Overwatch 2 has increased the strength of both Zarya and Junker Queen in its mid-season 2 update.

Today’s balance patch is not as large as usual since some modifications were shifted to the December patch. It is worth mentioning that the alterations to Roadhog are not part of today’s update and they are expected to take place in mid-January or the end of January. Overwatch 2 Director Aaron Keller provided a sneak peek of the upcoming patch. For more information, please refer to the official patch notes below.

In expectation of an even larger update coming at the end of the month, Overwatch 2 just released a mid-season balance patch for tank/support heroes such as Junker Queen, Zarya, Brigitte, and Moira. This update is not particularly big in terms of changes or modifications, however, it will serve as an introduction to the mid-December patch, which is expected to be much more substantial. The update brings a new seasonal mode, Battle for Olympus, in which players can battle for the throne of Olympus as one of seven Greek gods and monsters, each with their own unique ultimate ability.

Furthermore, the mid-season update offers improvements to the tank and support heroes. For example, the carnage ability of Junker Queen has been reduced by two seconds and Jagged Blade adds a 30-damage wound to the target with direct hits. For Zarya, energy degeneration has been reduced while Brigitte’s barrier shield health has been increased to 300 and Moira can now restore a small amount of biotic energy by dealing damage with biotic orb. Overwatch 2 Director Aaron Keller has indicated that the changes to Roadhog which were planned for this patch have been moved to the mid-December patch and are expected to be released by the end of January. The official patch notes are available for further information.

A fresh seasonal competition has been announced called the Battle for Olympus FFA.

This Deathmatch mode is a free-for-all where competitors can battle for the title of ruler of Olympus. Seven gods and monsters from Greek mythology are featured in the game, each possessing a distinct Divine Power that will activate when their ultimate ability is used. Those who are victorious in the Battle for Olympus will have the opportunity to acquire limited-time voice lines and player titles, to show off their triumphs for all eternity. At the conclusion of the event, the hero whose forces were used to earn the most eliminations in all the matches will be proclaimed the new king of Olympus!

Hero Updates

Junker Queen

Adrenaline Rush

• Now heals for the remaining wound damage when an enemy dies with wounds on them

Carnage

• Cooldown is now reduced by 2 seconds for each enemy it impacts

Jagged Blade

• Thrown impact damage reduced from 80 to 50
• Thrown direct impacts now add a 30 damage wound to the stuck target. Stacks with wounds caused by Quick Melee or returning Jagged Blade hits.

Zarya

Energy

• Energy degeneration reduced from 2.2 to 2 per second
• Delay before energy degeneration begins after gaining energy increased from 1 to 2 seconds

Brigitte

Barrier Shield

• Health increased from 250 to 300

Moira

Biotic Orb

• Dealing damage with Biotic Orb now restores a small amount of Biotic Energy

Bug Fixes

General

• Fixed a bug with Souvenirs being incorrectly placed on Ramattra
• Fixed an issue with Kiriko’s Ofuda displaying black textures during her Whirlwind emote
• Fixed an issue with Reaper’s animations when ending his ‘Take a knee’ emote
• Resolved an issue with placeable abilities (turrets, mines) floating after the destructible environment they were placed on was destroyed
• Fixed an issue that resulted in some users seeing a black screen as their Main Menu background
• Fixed a bug that caused “Group Up” to say “I’m on my way” in unintended circumstances.
• Fixed an issue on some consoles that resulted in blurry graphics
• Fixed an issue where some players were not able to invite across certain consoles
• Fixed some performance issues in the Hero Gallery on Console platforms
• Resolved an issue where Daily Challenges were not rolling over for some users
• Fixed an issue where the end-of-game ‘DRAW’ text would not appear for players if a colorblind setting was active
• Resolved an issue with ‘Invite to Custom Game’ not appearing as an option in the Social Menu

Maps

Watchpoint Gibraltar

• Fixed some areas that allowed players to escape the map boundaries

Shambali Monastery

• Fixed some areas where players could become stuck
• Fixed some areas where some abilities could be ‘eaten’ by the environment
• Fixed lighting and geometry in several areas across the map

Heroes

Bastion

• Fixed an issue where Bastion’s sound effects could loop at the location of death
• Fixed an issue where Bastion’s whole screen would turn yellow when healed by a Brigitte Repair Pack

Kiriko

• Fixed a bug with Swift Step in Capture the Flag that would send the Flag to the destination instead of dropping it where the ability was activated

Mercy

• Fixed Mercy’s Guardian Angel sometimes allowing her to escape Ramattra’s Ravenous Vortex

Ramattra

• Fixed an issue with missing assets on Ramattra’s Hero Information page
• Fixed an issue with Ramattra’s Primary Fire effects not displaying the correct amount of projectiles for other players
• Ramattra should now play rumble effects on gamepads/controllers
• Ramattra can no longer have more than one barrier active at a time. Note: This could not happen in standard modes, only Custom Game or modes with low cooldowns

Tracer

• Fixed an issue where Pulse Bomb would not damage Tracer if it was ‘Stuck’ to an enemy