Overwatch 2 Will Nerf Several Characters; Players Want More [UPDATE]

Update

This is not the end of difficult, but apparently necessary decisions - Blizzard has temporarily shut down Mei. The reason is the Wall of Ice skill, which enabled players to reach various undesirable parts of maps. The heroine should return to the pool on November 15..

Original message (October 31, 2022)

Barely a few days ago, Overwatch 2 players received an update introducing the Halloween Terror event, and already another patch has been announced. Its task will be to restore balance in the game by tampering with several characters.

OP characters

The list of changes, to come into effect in just over two weeks, was detailed in a post on the Blizzard forums by one of the Community Managers.

All the announced changes are aimed at nerfing certain characters, as these particular heroes are considered too powerful on the battlefield.

And so, along with the update, Sombra's hacking effect time will be reduced (from 1.75 sec. to 1.5 sec.), and hacked enemies will not be able to immediately become targets again. The damage multiplier from hacking has also been reduced (from 40% to 25%).

Among the next characters to get nerfed are:

• Genji: max ammo will be reduced (from 30 to 24) and shuriken damage will be reduced (from 29 to 27).
• Zarya: the barrier's duration will be reduced (from 2.5 to 2 sec.) and its cooldown increased (from 10 to 11 sec.).
• D.Va: The spread of the Fusion Cannon will be increased (from 3.5 to 3.75), but the damage from the Afterburners will be reduced (from 25 to 15).
• Kiriko: for Swift Step skill (teleporting to an ally) the damage invulnerability time will be reduced (from 0.4 sec. to 0.25 sec.).

You can get acquainted with the full patch notes here.

D.Va and 4 other characters will be nerfed. Photo: Blizzard

The community wants faster and more

Although the above-mentioned changes seem to be needed and the Overwatch 2 community expresses mostly approval, a few "buts" still remain.

The main complaint of fans is the timing of the changes. They demand their implementation immediately, while Blizzard announced that the update regulating the balance will not go into effect until November 15.

Under the announcement you can read such responses from players:

Among the top rated responses, there are often comments in which players lament that the list of nerfs does not include another powerful character - Sojourn.

Not all player expectations have been met, but nefring of overly powerful characters is a small step towards improving the quality of Overwatch 2. The future will tell if Blizzard will make bolder moves, or if the community will be the first to run out of patience.

• Overwatch 2 - game guide