Cassidy was one of many heroes to receive balance changes last week to start Overwatch 2 season five, and while the intention of his changes was to reintroduce more crowd control to DPS heroes, there have been some adverse effects.
The latest iteration of Cassidy’s Magnetic Grenade might be the most overpowered version of the ability, despite not packing nearly as much of a punch as it has in seasons past, and part of that stems from a change to the range of the thrown projectile.
Prior to this season, Magnetic Grenade was intended to be used as a means of self defense against a dive so the ability could only travel 10 meters, but now it can be lobbed practically across the map, and one Cassidy player today showed just how powerful—and silly—it is with a play posted to reddit.
In a video replay of the first point of Rialto, this Cassidy player couldn’t quite take down an enemy Pharah before they flew behind a building. In a last ditch effort to finish the Pharah off, the Cassidy player blindly chucked a Magnetic Grenade over the building, and you guessed it, they stuck the Pharah for the elimination.
Related: Here are the Overwatch 2 season 5 patch notes
Magnetic Grenade has consistently been a point of contention for players in Overwatch 2. As a replacement for Flashbang when the game moved to five-vs-five in October of last year, the ability originally dealt enough damage that diving a Cassidy player often felt like a surefire death sentence, especially considering how easily it sticks to opponents.
The most recent change is supposed to be a slight bump to crowd control for DPS heroes to make for more variety and utility in the role. However, it’s clear that Cassidy’s newly developed arm strength makes the ability potentially oppressive, especially considering how it applies a “hindered” debuff to enemies that it sticks.
