Here’s what you can expect when you jump into Overwatch Season 1.
Overwatch Season 1 is now live with five new heroes, Battle Pass rewards, the Hello Kitty collaboration, Conquest event, and so much more. Read on for the Overwatch Season 1 patch notes and details.
Overwatch Season 1 patch notes
Overwatch Season 1 in 2026 kicks off with Domina, Anran, Emre, Jetpack Cat, and Mizuki as brand-new heroes. They also arrive with subroles, which refer to role-specific passives. The addition of these subroles means balance changes to the rest of the Overwatch roster. That is, some perks are replaced due to overlap. Several heroes received buffs, nerfs, and adjustments as well, and every hero can now see their teammates' health through walls. It's no longer limited to support heroes.
Overwatch patch notes: Tanks
For the tank heroes, Zarya gets a major overhaul with a nerf her primary fire and effectiveness with energy. Roadhog, meanwhile, gets a longer duration for Take a Breather and a buff to the Pulled Pork perk. This helps him in terms of survivability and encourages more aggressive gameplay. Other affected tanks include D.Va, Mauga, Orisa, Reinhardt, Sigma, Winston, and Wrecking Ball.
Tank Hero | Change | Overwatch Patch Notes |
|---|---|---|
| D.Va | Base Health (5v5) | Base Health reduced from 375 to 325. Total reduced from 700 to 650. |
| Base Health (6v6) | Base Health reduced from 300 to 250. Total reduced from 600 to 550. | |
| Mauga | Kinetic Bandolier (Minor Perk) | Ammo generation now grants 150 ammo instantly instead of over time. |
| Orisa | Protective Barrier (Major Perk) (6v6) | Cooldown increased from 8 to 10 seconds. |
| Charged Javelin (Major Perk) | Fixed animation issues when charging Javelin. | |
| Reinhardt | Barrier Re-Charge (Minor Perk) | Removed. |
| Crusader’s Resolve (Minor Perk) | While using Barrier Field, passive health regeneration triggers 75% sooner. | |
| Roadhog | Take a Breather (5v5) | Resource maximum duration increased from 2.5 to 3 seconds. |
| Pulled Pork (Major Perk) | Overhealth maximum increased from 250 to 300. | |
| Sigma | Experimental Barrier | Barrier health reduced from 700 to 650. |
| Hyper Regeneration (Minor Perk) | Barrier health conversion rate reduced from 50% to 40%. | |
| Winston | Barrier Toss (Minor Perk) | Removed. |
| Electric Charge (Minor Perk) | Winston gains 10% movement speed for each enemy damaged by his primary fire, up to 30%. | |
| Wrecking Ball | Pack Rat (Minor Perk) | Removed. |
| Multi-Ball (Minor Perk) | Press Ultimate within 5 seconds after using Minefield to deploy 7 additional mines. | |
| Zarya | Particle Cannon | Primary fire maximum damage per second reduced from 190 to 175. |
| Energy Converter (Minor Perk) | Removed. | |
| Spotter (Minor Perk) | Moved from Major to Minor. Movement speed bonus reduced from 25% to 20%. | |
| Energy Lance (Major Perk) | No longer requires being above 50 energy. | |
| Extra Oomph (Major Perk) | While a Barrier is active, dealing damage with Particle Cannon’s beam generates energy. |
Overwatch patch notes Season 1: DPS heroes
As for the damage heroes, Sombra no longer has her Healthy Hacker major perk. However, she does gain High-Speed Bandwidth, which gives hacked health packs a movement speed and overhealth boost for teammates. Cassidy, meanwhile, gets Rollin' Round-Up major perk to make Combat Roll heal for each bullet reloaded. Other damage heroes with updates include Ashe, Anran, Echo, Freja, Hanzo, Pharah, Reaper, Torbjorn, Tracer, Vendetta, and Widowmaker.
DPS Hero | Change | Overwatch Patch Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ashe | Sidewinder (Minor Perk) | Removed. |
| Double-Barreled (Minor Perk) | Knocking an enemy back with Coach Gun briefly allows it to be used again with 25% reduced knockback. | |
| Anran | Fan the Flames | Impact damage increased from 4 to 5. Maximum ammo increased from 8 to 10. |
| Inferno Rush | Maximum vertical height reduced by 20%. Added "hold to use Inferno Rush" hero option. | |
| Dancing Blaze | Cooldown decreased from 10 to 8 seconds. Cleansing effect removed. | |
| Cassidy | Combat Roll | Cooldown reduced from 6 to 5 seconds. |
| Gun Slingin’ (Major Perk) | Removed. | |
| Rollin’ Round-Up (Major Perk) | Combat Roll heals 15 health for each bullet reloaded. | |
| Echo | Focused Rush (Minor Perk) | Movement speed bonus increased from 10% to 20%. |
| Freja | Hunter’s Instinct (Minor Perk) | Removed. |
| Relentless Barrage (Minor Perk) | Moved from Major to Minor. | |
| Rising Winds (Major Perk) | Updraft gains an additional charge but has 20% reduced height. | |
| Hanzo | Lunging (Minor Perk) | Removed |
| Dragon Fury (Minor Perk) | Moved from Major to Minor. Attack speed reduced from 25% to 20%. Duration reduced from 2 to 1.5 seconds. | |
| Frost Arrow (Major Perk) | Press Reload to ready an explosive frost arrow that slows enemies by 35% for 3 seconds. | |
| Pharah | Sky Spy (Major Perk) | Removed. |
| Rocket Salvo (Major Perk) | After using a movement ability, the next primary fire shoots two spiraling mini-rockets, each dealing 40 damage. | |
| Reaper | Shadow Step | No longer cleanses on use. |
| Soldier: 76 | Tactical Salvo (Minor Perk) | Added: Using Helix Rockets no longer interrupts primary fire during Tactical Visor. |
| Recycled Pulse Munitions (Minor Perk) | Removed. | |
| Helix Propulsion (Minor Perk) | Helix Rocket projectile speed increased by 50%. | |
| Sombra | Opportunist | No longer detects enemies below half health. Now reveals enemy ultimate abilities on nameplates. |
| Healthy Hacker (Major Perk) | Removed. | |
| High-Speed Bandwidth (Major Perk) | Hacked health packs grant allies 25% movement speed and 50 overhealth for 4 seconds. | |
| Torbjorn | Fully Loaded (Minor Perk) | Removed. |
| Pre-Heated (Minor Perk) | Molten Core activates Overload. | |
| Tracer | Pulse Pistols | Damage reduced from 6 to 5.75. Gains the increased global projectile size (0.04 meters). |
| Chronal Dash (Minor Perk) | Blink distance increased by 20%. | |
| Flashback (Major Perk) | Removed. | |
| Blink Packs (Major Perk) | Moved from Minor to Major. | |
| Vendetta | Health | Increased from 150 to 175. |
| Armor | Reduced from 125 to 100. | |
| Soaring Slice | Cooldown increased from 6 to 7 seconds. | |
| Extra Edge (Minor Perk) | Projected Edge costs 25% less energy. | |
| Relentless (Major Perk) | Moved from Minor to Major. | |
| Swift Vengeance (Major Perk) | Removed. | |
| Widowmaker | Seeker Mine (Major Perk) | Damage increased from 50 to 75 over its duration. |
| Escape Plan (Major Perk) | Removed. | |
| Widow’s Bite (Major Perk) | Scoped shots can charge up to 125%, piercing enemies when fully charged. |
Overwatch new season patch notes: Support heroes
Finally, updates to support heroes go to Baptiste, Illari, Kiriko, Lifeweaver, Mercy, Moira, Wuyang, and Zenyatta. Illari's Solar Flare major perk, for example, no longer costs resource and now has a 10-second cooldown. Meanwhile, Kiriko mains can enjoy buffed Healing Ofuda's projectile speed. Her Swift Step, however, no longer cleanses on use.
"Swift Step previously gave Kiriko multiple self-cleansing options, making her difficult to eliminate," Blizzard Entertainment explained. "Removing the cleanse on Swift Step preserves its mobility value while improving counterplay."
Support Hero | Change | Overwatch Patch Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Baptiste | Assault Burst (Minor Perk) | Moved from Major to MinorAttack speed reduced from 25% to 20% |
| Biotic Reloader (Minor Perk) | Removed. | |
| Expanded Field (Minor Perk) | Immortality Field radius increased by 30%. | |
| Automated Healing (Major Perk) | Moved from Minor to Major. Healing per shot increased from 25 to 40. | |
| Illari | Solar Rifle (Secondary Fire) | Resource regeneration reduced from 43 to 35. |
| Outburst | Cooldown increased from 7 to 8 seconds. | |
| Solar Flare (Major Perk) | No longer costs resource. Now has a 10-second cooldown. | |
| Kiriko | Healing Ofuda | Projectile speed increased from 18 to 24. |
| Swift Step | No longer cleanses on use. | |
| Foxtrot (Major Perk) | Removed increased cooldown recovery buff. Movement speed buff duration increased from 2 to 4 seconds. | |
| Lifeweaver | Tree of Life | Overhealth conversion rate from overhealing increased from 50% to 100%. |
| Lifeweaving (Minor Perk) | Removed. | |
| Cleaning Grasp (Minor Perk) | Removed. | |
| Petal Power (Major Perk) | Removed. | |
| Petal Protection (Minor Perk) | Allies heal 20 health per second while standing on Petal Platform. | |
| Dashing Escape (Minor Perk) | Rejuvenating Dash distance increased by 30%. | |
| Sow the Seed (Major Perk) | Quick Melee with Healing Blossom equipped tosses a seed forward. Allies who pick up a seed gain 75 overhealth and 25% movement speed for 5 seconds. | |
| Mercy | Sympathetic Recovery (Passive) | Removed. |
| Swift Recovery (Passive) | Health regeneration begins sooner. | |
| Moira | Destruction’s Divide (Minor Perk) | Focused healing/damage bonus increased from 25% to 30%. |
| Wuyang | Restorative Stream | Passive healing reduced from 25 to 20. Beam healing increased from 50 to 55. |
| Zenyatta | Transcendent Condemnation (Minor Perk) | Removed. |
| Discordant Repair (Minor Perk) | Zenyatta gains 10% lifesteal against enemies affected by Discord Orb. |
That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more Overwatch news and updates.
