Overwatch 2's first big balancing patch takes aim at problem heroes

 The upcoming patch for Overwatch 2 will focus on some of the game's most powerful heroes. The Overwatch 2 community manager Andy "AndyB" Belford listed a number of nerfs that will go into effect on November 15 in a post on the Blizzard forums(opens in new tab). Changes are made to Sombra, Genji, Zarya, D.Va, and Kiriko, a new support character with a ninja motif. The following is a list of all the changes:

Sombra

Lockout time for the hack ability was decreased from 1.75 to 1.5 seconds.

For as long as the impact lasts, opponents that have been hacked are no longer viable targets for hacking.

Damage multiplier has been hacked, dropping from 40 to 25%

Genji

Maximum ammunition down to 24 from 30

Shuriken damage is now only 27 instead of 29.

Zarya

Duration of the barrier was cut from 2.5 to 2 seconds.

Barrier cooldown lengthened to 11 seconds from 10

D.va

From 3.5 to 3.75, the Fusion Cannon dispersion increased.

Impact damage for boosters is now 15 instead of 25,

Kiriko

Swift Step's duration of immunity was decreased from 0.4 to 0.25 seconds.

We have previously discussed how the top tanks in North America have been using Zarya. Many thought damage-focused secondary tanks like the Russian weightlifter would be left behind with Overwatch 2's transition to a single tank meta. Her new twin bubbles have allowed her to become somewhat of a raid boss with almost continual invulnerability, therefore it appears like Blizzard overcorrected.

Her downplaying with the uptime reduction sounds like a wise change to make without damaging that dream. D.Va, on the other hand, keeps her updated defensive matrix but only sees a slight decrease in her damage and accuracy.

Genji, a support slayer, benefited greatly from the switch to a single tank meta, therefore needing more shurikens to kill and having less of them in a clip (magazine? forearm?) should strike a better balance with the freer hand he has in the backline now. Similar to Sombra, she will now be less effective as a lone assassin, especially with that significant reduction in hacking damage (from 40% to 25%).

After being introduced, new heroes always require some tweaking, and Kirkio's smaller window of invulnerability will make wanton teleporting riskier.

These all appear to be reasonable adjustments to balance a hero shooter that, despite a few monetization and advancement problems, is still fundamentally the same game we've loved since 2016 (opens in new tab).

While we're here, if Blizzard is accepting suggestions for balancing, I'd like to offer the following adjustments for Cassidy:

Increased headshot and body shot damage for Peacemaker

He now receives both the newly released flashbang and Magnetic Grenade.

Deadeye engages immediately.

No one is permitted to insult me on team chat any longer.