The Overwatch 2 Season 6 patch notes are here, with a range of buffs and nerfs – but mostly buffs – to help continue balancing the multiplayer game. Season 6 introduces Illari, a brand-new support hero, alongside the Flashpoint mode, and, if you’re willing to pay for them, a trio of PvE story missions. There’s even a new PvE limited-time mode that’s free for everyone.
Season 6 has a lot going on, but we’ve broken down the biggest changes for each hero and how the new PvE modes work below.
D.Va buffs
D.Va’s been on the receiving end of nerfs for most seasons, but she finally gets a break this time. Blizzard is reducing the cooldown time of her booster rockets by half a second, and she enjoys a brief moment of invulnerability after getting ejected from the mech.
Doomfist buffs
Doomfist’s path from DPS to tank has not been a smooth one, but Season 6 gives him a few more tank-like buffs to help increase his survivability.
- Seismic Slam cooldown reduced from 7 seconds to 6
- Power Block reduces damage from stuck projectiles. Doomfist does not have to face the incoming projectile’s direction for this to work
Blizzard said Doomfist dies the most out of all the tanks and hopes the Seismic Slam cooldown change will make his skill rotation work more effectively.
Orisa buffs
Orisa dominates the battlefield, and she’s getting a few small changes to help make her even more lethal.
- Fusion Driver (primary fire) falloff range increased from 15 to 20 meters
- Fortify health bonus increased from 75 to 125
Ramattra nerfs and buffs
Ramattra’s big change is an increase in his ult cost. Blizzard said it’s too deadly an ability to trigger as frequently as it was. Like Doomfist, his blocks will now reduce damage from stuck projectiles.
Sigma change
Sigma’s change is a bit of a weird one. Blizzard says players felt that Sigma’s floaty movement negatively affected his tank passive – a knockback reduction – since he took longer to stop, or so they thought. Those movement values in that specific interaction now match the same values for other heroes.
Winston buff and nerf
Winston’s situation is a giveth and taketh away one. His secondary fire charge beam will charge faster now, but he takes 0.25 seconds longer to recover. The idea is to keep it from being too powerful and to change how players approached Winston’s combos.
Bastion buffs
Bastion’s getting a lot of changes this time, all meant to keep him slightly more mobile and less dead. His skill powers get a slight bump, and he recovers from using them more quickly.
- Maximum explosion damage falloff reduced from 70% to 50%.
- Detonation time reduced from 0.5 to 0.35 seconds.
- Recoil adjusted to recover more quickly.
- Projectile size increased from 0.2 to 0.25.
- Impact damage increased from 15 to 30.
Configuration Recon
- Reload time reduced from 1.5 to 1.2 seconds.
Configuration Assault
- Transforming into Configuration Assault now repairs 50 armor health.
Configuration Artillery
- Targeting state movement speed increased from 20 to 25 meters per second.
Cassidy buffs and nerfs
Blizzard is still struggling to figure out what Cassidy should play like. His health is increasing to 225, and, since the team wants to keep players using him as a close-to-mid-range attacker, the travel time and slow effect from his grenade are dropping slightly.
Hanzo nerf
If you liked keeping your charged arrow charged while you climbed up walls as Hanzo, you’re in for a disappointment this season.
Sombra nerfs
Sombra’s ult takes longer to charge now, and it won’t completely deactivate Lifeweaver’s tree anymore. It will, however, damage it.
Soldier 76 nerfs
Soldier 76 doesn’t often show up in patch notes, but Blizzard believes he’s become simply too dangerous. His helix rocket explosion will deal 80 damage instead of 90, and his ult requires 10 percent more charge time.
Torbjorn buffs
Torbjorn gets a small set of buffs that reduce his recovery time while swapping weapons, using the hammer, and using his rivet gun. It’s not much, but it’s also a nice touch for a hero who can feel a bit clunky at times.
Ana nerf and buff
Ana lived up to her reputation a bit too well. Blizzard said she was deadlier than expected, so they’re dropping her healing and damage per shot from 75 to 70. However, the size of the projectiles fired while in unscoped mode are ever so slightly bigger now as well.
Brigitte nerf
After buffing Brigitte’s ultimate so the barrier works better, Blizzard is nerfing the standard barrier by reducing its damage absorption to 250. The ult costs six percent more to use now as well.
Kiriko nerfs and buffs
Kiriko’s getting a few adjustments this time.
Protection Suzu
- Knockback removed.
- Healing reduced from 50 to 40.
- Now heals for an additional 30 health when cleansing a negative effect.
Kunai
- Damage increased from 40 to 45.
- Recovery time reduced from 0.55 to 0.5 seconds.
- Critical damage multiplier reduced from 3 to 2.5x.
Lifeweaver buffs
The struggle to get Lifeweaver just right continues in Season 6. Blizzard is cutting his overall health and replacing it with shield health to account for the large hitbox, and Thorn Valley’s spread is 25 percent smaller now, making it easier to hit foes.
Allies won’t be able to escape Life Grip easily now, which is good or bad depending on how good your Lifeweaver is, and the Tree of Life will grant Overhealth up to 100 while it’s active.
Lucio buff
Lucio no longer has a self-healing penalty during Amp It Up, which is grand considering he’d usually die before having a chance to heal everyone.
Mercy nerf
The damage buff from Mercy’s staff is now 25 percent, down from 30 percent.
Illari abilities
Illari is the newest support hero. Here’s what you can expect from her.
Using solar threading augmentation, Illari strikes down her enemies by harnessing the power of the sun.
Solar Rifle (Primary Fire)
- Long-range auto-charging rifle.
Solar Rifle (Secondary Fire)
- Medium-range healing beam that consumes solar energy.
Outburst (Ability 1)
- Launches you in the direction you are moving, knocking back enemies. Hold jump to go higher.
Healing Pylon (Ability 2)
- Deploy a pylon that heals allies.
Captive Sun (Ultimate)
- Fire an explosive ball of solar energy. Enemies hit are slowed and explode after taking significant damage.
Other Overwatch 2 Season 6 changes
- Flashpoint mode is available in custom games and unranked matches. It’s a control game, where teams fight for control over three out of five objective points.
- Invasion PvE missions are available in a $15 bundle that grants access to the premium battle pass and the first round of three missions. These can be played in co-op mode and are replayable even after the season ends.
- Underworld, a new limited-time PvE mode in King’s Row, is available free for everyone
- A new weekly challenge is available to grant extra battle pass XP
- Training mode includes a new firing range where you can engage in target practice and adjust target distances to suit your needs.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
