Overwatch 2 Stadium Mode Gets Major Balance Changes

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Summary

  • Overwatch 2‘s May 1 patch adjusted ten characters, focusing on balance changes to Stadium Cash earning and abilities.
  • The new Stadium mode introduces a best-of-seven series, allowing players to earn Stadium Cash for upgrades.
  • Players hope Blizzard will also address other issues with Stadium, like leavers and poor performance on older consoles.

In a major update rolled out on May 1st, Overwatch 2 made modifications for characters like Kiriko, D.Va, and eight others. The main focus of this patch lies in Stadium, a fresh game mode introduced with the latest update which also included Season 16 for all gamers.

In Stadium mode, two teams of five players compete in a series of seven matches. This mode resembles other shooter games like Counter-Strike 2, where players fight to win each round and earn Stadium Cash. By spending this cash, they can purchase upgrades and design builds for the Overwatch 2 characters, making them stronger as the game progresses. A recent patch has been released to enhance player experience with balance adjustments for the game’s characters.

In a new update on May 1st, Overwatch 2 rolled out changes that affected several characters including D.Va, Orisa, Reinhardt, Zarya, Mei, Reaper, Soldier: 76, Kiriko, Juno, and Lucio. Specifically, the developers tweaked D.Va’s Nitrous Nano Glue item to make it harder for opponents to deal with her when she’s out of her mech. The health points (HP) provided by this item are now reduced to 25, while the maximum health increase is set at 5%, and the duration of the Nano Boost is shortened to 4 seconds.

The devs noticed that Kiriko was raking in Stadium Cash too quickly, so they cut back on the amount of cash she receives for healing and dealing damage by 16.67%. A similar issue was discovered with Soldier: 76, whose rate of earning Stadium Cash was reduced by 12.5%. Moreover, the duration of Soldier: 76’s Rocket Visor ability has been decreased to 0.5 seconds, and the ammo restoration for his Biotic Bullseye ability has increased to 10%.

In summary, this update aims to correct powers and items acting strangely or causing inconvenient circumstances. The development team also plans to examine underperforming powers and items, potentially improving them in future updates. Given that Stadium is a significant aspect of Season 16, boosting Overwatch 2’s current player count, the developers are keen on making the appropriate adjustments.

In simple terms, the Stadium mode in Overwatch 2 is encountering its initial hurdles, including a high number of people leaving and subpar performance on outdated systems. As Overwatch 2 gets frequent updates, players are eagerly anticipating that Blizzard will tackle these and other problems to enhance Stadium mode and create an even more immersive experience for the entire gaming community.

Overwatch 2 Retail Patch Notes – May 1, 2025

  • Hotfix Balance Update

This is a game balance hotfix. Replay codes from the April 22, 2025 patch are still available.

  • Stadium Balance Updates

In this latest version, we’re focusing on fine-tuning certain exceptional Abilities and Equipment, as well as those that could potentially create less than ideal situations in the Arena. We’re also modifying the amount of Stadium Coins gained from inflicting damage and healing for several characters. Looking ahead, we plan to scrutinize underperforming Powers and Items to find ways to improve their effectiveness.

  • Tank
  • D.Va

Developers’ Remarks: Overuse of Nano Cola™ Nitrous in D.Va has been making it excessively challenging for adversaries to eliminate her when she’s outside her mech and consistently regaining her mech. These modifications will introduce a bit more danger in being out of her mech, enhancing the balance of her abilities.

  • Busan Blaster was allowing D.Va to get her mech back instantly, which was not the intention of this item’s design.
    • Nano Cola™ Nitrous – Epic Survival Hero Item
      • Health reduced to 25 (down from 50).
      • Reduced Max Life increase to 5% (down from 25%).
      • Reduced duration of Nano Boost to 4 seconds (down from 8 seconds).
    • Busan Blaster – Epic Ability Hero Item
      • No longer generates Ultimate Charge.
  • Orisa

Developer Notes: In various situations, Orisa appears to be virtually indestructible due to her abilities and equipment. We believe that the Restorify ability is overhealing in certain instances when combined with other powers and items.

  • Solar Regenergy was too efficient for its cost, so we’re tuning it back to be more in line with items of similar cost.
    • Restortify – Powers
      • Reduced healing to 5% of your Max Life every 1 second (down from 10%).
    • Solar Regenergy – Rare Survival Hero Item
      • Reduced Armor Restoration to 3% of Max Life (down from 5%).
  • Reinhardt

Developer Notes: Reinhardt’s income from both damage and healing was significantly higher because of his range. But Reinhardt seems to be exceeding expectations and earning more Cash than intended, so we’ll slightly reduce that earning potential.

    • Reduced the amount of Stadium Cash gained from damage and healing by 13.64%
  • Zarya

Developer Note: In various scenarios, Lifelift has demonstrated exceptional efficiency as Zarya’s primary ability. To prevent it from being an indispensable choice across all Zarya build types, we are adjusting its scaling to give it a less dominant feel.

Additionally, we’re enhancing its healing properties to make “Here to Spot You” a more dependable choice for your needs.

  • Lifelift – Power
    • Particle Barrier health scaling reduced to 50% of your bonus Max Life (down from 100%).
  • Here to Spot You – Power
    • Increased healing to 20% of your Max Life over 3s (up from 15%).
  • Damage
  • Mei

Developer Notes: Although zipping through ice orbs has been quite enjoyable, we believe the strength of its disruption is too persistent over a lengthy period of time. Our aim with these adjustments is to maintain its sense of power, but decrease its capacity to control an opponent throughout its entire duration.

  • Coulder – Power
    • Reduced the knockback frequency rate by 60%.
    • Increased how far enemies are knocked back.
    • Increased the damage dealt per knockback to 20 (up from 10).
  • Reaper

Developer Note: Originally, Reaper earned more Cash from both damage and healing because, on average, it’s harder for him to deal consistent damage due to his limited range. However, Reaper is currently performing better than expected, earning too much Cash. So, we’re going to slightly reduce his earnings.

  • Reduced the amount of Stadium Cash gained from damage and healing by 10%.
  • Soldier: 76

Feedback from Developers: Soldier 76 is consistently earning excessive amounts of damage and healing, which enables him to maintain a significant advantage over time (snowballing). We appreciate that players are enjoying using Rocket Visor. It’s exciting to see new players choosing Soldier: 76, who might not have played him much before. However, we designed the build centered around Rocket Visor to be strong and accessible, but not necessarily the one with the highest potential for top performance. We notice that it’s performing better than expected and can feel frustrating to play against. Our aim is to slightly decrease its power with this adjustment, but we will continue to monitor its performance as we make further balance changes.

Regarding Biotic Bullseye, we think the reward for successfully landing the skill shot was too small to justify its use.

  • Reduced the amount of Stadium Cash gained from damage and healing by 12.5%.
  • Rocket Visor – Power
    • Duration reduced to 0.5 seconds (down from 0.75 seconds).
  • Biotic Bullseye – Power
    • Increased ammo restoration to 10% per critical hit (up from 5%).
  • Support
  • Kiriko

Developer Comments: Kiriko was consistently earning a bit too much Cash from damage and healing.

  • Reduced the amount of Stadium Cash gained from damage and healing by 16.67%.
  • Juno

In this update, we’re making adjustments to the Juno character, which has been a fan favorite in Stadium. Our goal is to mitigate some of its more challenging aspects. We discovered that on average, Juno was earning less Cash from damage and healing compared to other heroes, particularly during the initial rounds. To rectify this imbalance, we’re boosting Juno’s earnings. This change also aligns with our plans to tone down some aspects of the Pulsar Torpedo build, as well as to support those Juno builds that aren’t performing optimally.

Fans of the Pulsar Torpedo can be found just about everywhere in the Stadium, and it seems like one is always hot on your heels. To improve the flow of her abilities, we’re shortening the recharge time for Cosmic Coolant after each hit.

In our assessment, PulStar Destroyers possessed an excessive amount of vertical power for torpedo builds that prioritize damage. To preserve their aggressive gameplay, we opted to swap out Ability Power and replace it with Ability Lifesteal instead.

Solar Shielding was providing too much Ability Power combined with its effect at its current cost.

  • Increased the amount of Stadium Cash gained from damage and healing by 33.33%.
  • Cosmic Coolant – Power
    • Cooldown per target hit reduced to 0.5 second (down from 1 second).
  • PulStar Destroyers – Epic Ability Hero Power
    • Removed 15% Ability Power.
    • Added 10% Ability Lifesteal.
  • Solar Shielding – Epic Ability Hero Power
    • Ability Power reduced to 15% (down from 25%).
  • Lúcio

Developer Commentary: On typical occasions, Lúcio earned less than the usual amount of Cash through damage and healing. To provide a slight boost, we’ve made this adjustment for him.

With the inclusion of Amp It Up, Crowd Pleaser seemed to enable an excessive amount of instantaneous healing, exceeding the reasonable limits of output.

To maintain balance, we’re making a slight adjustment to the strength of Megaphone in Amp It Up healbot builds.

In simpler terms, the effectiveness of Lúcio’s weapon-focused gameplay styles has been outshone by his ability-power healing and soundwave-centric builds. To enhance its reliability and accessibility, we’re improving the consistency of his Signature Shift ability.

The impact of Lúcio’s combat-oriented playstyles has been eclipsed by his healing and soundwave-focused builds that emphasize abilities. To make the Signature Shift more dependable and user-friendly, we’re working on its consistency.

On the “B-Side Bop” track, it’s not being chosen often, so we’re increasing its health to make it a more appealing choice and boost the effectiveness of less commonly used Lúcio buildups.

  • Increased the amount of Stadium Cash gained from damage and healing by 10%.
  • Crowd Pleaser – Power
    • Healing reduced to 150% of Crossfade healing (down from 200%).
  • Megaphone – Power
    • Amp It Up duration reduced to 15% (down from 20%).
  • Signature Shift – Power
    • Increased Projectile Size increased to 80% (up from 20%).
  • B-Side Bop – Epic Weapon Hero Item
    • Health increased to 50 (up from 25).

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2025-05-02 06:00