Overwatch 2 introduced many changes to the game’s heroes, from the fan favorites to the universally despised. And with the introduction of new heroes into the mix, the game’s roster balance is forever shifting.
This isn’t a new thing for Overwatch 2, or for any competitive game in fact. Heroes come and go out of the meta all the time. But there are a few heroes in Overwatch 2 we can’t help but feel really, really need changes right now.
After the Jan. 24 patch that saw adjustments to Roadhog and Sojourn, our hearts are feeling a bit better now that we won’t be getting one-shot hooked or completely shut down by a Railgun shot to the head quite as often. But some of the game’s characters still need some help.
Here are the top five heroes that need changes in Overwatch 2.
5) Sombra
Sombra was blazing her way through the Overwatch 2 test servers and was a super strong pick early on in the game’s release. But suddenly, she dropped to the bottom. It feels like it’s difficult for Sombra to exist in a mid-tier spot because she is either overpowered or not useful at all.
For people in lower ranks, it has often been difficult to use Sombra effectively for a few reasons. First of all, she is a character that requires, almost more than any other hero, strong team communication. Once a target is hacked, nothing will really happen to them unless your team can isolate them and pick them off.
While Sombra can occasionally handle squishies by herself, hack targeting is what makes her so successful in high ranks and professional play.
This team communication issue is part of why she never really seems to be able to stay at the top of any tier lists. Her hacking ability is great, many even consider it broken. There is no other hero in the game who has the ability to nullify another character’s entire kit. But when you can only hack one target at a time, who often has their whole team ready to come and save them, the ability sometimes feels like a waste.
We have seen top-tier Overwatch League players pick up Sombra in the past, like Danteh for example, but even some of the best players in the world can have a hard time using the hero’s abilities effectively.
Take Shanghai Dragon’s star Lip, for example. He is known as a great Sombra player and flexible DPS player overall, but his EMP efficiency is alarmingly low. Why? Because EMP, though one of the most powerful ultimates in the game, is difficult to get value from without a plan. It’s not an ultimate you can just pop on cooldown like Baptiste’s Amplification Matrix or Moira’s Coalescence. Your team needs to know when you EMP, and what the plan is for wiping out your enemies.
So, Sombra exists in a strange place. She either gets no value at all, or her abilities are too overpowered when used in the ideal setting. It is very difficult to balance her just due to the nature of her playstyle. It would be nice to see some balance changes to Sombra, but it’s really difficult to adjust a character with her abilities.
4) Cassidy
Since the removal of Cassidy’s flashbang in favor of a small grenade, the cowboy hasn’t been a top pick for anyone. (Well, maybe except for Florida Mayhem streamer Wanted.) The other problem is that with an overpowered Sojourn as the top pick for hitscan players, no one sees any value in playing Cassidy over her.
It’s understandable that the Overwatch 2 team opted to remove Cassidy’s flashbang. First of all, the ability wasn’t really a flashbang at all, at least not in comparison to other first-person shooters like VALORANT, where a flash literally blinds the player’s entire screen. Instead, Cassidy’s flashbang was essentially a stun that could be thrown to an enemy’s feet.
In an effort to make the experience of playing tank heroes more enjoyable, Blizzard took out flashbang, and a number of other stun abilities like Brigitte’s Shield Bash, which we will get to later. But what Cassidy got instead is just not good.
Magnetic Grenade is basically a much much weaker version of a Tracer Pulse Bomb. You can stick it to an enemy, and then it explodes. The problem is, with the little damage this grenade does, highly skilled Cassidy players would often rather hit a quick headshot in less time than throw out this grenade. There is little practical reason to use it, and it doesn’t add anything to his kit.
It would be great to see Magnetic Grenade changed in some way, but there is a fine line between making it as effective as a Pulse Bomb and leaving it as a somewhat useless ability. Either way, this ability needs to be changed. Cassidy could also be due for some buffs to his revolver since nearly every other hitscan hero is outperforming him.
3) Reinhardt
Reinhardt, the once face of Overwatch 2, has had an incredibly difficult time adjusting to the 5-versus-5 meta. In Overwatch, Reinhardt was strong as a main tank, taking up and creating space while also protecting his teammates.
But, without another tank that can help him protect his squishy teammates easily and maneuver around an objective, he just gets bullied to no end in his current state.
It doesn’t help that Reinhardt is a fan-favorite character. Many Overwatch players love swinging around his giant hammer He is a character that isn’t aim-intensive, meaning players rely more heavily on their game sense to master positioning and pace.
But Reinhardt is just way too weak as a single tank to be able to do any of that effectively. His lack of mobility severely punishes him, and though he is one of the few tanks in Overwatch 2 who still have a shield, it’s basically his only asset right now.
Things got even worse for Reinhardt with Ramattra’s release. Reinhardt has a shield, you say? So does Ramattra. But Reinhart is the best tank in close combat and brawl compositions! Well, Ramattra’s second form gives him extra HP and allows him to literally punch his way through close enemies. Why would you play Reinhardt at all right now when Ramattra is clearly a stronger and more versatile choice?
Reinhardt needs a buff badly, but how can Blizzard change the hero without taking away some of the integral elements that make him such a loved character? It seems like Reinhardt just can’t keep up with the times.
2) Brigitte
Brigitte, the hero who changed Overwatch forever upon her initial release, has now been the worst support hero for months. She used to be extremely overpowered, able to play almost as a front-lining DPS, but all of her changes in Overwatch 2 have taken away a lot of what made her so strong in the first place.
Brigitte was considered a menace when she first came out for a few reasons. One, she had a shield. What kind of support hero has a personal shield? And this shield had a TON of HP. Second, she had two crowd-control abilities, Whip Shot and a stun from Shield Bash. In Overwatch 2’s quest to remove many crowd-control abilities to make the tank a more enjoyable experience, Brigitte’s Shield Bash stun had to go.
The devs also reworked the way armor functions in the game, which significantly affected Brigitte’s Armor Packs not only during a team fight but also lore-wise. Why is it called an Armor Pack if it doesn’t give additional armor?
Brigitte has been down in the dumps for months. She isn’t even good in modes like Capture the Flag, where the GOATS (no DPS) meta still shines.
Though bringing back her stun isn’t necessarily the answer, just like with Cassidy’s reworked flashbang, Brigitte needs help right now.
1) Mercy
Mercy has caused a lot of controversy in the Overwatch community recently. She is a support hero that exists in a class of her own, and it might be time for that to change.
As one of the heroes with the best mobility in the game and arguably the best targeted healing, Mercy’s main job is to fly around to her teammates and keep them alive. Her ultimate, Valkyrie, basically enhances her ability to do this.
Mercy players, especially in lower ranks, can go entire games without doing a single health point of damage. And this doesn’t mean they aren’t playing her effectively.
Her Damage Boost ability has also been a target of criticism. While there are other abilities in the game that amplify damage, Mercy having an unlimited “supply” of damage boosting becomes a problem when you have DPS heroes who are also overpowered in their own right.
Sojourn, a hero who the community had been begging to get nerfed, finally got her ever-powerful Railgun nerfed in the Jan. 24 patch. This change puts her in a better place, and part of this change is directly because of the impact she was having coupled with Mercy’s Damage Boost. So does Mercy need to be changed too?
The other frustrating thing for Mercy players has to do with this idea that her playstyle is so unique. Basically, every other support hero in the game is expected to do some damage during a game, even if it’s just to protect themselves. But Mercy doesn’t need to. Maybe if her pistol was buffed, or she got another secondary weapon, this would make her a more dynamic support. Not that she is an easy character to play in the first place.
Overall, the main big reason Mercy needs a change is that she hasn’t been updated in what feels like forever. She just needs a refresh in the next OW2 update.
