Hero balance changes in Overwatch 2 Season 2

Overwatch 2 Season 2 is now live, bringing new tank Ramattra and map changes. But Season 2 also came with extensive patch notes that brought much-needed changes to some heroes. Many heroes that were struggling to stay meta in Season 1 are getting upgrades while some OP heroes are seeing nerfs as Blizzard attempts to balance the growing roster.

Here are the biggest changes in Season 2.

Doomfist has been on developers' eyes for a while now. The DPS-turned-tank has been underperforming so his kit has been given some major upgrades.

Rocket Punch will now do even more damage when he hits enemies, but there won't be as much damage done when heroes hit a wall from the impact. The stun also doesn't last as long. Rocket Punch's cooldown and cancel time are also shorter, so Doomfist players can be a bit more aggressive.

Meteor Strike, Doomfist's ultimate, is also buffed as of Season 2, as well as his passive, The Best Defense. This gives him up to 200 extra shielding and an increased amount per ability hit.

Junker Queen was underwhelming throughout Season 1 thanks to some nerfs. Going into Season 2, Junker Queen's ultimate, Rampage, is getting an upgrade. The bleeding effect lasts longer and her ultimate loads 10% faster. Commanding Shout has a shorter cooldown and her passive, Adrenaline Rush, heals her for 25% more than it used to. This will hopefully make Junker Queen a lot more viable in the currently aggressive meta.

Bastion was a completely different hero going into Overwatch 2, and not just because he sported a hat. His rework didn't do enough to make Bastion the most riveting DPS choice so he has some changes in Season 2. His artillery drops are now 0.4 seconds faster and have a shorter delay between placing shots. The ultimate does a bit less damage, however, but it will be a lot more effective. His ability to turn into a mobile tank also has a two-second shorter cooldown, allowing players to be a bit more aggressive.

Sojourn is finally getting nerfed after Overwatch players complained throughout Season 1. To make her less oppressive, developers made her Railgun Charge drain three seconds faster and have more falloff damage at a longer range. The critical damage was decreased to 1.5x. Sojourn's primary fire, however, is a bit stronger and her Overclock charges 20% faster.

While overall a balanced hero, developers still made some minor changes to the popular support. The biggest change is to her ultimate, which is now 10% tougher to get and has reduced movement speed and cooldown rate bonuses. But her Protection Suzu takes less time to cast and she was given 15 kunai instead of 12.

Some other heroes were given minor updates, like Mercy's Caduces Blaster swapping faster, Tracer's Pulse Pistols doing more damage, and Symmetra's beams charging up faster.