Overwatch 2 teases balance patch and new Perks for seasons 15 and 16

On Feb. 27, Overwatch 2 lead gameplay designer Alec Dawson, senior producer Kenny Hudson, and associate hero designer Scott Kennedy answered a bunch of questions over on the Competitive Overwatch 2 subreddit as part of an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. They shared insights about the design of Overwatch 2 Perks, what it takes to balance them, what's next for the new system, and more.

According to Dawson, the main goal of the Overwatch 2 Perks system is to create new gameplay options, increasing situational viability, and giving players more control over their experience. For example, when it comes to situational viability, some Perks can address hero weaknesses such as Junkrat's Frag Cannon and Sigma's Levitation. Dawson talked about Sombra's White Hat Perk as well, saying that it's interesting because it fulfills a certain hero fantasy. Our screenshots below indicate what all of these mentioned Perks do in Overwatch 2.

Meanwhile, Kennedy revealed that the team originally designed many Perks that "had a strong benefit but a drawback." However, the Overwatch 2 team discovered that this made Perks feel bad to use. Sombra's Stack Overflow is an example of this, however, the team plans to make a balance change to either improve or replace it.

Kennedy also shared how there aren't any current plans to add specific Perks to the base hero kits. Interestingly, however, there are currently some Perks that have shown potential for future hero changes. Bastion's Armored Artillery, Smart Bomb, and Self-Repair Perks, for example, have addressed gaps in his kit.

"These Perks have made the hero both better overall but much more fun to play as well," Kenny added. "These were some of the major goals Perks were trying to accomplish, but I can see us taking some parts of Perks and putting them into base kits as heroes change in the future."

In terms of the balance of Overwatch 2 Perks, Dawson said that the winners so far have been Ramattra, Winston, Bastion, Pharah, and Ana. He also noted the impact of individual Perks such as Ramattra's Vengeful Vortex, Mauga's Firewalker, Zarya's Energy Lance, plus Soldier 76's Agility Training.

Kenny answered another question related to this, revealing the popularity of Roadhog's Scrap Hook over his Minor Hog Toss. As for Ramattra, his Void Surge has been a popular pick because it increases hero damage.

"Overall, the perk selection rates that are one-sided are the ones you would expect, and we're using these stats and feedback to identify which perks need to be either balanced or changed in future patches," he wrote.

For now, the Overwatch 2 team's primary goal pertains to focusing on adjusting underperforming and overperforming Perks. A balance update will arrive in the mid-season update for Overwatch 2 Season 15.

Another interesting reveal in the AMA is that the Overwatch 2 team plans to rotate in some new Perks in Season 16. Players can expect updates to Perks such as Roadhog's Hog Toss, Juno's Re-Boots, and more.

"We're going to start rotating in some new [Perks] in Season 16, but before we get there we've got a bunch of balance changes and tweaks coming in the Season 15 [mid-cycle] patch, and there are good things coming for some underperforming [Perks]," Hudson wrote.

As for changing Perks in the middle of an Overwatch 2 match, Kenny said that the idea of changing them mid-match isn’t off the table. However, there are currently no plans to add that feature.

The full Overwatch Perks AMA can be found on Reddit. The other highlights can also be checked out in this week's director's take.

That's all for now. Have you been enjoying Overwatch 2's new Perks system? Stick around on esports.gg for more news and updates!