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(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)
In one of the wildest updates I’ve ever seen from a competitive shooter, Overwatch 2 is giving every hero in the game their own built-in healing as part of an effort to reduce the dominance of “team strategy and mechanics.”
Director Aaron Keller outlined the upcoming change, which will arrive in Season 9, in a new blogpost. This seismic update is actually just one part of “a massive set of gameplay and balance changes coming to that season,” but it sounds like a huge meta shift in its own right.
“In Season 9, both Tank and Damage heroes will get a modified, tuned-down version of the Support self-healing passive,” Keller explains. “This should give non-Support players more options in terms of sustaining themselves. It should also take some of the pressure off Support players to keep everyone alive since individual players now have more control of their own health pool.”
I’m not sure if healers should be worried that Overwatch 2 is about to eat their lunch, or relieved that, after enduring years of unfair demands and taunts – “I need healing,” ad nauseam – they can officially tell everyone to go heal themselves and actually mean it. I suppose that’ll come down to how potent this passive healing is in practice.
(Image credit: Blizzard)
At first blush, this sounds like a way to grease the wheels of moment-to-moment engagements, giving Overwatch 2 players a little more room to go off on their own. Whatever the case, overtly pulling back from teamplay is a bold move for a team shooter, even if there is a notable difference between pulling back from something and outright abandoning it.The initial responsefrom the game’s support community seems to be one of moderate panic cut with cautious optimism.
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On the heels of Keller’s post, lead hero designer Alec Dawsonsharedsome more granular updates on Overwatch 2’s meta, teasing that “big shakeups are coming with Season 9” including plans for “shifting more of Mauga’s power towards awarding aggression.” It seems Orisa, who’s apparently “out of the basement” after recent changes, is still “due for a look in terms of where her power budget is allocated, mainly for feel.”
Blizzard wants to make new Overwatch 2 heroes free for everyone right away: “We’re actively working towards it.”
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”