Overwatch 2’s first PvP beta went live on April 26, giving players a first look at all the Overwatch 2 hero changes coming to Blizzard’s shooter.
For starters, Overwatch 2 is now a 5v5 game, removing one tank from the traditional team composition. The game’s 33rd hero, Sojourn, is also available to play in the beta, complete with a delightful rapid-firing railgun and sliding move that makes her incredibly fun to play.
But the game’s familiar cast of heroes is also getting a huge overhaul. Doomfist, Bastion, and Orisa have completely new kits, while each role gets its own unique passive.
For instance, all tanks now have knockback resistance and lower ultimate generation from damage taken and healing received. DPS heroes move faster, while support characters recover 15 health per second after one second of not taking damage.
Finally, abilities that used to completely stun or immobilize enemies have been reworked. This includes Cassidy’s Flashbang, Mei’s Endothermic Blaster, and Junkrat’s Steel Trap.
Here’s a look at all the Overwatch 2 hero changes in the PvP beta, which runs till May 17.
Every Overwatch 2 hero change and rework you need to know about
Doomfist
Doomfist is practically unrecognizable from his uppercutting, DPS days. The Nigerian hero is now a tank, boasting an increase in health to 450 points. A new Power Block ability replaces Rising Uppercut, reducing damage taken from the front by 90 percent.
If you block at least 100 damage, Doomfist’s gauntlet becomes supercharged, increasing the damage dealt by Rocket Punch, causing him to travel faster and farther.
His primary fire, Hand Cannon, has had its damage reduced from 6 to 5 per bullet. However, ammo regeneration rate is increased to 0.4 seconds from 0.65 seconds.
Seismic Slam now works similarly to Winston’s jump, launching you in the air and dealing damage to nearby enemies when you land. It also slows enemy movement speed by 30 percent and no longer pulls enemies in.
To further align with his new role as a tank, the maximum damage on his Meteor Strike ultimate is down to 100 from 200 before. Knockback has been removed and a new slow effect added.
Orisa
Guardian robot Orisa has also undergone a drastic rework. Her Protective Barrier shield and Halt! gravity pull abilities have been removed. Instead, she now has Energy Javelin, a projectile that stuns and knocks enemies back, and Javelin Spin, a defensive ability that destroys projectiles, pushes enemies back, and makes her move faster.
Her Supercharger ultimate has been replaced by Terra Surge, which pulls in nearby enemies and fortifies her. She also charges up an area-of-effect attack over four seconds, releasing a charge that deals up to 225 damage depending on how long it was channeled.
While charging, she also deals minor damage over time and slows nearby enemies by 30 percent.
Finally, she gains a new primary fire ability called Augmented Fusion Driver that rapidly fires 10 plasma projectiles per second. This weapon does not need to be reloaded and uses a heat mechanic instead of ammo. Firing the weapon increases heat, and it can no longer be fired for three seconds when it overheats.
Bastion
Mobile turret Bastion is another hero to receive a completely fresh coat of paint. His signature Self-Repair ability is gone, so he cannot heal himself. In its place is a new alternate fire A-36 Tactical Grenade, which bounces off walls and can stick to players or the ground. It explodes after a short delay, dealing up to 130 damage.
His turret form, now dubbed Assault, also allows him to move, albeit with a 35 percent speed penalty. It lasts for six seconds and has a 12-second cooldown, so he can no longer sit on the payload behind a shield.
Bastion’s old Tank configuration ultimate has also been replaced by something called Artillery. It locks Bastion in place to fire up to three long-range artillery shells, dealing high damage in a large area.
It works similarly to Doomfist’s Meteor Strike and comes straight down from the air at targeted locations. However, they are considered projectiles and can be blocked or destroyed by other abilities.
Winston
Winston is getting slightly beefier as a tank. His base armor is increased from 150 to 200, while the health of his Barrier Projector shield bubble has been bumped from 650 to 800. To offset that, the shield duration has been decreased from 9 to 8 seconds, while cooldown time is reduced from 13 to 12 seconds.
In addition, his Tesla Cannon weapon has a new secondary fire ability. It charges and releases a 30-meter bolt of electricity that deals up to 50 damage and costs up to 20 ammo.
Sombra
Sombra now deals more damage than ever before, capitalizing on a potent 40 percent increase in damage dealt to hacked targets. Hacked enemies are also revealed through walls to Sombra’s team for eight seconds, potentially helping her team hunt down high-value targets more easily.
The cooldown on Hack is just four seconds now, compared to eight seconds from before. In addition, Sombra does not need to exit Stealth mode before hacking, although she will be revealed to enemies while doing so.
Her EMP ultimate is more punishing too, dishing out 40 percent of current health as damage to enemies.
Mei
You no longer have to stare into Mei’s smiling, dead eyes as she turns you into a popsicle. Freeze stun has been removed from her Endothermic Blaster. It now slows targets at a constant 50 percent instead of building up over time. The slow duration is also down to 0.5 seconds from 1 second.
Her Ice Wall now has just 250 health, compared to 400 previously, while its range has been reduced from 35 to 20 meters.
On top of that, her Blizzard ultimate will take longer to charge with a 15 percent higher cost.
Cassidy
The erstwhile Jesse McCree has a new reworked ability to go along with his new name. His signature Flashbang is gone, replaced by a Magnetic Grenade that homes in on nearby enemies and sticks to them.
The change removes one of the most effective tools Cassidy had against Tracer and Genji, and also makes it a little harder to stop enemy heroes who are flanking.
Elsewhere, Cassidy is becoming a little tougher to take down while channeling his Deadeye ultimate. He now has a 40 percent damage reduction, and channels for seven seconds instead of just six. The cost of Deadeye has also increased by 10 percent.
Reinhardt
Armored tank Reinhardt feels a little more nimble in Overwatch 2. In addition to a bump to his base armor and health, it is now easier to steer his Charge ability.
Steering turn rate has been increased by 50 percent, and Charge can be manually canceled, so you’re not forced to ride all the way behind enemy lines (or over the edge of the map) if you mistime it.
The grizzled German tank is also getting two Fire Strike charges, albeit with slightly reduced damage. The health of his Barrier Field has been reduced from 1,600 to 1,200, and it is slower to regenerate as well. It now recovers 144 health per second, down from 200 previously.
Zarya
Zarya’s base health and shields are getting boosted to 250 and 225 respectively. In addition, her Particle Barrier and Projected Barrier are now both on a shared two-charge cooldown, which begins immediately on ability use instead of when the barrier expires.
Zarya’s rework also gives her more flexibility in using her shields. The shared two-charge system means that she can apply two bubbles to herself in quick succession, or protect two teammates at the same time.
That said, her energy depletes at a faster rate, from 1.8 to 2.2 per second.
Brigitte
Flailing support hero Brigitte can no longer stun enemies with her Shield Bash. However, the ability deals significantly more damage, up from 1 to 50. Its cooldown has also been reduced to five seconds from seven, and it has a longer range than before.
The healing from her Inspire passive is also now triggered by Shield Bash damage, not just Rocket Flail and Whip Shot.
Junkrat
Steel Trap is a little less annoying than before and does not prevent all movement by trapped enemies. Ensnared opponents are tethered by a chain, and are slowed by 65 percent until they reach the maximum chain length, at which point the chain breaks.
Movement abilities still cannot be activated, and the trap now deals more damage than before.
For the complete list of changes in the latest Overwatch 2 PvP beta, you can check here.
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