If you’ve played Overwatch before, you’ll know that nerfs and buffs are a regular thing that’s expected whenever a new hero or game mechanic is introduced. Several characters have been overhauled before, and now we have an announcement of upcoming nerfs for Sombra, Genji, Kiriko, Zarya, and D. Va.
This latest Hero Balance Update reads:
While we talked about our plans for Season 2 in our previous Dev Blog, there are some Hero balance adjustments we’d like to make sooner. As promised, we’re focused on some tactical adjustments meant to bring current standouts like D.Va, Zarya, Genji, and Sombra more in line with the rest of the roster.
Here’s the breakdown of nerfs for damage heroes:
Sombra
- Hack ability lockout duration reduced from 1.75 to 1.5 seconds
- Hacked enemies are no longer valid targets for hacking for the duration of the effect
- Hacked damage multiplier reduced from 40 to 25%
Genji
- Maximum ammo reduced from 30 to 24
- Shuriken damage reduced from 29 to 27
Here’s the breakdown for the tanks:
Zarya
- Barrier duration reduced from 2.5 to 2 seconds
- Barrier cooldown increased from 10 to 11 seconds
D.va
- Fusion Cannon spread increased from 3.5 to 3.75
- Boosters impact damage reduced from 25 to 15
And here’s the nerf coming to new healer character Kiriko:
Kiriko
- Swift Step invulnerability duration reduced from 0.4 to 0.25 seconds
For full details on the nerfs, you can check out the official site here.
So far, the plan is to incorporate the nerfs this coming Nov. 15, but if anything should change, Blizzard will just make a new update.
The 5v5 format has definitely lead to some balancing changes, and while some fans say that the change is infinitely better, there are some characters that have managed to shift the balance of the game.
This probably isn’t the last of the character changes, but hopefully this will be a fix for the current unbalance issues that players are complaining about now.
Overwatch is currently playable for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4|5.
