The Overwatch 2 Season Six mid-cycle patch today may have introduced the new Hero Mastery system to the game, but it also included some important balance changes to nearly a fourth of the game’s roster of heroes.
Eight heroes received balance changes with the most significant perhaps being a buff to Zarya’s Projected Barrier. The hero was an overwhelmingly powerful tank in the early seasons of Overwatch 2 before being nerfed, but these upcoming changes to her shielding could be what she needs to keep up with other, more heavily played tanks. Blizzard increased her shields’ health, and also decreased the cooldown for Projected Barriers specifically.
On the other end of the spectrum, Baptiste and Bastion received the largest nerfs. Baptiste’s Regenerative Burst healing was decreased to 40, and his heal over time was decreased to 40 as well. Meanwhile, Bastion’s Tactical Grenade impact damage was chopped in half, down to 15, and his Ultimate, Configuration: Artillery, can’t deal crits anymore.
Here is a list of all the heroes that received changes:
- Ashe
- Baptiste
- Bastion
- Junker Queen
- Kiriko
- Mei
- Orisa
- Zarya
Some of the other notable changes were to Orisa and Mei. Blizzard has been continually tweaking both of the heroes as they work toward finding a sweet spot for each of their marquee abilities.
Related: Overwatch 2 season 6 patch notes: All hero balance changes, new hero Illari, and more
For Mei, it’s been difficult for the team to strike a balance with the Endothermic Blaster. After re-introducing a slowing effect to the gun, Blizzard has tweaked the amount it slows as well its damage on numerous occasions.
Orisa’s Fortify has been the subject of multiple balance changes, and that may continue following changes Blizzard made to the way damage reduction works at the start of season six. It’s a large suite of changes overall, and it will shake up the Overwatch meta a bit in the second half of the season.
