The hot topic in the Overwatch 2 community today is the release of season two, with the addition of the new tank hero Ramattra to the roster, the new Escort map Shambali Monastery, and balance changes to heroes. But Overwatch 2 lead hero designer Alec Dawson also provided insights into the mid-season balance patch from Nov. 17, which brought nerfs to Genji, D.Va, Zarya, and Sombra.
When asked to share his thoughts on that season one patch, Dawson revealed today that Genji and D.Va “ended up in an OK spot” after their nerfs, close to the sweet spot of a 50-percent win rate. Zarya and Sombra, however, are two heroes he thinks his team will “take another look at in the future” due to being “probably overnerfed.”
That shows that the Overwatch balance team is likely considering buffs to Zarya and Sombra again in future patches, regardless of how big or small they are. In the nerfs that came with the patch Dawson referred to, Zarya had her barrier duration reduced from 2.5 to two seconds and the cooldown increased from 10 to 11 seconds. Sombra took a heavy hit in her ability to weaken enemies with the damage multiplier on hacked opponents being cut almost in half, from 40 to 25 percent.
Before these changes, Zarya in particular had a heavy presence in competitive matches as the solo tank. Her barrier became more versatile and stronger with the release of Overwatch 2 and the sequel’s adjustments to it, allowing Zarya players to have two charges on the skill and choose on the go whether they’d use these charges on themselves or on allies. This versatility made some Zarya players look nearly invincible and way too strong since damage to her barrier increases the damage of her primary fire.
Sombra was also incredibly annoying to backline characters and some tank heroes. One hack and some good aiming were enough to take down squishy characters with low mobility with just a few shots, while Reinhardt became an easy target after being hacked and unable to use his shield for protection.
From a season one standpoint, having Zarya and Sombra nerfs reverted to some extent may sound scary to some players, but other balance changes coming with season two might make them not so overpowered even after a small buff.
There is no timeline for these changes and they are not confirmed yet. Despite this claim being made by the Overwatch lead hero designer, it’s possible that nothing happens in the future depending on how the meta shapes up. Until then, there’s a whole new season and meta for players to explore now.
