Overwatch 2 Weekly Recall: Balancing in Season 17

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The team behind Overwatch 2 is once more centering efforts on an essential hurdle – maintaining hero balance. This crucial aspect of game creation significantly impacts match equity and enjoyment. In this recent report, developers offer a glimpse into their methodology, demonstrating how statistics and player input trigger adjustments. They also hint at the upcoming features in Season 17.

Numbers First, Then Tweaks

The team consistently monitors the success and selection frequency of each hero. They aim to maintain every character with a win percentage between 45% and 55%. Should a hero’s performance stray beyond this range, adjustments are probably on the horizon.

The Hero Ban data has become an essential resource, as it highlights those characters causing the most annoyance to gamers. For instance, Widowmaker frequently gets banned in maps tailored for snipers like Havana. However, this doesn’t necessarily indicate that she requires balance changes; instead, it hinges on specific circumstances.

The rapid increase in Freja’s ban rate was notably high among skilled players. Initially, her weak victory rate prompted buffs. However, as players became adept at using her, the bans surged dramatically, particularly among those ranked Diamond and above. To counteract this, the team made adjustments to lengthen the cooldown periods on Freja’s movement abilities and slowed down her reload speed. These modifications aimed to alleviate player irritation without diminishing her influence.

Player Feel Also Matters

In addition to raw data, the team takes into account a hero’s emotional experience during real-time battles. They lean on community input and game analysis to ensure that any alterations are equitable.

Shadow (Sombra) presents an ongoing issue, as she consistently exhibits high ban rates across both PC and console platforms. Yet, her situation appears to be intricate, suggesting it might require considerable time to find a resolution.

Season 17 Balance Updates

Several balance adjustments are coming in Season 17, starting June 24. Here are a few highlights:

  • Damage Role Passive: Healing reduction goes from 25% to 30%. This gives damage heroes more impact.
  • Regen Delay: The global health regen timer increases from 5 to 6 seconds. This makes damage feel more meaningful.
  • Bastion Size Shrink: Bastion will be 10% smaller, helping him survive better in fights. He still packs a punch, but now has a lower profile.
  • Junker Queen Buffs: Her Commanding Shout will better support teammates by prioritizing Overhealth.
  • Other Improvements: Pharah’s Helix Shields and Lifeweaver’s Cleansing Grasp will receive quality-of-life upgrades.

Looking Ahead

The Overwatch 2 balance team consistently takes feedback on board and makes necessary changes. Each update is designed to ensure the game remains enjoyable, equitable, and engaging.

Keep an eye out here at TopMob for further information regarding character modifications, Overwatch esports developments, and real-time game enhancements.

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2025-06-16 21:00