to know which side they’ll play if this map wins. In Competitive Play these just let players know which side they’ll play first.
- At least 2 different game modes will now be offered across the 3 visible maps.
- When you vote for a map that loses, this map will be offered to you sooner in future Map Votes.
- When no one votes for a map that loses, this map won’t be offered as soon in future Map Votes to anyone in this match.
Hero Updates
Several heroes’ perks have become core to how they are played, reinforcing their identity and moment to moment gameplay. In Season 2, we’re moving select perks directly into heroes’ base kits to better support these playstyles. To offset these changes, we’re introducing several new perks, tuning existing perks, and adjusting perk costs across many heroes to better align with the average time for earning minor and major perks.
We’re continuing to evaluate mobility across the roster and are targeting heroes whose movement options feel too frequent or overly impactful.
With five new heroes added, we’re also making balance adjustments specific to 6v6 to address heroes that are over or underperforming compared to 5v5. As a reminder, all 5v5 hero changes apply to both modes unless explicitly stated otherwise.
- Sierra has been added to the Damage roster.
- Hitscan Auto Assist strength reduced by 4% to more closely match its pre–Season 20 values.
- This change does not affect Legacy Strength Mode.
Since the Aim Assist rework in Season 20, Hitscan heroes have tended to outperform other roles on console. This adjustment reduces the strength of Hitscan Aim Assist to better align with its pre–Season 20 performance.
- Vision duration on low-health enemies reduced from 5 to 3.5 seconds.
The reveal duration from the Recon subrole can feel lengthy, especially for enemies who may not be aware they’ve been revealed. Reducing the duration will make the effect window clearer and easier to play around.
Tank
Sigma
- Now restores barrier health only when damaging enemy heroes.
- (6v6) Maximum health reduced from 650 to 600.
Ramattra
The Vengeful Vortex perk significantly improved the flexibility of Ravenous Vortex, especially when interacting with airborne targets. That functionality has been added to the base ability with reduced damage. Prolonged Barrier returns as a Minor Perk option, and Void Surge has been buffed and moved to a Major Perk.
- Vengeful Vortex moved from Perk to Baseline ability.
- Projectile now explodes on contact with the ground.
- Explosion can now be manually detonated while airborne.
- Explosion damage reduced from 50 to 15.
- Added.
- Void Barrier duration and size increased by 25%.
- Removed.
- Moved from Minor to Major Perk.
- Delay between bursts reduced from 0.75 to 0.6 seconds.
Reinhardt
- Added a custom setting allowing Shield Slam to be bound to Quick Melee, enabling free look while the perk is equipped.
Roadhog
With Roadhog’s combo becoming more reliable, his overall effectiveness has increased. These changes reduce how frequently the combo can be executed and require more deliberate use of Chain Hook. Invigorate has also been replaced due to its overlap with the Bruiser subrole.
- Reload time increased from 1.5 to 1.75 seconds.
- Cooldown increased from 6 to 8 seconds.
- Removed.
- Added.
- Take a Breather now heals nearby allies for 50% of its healing amount.
Winston
Adding increased damage to deployables to Winston’s base kit introduces unique interactions and improves his effectiveness within certain matchups without increasing base weapon power.
- (6v6) Base health reduced from 350 to 325. (Total health including armor and shields reduced from 550 to 525.)
- Deals 50% increased damage to deployables.
Wrecking Ball
- (6v6) Base health reduced from 475 to 450. (Total health including armor and shields reduced from 575 to 550.)
Damage
Anran
Anran’s damage could feel underpowered relative to the time required to ignite enemies. Increasing Fan the Flames’ damage improves her ability to secure eliminations, while adding healing to Dancing Blaze’s base kit rewards effective use of the ability and improves her survivability.
Perk Costs
- Minor Perk cost reduced by 7%.
- Major Perk cost reduced by 5%.
- Impact damage increased from 5 to 6.
- Impact damage reduced from 50 to 30.
- Now heals Anran for 50 health on the first target hit and 25 health for each subsequent target.
- Changed.
- Increases the healing of Dancing Blaze’s subsequent strikes by 25.
Ashe
- Time required to retrigger Coach Gun increased from 1 to 2 seconds.
Bastion
Perk Costs
- Minor Perk cost increased by 10%.
- Major Perk cost increased by 6%.
- No longer fully refunds cooldown.
- Now reduces cooldown by 4 seconds.
- Overhealth degeneration reduced from 100 to 50 per second.
Echo
Allowing Echo to duplicate allied heroes opens up new strategic options and enables more creative ultimate combinations for coordinated teams.
- Can now duplicate allied heroes.
- Range increased from 4 to 6 meters.
Emre
- Added an accessibility option which allows players to hold Secondary Fire to automatically fire Siphon Blaster at a reduced fire rate.
- Heat generated from direct hits reduced from 100% to 60%.
Junkrat
- Moved from Minor to Major Perk.
- Eliminations with Concussion Mine restore one charge.
- Moved from Major to Minor Perk.
- Attack speed bonus reduced from 35% to 25%.
Pharah
Drift Thrusters’ functionality has been added to Pharah’s Barrage, allowing limited movement during the ultimate to reduce friction when using it. Barrage damage has been slightly reduced to offset the added flexibility.
- Bonus movement speed reduced from 40% to 30%.
- Pharah can now move while using Barrage.
- Explosion damage reduced from 30 to 25.
- Removed.
- Added.
- Concussive Blast deals up to 50 explosion damage.
Reaper
Dire Triggers has been moved into Reaper’s base kit to give him more consistent mid‑range options on a cooldown. This change adds additional decision‑making and skill expression to his gameplay.
- Moved from Perk to Baseline ability.
- Cooldown increased from 3 to 6 seconds.
- Added.
- Using an ability or reloading refreshes Dire Triggers’ cooldown.
Soldier: 76
Allowing Soldier: 76 to reload while sprinting introduces new playstyle opportunities and reinforces his identity as a mobile damage dealer. A temporary movement speed penalty during the reload has been added to ensure the interaction carries a meaningful tradeoff.
- Can now reload while sprinting.
- Reloading while sprinting reduces Sprint’s movement speed bonus by 50%, diminishing over the duration.
- Added a custom setting allowing Sprint to cancel reload.
- Removed.
- New.
- Sprint’s movement speed bonus gradually increases by an additional 25% over 2 seconds.
Sombra
Perk Costs
- Minor Perk cost reduced by 6%.
- Major Perk cost reduced by 5%.
- Movement speed bonus reduced by 50% while revealed by damage.
Tracer
Perk Costs
- Minor Perk cost reduced by 10%.
- Major Perk cost reduced by 7%.
Vendetta
Vendetta can feel difficult to mitigate once she closes the distance. These adjustments lower her survivability and make it more challenging for her to remain within effective range, forcing more deliberate positioning and cooldown usage.
- Armor reduced from 100 to 75.
Perk Costs
- Minor Perk cost reduced by 6%.
- Major Perk cost reduced by 5%.
- Movement speed per stack reduced from 4% to 2%.
- Overhead swing bonus range reduced from 2.5 to 2.0 meters.
Widowmaker
Perk Costs
- Minor Perk cost reduced by 6%.
- Major Perk cost reduced by 4%.
Support
Ana
With the removal of the Support passive, Ana has become more dependent on Biotic Grenade for self‑healing. Lowering its cooldown gives her more frequent access to the ability while supporting both offensive and defensive use cases.
- Cooldown reduced from 14 to 12 seconds.
Brigitte
Brigitte’s survivability can feel low despite needing to operate in close range to be effective. Increasing Barrier Shield health gives her more flexibility and better supports her defensive role.
- Health increased from 250 to 300.
- Cooldown refunded increased from 0.5 to 0.75 seconds.
Jetpack Cat
- Acceleration reduced by 11%.
- Cooldown reductions now apply to the Claws Out cooldown.
Juno
- (6v6) Cooldown increased from 10 to 12 seconds.
- Movement speed bonus reduced from 50% to 40%.
Lifeweaver
Lifeweaver has struggled to find effectiveness following reductions to his survivability and the introduction of in‑combat healing reduction. Increasing his overall healing output and adding a cleanse to Life Grip provides him with additional survivability and utility in his base kit.
- Maximum healing increased from 80 to 90.
- Healing increased from 45 to 55.
- Now cleanses allies when pulled.
- Cooldown reduced from 14 to 11 seconds.
Lúcio
- (6v6) Healing reduced from 20 to 18.
- Changed.
- Gain 15% attack speed while Lucio’s Speed Song is active, tripled during Amp It Up.
- Can no longer be charged before a round begins.
Kiriko
Kiriko’s mobility has been reduced to limit her ability to escape from long distances and require her to play closer to her teammates. To help offset this change, we’re increasing the cadence of Healing Ofuda to support her overall effectiveness despite the mobility reduction.
- Teleport range reduced from 35 to 30 meters.
- Fire rate increased from 5 to 7 per second.
Mizuki
These changes make small adjustments to the flow of Mizuki’s kit. Katashiro Return can now be used more reactively, while other tuning helps keep his overall power within intended bounds.
Perk Costs
- Minor Perk cost increased by 16%.
- Major Perk cost increased by 10%.
- (6v6) Minimum Healing Reduced from 5 to 4.5.
- (6v6) Maximum Healing reduced from 20 to 18.
- No longer spawns if Mizuki is eliminated during the cast time.
- Can now activate return while other animations are active, excluding Kekkai Sanctuary’s cast animation.
- Movement speed bonus reduced from 35% to 30%.
Mercy
Flash Heal has proven to be a compelling and expressive ability and is now being added to Mercy’s base kit. This gives her more reliable on‑demand healing while rewarding thoughtful cooldown management. To account for the added power, some of Mercy’s baseline healing and mobility have been slightly reduced.
- Flash Heal moved from Perk to Baseline ability.
- Cooldown reduced from 15 to 12 seconds.
- Base healing increased from 50 to 60.
- Healing multiplier on allies below 50% health reduced from 3x to 2x.
- Healing reduced from 60 to 55.
- Launch speed reduced by 10%.
- New.
- Flash Heal gains an additional charge but its base healing is reduced by 10.
Wuyang
- Duration reduced from 4 to 3.5 seconds.
Zenyatta
- (6v6) Damage amplification reduced from 30% to 25%.
Map Updates
Antarctic Peninsula Map Rework
Stadium Updates
At the start of a new Competitive Season, you will be given Ranked Progress based on your Rank at the end of the last season.
- Contender: Start from Novice (5 Divisions down).
- Elite: Start from Contender (5 Divisions down).
- Pro: Start from Elite (5 Divisions down).
- All Star: Start from Elite (10 Divisions down).
- Legend: Start from Elite (15 Divisions down).
This change should help bring player’s visual ranks more in line with their actual MMR and make getting to your target rank less of a grind each season.
Tank
Ramattra
- Added to the Stadium roster.
Void Blight – Power
- [Void Accelerator] infects enemies with nanites which explode for 20(WP) damage after dealing 100 damage.
Void Surge – Power
- [Void Accelerator] periodically releases a burst of 6 additional projectiles during continuous fire.
Ramparts – Power
- [Void Barrier] gains an additional charge.
Recursion Relay – Power
- +25% [Void Barrier] size. [Void Accelerator] projectile and [Pummel] that passes through the [Void Barrier] gain 10% increased damage.
Final Form – Power
- While [Nemesis Form] is active, Ramattra is healed for 80 per second while within [Ravenous Vortex].
Second Phase – Power
- When [Nemesis Form] is activated, reduce the cooldown of [Ravenous Vortex] by 100%.
Breakout – Power
- While blocking in [Nemesis Form], use [Pummel] to perform a dashing punch. (4s Cooldown)
Conversion Protocol – Power
- [Block] heals Ramattra for 50% of damage mitigated over 3s.
Retaliation – Power
- Releasing [Block] deals damage equal to 100% of the amount mitigated, up to 100 to enemies within 6m.
Insatiable Spiral – Power
- +50% [Ravenous Vortex] Radius, +30% [Ravenous Vortex] Damage
Ravaging Vortex – Power
- When [Ravenous Vortex] is detonated, deal 50 damage and gain 2% Ultimate Charge per enemy hit.
Dreadknight – Power
- +50% [Annihilation] Damage, +2s [Annihilation] Duration
Fusion Core – Rare Weapon Hero Item
- 5% Attack Speed
- When [Block] mititgates damage, gain 15% Attack Speed for 3s.
- 4000 Cost
Merged Munitions – Rare Weapon Hero Item
- 10% Weapon Power
- 50% [Void Accelerator] projectile size
- 4500 Cost
Omnium Augment – Rare Weapon Hero Item
- 10% Weapon Power
- 25% [Pummel] Range
- 4500 Cost
R-7000 Powercell – Epic Weapon Hero Item
- 5% Weapon Power
- 50% [Void Accelerator] Projectile Speed
- While continuously shooting [Void Accelerator], gain up to 20% Weapon Power over 3s.
- 12500 Cost
Anima of Anubis – Epic Weapon Hero Item
- 10% Ability Power
- 10% Attack Speed
- [Pummel] damage is also increased by Ability Power.
- 13000 Cost
Voracious Maelstrom – Rare Ability Hero Item
- 5% Cooldown Reduction
- For each enemy hit by [Ravenous Vortex], reduce [Nemesis Form]’s cooldown by 1s.
- 4000 Cost
Null Vector – Rare Ability Hero Item
- 5% Cooldown Reduction
- 100% [Ravenous Vortex] Height
- 4000 Cost
Abyssal Extender – Epic Ability Hero Item
- 25 Shields
- 10% Cooldown Reduction
- 50% [Void Barrier] Duration
- 10000 Cost
Swirling Ward – Epic Ability Hero Item
- 15% Ability Power
- 10% Cooldown Reduction
- All allies within [Ravenous Vortex] gain 300% increased jump height and 25% increased Movement Speed.
- 10000 Cost
Ultimatum Axis – Epic Ability Hero Item
- 15% Starting Ultimate Charge
- 50% [Annihilation] Range
- Activating [Annihilation] pulls in enemies within 6m.
- 9000 Cost
Shambali Shielding – Rare Survival Hero Item
- 25 Shields
- Receive 5% more Healing while in [Block].
- [Block]’s movement speed penalty is removed.
- 4500 Cost
Zenyatta’s Aura – Rare Survival Hero Item
- 25 Health
- Gain 100 Overhealth after coming out of [Nemesis Form].
- 4000 Cost
Colossal Construct – Rare Survival Hero Item
- 25 Armor
- Gain 20% of [Annihilation] damage as Overhealth.
- 5000 Cost
Nano-mender – Epic Survival Hero Item
- 25 Shields
- 35% [Void Barrier] Health
- [Void Barrier] heals allies within 6m by 100 on spawn.
Caustic Exo-Armor – Epic Survival Hero Item
- 50 Health
- 10% Weapon Lifesteal
- 10% Ability Lifesteal
- +15% Lifesteal while in [Nemesis Form]
- 9000 Cost
Sigma
We’re adding a small buff here to help increase the viability of this power as an option for Weapon Power oriented builds.
Symphonic Syzygy – Power
- Damage Absorbed threshold for Attack Speed reduced to 50 (Down from 100).
Winston
Winston has been struggling in the last season. We’re starting with some smaller buffs to some of his weaker powers as well as a currency buff, but will continue to monitor his performance.
- Currency from damage and healing increased by 12.5%.
Lightning Rod – Power
- Bounce Damage increased to 75% (Up from 50%).
Volatile Volt – Power
- Critical Damage increased to 200% (Up from 175%).
Thick Skin – Power
- Added “+25% Starting Ultimate Charge”.
Damage
Freja
Machine Gun Freja builds continue to overperform so we’re trimming some power off the supporting pieces.
Deep Pockets – Power
- Max Ammo restore reduced to 30% (Down from 40%).
Forager – Power
- Max Life Healing reduced to 6% (Down from 8%).
Junkrat
This combination of items has proven to be out of bounds recently, so we’re shaving some statistical power from each of these.
Zip Grease – Epic Weapon Hero Item
- Removed 5% Weapon Power.
Refreshing Radiation – Epic Survival Hero Item
- Max Life Overhealth Scaling reduced to 6% (Down from 8%).
Jamison Jumpers – Epic Survival Hero Item
- Removed 10% Weapon Power.
- Ability Power increased to 15% (Up from 10%).
- Cooldown Reduction upon self detonating Concussion Mine reduced to 10% (Down from 15%).
Vendetta
We’re buffing some of Vendetta’s weaker options to give her more build variety. We’ll be continuing to keep a close eye on the performance of her strongest build to make sure its not out of bounds.
- Currency from damage and healing increased by 5%.
Cyclone Charge – Power
- Whirlwind Dash Damage during additional duration increased to 75% (Up from 50%).
Double Dash – Power
- Whirlwind Dash reactivation damage increased to 75% (Up from 50%).
Skycut – Power
- Free Projected Edge damage increased to 75% (Up from 50%).
Overloaded Strike – Power
- Mini Sundering Blade damage increased to 50% increased damage (Up from 25%).
Cataclisma – Power
- Explosion Damage increased to 30 (Up from 20).
Support
Ana
Perfected Formula – Rare Survival Hero Item
- Nano Boost Duration increased to 25% (Up from 15%).
Juno
We’re improving Juno’s Weapon Power oriented builds and improving the viability of some lesser picked powers and items.
Medimaster – Power
- Critical Multiplier decreased to 175% (Down from 200%).
- Tooltip now correctly states that it also allows you to crit on allies.
Fission Chamber – Power
- New
- While affected by [Hyper Ring], [Medi-Blaster] has a fully automatic fire rate.
Heal Formation – Power
- New
- Allies affected by [Hyper Ring] are healed for 40% of any damage you do.
Stellar Focus – Power
- Added “While using [Glide Boost] or hovering, gain 100% more Ultimate Charge from Damage or Healing.”
Rally Ring – Power
- Removed
Black Hole – Power
- Removed
Pulse Spike – Epic Weapon Hero Item
- Removed Attack Speed after using Pulsar Torpedoes.
- Added “+35% Ally Lock On Speed”.
- Cost decreased to 10000 (Down from 11000).
Long Range Blaster – Epic Weapon Hero Item
- Removed “[Mediblaster] deals 15% increased damage and healing to targets farther than 12m away.”
- Added “[Mediblaster] has 5m increased falloff range.”
Gravitational Push – Epic Weapon Hero Item
- Cost decreased to 9000 (Down from 10000).
Lux Loop – Rare Ability Hero Item
- Ability Power decreased to 5% (Down from 10%).
- Added 5% Weapon Power.
Speed Tunnel – Rare Ability Hero Item
- New
- Activating Glide Boost as you pass through Hyper Ring reduces cooldown of Glide Boost by 50%.
- 5000 Cost
Boosted Rockets – Epic Survival Hero Item
- Cost decreased to 9500 (Down from 12000).
Wuyang
We’re buffing some underutilized powers to help bring them in more line with Wuyang’s other options.
Wave Lance – Power
- Non-empowered Primary Fire projectile speed increased to 150% (Up from 100%).
Shore Up – Power
- Active Restorative Stream self healing increased to 100% (Up from 75%).
Zenyatta
We’re slightly decreasing the survivability potential of Zenyatta, and will continue to monitor his performance in this area.
Enlightenment – Power
- Healing based on damage dealt reduced to 30% (Down from 35%).
Seeking Salvation – Power
- Homing Health Threshold increased to 50% (Up from 35%).
Map Updates
- Lijang: Night Market has been added to the Stadium map roster.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue that caused a delay when switching between Lifeweaver’s primary and secondary fire animations.
- Fixed an issue where Mizuki did not receive credit for the “Enemies Hindered” stat when Binding Chain was used on a Zenyatta in Transcendence.
- Fixed an issue where Mizuki’s Kekkai Sanctuary could disappear if it was cast and its position was modified.
- Fixed an issue causing Wuyang’s orb control time to default to zero in custom games.
- Fixed an issue where Juno’s sound effects would not play for eliminations when her mythic weapon was equipped.
- Fixed an issue where the Jetpack Cat’s Purr ability would cancel after dropping users attached to Lifeline.
- Fixed an issue where the prompt text for Ashe’s Remote Detonator perk would remain onscreen even while dead.
- Fixed an issue where Vendetta’s Overhead Slash could sometimes not align with the reticle while moving in third person.
- Fixed an issue where Ana would incorrectly apply The Closer’s reveal effect when not performing a headshot.
- Fixed an issue where the Overhealth from Ana’s Lethal Dose Item was not scaling properly with Ability Power.
- Fixed an issue where Biotic Grenades created from Ana’s Fountain of Soothe Power granted the same Overhealth as baseline Biotic Grenades with the Home Remedy Power equipped.
- Fixed an issue where bonus damage from Junker Queen’s Blade Parade Power would persist after unequipping it.
- Fixed an issue where the prompt from Ashe’s Controlled Boom Power stays on screen after main dynamite has exploded when the Out With a Bang Power is also equipped.
- Fixed an issue where Ashe’s Incendiary Blastpaper item would apply bonus Burning damage twice if multiple Coach Gun pellets hit.
- Fixed an issue where the Iron Eyes mod would not reduce critical damage from Vendetta.
- Fixed an issue where Vendetta’s Cataclisma power would also damage teammates.
- Fixed an issue where D.Va’s Busan Blaster mod would incorrectly generate ultimate charge.
- Fixed an issue where Zenyatta’s Circle of Strife would not apply Discord Orbs to enemies within the additional radius granted by Satya’s Solution.
- Fixed an issue where the Salvaged Slugs general item was not healing Moira when damaging Barriers.
- Fixed an issue where Moira’s Multiball Power spawned orbs with less capacity than intended.
- Additional notes: none
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: April 1st/2nd 2026
- Patch notes:
Not much, what’s watch with you? Anyways, we have discovered a brand new version of 5v5 Overwatch after we flipped some switches and tore down part of the floor in the office. We’re calling it ‘Underwatch’ because we found it under the floor, and we’re letting you play it in the Arcade. But now, we’re in a bit of a pickle because we hit a waterline and it’s spilling all over people’s desks. Please try out Underwatch so that tearing apart the floor feels worth it, because it’s looking pretty dire right now – the water has reached my ankles. There’s even some special challenges and rewards! We’re having someone come repair the pipes on April 13th, so you’ll have until then to try it out.
Get it? UNDERlying? Anyways, the water has already risen to my waist and I’ve been told the only way to slow it down is by disabling Perks in Underwatch. I hope you UNDERstand.
Tank
D.Va
D.Va has realized micro missiles are too small, so why not giganto missiles?
- Now fires two giant, slow-moving missiles that explode in a bigger area.
Domina
Domina has assigned Vishkar’s engineers to properly show off what their tech is capable of: funny shapes!
- Will randomly select one of many pre-determined Barrier Array configurations.
- Barrier Panel Health increased by 50.
- Cooldown reduced to 7 seconds.
Doomfist
For some reason, Doomfist took being usurped as head of Talon, thrown out of a window, and betrayed by former allies surprisingly personally.
- Doomfist can see all active Talon members through walls.
- Doomfist deals and receives 50% more damage from active Talon members.
- Active Talon members: Vendetta, Emre, Sigma, Moira, Mauga, Freja
- Charge can be held indefinitely.
- Movement speed is no longer reduced when charge is held for long enough.
Hazard
Phreak Phuel
- No longer fires a wall-spawning projectile.
- Instead, Hazard enhances himself for 5 seconds, greatly increasing his attack speed, reload speed, movement speed, cooldown speed, and jump speed.
- Cooldown reduced to 8 seconds.
Junker Queen
The infinite ingenuity of Junkertown presents: a shotgun full of knives.
- Now shoots 7 knives instead of bullets.
- Now throws a regular shotgun instead of a knife.
- When impaling an enemy, the shotgun fires at the enemy.
- After recalling, the shotgun fires at your crosshair when caught by Junker Queen.
Mauga
Mauga is on fire! Everyone is on fire!
- Overrun can last forever.
- Using Overrun for too long lights Mauga on fire.
- While on fire from Overrun, colliding with enemies lights them on fire.
- Now makes Mauga’s chainguns shoot blobs of lava, which explode and instantly ignite enemies.
Mei
Mei has been moved to the Tank role to help minimize confusion when she somehow doesn’t die in combat.
- Moved to Tank role and Bruiser subrole.
- No longer has the Specialist subrole passive.
- Shields increased from 0 to 200.
- Mei’s scale has been increased by 25%.
- Ice Wall’s scale has been increased by 25%.
Orisa
Yeet-haw, rodeo!
- Now launches Orisa in the direction the Javelin is thrown.
- While charging Terra Surge, Orisa ascends into the sky and can move around.
- Upon unleashing Terra Surge, Orisa slams down onto the ground below her, triggering its damage on impact.
- No longer grants overhealth.
- Maximum damage reduced to 400.
Ramattra
Introducing: Ramattra! The one-omnic show!
- Health increased from 425 to 500.
- Armor increased from 100 to 500.
- Ramattra is now permanently anti-healed.
- Ravenous Vortex now heals Ramattra for 250% of the damage dealt (bypassing anti-heal).
- Annihilation now heals Ramattra for 100% of the damage dealt (bypassing anti-heal).
- Annihilation applies anti-heal to enemies.
Reinhardt
Back in his heyday, Reinhardt was named “pin king” at his local bowling joint.
- Charge can pin multiple enemies at once.
- Holding forwards or backwards speeds up or slows down Charge’s speed.
- Charge’s duration increased from 3 seconds to 10 seconds.
Roadhog
Let him hook!
- Hook no longer pulls enemies.
- Now slows, hacks, anti-heals, burns, and reveals the hooked enemy for 3 seconds.
- Cooldown reduced from 6 seconds to 4.5 seconds.
Sigma
Sigma’s going to show you his rock collection, and you’d better be nice!
- Now fires a shotgun volley of small rocks.
- Has 2 charges.
Winston
Winston is currently unavailable due to a special reunion on Horizon Lunar Colony.
- Winston has been disabled.
- Seriously, you can’t play as Winston.
Wrecking Ball
“WHO ARE YOU CALLING ‘WRECKING SMALL’?!?”
- Greatly increases Wrecking Ball’s size.
- Wrecking Ball is unstoppable and takes 30% reduced damage during Roll, but moves significantly slower.
- Retracting the Grappling Claw now launches Wrecking Ball in the direction he is moving.
Zarya
As a child, Zarya would blow bubbles with her friends. As an adult, Zarya blows bubbles at her enemies.
- Secondary fire now blows explosive bubbles.
Damage
Anran
Caw caw you cluckers.
- While airborne, Anran’s secondary fire will push her backwards in the direction she is aiming.
- Anran can move around while dead before triggering Vermillion Revival.
Ashe
Pull!
- If Ashe shoots an airborne Dynamite, a new Dynamite will be launched upwards from the explosion.
Bastion
We noticed Bastion was running a bit slow while in turret mode, so we replaced his gun with a large fan to hopefully speed him up.
- Now shoots large wind-blasts with limited range, knocking back enemies.
- Bastion now moves faster while in this configuration instead of moving slower.
Cassidy
In the wild west, fingerguns are seen as a sign of hostility.
- Cassidy fires a piercing bullet that inflicts bleeding whenever saying hello.
Echo
Shapes, flight, bouncy bombs, oh my!
- Each successive shot increases the number of projectiles fired, creating new shapes for each volley.
- Cancelling Flight launches Echo in the direction she is moving.
- Sticky Bombs now bounce off the environment up to 3 times before sticking.
Emre
We’ve evolved Emre’s combat so players can reach a higher skill ceiling with his kit.
- Emre’s jump height has increased.
- Emre’s gravity has decreased.
- 200 of Emre’s health has been converted to shields.
- Projectile physics have been changed.
- Now sticks to enemies, dealing more damage when stuck.
- Projectile speed increased.
- Can now headshot.
- Lifesteal removed.
- No longer changes Emre’s jump behavior.
- Now deals 60 damage.
- Will lunge at nearby enemies.
- Deals critical damage when hitting enemies in the back.
- Ultimate cost has been reduced by 50%.
- Now only fires 2 heavy rounds.
- Rate of fire has increased.
- No longer grants flight.
Freja
With Emre hogging all the airspace, Freja’s taking a more grounded approach.
- Freja’s regular movement is 70% slower.
- Freja’s cooldowns are accelerated by 300% while on the ground.
Genji
Genji has been reworked to be our third-ever first-ever melee DPS.
- Moved from his Ultimate to his weapon.
- Damage reduced from 110 to 65.
- Moved from his weapon to his Ultimate.
- Shuriken projectile speed tripled.
- Primary fire now continues firing when held down.
- Secondary fire now fires 9 projectiles at a faster rate and in a wider arc.
- Ultimate duration increased to 8 seconds
- New ability.
- When activated, Genji’s Dragonblade will fire large energy projectiles with each slash for a short duration.
- Only usable with Dragonblade equipped.
- Has an 8-second cooldown.
Hanzo
The Yokai replaced Hanzo’s quiver with one they found in a warehouse as a prank.
- Replaces Sonic Arrow.
- Has a 6 second cooldown.
- Readies one of many possible arrows at random into Hanzo’s bow, which can be seen before firing.
Junkrat
After getting booted from Junkertown, Junkrat has founded New Trap City.
- Maximum number of active Steel Traps has been increased from 1 to 3.
- No longer has a cooldown and instead costs 50 scrap to place.
- Heroes drop 25 scrap upon death, which Junkrat can pick up.
Pharah
Pharah knew she couldn’t compete with a beloved cat in a jetpack so she decided to ground herself as well.
- Removed.
- Has increased self-knockback.
- The more Pharah knocks herself back with her Rocket Launcher, the faster she moves.
- No longer deals damage to Pharah.
Reaper
Reaper’s learned to play peak-a-boo!
- During Shadow Step, Reaper has 6 seconds to choose if he wants to teleport there or retreat back to his original position.
- If he retreats, Shadow Step’s cooldown is reduced to 5 seconds.
Sojourn
She’s on that Tom Beansons caffeine kick.
- While at 100 energy, Sojourn’s abilities consume 50 energy to become energized.
- Energized Power Slide moves 100% faster and trips enemies Sojourn collides with.
- Energized Disruptor Shot leaves behind 2 smaller energy bursts as it travels.
- The smaller energy bursts have a 2-meter radius and deal 60 damage per second.
Soldier: 76
Solder: 76’s gym routine: leg day, every day, 7 days a week.
- Soldier: 76 can deal massive damage to enemies if he places Biotic Field on them.
- Final Blows increase Soldier: 76’s Sprint bonus speed boost by 25%, up to 75% extra.
- This bonus is lost on death.
Sombra
For unspecified reasons, barrels have appeared on all maps. Please ignore them.
- Replaced Translocator.
- Transforms Sombra into a random object.
- Sombra can still move while disguised.
- Doing any action removes Sombra’s disguise.
Symmetra
Symmetra’s Sentry Turrets are so clingy these days.
- Sentry Turrets now automatically deploy around Symmetra and follow her around wherever she goes.
- Number of charges increased to 4 from 3.
- Cooldown reduced to 7.5 seconds.
- Damage reduced from 30 to 15.
Torbjörn
Hard Hard work work pays pays off off!!
- A second Torbjorn is on top of Torbjorn, mimicking all of his actions.
Tracer
Tracer’s chrono-accelerator is accelerating her chrono more than ever before.
- Distance increased to 100 meters.
Vendetta
No one truly knows what Vendetta has gone through, especially not now that we moved the camera.
- Vendetta’s camera is always in 3rd person, with her aim being totally separate from the player’s.
- Vendetta will automatically lock on to nearby enemies, facing them no matter how the player moves.
- Press Interact to lock on to the nearest enemy your crosshair is aiming at.
- Overhead damage reduced by 40%.
Venture
Ooooh, buried treasure!
- When emerging from Burrow, a random pick-up is also dug out of the ground.
- The pick-up can be collected by any ally.
Widowmaker
You think you’re so good at aiming? Prove it.
- Can now charge up to 150%.
- When charging above 100%, the charge rate is 80% slower and the scope zooms in even further.
Support
Ana
Now this is what we call a power nap.
- Now puts Ana to sleep for up to 3 seconds.
- When waking up, Ana will Nano Boost herself.
- The Nano Boost’s duration will scale based on how long she was asleep.
Baptiste
Baptiste is looking rather dashing.
- Now charges up to 4 air-dashes.
- Air-dashes are used by jumping in mid-air, launching Baptiste horizontally in the direction he is moving.
- Air dash charges do not decay over time.
Brigitte
Why stop at ‘shield bash’ when you can also ‘shield surf’?
- After Shield Bashing, Brigitte begins surfing on another shield for 3 seconds, increasing her movement speed and jump height.
- Shield Bash’s cooldown begins once the shield surfing ends.
- Cooldown reduced to 3 seconds.
Illari
Now that’s what we call a solar flare!
- No longer passively heals nearby allies.
- Shooting the pylon with Solar Rifle’s primary fire reflects the projectile to all enemies in range.
- Solar Rifle’s secondary fire can heal the pylon.
- Shooting the pylon with Solar Rifle’s secondary fire reflects the beam to all damaged allies in range.
- Build time reduced to 0.5 seconds.
- Illari can throw the Pylon further.
- Cooldown is always 7 seconds.
Jetpack Cat
Meow!!! Meow mrOW mroW MROAR ROARRRR…
- Comes pre-attached with a Wrecking Ball that can be used to slam into enemies.
- Ending Lifeline launches the ball at high speeds in the direction it is moving.
- Now has a 12-second duration.
- Cooldown increased to 6 seconds.
Juno
Having grown up on Mars, Juno never got to experience the joy of a trampoline… until now.
- Hyper Ring is now deployed sideways.
- Allies within Hyper Ring can jump higher. Wheeee!
Kiriko
Eat your heart out, Mizuki.
- Kiriko can move along walls horizontally while wall climbing.
- After wall-climbing, Kiriko can re-grab the wall without needing to touch the ground.
Lifeweaver
Lifeweaver’s size was scaled down in a previous patch. We believe we did not go nearly far enough.
- Lifeweaver’s scale has been reduced by 50%.
- Health reduced from 200 to 75.
- Shields reduced from 50 to 25.
- Allies pulled by Life Grip get shrunk for 5 seconds after being pulled.
- Petal Platform’s scale has been reduced by 50%.
- Health reduced from 300 to 150.
- Tree of Life’s scale has been reduced by 50%.
- Health reduced from 1200 to 600.
Lúcio
Putting the hop in hip hop.
- Successive jumps off of the floor increase Lucio’s jump height, up to 5 times.
- Failing to chain jumps together resets Lucio’s jump height back to normal.
- When at maximum jump height, Lucio can land on an enemy’s head, dealing damage and bouncing him back up.
Mercy
The team won’t need healing if the enemy dies first.
- Can now target enemies.
- Now only targets enemies.
- Using “Resurrect” on an enemy deals damage while casting, ending in an explosion of damage when finished.
- Mercy heals for 50% of the damage dealt with Resurrect.
- Cooldown reduced to 15 seconds.
Mizuki
We have fixed an issue with Mizuki where he was not wearing his iconic 3-hat-stack.
- Healing Kasa has 3 charges.
- Mizuki now wears a hat for each charge of Healing Kasa available.
- Healing Kasa no longer returns to Mizuki.
- While Mizuki has 1 or more charges of Healing Kasa, he cannot be headshot.
- Mizuki can teleport to his previous location 3 times per use.
Moira
The orbs are orbing.
- Now requires targeting an ally to cast.
- The Biotic Orb will attach itself to the targeted ally, moving around with them.
- Damage orb’s range increased from 4 meters to 8 meters.
- Healing orb’s range increased from 5 meters to 10 meters.
Wuyang
Wuyang’s Guardian Wave has been properly adjusted to show just how washed the enemy team is.
- Wuyang can charge up Guardian Wave, empowering its size, damage, healing, and knockback.
Zenyatta
Spin to win!
- Secondary fire now has a 6-second cooldown.
- While charging secondary fire, orbs begin circling around Zenyatta, dealing damage and knocking back nearby enemies for up to 8 seconds.
- When releasing secondary fire, the orbs are shot out all around Zenyatta rather than all straight-forwards.
- Secondary fire’s damage and knockback increase with each orb charged.
- Zenyatta moves 30% faster while charging Orb of Destruction.
- Zenyatta gains 15 overhealth with each stored orb.
- Additional notes: none
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: March 31st/April 1st 2026
- Patch notes:
- Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause the Stadium UI to disappear at the start of a round (again)
- Fixed an issue where Emre’s gun would swap if you reloaded and cast your ultimate at the same time
- Fixed an issue where Mercy’s mythic skin caused the damage boost beam to align directly with the center of Bastion’s turret form
- Additional notes: Replay codes have been wiped.
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: March 12th/13th 2026
- Patch notes:
- Fixed an issue that resulted in Jetpack Cat’s Claws Out Perk cooldown being 8 seconds instead of the intended 6 seconds.
- Fixed an issue that caused some Knockbacks or Pulls to have reduced distances.
- Additional notes: none.
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: March 10th/11th 2026
- Patch notes:
Conquest Event Finale (Talon v Overwatch)
The battle continues! The event will conclude its final week on 3/16 and a global winner will be announced!
- Participate to earn the final week of rewards for either Overwatch or Talon (or both!):
- OW: 2 player icons, 1 namecard, 1 common and 1 legendary lootbox
- Talon: 1 spray, 1 icon, 1 voiceline, 1 common and 1 legendary lootbox
- Whichever side wins by the end of the week will determine which Echo skin (Talon/OW) all eligible players that week will receive!
- At the end of week 5, you might notice a few different ways the winner is made known – keep an eye out!
New Arcade Mode: Shgyrq
Emre only, 4v4. Are you ready to Slay?
Junkrat’s Loot Hunt
Junkrat’s Loot Hunt is back again, running from March 27-30! Earn lootboxes by completing challenges that unlock as you play!
Hero Updates
This patch is lighter in scope, as many adjustments for newer heroes were made earlier to support balanced performance since launch. The focus of this update is on subrole tuning, addressing heroes that are out of line, and applying additional refinements to the newest heroes.
- Increased self-healing from 25% to 40%.
The Medic subrole has been underperforming, as its self-healing conversion was not impactful enough in combat. Increasing self-healing will allow it to cut through in engagements.
- Now triggers below 50% health.
The activation threshold for the Bruiser subrole has been adjusted from critical health to below 50% health. This change standardizes when the effect becomes active and increases the window when the subrole is active.
- No longer triggers while at full health.
- Healing reduced from 75 to 60.
The Initiator subrole’s passive has been reduced in effectiveness as it has been providing more healing than intended throughout matches. Healing will no longer trigger while at full health to avoid starting the internal cooldown.
Tank
D.Va
D.Va’s mobility and survivability combination provides a high level of uptime during engagements. Increasing Boosters’ cooldown creates clearer commitment windows while reducing the effectiveness of the Initiator subrole.
- Cooldown increased from 3.5 to 4 seconds.
Hazard
Hazard was originally placed in the Stalwart subrole to mitigate the impact of crowd control during engagements. Since the introduction of subroles, he has struggled in performance. Moving Hazard to the Initiator subrole better supports a more aggressive, sustain-focused playstyle.
- Subrole moved from Stalwart to Initiator.
Ramattra
Reducing Void Barrier’s cooldown improves its cycling within engagements, while increasing Annihilation’s damage per second enhances its presence during extended fights.
- (5v5) Cooldown reduced from 13 to 12 seconds.
- Damage per second increased from 30 to 35.
Roadhog
Roadhog’s overall effectiveness has remained lower than intended since his minor rework. Increasing Scrap Gun’s damage will improve the consistency of his Hook combo while additionally increasing overall damage output.
- Damage per pellet increased from 6.5 to 7.
Damage
Anran
These movement adjustments improve Inferno Rush’s fluidity and traversal options while the ability is active.
- Will now automatically climb over small ledges.
- Jump height while active increased by 20%.
Emre
Reducing the delay before Altered Vitals triggers allows it to activate more reliably when disengaging.
- Time before trigger reduced from 4.5 to 4 seconds.
Vendetta
Siphoning Strike has provided significant self-sustain relative to being a Minor perk. Moving it to Major better reflects its impact while additionally avoiding the overall passive power when combined with Relentless. Raging Storm damage has been reduced and moved to a Minor to compensate.
Raging Storm – Minor Perk
- Moved from Major to Minor.
- Damage per spin reduced from 35 to 30.
Siphoning Strike – Major Perk
- Moved from Minor to Major.
- Overhead lifesteal increased from 30% to 40%.
Support
Illari
Illari has been delivering strong healing alongside high offensive pressure. Reducing her secondary fire uptime and tuning down specific perks lowers her overall performance while maintaining her identity.
Summer Solstice – Minor Perk
- Attack speed gained reduced from 30% to 20%.
Sunburn – Major Perk
- Damage reduced from 70 to 50.
- Secondary Fire Maximum resource reduced from 3.5 to 3 seconds.
Jetpack Cat
Territorial has been removed due to high offensive potential with limited counterplay. Claws Out moves to a Major perk with a reduced cooldown due to its relative strength, while a new Minor perk Ulterior Motive introduces an additional fuel recovery option to support healing-focused playstyles.
Territorial – Major Perk
- Removed
Claws Out – Major Perk
- Moved from Minor to Major.
- Cooldown reduced from 8 to 6 seconds.
Ulterior Motive – Minor Perk
- New
- 15% of Biotic Pawjectiles healing is converted into fuel.
Mizuki
Maintaining allies within Remedy Aura’s radius can be restrictive during engagements. Increasing the radius improves accessibility, while reducing the degeneration delay makes sustaining higher Aura levels more difficult.
- Radius increased from 10 to 12 meters.
- Time before degeneration reduced from 2 to 1.75 seconds.
Stadium Updates
Hey everyone! Let’s talk General Mods – the bread and butter of your Stadium builds, what makes or breaks a match, what defines heroes and – well, you get the drift. When Stadium launched last March, we knew that eventually we’d like to update the design of the General Mods and make them look similar to our Powers and Hero Items. When discussions for Season 1 of Overwatch began, we believed it would be the perfect time to give the General Mods a ‘refresh’ as the rest of the game was getting the same treatment.
We wanted to create designs based on the mod name and color them based on stat (ex: ‘Field Rations’ is now a macaroni and cheese container, and ‘Aerial Distresser’ looks like a plane) because we believed it would be far easier to locate unique and distinct designs than trying to find ‘that mod with a health icon’. And though we aimed high with these designs, we missed the mark and strayed away from one of our core design principles of accessibility and readability. We’ve heard your feedback (thank you, by the way!) and have reverted the General Mods back to rarity color, with slightly brighter backgrounds so the icon art pops against it. Additionally, in the coming months, we’ll be performing color passes on the icon art to ensure that it maintains readability (don’t worry, the overall shape won’t change!) and we’ll continue to monitor feedback from the community and see how we can improve to ensure everyone’s Stadium experience, especially in the Armory, is as smooth as possible!
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an audio issue where Mizuki’s Ultimate sound was similar to the teammate eliminated sound.
- Fixed an issue which allowed Mizuki to incorrectly charge his Remedy Aura before the round started.
- Fixed an issue where Mizuki’s Paper Doll totem briefly appeared in unintended areas of the map before landing in its proper location.
- Fixed an issue preventing weapon variants from being applied to Juno’s Pulsar Torpedoes.
- Fixed an issue where Wrecking Ball’s Multi-Ball perk would not award additional mines if they were not used during the first ultimate.
- Fixed an issue which incorrectly allowed Pharah to move during Barrage while tethered by Mizuki’s chain.
- Fixed an issue which incorrectly allowed Anran’s Dancing Blaze ability to cleanse Junker Queen’s ultimate effect.
- Fixed an issue with Torbjörn’s Skyline Nanites item not dealing bonus damage to airborne enemies.
- Fixed an issue with Juno’s Orbital Alignment power not lifting enemies into the air.
- Fixed an issue with Juno’s Medimaster power not reducing the cooldown of Hyper Ring.
- Fixed an issue with Vendetta’s The Closer mod not granting the 10% critical damage bonus to her overhead swing.
- Fixed an issue with Vendetta’s Scaled Steel mod not granting the 25% range increase.
- Fixed an issue with Vendetta’s Warrior’s Shout mod not applying when using Whirlwind Dash into a wall.
- Additional notes: none.
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: February 25th/26th 2026
- Patch notes:
- Fixed an issue with Domina’s Photon Magnum beam damage not calculating correctly against armor health.
- Fixed a bug with Pharah’s Perk Rocket Salvo that allowed users to fire more rockets than intended.
- Fixed an issue in 6v6 Open Queue that resulted in Stalwart Tanks not having Knockback Resistance.
- Fixed an issue in 6v6 Open Queue that resulted in Bruiser Tanks missing their Critical Hit Resistance.
- Additional notes: none.
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: February 24th/25th 2026
- Patch notes:
Hero Balance Changes
Domina
Panopticon
- Cost increased by 12%
Anran
Inferno Rush
- Cooldown reduced from 8.5 to 8 seconds.
Dancing Blaze
- Increased the distance you can move while active from 1.5 to 2.25 meters.
Emre
Synthetic Burst Rifle
- Damage increased from 20 to 22.
Vendetta
Palatine Fang
- Overhead swing damage reduced from 130 to 120.
- Bug fix – Overhead swing can now be affected by horizontal knockback while launching downward.
Jetpack Cat
Minor Perk – Claws Out
- Cooldown increased from 6 to 8 seconds.
Major Perk – Territorial
- Damage dealt reduced from 50% to 33%.
Mizuki
Kekkai Sanctuary
- Duration increased from 6 to 7 seconds.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue with missing textures on the Charming: 76 skin.
- Fixed some minor issues with Jetpack Cat and the tether animation for various heroes.
- Fixed an issue that hid Jetpack Cat’s aim‑assist strength and threshold settings.
- Fixed an issue with Vendetta’s sword‑throw animation in third person.
- Fixed an issue where Mizuki could still perform Katashiro Return while stunned.
- Fixed an issue where Mercy’s passive displayed incorrectly in the Advanced Info Panel.
- Fixed an issue causing the Stadium UI to disappear after a round transition.
- Fixed an issue where Vendetta could spam her ultimate power without a full charge.
- Fixed an issue where Vendetta would not receive ultimate charge while using the “Overloaded” strike power.
- Fixed an issue where Vendetta’s Primary Fire would not trigger Gloomgauntlet or be increased by Melee Damage.
- Fixed an issue where the VFX for Bola Shot when using Freja’s “So Cooked” power were incorrect.
- Fixed an issue with Ana’s “Dreamy” power that incorrectly canceled the benefits of Artsy Daisy and Tactical Rifle.
- Fixed an issue where Mercy’s Self Healing from healing allies with missing health was incorrectly reduced to 15% instead of the intended 40%.
- Additional notes: none.
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: February 18th/19th 2026
- Patch notes:
- Fixed a bug with Torbjörn that affected the rate of his Primary Fire and Turret fire.
- Fixed an issue with Junker Queen’s Jagged Blade that allowed some heroes to be pulled further than intended.
- Resolved a bug with Ashe’s Perk, Double-Barreled, that prevented Primary Fire from being used in-between Coach Gun shots.
- Resolved a bug with Ashe’s Perk, Double-Barreled, that allowed use without hitting an enemy.
- Fixed an issue with Mizuki’s Katashiro Return that occasionally prevented the speed boost from being applied in subsequent uses.
- Fixed an interaction with Anran’s Vermillion Ascent and Orisa’s Terra Surge that resulted in Anran being pulled into the Terra Surge during Vermillion Ascent.
- Fixed in a Previous Update – Resolved an issue with Wrecking Ball’s Perk Multi-Ball that allowed you to generate more Mines than intended.
- Additional notes: none.
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: February 13th/14th 2026
- Patch notes:
Hero Balance Updates
This hotfix includes small adjustments to the six newest heroes. These changes focus on improving ability responsiveness, consistency, and tuning a few outliers we’ve seen in live play. We’re continuing to monitor their performance and will make broader updates in the midseason patch if needed.
Domina
Barrier Array
- Barrier Panel Health reduced from 250 to 225
Anran
Zhuque Fans
- Impact damage increased from 20 to 22.
Fan the Flames
- Impact damage now uses beam damage against armor mitigation (Only reduced by 30% when used on armor).
Inferno Rush
- Can now be canceled with quick melee.
Ignition – Passive
- Burning build up linger time increased from 3 to 4 seconds.
Emre
Synthetic Burst Rifle – Take Aim
- Falloff range increased from 30-45 to 35-50 meters.
Cyber Frag
- Explosion damage minimum radius increased from 1.25 to 2 meters.
Jetpack Cat
Frenetic Flight
- Regeneration rate reduced from 30 to 25.
Mizuki
Spirit Glaive
- Cast time reduced from 0.1 to 0.025 seconds.
Healing Kasa
- Range increased from 25 to 30 meters.
- Default soft targeting range increased from 8 to 10 degrees.
Ultimate
- Ultimate cost increased by 7%.
- Now heals for 100 instant healing on cast.
Vendetta
Siphoning Strike – Minor Perk
- Lifesteal reduced from 40% to 30%.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug that let Ashe use Coach Gun while incapacitated.
- Fixed a bug that cause Zarya’s Extra Oomph Perk to grant more energy than intended.
- Additional notes: none.
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch – Ver. ???
- Release date: February 10th/11th 2026
- Patch notes:
Season 1: Rise of Talon Patch Notes
- 5 week long event
- Each week you can choose your faction, Overwatch or Talon
- Once you select your faction, you can complete faction-specific challenges to unlock rewards in the weekly pass. Once you unlock the whole pass, you can either change factions and complete that pass as well (earning those faction-specific rewards) as a Double Agent or choose to stay loyal to your initial faction and complete the Prestige Pass to unlock lootboxes!
- At the end of each week, completed passes for each faction will be tallied up around the world to establish a global winner for the week – each completed pass will help your faction succeed!
- You’ll get a special phase reward at the end of each week depending on which faction was victorious that week!
- At the end of the 5-week event, each faction’s overall progress will be summed up and a global winner will be declared! Look out for an awesome Overwatch or Talon themed Echo skin recolor and a nice in-game surprise to thank you for fighting in the global conflict! Rewards you can earn over the course of the event!
- Rewards you can earn over the course of the event!
- 75 Base Lootboxes
- 12 Epic Lootboxes
- 7 Legendary Lootboxes
- 9 New Voice Lines
- 31 Player Icons, Titles, Sprays, and Namecards
- 2 Weapon Charms
- 1 of 2 faction-themed Legendary Echo skins
- Exclusive Legendary titles (and a secret hidden one!)
Happy Lunar New Year! We’re changing it up a bit this year by bringing back fan-favorite mode, Roadhog’s Catch-a-mari, with a New Year twist. Collect adorable Lunar Pachi by eliminating your opponents to earn LNY cosmetics!
General Updates: Comms/Ping Updates
The new functionality for Praise is intended to be a quick way to celebrate a team kill or an incredible shot without needing to use voice chat. We won’t judge you if you use it sarcastically too, like when your teammate fat fingers their ult in spawn. We didn’t want to change your Comms Wheel customizations when we added Praise, so instead of replacing something on the wheel that you might have added years ago, we made the Comms Wheel function almost identically to the Ping Wheel. Keep in mind that you can revert the Comms Wheel to its original functionality by changing a single setting! Alongside our commitment to expanding the game’s story, our narrative and sound teams have been working hard to record more great voice lines that let you express your personality through our heroes. We’ll continue to expand on your communication options by adding more contextual lines over time.
- “Praise” added as a new default function of the Comms Wheel.
- Tapping the Comms Wheel button now tells your allies how awesome they are with Praise voice lines that are unique to each hero.
- By default, the Comms button functionality now mimics the functionality of the Ping Button, meaning there is a very short delay (.18 seconds by default) between pressing the button and the wheel opening.
- This new functionality can be disabled in the Options with the setting “Enable Quick Press Praise”. The delay can be modified with the setting “Comms Wheel Press Delay”.
- This short delay is immediately canceled when any mouse movement or right stick movement is detected, for players that want to flick to a Comms Wheel option.
- Praise can be assigned to the Comms Wheel in the Options, but it is not assigned to the Comms Wheel by default.
- Heroes now emit voice lines that suggest setup locations to their team when players use neutral pings during the Setup Phase while defending in Attack/Defend modes.
- Heroes now have more specific internal monologue voice lines for when they request healing and no supports are available to help.
- Heroes on defense in Escort and Hybrid are now more likely to notice when a payload is being pushed by a sneaky player and call it out with a voice line.
- Heroes will now automatically call out to their team with a voice line when they detect an invisible hero nearby (Sombra).
- This uses the same cooldown and tuning as when heroes detect Widowmaker aiming at them and warn their allies with “sniper” voice lines.
- Heroes can aim at an allied Jetpack Cat and ping her to request a pick up at their location with a voice line.
- The “On My Way” Comms now prints an ETA in seconds in text chat when aiming at an allied hero based on the speaker’s speed.
- The Ping System’s spam protection now works in the Waiting For Players phase of a match.
- Supports no longer hear the healing ping sound effect when another support on their team pings an injured ally.
- Thanking a support for the “Not So Thankless” challenge should now more reliably count for challenge completion.
General Updates: Advanced Info Panel
- Added all 5 new heroes.
- All Cleanses in the Advanced Info Panel have been separated between Lesser Cleanses which are much more common and Greater Cleanses which are more rare and can cleanse Stuns. The definitions of these keywords have been updated.
- Added the following new Keywords to abilities where relevant:
- Aura – An Energy ability that gains resource whenever dealing damage or healing.
- Example: Mizuki’s Remedy Aura
- Break – Removes Tether effects.
- Examples: Jetpack Cat’s Catnapper, Lifeweaver’s Life Grip, Reinhardt’s Charge, Roadhog’s Chain Hook
- Displace – Prevents a hero from taking actions while moving them, interrupts Channeled abilities, and is not Cleansable.
- Examples: Doomfist’s Rocket Punch, Reinhardt’s Charge, Roadhog’s Chain Hook
- Heat – Ceases to function when the Heat gauge is full and cools off automatically when not firing.
- Examples: Emre’s Siphon Blaster, Orisa’s Augmented Fusion Driver
- Immobilize – Removes control of hero movement.
- Examples: Hazard’s Downpour, Lucio’s Soundwave, Wrecking Ball’s Piledriver, Zarya’s Graviton Surge
- Tether – Attaches a hero to a location or hero within a radius until the tether ends.
- Examples: Jetpack Cat’s Lifeline, Jetpack Cat’s Catnapper, Mauga’s Cage Fight, Mizuki’s Binding Chain
- Aura – An Energy ability that gains resource whenever dealing damage or healing.
While almost all recent development on this feature was focused on providing accurate information about the new heroes, our efforts to help explain the game’s most nuanced mechanics have continued here with the addition of new Keywords. If you haven’t used this system much, keep in mind that all of the Keyword definitions can be viewed in a match or in the Practice Range when hovering over an ability!
General Updates
Updated Look and Feel
- The revamped UI focuses on your friends and favorite heroes more than ever. Showcase your best skins and invite friends with the social panel.
Notification Hub
- We’ve added Notifications, a new in-game screen that keeps all important notifications in one place. You’ll find Endorsement rewards, Thank You for Reporting, Important News, and other key updates whenever you want to check them. No more popup overload! This is the first step toward a cleaner, more streamlined login experience.
Loot Box Updates
- A selection of cosmetics from Seasons 15 through 20 have been added to loot boxes.
Player Title Updates
- Player Titles are now a range of rarities, from Common to Legendary.
Options Updates
- Added an option to adjust the Field of View on Xbox Series X, Playstation 5, and Playstation 5 Pro consoles
- Added options to adjust the volume of the Lobby SFX and Music
- Controller options have been separated into three categories, in order to make it easier to find and adjust settings:
- Controller
- Controller Deadzone
- Aim Assist
Core Game Updates
Clash Removed
- Clash has been removed from QP
As we move into 2026, the team is carefully looking at what maps and modes provide players with the best long term experience in Overwatch. We want to lean into the content that players engage with the most while also providing a high level of gameplay variety. After all, variety in our maps and modes is a core pillar on our design team, and that will never change. It is also important that the variety we offer resonates with our players. Unfortunately, even after some adjustment, Clash hasn’t been hitting the mark. We love the maps that we made for Clash. They will remain in Stadium and we still may see them return in the future. We have some amazing new maps lined up for the next year and our reworks will continue…and get bigger. Redesigns that completely change how certain areas of our maps play are coming soon. As we look into the future of our game, we will continue to curate our map roster in the ways we feel offer the best experience. We look forward to sharing more news about all the upcoming maps and modes coming to Overwatch.
Gibraltar Narrative Updates
Now at the helm of Talon, Vendetta has begun her reign with a bang: laying siege to Watchpoint: Gibraltar with a vengeance. She will leave no one to stand in the way of her new empire…. Vendetta’s attack has caused severe damage to the Watchpoint. Some layout tweaks have been made throughout the map Area 1:
- A new entrance to the left side (from Attackers POV) building has been added
- The bridge is destroyed
- The large health pack position in the lower choke area has been adjusted
- Server room opening has been widened
- Some cover adjustments have been made to the high ground surrounding first point
Area 2:
- New ramps have been added to allow easier access to the high ground
- The dropship has been angled and the health pack inside of it has been moved to the ground level to stop defenders from health pack camping
Area 3:
- A new ramp has been added to allow easy access to the high ground on the far right side (from Attackers POV)
- The bridge has been destroyed
- Small rubble piles have been added to a few areas to smooth out movement in this area
Rialto and Colosseo
With Vendetta in charge of Talon, our Italy maps have seen some changes. Banners signifying the glory of La Lupa’s new empire have been raised across the city’s various neighborhoods, and a throne fitting of her strength has been raised in Rialto.
Competitive Play Updates
- With 5 new heroes joining the fray, alongside several new perks and balance changes for existing heroes, this soft reset is designed to put players on an even playing field and give them a chance to climb in a chaotic new environment where everyone is learning together!
- All ranks in Role Queue and Open Queue in Competitive Play have been reset to Unranked, and all players will need to complete their respective 10 placement matches for each role.
- Hero Skill Ratings have also been soft reset.
- This Rank Reset did not change the Rank Distribution, so players can expect to see a similar number of players in each Rank once everyone is calibrated again.
- Rewards:
- Crimson Wolf replaces Galactic as this year’s Competitive Weapon Variant and will be available to be unlocked with Competitive Points after the first two weeks of the season!
- Galactic Weapon Variants join the Gold and Jade Weapon Variants as Legacy Rewards.
- Achieving Diamond or above in Role Queue or Open Queue will now unlock Doomfist’s Crimson Wolf skin.
- All Competitive Points earned in the 2025 Competitive Year have been converted into Legacy Competitive Points.
- We heard your feedback about the name change, and we agree “Top 500” was too iconic to abandon, so we’ve combined the old and new names.
- Sort By Rank:
- The Top 500 Challenger leaderboard can now be sorted by Rank.
- Rewards are awarded based on Challenger Score.
- Only players with enough Challenger Score to be on the leaderboard are sorted by Rank.
- The Top 500 Challenger leaderboard can now be sorted by Rank.
- Challenger Score is no longer awarded based on the highest ranked player in the match.
- Challenger Score is now always awarded based on your own rank.
- Diamond removed from Top 500 Challenger eligibility
- The challenge required for Top 500 Challenger eligibility has been swapped from Seasoned Competitor to Adept Competitor.
- Challenger Score deduction on loss increased from 33% to 40%
We quickly realized this design choice was a mistake when we heard the player feedback that the leaderboard should prioritize rank much more highly than it did at Season 20 launch, and this choice meant that the highest ranked players were often donating a considerable amount of Challenger Score in their games to lower ranked players. This change means that we can tune the highest ranks to gain considerably more Challenger Score and ensures that only the highest ranked players benefit from these rewards. These increased payouts for the highest ranks now account for both the difficulty of maintaining these ranks and the increased queue times associated with these ranks.
Since we redistributed the Ranks in Season 18 to allow for more players at our highest Ranks (Master, Grandmaster, Champion) we agree with the community feedback that Diamond is not prestigious enough for the leaderboard.
This change means that 250 total wins in Competitive Play are required to appear in Top 500 Challenger instead of 750. With Challenger Score as a requirement, the 750 win requirement was unnecessarily high.
- Player Icons return as a reward for Top 500 Challenger.
- New icons will be available at each Rank Reset, meaning that a new icon becomes available to earn every 3 seasons.
- Placing in Top 500 Challenger during the Rise of Talon Season 1, 2, or 3 will grant the Conquest Top 500 Challenger player icon.
- We’ve been working to expand the tech that allows our Community Team to add social links of prominent players to the leaderboard.
- Updates in Season 21 should allow for considerably more players to have their social links added to this feature.
- We’ve discovered that some older Battlenet accounts without a birthdate set are not able to view social links.
- This feature is designed to be for players that are 18+, but the lack of a birthdate is currently preventing these older accounts from viewing the social links.
- We’re continuing to investigate solutions to this problem and we apologize to those players that are unable to use this feature at this time.
- Challenger Score payout for each Rank and Division has been tuned to further favor the highest ranks:
- Master 5 – 20
- Master 4 – 30
- Master 3 – 40
- Master 2 – 50
- Master 1 – 60
- Grandmaster 5 – 100
- Grandmaster 4 – 125
- Grandmaster 3 – 150
- Grandmaster 2 – 175
- Grandmaster 1 – 200
- Champion 5 – 250
- Champion 4 – 300
- Champion 3 – 400
- Champion 2 – 550
- Champion 1 – 700
- The Challenger Score requirement to appear on the Top 500 Challenger Leaderboard has been reduced:
- Combined Role and Open Queue: Reduced from 5000 to 2000.
- Each Individual Role: Reduced from 4000 to 1500
- Increased Maximum Heat Bonus from 40% to 100%
- Fixed the Friends Leaderboard being organized randomly.
We hope these updates show our commitment to updating this system based on player feedback, but this is also a good time to address some of the feedback we’ve heard that probably isn’t a viable path for us today. We’ve heard some of our highest rank players request that we decay ranks at the start of each season like we did before the launch of Overwatch 2. Before Season 9 of Overwatch 2, Rank and MMR were not directly linked and could diverge considerably. After Season 9, we committed to Rank and MMR being linked in the Core game because we believe showing you the most accurate representation of your skill is important to the competitive integrity of the system. That’s still the case today, and it’s why the type of pseudo-Rank decay that was applied to high rank players at that time (artificially displaying them at a lower SR than their MMR) is not an option for us today. If we used that type of decay today, we’d be lowering the MMR of all of the highest ranked players every season. This has a lot of knock on effects, but it would be effectively creating more severe versions of the Rank Resets we do every 3 seasons today, but only for players above a specified MMR. We see this as undesirable because of the negative impact it would have on match quality every season for our highest ranked players. We appreciate all of your feedback about this feature so far and we’ll continue to listen for ways we can improve it going forward.
Hero Updates: General
- General Changes
- All heroes can now see allied health states through walls; previously only support heroes could.
- Roster Updates
- Domina has been added to the Tank roster
- Anran has been added to the Damage roster
- Emre has been added to the Damage roster
- Jet Pack Cat has been added to the Support roster
- Mizuki has been added to the Support roster
- Console Aim Assist
- Added a legacy option to use the previous aim assist strength curve.
- The previous 4% auto-aim change applied earlier this season for select heroes has now been extended to all hitscan heroes.
- Does not apply when using the Legacy Aim Assist option.
Heroes Update: Sub Roles
- Tank Role Passive
- Reduced ultimate charge is granted from healing and damage received.
- Ultimate Generation Reduction: -40%
- Base health increased in Role Queue game modes.
- Bonus Health: +150
- Knockback Resistance and Critical Damage Resistance removed from the role passive.
- Reduced ultimate charge is granted from healing and damage received.
- Damage Role Passive
- Removed
- The following effects that were previously granted by the Damage Role Passive are now baseline for all heroes.
- In-Combat Healing Reduction on Damage: -30%
- Reduced effectiveness against Tanks: -15%
- Support Role Passive
- Removed
- Global regeneration after 6 seconds remains unchanged.
The role passive system has undergone a significant revision, introducing multiple categorized passives within each role. Heroes are now assigned to a subcategory within their role, granting them a new passive that is more closely aligned with their intended playstyle. This approach aims to enhance gameplay depth and role identity for each hero.
Looking ahead, we will closely monitor the effectiveness of this new system. Our ongoing plan includes evaluating its impact and making future adjustments as needed. This could involve balancing individual subroles, reassigning heroes to different subroles, or even introducing entirely new subroles to better support the evolving needs of the game.
- Initiator
- Heroes: D.Va, Doomfist, Winston, Wrecking Ball
- Staying airborne lightly heals you.
- Airborne Time: 0.8 seconds
- Total Healing: 75
- Heal Duration: 1 seconds
- Staying airborne lightly heals you.
- Heroes: D.Va, Doomfist, Winston, Wrecking Ball
- Bruiser
- Heroes: Mauga, Orisa, Roadhog, Zarya
- Reduces critical damage received. While at critical health, gain movement speed.
- Critical Damage Reduction: -25%
- Movement Speed Bonus: 20%
- Reduces critical damage received. While at critical health, gain movement speed.
- Heroes: Mauga, Orisa, Roadhog, Zarya
- Stalwart
- Heroes: Domina, Hazard, Junker Queen, Ramattra, Reinhardt, Sigma
- Reduces knock backs and slows received.
- Knockback Resistance: 40%
- Slow Resistance: 40%
- Reduces knock backs and slows received.
- Heroes: Domina, Hazard, Junker Queen, Ramattra, Reinhardt, Sigma
- Specialist
- Heroes: Bastion, Emre, Junkrat, Mei, Soldier: 76, Symmetra, Torbjörn
- Eliminating an enemy briefly increases reload speed.
- Reload Speed Bonus: 50%
- Duration: 3 seconds
- Eliminating an enemy briefly increases reload speed.
- Heroes: Bastion, Emre, Junkrat, Mei, Soldier: 76, Symmetra, Torbjörn
- Recon
- Heroes: Pharah, Freja, Echo, Sombra
- Damaging enemies below half health reveals them through walls.
- Reveal Duration: 5 seconds
- Damaging enemies below half health reveals them through walls.
- Heroes: Pharah, Freja, Echo, Sombra
- Flanker
- Heroes: Anran, Genji, Reaper, Tracer, Vendetta, Venture
- Health packs restore additional health.
- Additional Healing: +75
- Health packs restore additional health.
- Heroes: Anran, Genji, Reaper, Tracer, Vendetta, Venture
- Sharpshooter
- Heroes: Ashe, Cassidy, Hanzo, Sojourn, Widowmaker
- Critical hits reduce movement ability cooldowns.
- Cooldown Reduction: 0.75% of damage dealt
- Critical hits reduce movement ability cooldowns.
- Heroes: Ashe, Cassidy, Hanzo, Sojourn, Widowmaker
- Tactician
- Heroes: Ana, Baptiste, Jetpack Cat, Lúcio, Zenyatta
- Excess ultimate charge is retained after using your ultimate ability.
- Bonus Ultimate Charge Cap: 25%
- Reduced Ultimate Charge Gain Rate: -25% while above 100%
- Excess ultimate charge is retained after using your ultimate ability.
- Heroes: Ana, Baptiste, Jetpack Cat, Lúcio, Zenyatta
- Medic
- Heroes: Kiriko, Lifeweaver, Mercy, Moira
- Healing allies with your weapon also heals you.
- Self-Healing: 25% of healing dealt
- Reduced Ultimate Charge Gain Rate: -25% while above 100%
- Healing allies with your weapon also heals you.
- Heroes: Kiriko, Lifeweaver, Mercy, Moira
- Survivor
- Heroes: Brigitte, Illari, Juno, Mizuki, Wuyang
- Using a movement ability activates passive health regeneration.
- Heroes: Brigitte, Illari, Juno, Mizuki, Wuyang
Hero Balance Changes
With the addition of Sub Role Passives, several existing perks now overlap in functionality. We’ve replaced perks in these cases and continued to iterate on others to improve overall perk choices and balance.
Tank
D.Va
D.Va’s combined mobility, defensive tools, and health pool make her overly durable and difficult to punish. Reducing her base health increases opportunities to force her out of mech.
Base Health reduced from 375 to 325. (5v5)
- Total reduced from 700 to 650
Base Health reduced from 300 to 250. (6v6)
- Total reduced from 600 to 550
Mauga
Kinetic Bandolier – Minor Perk
- Ammo generation now grants 150 ammo instantly instead of over time.
Orisa
Protective Barrier – Major Perk (6v6)
- Cooldown increased from 8 to 10 seconds.
Charged Javelin – Major Perk
- Fixed animation issues when charging Javelin.
Reinhardt
Barrier Re-Charge – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Crusader’s Resolve – Minor Perk
- While using Barrier Field, passive health regeneration triggers 75% sooner.
Roadhog
Reduced consistency on Roadhog’s Chain Hook one-shot has lowered his overall effectiveness compared to other tanks. Increasing Take a Breather’s duration and Pulled Pork’s overhealth improves his survivability and supports more aggressive play.
Take a Breather (5v5)
- Resource maximum duration increased from 2.5 to 3 seconds.
Pulled Pork – Major Perk
- Overhealth maximum increased from 250 to 300.
Sigma
Sigma’s ability cycling can make him difficult to break through. Reducing his barrier health and Hyper Regeneration’s effectiveness creates more opportunities to pressure him.
Experimental Barrier
- Barrier health reduced from 700 to 650.
Hyper Regeneration – Minor Perk
- Barrier health conversion rate reduced from 50% to 40%.
Winston
Barrier Toss – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Electric Charge – Minor Perk
- Winston gains 10% movement speed for each enemy damaged by his primary fire, up to 30%.
Wrecking Ball
Pack Rat – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Multi-Ball – Minor Perk
- Press Ultimate within 5 seconds after using Minefield to deploy 7 additional mines.
Zarya
Zarya’s damage at high energy can be extremely high. Reducing her maximum primary fire damage lowers her effectiveness in these situations, while adjusting her perks helps balance her overall power.
Particle Cannon
- Primary fire maximum damage per second reduced from 190 to 175.
Energy Converter – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Spotter – Minor Perk
- Moved from Major to Minor.
- Movement speed bonus reduced from 25% to 20%.
Energy Lance – Major Perk
- No longer requires being above 50 energy.
Extra Oomph – Major Perk
- While a Barrier is active, dealing damage with Particle Cannon’s beam generates energy.
Damage
Anran
Fan the Flames
- Impact damage increased from 4 to 5
- Maximum ammo increased from 8 to 10
Inferno Rush
- Maximum vertical height reduced by 20%
- Added “Hold to use Inferno Rush” hero option
Dancing Blaze
- Cooldown decreased from 10 to 8 seconds
- Cleansing effect removed
Ashe
Sidewinder – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Double-Barreled – Minor Perk
- Knocking an enemy back with Coach Gun briefly allows it to be used again with 25% reduced knockback.
Cassidy
Reducing Combat Roll’s cooldown improves Cassidy’s mobility and survivability, giving him more options in close-range engagements while slightly increasing his damage output.
Combat Roll
- Cooldown reduced from 6 to 5 seconds.
Gun Slingin’ – Major Perk
- Removed.
Rollin’ Round-Up – Major Perk
- Combat Roll heals 15 health for each bullet reloaded.
Echo
Focused Rush – Minor Perk
- Movement speed bonus increased from 10% to 20%.
Freja
Hunter’s Instinct – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Relentless Barrage – Minor Perk
- Moved from Major to Minor.
Rising Winds – Major Perk
- Updraft gains an additional charge but has 20% reduced height.
Hanzo
Swift Lunge – Minor Perk
- Removed
Dragon Fury – Minor Perk
- Moved from Major to Minor.
- Attack speed reduced from 25% to 20%.
- Duration reduced from 2 to 1.5 seconds.
Frost Arrow – Major Perk
- Press Reload to ready an explosive frost arrow that slows enemies by 35% for 3 seconds.
Pharah
Sky Spy – Major Perk
- Removed.
Rocket Salvo – Major Perk
- After using a movement ability, the next primary fire shoots two spiraling mini-rockets, each dealing 40 damage.
Reaper
Shadow Step
- No longer cleanses on use.
Soldier: 76
Tactical Salvo – Minor Perk
- Added: Using Helix Rockets no longer interrupts primary fire during Tactical Visor.
Recycled Pulse Munitions – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Helix Propulsion – Minor Perk
- Helix Rocket projectile speed increased by 50%.
Sombra
With the introduction of the Recon Sub Role Passive, Sombra’s Opportunist has been updated to avoid overlap. Revealing enemy ultimate status on nameplates provides unique information that supports Sombra’s fantasy.
Opportunist
- No longer detects enemies below half health.
- Now reveals enemy ultimate abilities on nameplates.
Healthy Hacker – Major Perk
- Removed.
High-Speed Bandwidth – Major Perk
- Hacked health packs grant allies 25% movement speed and 50 overhealth for 4 seconds.
Torbjörn
Fully Loaded – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Pre-Heated – Minor Perk
- Molten Core activates Overload.
Tracer
Tracer’s smaller projectile size has reduced her consistency against mobile targets. Restoring the global projectile size and slightly lowering damage improves reliability while keeping her overall lethality in check.
Pulse Pistols
- Damage reduced from 6 to 5.75.
- Gains the increased global projectile size (0.04 meters).
Chronal Dash – Minor Perk
- Blink distance increased by 20%.
Flashback – Major Perk
- Removed.
Blink Packs – Major Perk
- Moved from Minor to Major.
Vendetta
Vendetta has a high death rate but can still be difficult to fight against when trading effectively. Adjusting her armor and increasing Soaring Slice’s cooldown encourages more deliberate engagement choices while maintaining her ability to survive in close combat.
- Health increased from 150 to 175.
- Armor reduced from 125 to 100.
Soaring Slice
- Cooldown increased from 6 to 7 seconds.
Extra Edge – Minor Perk
- Projected Edge costs 25% less energy.
Relentless – Major Perk
- Moved from Minor to Major.
Swift Vengeance – Major Perk
- Removed.
Widowmaker
Seeker Mine – Major Perk
- Damage increased from 50 to 75 over its duration.
Escape Plan – Major Perk
- Removed.
Widow’s Bite – Major Perk
- Scoped shots can charge up to 125%, piercing enemies when fully charged.
Support
Baptiste
Assault Burst – Minor Perk
- Moved from Major to Minor.
- Attack speed reduced from 25% to 20%.
Biotic Reloader – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Expanded Field – Minor Perk
- Immortality Field radius increased by 30%.
Automated Healing – Major Perk
- Moved from Minor to Major.
- Healing per shot increased from 25 to 40.
Illari
Recent changes have increased Illari’s damage output to solidify her weapon-focused strengths. These adjustments reduce her mobility and healing output to maintain balance within her kit.
Solar Rifle – Secondary Fire
- Resource regeneration reduced from 43 to 35.
Outburst
- Cooldown increased from 7 to 8 seconds.
Solar Flare – Major Perk
- No longer costs resource.
- Now has a 10-second cooldown.
Kiriko
Kiriko’s healing can feel inconsistent for allies at range or moving quickly. Increasing Healing Ofuda’s projectile speed improves reliability while retaining its identity.
Swift Step previously gave Kiriko multiple self-cleansing options, making her difficult to eliminate. Removing the cleanse on Swift Step preserves its mobility value while improving counterplay.
Healing Ofuda
- Projectile speed increased from 18 to 24.
Swift Step
- No longer cleanses on use.
Foxtrot – Major Perk
- Removed increased cooldown recovery buff
- Movement speed buff duration increased from 2 to 4 seconds
Lifeweaver
Increasing Tree of Life’s overhealing conversion improves the reliability of its overhealth gain.
Tree of Life
- Overhealth conversion rate from overhealing increased from 50% to 100%.
Lifeweaving – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Cleansing Grasp – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Petal Power – Major Perk
- Removed.
Petal Protection – Minor Perk
- Allies heal 20 health per second while standing on Petal Platform.
Dashing Escape – Minor Perk
- Rejuvenating Dash distance increased by 30%.
Sow the Seed – Major Perk
- Quick Melee with Healing Blossom equipped tosses a seed forward.
- Allies who pick up a seed gain 75 overhealth and 25% movement speed for 5 seconds.
Mercy
With the introduction of the Medic Sub Role Passive, Mercy’s Sympathetic Recovery has been replaced with Swift Recovery, which restores faster health regeneration.
Sympathetic Recovery – Passive
- Removed.
Swift Recovery – Passive
- Health regeneration begins sooner.
Moira
Destruction’s Divide – Minor Perk
- Focused healing/damage bonus increased from 25% to 30%
Wuyang
Wuyang continues to have high healing alongside strong survivability and damage output. Reducing his passive healing lowers his overall sustain while preserving his healing when actively using Beam.
Restorative Stream
- Passive healing reduced from 25 to 20.
- Beam healing increased from 50 to 55.
Zenyatta
Transcendent Condemnation – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Discordant Repair – Minor Perk
- Zenyatta gains 10% lifesteal against enemies affected by Discord Orb.
Stadium Updates
- A new and accessible way to build your hero and choose your playstyle in Stadium!
- Smart Build Recommendations based on your current build.
- Bundle Recommendations to get right into the action.
- Counter Item suggestions based on the enemy team.
With the Hero Builder, making a build in Stadium is much more accessible. The Hero Builder will give you the best recommendations, based on constantly updating pick rate and win rate data of all items in the context of your current build. It’ll also show you multiple build paths at the beginning of the match, so you can explore and try out new builds and playstyles. For new players just trying out Stadium or experienced players who want to explore new builds or see what the data says about their favorite build, the Hero Builder should improve your Stadium Building experience. For new and reworked heroes, there will be a short period where there won’t be sufficient data to show recommendations based on live data, so during that period we will be displaying manually inputted recommendations that may be lower quality.
New/Reworked Stadium Heroes
Vendetta (New)
Vendetta expands her conquest into the Stadium.
Continuum – Power
- Before dying, temporarily come back to life with 15% Max Life per each [Onslaught] stack and become hindered. (90s Cooldown)
Rising Rampage – Power
- [Onslaught]’s maximum stack increases by 1 after earning 2 Eliminations, up to 3.
Overloaded Strike – Power
- After using [Soaring Slice], holding Overhead swing in air can channel level 1 [Sundering Blade] with 25% increased damage.
Skycut – Power
- After blocking ranged damage, Overhead swing shoots a [Projected Edge] with 50% damage.
Defiance Core – Power
- [Warding Stance] energy regenerates energy regenerates now even while blocking at 75% rate. For every [Projected Edge] fired, reduce [Whirlwind Dash] and [Soaring Slice] cooldown by 0.7s.
Furious Friction – Power
- [Warding Stance] has 50% increased energy regeneration rate.
Riposte – Power
- After blocking ranged damage, remove [Warding Stance] move speed penalty. Vendetta’s next swing becomes an overhead swing.
Cyclone Charge – Power
- [Whirlwind Dash] to continue spinning up to 3s for 50% damage after the initial spin.
Double Dash – Power
- After [Whirlwind Dash] is finished, it can be reactivated within 3s for 50% damage.
Exalted Empress – Power
- After using [Soaring Strike], overhead strike and [Sundering Blade] gives 30% of damage as temporary Overhealth, up to 100.
Up and Over – Power
- Using [Soaring Slice] gives 35% of missing life as Overhealth for 10s.
Cataclisma – Power
- [Projected Edge] explodes on enemy hit, dealing 20 (AP) damage to enemies within 4m.
Crater Creator – Rare Weapon Hero Item
- 10 Health
- +10% Weapon Power
- Performing an Overhead swing mid-air drags the hit enemy down to the ground along with Vendetta, dealing 30 (WP) damage on land.
- 4000 Cost
Scaled Steel – Epic Weapon Hero Item
- 10% Attack Speed
- +25% [Palatine Fang] Swing Range
- 10000 Cost
Chimera Cross – Rare Ability Hero Item
- 10% Ability Power
- After blocking damage, gain 15% Ability Power for 5s.
- 5000 Cost
Warrior’s Shout – Rare Ability Hero Item
- 25 Health
- +10% Ability Power
- Using [Whirlwind Dash] gives 10% of max life as Overhealth to all allies within 9m.
- 6000 Cost
Talon Trinket – Rare Ability Hero Item
- 10 Health
- +5% Cooldown Reduction
- For each enemy hit by [Sundering Blade], reduce [Whirlwind Dash]’s Cooldown by 1s.
- 4500 Cost
Onslaught Amplifier – Epic Ability Hero Item
- 25 Health
- Gain 5% Ability Power for every [Onslaught] stack. 12000 Cost
Marzia’s Mastery – Epic Ability Hero Item
- +10% Weapon Lifesteal
- +15% Ability Lifesteal
- [Soaring Slice] heals all allies within line of sight for 150% of the damage dealt over 2s.
- 9500 Cost
Ricochet Razor – Epic Ability Hero Item
- +10% Ability Power
- +10% Ability Lifesteal
- [Projected Edge] bounce off surfaces 1 time.
- 10000 Cost
Colosseo Coin – Rare Survival Hero Item
- +25 Health
- The last player to land a killing blow on you becomes a target. Eliminate the target to gain 200 extra Stadium Cash and reset cooldowns.
- 4000 Cost
Braced Blade – Rare Survival Hero Item
- +25 Health
- Gain 1 [Onslaught] stack for every 50 damage absorbed with [Warding Stance].
- 4000 Cost
Chargeguard – Rare Survival Hero Item
- +25 Health
- After deflecting a melee attack, gain 2% Ultimate Charge.
- 4000 Cost
Duelist’s Draught – Epic Survival Hero Item
- +25 Health
- +5% Move Speed
- Gain 15% damage reduction if there is only 1 enemy within 6m.
- 9000 Cost
Antonio’s Lesson – Epic Survival Hero Item
- +50 Health
- Gain 50% damage reduction during dashing using [Whirlwind Dash] or [Soaring Slice].
- 9000 Cost
Vicious Vow – Epic Survival Hero Item
- +50 Health
- While channeling [Sundering Blade], gain 25 (AP) Overhealth every second, up to 50 (AP).
- 9000 Cost
Ashe (Rework)
The following Powers have been removed:
- Head Honcho
- Incendiary Rounds
- Incendiary Blast
- Early Detonation
- Molten Munitions
- Partners in Crime
The following Items have been removed:
- Tripod
- Ironsights
- Sidewinder
Slow Burn – Power
- New
- Dealing Scoped Critical Damage burns enemies for 30% additional damage over 3s.
Fire at My Fingertips – Power
- New
- Dealing weapon damage to burning enemies restores 1 ammo.
Controlled Boom – Power
- New
- After using [Dynamite], reactivating the ability causes it to explode after a 0.5 second delay. [Dynamites] that explode mid-air burn for 1s longer.
Stacked Sticks – Power
- Converted to Power (was Epic Ability Hero Item)
- Removed +15% Ability Power
- [Dynamite] has 40% increased Blast Radius and burns 25% faster.
What in Tarnation!? – Power
- New
- For 2.5s after [Coach Gun] knocks you airborne, gain 20% increased attack speed and fall more slowly while aiming.
PinB.O.B. – Power
- New
- After [B.O.B.] charges, reactivate Ultimate to charge again. Eliminations reset the charge and add 2s duration.
Calamity – Power
- Changed from “Using [Coach Gun] reloads 2 Ammo. [The Viper]’s next 2 hits deal 40(AP) additional damage over 3s” to “Using [Coach Gun] reloads 25% of your Ammo. The restored shots burn enemies for 40(WP) over 3s”.
Out With a Bang – Power
- Additional mini dynamites damage decreased to 50% reduced damage (Down from 30% reduced damage).
Aero-Dynam-ite – Rare Weapon Hero Item
- New
- +25 Health
- +5% Weapon Power
- When your [Dynamite] explodes, gain 30% Attack Speed and 15% Move Speed for 3s.
- 4000 Cost
Maxed Mag – Epic Weapon Hero Item
- Rarity changed to Epic (was Rare)
- Cost increased to 10000 (Up from 4000)
- Added +50 Health
B.O.B Wire Defense – Epic Ability Hero Item
- Removed 50 Health
- Added 10% Ability Power
Incendiary Blastpaper – Epic Ability Hero Item
- +10% Ability Power
- [Coach Gun] applies Burning, dealing 75 damage over 5s.
Silver Spurs – Rare Survival Hero Item
- Added +5% Cooldown Reduction
Build-A-Blast Buckshot – Epic Survival Hero Item
- Added +50 Health
- Removed “[Coach Gun] has 50% increased self knockback”
- Added “Gain 15% Damage Reduction while Airborne”
New Push Map – Serenza
Talon ships lurk beneath the canals of Serenza in this new Push map created for Stadium.
Stadium Competitive Update
- Powers are now granted in rounds 1, 2, 4, and 6
We’re testing a format change in Competitive that we heard suggested frequently during the revert from the Best of 5 format. This change should be a good middle ground, keeping the faster power progression so your builds come online faster while maintaining the Bo7 format that allows for more time to adapt to the enemy and create memorable comebacks. We also think this has the ability to increase comeback potential, particularly in Round 2. Previously, falling behind in Round 1 meant that Round 2 will feel like a repeat of Round 1, but with the enemy having more items, since early on you often don’t have enough currency to meaningfully change your build. However, being able to select a Power means being able to get a large power spike in your build and more tools to adapt and fight back with in the pivotal early rounds, even when behind. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this change, so let us know your feedback!
Stadium Hero Updates
Tank
D.Va
This change is part of an effort to reduce the use of Lava for gameplay clarity. With Ignition Burst shifting to a burn effect on Boosters, D.Va still retains her ability to deal damage and control space through mobility, while giving Lava a clearer home elsewhere. This keeps Booster oriented builds impactful without overlapping too heavily with other heroes’ signature mechanics.
Ignition Burst – Power
- Redesigned: [Boosters] knockback applies burn that deals 60 damage over 3s.
Doomfist
Doomfist has been struggling in Stadium, with the lowest Win Rate among tanks. We’re buffing his survival oriented powers and some mobility options to help him scale his survivability into the late game without increasing his vertical burst.
Seismic Rally – Power
- Max Life Overhealth gained per second increased from 3% to 5%.
Block Party – Power
- Self Heal increased from 5% to 8% of Max Life per second.
Rising Uppercut – Power
- Cooldown reduced from 12s to 10s.
Asteroid Smash – Power
- Cooldown reduced from 12s to 10s.
- Maximum impact damage increased from 150 to 200.
- Now triggers Overhealth from The Best Defense
Quickcharger – Epic Ability Hero Item
- Cost reduced to 10000 (Down from 12000).
Orisa
These changes focus on making Orisa’s ability-focused builds feel more fluid and rewarding, especially in high-tempo fights. Hot Rotate-O now leans into Overheat as a moment of momentum rather than punishment, letting Orisa immediately re-engage with Javelin Spin. Shield Divergence has been adjusted to be faster and more reliable in frontline situations, reducing friction when reacting under pressure. Finally, 3D-Printed Lance adds more cooldown interplay to Energy Javelin, encouraging more active and aggressive ability usage instead of holding tools defensively. Overall, the goal is to make Orisa feel smoother, snappier, and more decisive when cycling her kit.
Hot Rotate-O – Power
- Redesigned: When you Overheat, [Javelin Spin] cooldown is reduced by 100%.
Shield Divergence – Power
- Barrier is now quickly thrown in front of Orisa instead of being thrown towards where Orisa is aiming.
3D-Printed Lance – Epic Ability Hero Item
- Added: [Energy Javelin] hit also reduces cooldown by 15%.
Reinhardt
Reinhardt’s Fire Strike centric builds have been performing poorly. We’re adding some more power there as well as sharpening the niche of the build so that there are clearer situations to opt for the build.
Magma Strike – Power
- Lava duration increased from 1s to 2s.
Blazing Blitz – Power
- Added 25% Starting Ultimate Charge.
Chimera Maw – Epic Ability Hero Item
- Removed “For each additional enemy [Fire Strike] damages beyond the initial target, reduce [Fire Strike] cooldown by 5%.”
- Added “Hitting an Airborne target above 3m burns them for 20% of Fire Strike damage over 3s.”
Sigma
These updates are aimed at pushing Sigma further into a tempo-controlling tank who rewards precision and smart ability timing rather than raw damage stacking. We’re adding more synergy around Accretion to encourage accurate play and give Sigma clearer moments of payoff through healing, cooldown reduction, and team value. Event Horizon expands Kinetic Grasp into a more supportive, frontline-anchoring tool, allowing Sigma to share some of his durability when he commits. At the same time, Apogee Alignment’s damage has been toned down to keep Hypersphere from overshadowing the rest of his kit. Overall, this pass shifts power away from passive damage and into deliberate ability interactions that better define Sigma’s identity in Stadium.
Mass Driver – Power
- Added: [Experimental Barrier] heals 100 (AP) health when [Accretion] projectile passes through.
Event Horizon – Power
- Added: [Kinetic Grasp] also gives overhealth to allies in line of sight.
Singularity – Power
- Added: [Accretion]’s cooldown is reduced by 25% on direct hit.
Apogee Alignment – Power
- Hypersphere damage decreased from 100% to 50%.
Winston
Winston has been getting a little too comfortable chaining jumps and slams with very little risk, so this update reins in some of that nonstop airtime. Primal Slam now fully commits Winston by resetting Jump Pack to max cooldown, making the decision to slam a real “all in” moment instead of a free combo extender. On the item side, Premium Peanut Butter was punching far above its weight for a Rare item, giving too much durability too early, so it’s moving up to Epic with stats and cost to match. Meanwhile, S. PaceArmor is coming back down to Rare to better support early survivability without letting Winston feel unbreakable. Overall, this keeps rampaging Winston scary, but asks him to think twice before bouncing.
Primal Slam – Power
- Jump Pack cooldown is triggered again with max cooldown when using Primal Slam
Premium Peanut Butter – Rare Survival Item
- Rarity changed to Epic (Previously Rare)
- Cost increased to 10000 (Up from 6000)
- Health increased to 50 (Up from 25)
S. PaceArmor – Epic Survival Item
- Rarity changed to Rare (Previously Epic)
- Cost decreased to 4000 (Down from 9000)
- Armor decreased to 25 (Down from 50)
Damage
Freja
We overshot with previous buffs to Freja, who is a hero that can feel particularly frustrating to play against due to her high burst and mobility, especially in Stadium. We’re pulling back the vertical damage of her two most popular builds to help give players more of a window to react to her.
Lille Fælde – Power
- Mini Bola damage decreased to 40% reduced (Down from 30% reduced)
So Cooked – Power
- Bola damaging zone bonus damage decreased to 20% (Down from 30%)
Volley à Deux – Power
- Bonus Shot damage decreased to 50% reduced (Down from 33% reduced)
Genji
Genji’s deflect-focused playstyle wasn’t quite delivering on the fantasy of turning enemy fire back into real pressure. These updates lean harder into that identity by making deflected projectiles significantly faster and extending the window where Genji can safely play around Deflect (Watch out Pharah!). Sacred Shuriken further supports this direction by speeding up his primary fire, helping Genji feel more fluid and threatening when weaving between aggression and defense. The goal is to reward sharp timing and positioning, and to make successful deflect moments feel decisive without pushing Genji into pure burst territory.
Deflect-o-bot – Power
- Deflected projectile speed bonus increased from +50% to +200%
- Auto-targeting duration increased from 1.5s to 2s
Sacred Shuriken – Power
- Added: +50% Primary fire projectile speed
Reaper
Death Step has always been about giving Reaper more control over how and when he commits. Allowing Death Blossom to be canceled after engaging with Shadow Step gives Reaper a much-needed escape hatch, letting skilled players disengage when things go sideways instead of going all in every time. This change is aimed at raising the skill expression of the combo, rewarding good judgment and timing rather than blind commitment to the spin.
Death Step – Power
- [Death Blossom] can now be canceled while being casted after using [Shadow Step].
Sojourn
Sojourn’s builds have been feeling a little too expensive for how quickly Stadium matches move, especially when trying to piece together early and mid game power spikes. Across these weapon, ability, and survival items, we’re lowering costs to smooth out her build progression and reduce the friction of committing to specific playstyles. The goal here is simple: get Sojourn online sooner, let her experiment with more item paths, and make sure she’s spending more time sliding, shooting, and railgunning than staring at the Armory wondering where all her currency went.
Espresso Shots – Rare Weapon Item
- Cost decreased to 4000 (Down from 4500)
Murphy’s Motor Module – Epic Weapon Item
- Cost decreased to 10000 (Down from 12000)
Shah-Mat Strategem – Epic Weapon Item
- Cost decreased to 10000 (Down from 11000)
CAF Calibrator – Rare Ability Item
- Cost decreased to 3750 (Down from 5500)
Afterburners – Rare Survival Item
- Cost decreased to 4000 (Down from 4500)
Rocket-Powered Javelin – Rare Weapon Item
- Cost decreased to 4050 (Down from 5000)
Support
Lúcio
We’re adding some power to Lucio’s lesser picked options as well as compensating for an earlier nerf to Soundwave in the core game in a previous patch.
Reverb – Power
- Free cast window increased from 2s to 3s
- Free cast effectiveness increased to 70% reduced (Up from 75% reduced).
Signature Shift – Power
- Now also triggers on Gadget Use
- Added “Restore 10% Max Ammo” after Ability and Gadget Use
Radio Edit – Power
- Triggered Sound Barrier Overhealth increased to 80% reduced (Up from 85% reduced)
Hip Hop – Epic Survival Hero Item
- Cost reduced to 9000 (Down from 9500)
Mercy
Mercy’s Damage Boost has always been amplified in effectiveness in Stadium due to stacking multiplicatively with stats like Weapon Power and the increased currency gain, so we’re lowering the base Damage Boost effectiveness to weaken Mercy’s pocketing capabilities. We’re also buffing her Pistol oriented build due to its low pick rate, including some QoL to make it easier to manage the Pistol buffs and a small rework to Equivalent Exchange to give it a more pointed niche. We’ll be continuing to find ways to improve some of Mercy’s lower picked options.
General
- Baseline Damage Boost reduced from 30% to 20%
Threads of Fate – Power
- Additional Chain effectiveness reduced from 35% to 30%
Tethered Tourniquet – Power
- No longer resets Buff duration when switching between Pistol and Staff
Equivalent Exchange – Power
- Added “Dealing 1000 [Caduceus Blaster] damage restores 1 charge of Resurrect.”
Battle Medic – Power
- Changed to “After swapping to [Caduceus Blaster], deal 20% increased damage and gain 20% Weapon Lifesteal for 1s for every 1s you spent tethered, up to 15s.” from “Every 1s your Staff is attached, [Caduceus Blaster] gains +3% Attack Speed (stacks 10 times) until reloading or swap to your Staff.”
- No longer resets Buff duration when reloading or when switching between Pistol and Staff
Celestial Clip – Epic Weapon Hero Item
- Cost reduced to 9000 (Down from 10000)
Moira
Moira has remained at a middling Win Rate for most of Stadium’s lifespan, but is by far the most picked Support. We’re removing some power from her most popular build to reduce her consistency and adding some more power to her less popular options.
General
- Now earns 8.3% less currency from Damage and Healing
Cross Orbal – Power
- Reduced capacity of bonus orb to 60% reduced (Down from 50% reduced)
Chain Grasp – Power
- Multi-targeting duration increased from 3s to 4s
Scientific Deathod – Power
- Ultimate Charge per target passed through increased from 5% to 8%
Zenyatta
This update is intended to create more interesting decision points and payoff moments for Zenyatta’s Discord focused builds, especially during his ultimate. By better aligning power spikes with active Discord application, Zenyatta can convert strong orb management into meaningful impact during key fight windows, making Transcendence moments feel more dynamic and rewarding rather than purely reactive.
Orb of Perception – Epic Weapon Item
- Removed: +15% Ability Power
- Added: Gain 15% Ability Power for each enemy discorded
Item Changes
Electrolytes – Common Survival General Item
- Added: Gain 30% Move Speed when you respawn.
Running Shoes – Common Survival General Item
- Removed.
Reflex Coating – Common Survival General Item
- Reduced Overhealth gained from 75 to 50
- Reduced Overhealth Duration from 3s to 2s
Ballistic Buffer – Common Survival General Item
- Rarity changed to Rare (Up from Common)
- Cost increased to 3750 (Up from 1000)
- Effect changed to “After taking damage from an Airborne enemy above 3m, gain 50 Overhealth for 3s (8s Cooldown)” from “After taking damage beyond 20m, gain 50 Overhealth for 3s (15s cooldown).”
Repulsion Greaves – Rare Survival General Item
- New
- +25 Armor
- +5% Move Speed
- After taking damage from an enemy within 5m, knockback all enemies within 6m and gain 75 Overhealth for 3s (15s Cooldown)
- 4000 Cost
Iron Eyes – Rare Survival General Item
- Removed 5% Move Speed
- Removed 25 Shield
- Added 25 Armor
Bloodbound – Rare Survival General Item
- Removed 25 Health
- Added 25 Armor
- Damage reduction and damage boost against last enemy who dealt a final blow to you increased from 10% to 15%
MEKA-Z Series – Rare Survival General Item
- Added 25 Health
Sundering Vial – Epic Survival General Item
- New
- +25 Health
- +5% Weapon Power
- +5% Ability Power
- Damage applies 30% Overhealth Reduction for 3s and reduces enemy’s existing Overhealth by 30% (5s Cooldown)
- 9000 Cost
Geneticist’s Vial – Epic Survival General Item
- Removed
Reinforced Titanium – Epic Survival General Item
- Rarity changed to Epic (Up from Rare)
- Cost increased to 9500 (Up from 3750)
- Shields increased from 25 to 50
- Added +10% Ability Damage Reduction
- Removed “While you have Shields, take 15% reduced Ability Damage and gain 5% Ability Power”
- Added “While you have Shields, gain 5% Ability Damage Reduction. Your Shields regenerate 33% faster.”
Phantasmic Flux – Epic Survival General Item
- Maximum Overhealth from Lifesteal reduced from 100 to 50
Rüstung von Wilhelm – Epic Survival General Item
- Added 50 Health
- Max Health, Armor, and Shields % reduced from 15% to 10%
Crusader Hydraulics – Epic Survival General Item
- Rarity changed to Epic (Up from Rare)
- Cost increased to 10500 (Up from 4500)
- Armor increased from 25 to 50
- Added +10% Weapon Damage Reduction
- Removed “While you have Armor, take 10% less Weapon Damage and gain 5% Attack Speed”
- Added “When an enemy deals Weapon Damage to your Armor, reduce their Attack Speed by 10% for 3s.”
Necrotic Repellant – Epic Gadget
- Hinder Range increased from 4m to 6m
Colossus Core – Epic Gadget
- Added 50 Armor
- Removed 10% Bonus Max Health, Armor, and Shields
Our goal with these changes is to increase the usability of lesser used Survival items, and to ensure each one has a clear Counter niche. We’ve reworked some of the least picked items to fill the gaps of missing Counter niches, such as introducing Overhealth Reduction in our new Sundering Vial item.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue that caused Supports to hear the Healing Ping sound effect when another support was pinging a different injured hero on their team that needed healing.
- Fixed an issue preventing some Career Profile Customization options from being expanded or collapsed with a controller.
- Fixed an issue where Junkerqueen would incorrectly receive ultimate charge when self-healing with wounds created by Rampage.
- Fixed an issue with Wuyang where he would not receive assist credit for healing.
- Fixed an issue with Anran where disabling her Inferno Rush ability in a Custom Game would also disable her Dancing Blaze ability.
- Fixed an issue with Anran where her ammunition was not affected by the “Ammunition Clip Size Scalar” in a Custom Game.
- Fixed an issue that caused Reinhardt’s Earthshatter to deal half damage against a Fortified Orisa when at melee range.
- Highlights are once again working correctly in Stadium.
- Fixed an issue where Freja’s Windwalker Boots was sometimes decreasing Ability Power.
- Fixed an issue where Booster Jets duration wouldn’t reset if ability was used during buff duration.
- Fixed an issue where Doomfist’s Power Matrix item didn’t charge energy for Overpowered 3rd lvl punch
- Fixed an issue where Mercy’s Tethered Tourniquet didn’t properly work with Serenity when healing full health allies.
- Additional notes: none.
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch 2 – Ver. ???
- Release date: January 20th/21st 2026
- Patch notes:
General Bug Fix
- Resolved an issue with Brigitte that caused her to lose her abilities under certain conditions
Stadium Bug Fix
- Increased spawn defense turret damage from 25% to 50%
- Additional notes: none.
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch 2 – Ver. 2.20.1
- Release date: January 8th/9th 2026
- Patch notes:
Game and Event Updates
2.20.1 is a full rebase, all platforms. Expect a much larger than usual patch size, specifically for consoles.
Showdown returns with a twist! From January 13-26, Heroes shuffle mid-match and wild modifiers keep the chaos coming. Complete challenges to earn cosmetics, lootboxes and Battle Pass XP!
Here is the list of modifiers that will randomly rotate during the match:
- Mini Maxing
- All heroes are 50% smaller. Health reduced by 30%
- Lie Low
- Heroes become invisible while crouching. However, their invisibility can still be detected at a short distance. The hero stops being invisible when they receive damage or attacks.
- Power Punch
- Quick melee attacks knock back enemies
- Vampiric Healing
- Heroes don’t passively regenerate HP, but each hero has the vampiric passive
- Aerial Combat
- Heroes deal and receive 50% more damage while in the air. Gravity decreased
- Back in Action
- Respawn time decreased. Does not apply during Overtime.
- Damage Pack
- Health packs also increase damage dealt by 250% for 10-20 seconds or until death.
- Berserkers
- Heroes don’t passively regenerate HP. For each 10% of total HP lost, increases attack speed by 6% and reduce cooldowns by 6%.
- Super Jump
- Heroes jump 200% higher
- Explosive
- Heroes explode on death, dealing damage to all nearby heroes.
- Hyper Speed
- Movement speed is increased by 30% for all heroes.
- Buff Hunt
- Every minute, one random hero has increased HP, deals more damage, and generates ult charge faster. Elimnate the buffed hero to gain the buff.
Play the classic Assault maps this weekend January 8-11 in our latest Quick Play: Hacked – in 5v5, 6v6 and Mystery Heroes queues!
Junkrat’s Loot Hunt is back again, running from January 22-25! Earn lootboxes by completing challenges that unlock as you play!
General Hero Updates
Added a setting for Symmetra and Zarya called ‘Show Weapon Range Indicator’ to assist in communicating when you are close enough to hit your target.
Tank Updates
Doomfist
Empowered Punch can be held indefinitely, creating situations with limited counterplay. Adding a duration sets clearer expectations while maintaining its intended impact. The Power Matrix adjustment aligns its effective area more closely with Doomfist’s model for gameplay clarity.
Rocket Punch
- Empowered punch now deteriorates after 20 seconds.
Power Matrix perk
- Projectile absorption area scaled down to more closely match the size of Doomfist’s model.
D.Va
Extended Boosters successfully encouraged more aggressive Booster usage, but the damage bonus was too high for a minor perk. Reducing the value maintains its purpose while lowering overall lethality.
Extended Boosters perk
- Additional Booster damage reduced from 100% to 40%.
Roadhog
Whole Hog’s knockback can make confirming eliminations difficult. This small damage increase improves its reliability, especially in open spaces.
Whole Hog
- Damage per pellet increased from 6 to 7.
Damage Updates
Ashe
The increased falloff range helped reinforce Ashe’s role as a long-range hitscan, but it has made her damage output too consistent at far distances. Partially reverting this change reins in her long-range pressure while preserving this identity.
Viper’s Sting perk
- Ammo gained reduced from 2 to 1.
The Viper
- Secondary fire falloff range reduced from 40-60 meters to 35-55 meters.
Bastion
Recent fire-rate improvements enhanced the feel of Bastion’s primary fire but also increased his damage output more than desired. Reducing damage slightly offsets this while keeping the improved weapon flow intact.
Configuration Recon
- Damage reduced from 25 to 23.
Freja
The primary-fire adjustments improve Freja’s baseline weapon consistency and reduce her reliance on empowered bolts. Increasing Take Aim’s damage restores an important breakpoint against 225-health targets while keeping its overall impact in check.
Revdraw Crossbow primary fire
- Maximum spread reduced from 2 to 1.5 degrees.
- Spread now ramps up more slowly and fans out horizontally.
Take Aim
- Impact damage increased from 30 to 35.
Genji
Genji’s ammo allows more consistent pressure in fights and secure kills without needing to reload as often.
Shuriken
- Ammo increased from 24 to 30.
Symmetra
Reducing the secondary-fire projectile size increases the precision required to use it effectively. Lowering Teleporter durability provides clearer counterplay and encourages more deliberate placement.
Photon Projector Secondary fire
- Base projectile size reduced from 0.5 to 0.4 meters.
Teleporter
- Base shield health reduced from 250 to 200.
Vendetta
While recent changes improved ability flow, Vendetta’s overall lethality has remained too high. These adjustments reduce key breakpoints and alter the combinations required to secure eliminations.
Projected Edge
- Damage reduced from 80 to 70.
Soaring Slice
- Soaring Slice now starts on cooldown when respawning (does not apply when Resurrected or in Death Match)
Whirlwind Dash
- Damage reduced from 80 to 70.
Raging Storm perk
- Damage reduced from 40 to 35 per spin.
Venture
Drill Dash could feel too reliable when used in close proximity. Reducing the radius requires slightly more control and better aligns the ability’s impact with its visual size.
Drill Dash
- Radius reduced from 2.4 to 2.0 meters.
Support Updates
Illari
Illari offers less utility than other offensively oriented supports, so increasing her damage raises her impact and improves her effectiveness when she’s positioned well and landing shots.
Solar Rifle
- Maximum damage increased from 70 to 75.
- Minimum damage increased from 20 to 25.
Lucio
Soundwave can be disruptive on a short cooldown. Increasing its cooldown reduces how frequently it can be used and slightly lowers Lucio’s overall pressure.
Soundwave
- Cooldown increased from 4 to 5 seconds.
Moira
This change increases Coalescence generation to better align its impact with other support ultimates.
Ultimate cost reduced by 7%.
Zenyatta
Zenyatta’s limited survivability and defensive options can limit his overall impact. Increasing Discord Orb’s amplification improves his contribution when he’s able to position safely and keep the Discord Orb active.
Discord Orb
- Damage amplification increased from 25% to 30%.
Stadium General Updates
Spawn Defense Turrets
- Powerful new turrets have been added outside of the spawn rooms for all Payload Race, Control and Clash maps. These turrets activate when enemy players come within range. The turrets have a small wind-up before they fire, allowing players to find cover or move out of range.
Spawn camping has been a consistent issue in Stadium since release. We hope to reduce this phenomenon with these new defense mechanism. The turrets are very tunable and we anticipate adjustments as receive feedback on how effective they are.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where D.Va’s Precision Fusion perk incorrectly applied to Micro Missiles instead of only her primary fire.
- Fixed an issue where Cassidy could not ping enemies through walls during Deadeye, he now matches other heroes with conditional wall visibility. (no ticket)
- Fixed an issue where aim assist would trigger on friendly pets and deployables.
- Fixed an issue where Moira’s Biotic Grasp would not target Lifeweaver’s Petal Platform.
- Fixed a bug that allowed Vendetta to temporarily store her Palatine Fang’s overhead slash
- Fixed an issue in 6v6 Open Queue where Zarya’s Projected Barrier would not activate when holding the button early before targeting a teammate, matching the Role Queue experience.
- Fixed an issue where Wuyang’s “Superflexor” mod would not activate on healing.
- Fixed an issue where Mercy’s “Supply Surge” power would incorrectly grant Winston unlimited ammo.
- Fixed an issue where Sigma’s “Astrophysical” power would not trigger other “on ability use” powers.
- Fixed an issue with the trap on Junkrat’s mythic skin
- Reverted changes to Linear and Exponential Aim Techniques’ minimum sensitivity
- Fixed an issue where the general item “Superflexor” would not activate on healing for Wuyang.
- Fixed an issue where Mercy’s “Supply Surge” power would incorrectly grant Winston unlimited ammo.
- Fixed an issue where Sigma’s “Astrophysical” power would not trigger other “on ability use” powers.
- Fixed an issue where Genji’s Dragonblade wasn’t counted as Ability Damage for Ability Damage effects
- Fixed an issue where the Gadget “Colossus Core” wasn’t sometimes not properly granting Knockback Resist
- Fixed an issue where the general item “Mark of the Kitsune” wasn’t counted as Ability Damage for Ability Damage effects
- Fixed an issue where Doomfist’s “Block Party” power could be kept permanently if sold in the shopping phase. Block Party has been re-enabled.
- Additional notes: none.
- Source: Blizzard Entertainment
How to download updates for Overwatch for the Nintendo Switch?
To download the updates for Overwatch, you have three options:
- let the console do its thing if you have automatic downloads activated, and didn’t completely turn it off
If not…
- try to launch the game from the Home Menu while being connected to the internet. You should get a prompt when doing so: simply follow the instructions on screen;
OR
- select the game > press either + or – to go to the Options page > select Software update > select Via the Internet.
To check that you have the latest version installed, simply select the game on the Home Menu, and press – or + to go to the Options: the version number is displayed just below the game title.
