Overwatch’s latest update patch has rolled out, which means its first experimental mode — Triple Damage — is now live.

Triple Damage drops the standard 2-2-2 role lock in favor of a 1-3-2 comp, where teams are composed of one tank, three damage dealers, and two support players. Blizzard is playing around with this idea to see if it can improve queue times for damage players.

To make solo tank compositions more sustainable in Triple Damage, every tank has received buffs, with the most drastic changes coming to off-tanks, to put them on par with more traditional Main Tanks.


Off Tanks

Roadhog

Take a Breather now heals allies by leaving a suspicious-looking cloud behind when used. Any allies in the cloud gain 25 health per second and receive 25% less damage.

Video credit: Redditor, /u/andygmb

His Chain Hook also benefits from a shorter cooldown time, dropping from eight seconds to six seconds in Triple Damage. Roadhog’s primary fire damage has been slightly reduced (150 damage per shot down to 125 damage) and his Whole Hog ultimate now requires 15% more ult charge.

Zarya

Zarya gets 100 more health in the form of shields, and the cooldown on her personal barrier has been reduced to eight seconds.

Zarya’s biggest change is her Projected Barrier, which now shields all allies within an eight-meter radius instead of just one. Projected Barriers now also last three seconds instead of just two, effectively making them a mini Lucio Ult that also has the benefit of charging Zarya’s DPS.

Video credit: Redditor, /u/andygmb

D.Va

D.Va’s Defense Matrix now lasts four seconds (up from two).

She also gets an adjusted armor-to-health ratio, and now has 400 armor and 200 health, instead of 400 health and 200 armor, which should make her tankier.



Main Tanks

Changes for the four Main Tanks aren’t quite as drastic.

Orisa

Orisa’s Protective barrier cooldown has been reduced to 8 seconds, and her barrier health has been buffed to 900.

Reinhardt

Reinhardt now has 300 armor, and 200 health, instead of 300 health and 200 armor. His Rocket Hammer damage has increased from 75 to 90, and the regeneration rate on his shield has increased from 200 to 250 per second.

Sigma

Sigma’s Experimental Barrier now has 1,200 health, up from 900, and regenerates at 200 per second up from 120.

Winston

Winston now has 200 more armor, giving him 600 total health, and the cooldown on his Barrier Projector has been reduced from 13 seconds to 10 seconds.

To see all of the hero balancing changes made for Triple Damage, click here.


To be clear, these character tweaks are exclusive to the Triple Damage experimental card and will not appear in standard competitive, arcade, or quick play game modes. 

The new mode is intended to give players a chance to test and give feedback on fresh and innovative ideas that the Overwatch dev team constantly cook up in their labs.

You can try Experimental Mode yourself through a new card in the Play Menu.

These tweaks are not intended to be taken as previews for any permanent changes to the game — unless players love it enough to demand it through their feedback.

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