New Overwatch Hotfix Includes Balances Changes for Vendetta and All Five New Reign of Talon Heroes

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Overwatch just released a quick update to balance some heroes. Anran, Emre, and Mizuki got stronger, while Domina, Vendetta, and Jetpack Cat were made a little weaker. These changes affect the six most recently added heroes and are available in the game now.

On February 10th, a major update called Season 1: Conquest was released for Overwatch. The update includes ongoing storylines throughout the year, a redesigned user interface, and five new characters to play. Since this relaunch, the game has been very successful. Then, on February 13th, a quick update was released with adjustments to the five new Season 1 characters, as well as Vendetta, who was added in the previous season.

Buffs for Anran, Emre, and Mizuki in Overwatch

A new update for Overwatch is live, making further balance changes to several heroes. This time, the update focuses on improving Anran. Her Inferno Rush now recharges faster, and she can travel further while using her Dancing Blaze ability. These changes are designed to help her survive longer, as she’s a powerful but vulnerable character.

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Emre also received a significant improvement: his Synthetic Burst Rifle now deals 2 more damage with each shot. This rifle is similar to the Battle Rifle from Halo, and the increase should make Emre’s damage output with his main weapon comparable to heroes who have fully automatic, instant-hit weapons, like Soldier: 76 and Sojourn. He was already a strong hero, but this change should help balance him further.

Image via Blizzard

Okay, so they’ve buffed Mizuki, one of the new supports in Overwatch with the Reign of Talon update. His ultimate, Kekkai Sanctuary, now lasts a bit longer – a whole extra second, which should make a real difference in team fights. The devs are even talking about potentially making him even better! They’re thinking about increasing the range of his healing aura, or letting Kekkai Sanctuary block stuff leaving the area, not just entering it. That would be seriously awesome.

Nerfs for Domina, Vendetta, and Jetpack Cat in Overwatch

Domina, the newest tank introduced in Overwatch’s Reign of Talon Season 1, has been very powerful thanks to her high damage and ability to control areas. To balance her out, the cost of her ultimate ability, Panopticon, has been increased by 12%. This change should make it harder for her to use the ability as often, reducing its overall impact.

Image via Blizzard

Vendetta stands out as the only hero on this list who wasn’t part of the original Reign of Talon season. She joined the game later, in Season 20 last year, and quickly became a powerful force thanks to her high damage and speed. A recent update has slightly reduced the damage of one of her attacks and fixed a glitch that made her invulnerable to being pushed back during it. This is just the latest in a series of adjustments to Vendetta, so players are watching to see if more changes will be needed.

Image via Blizzard

Although Vendetta didn’t appear as a playable character in Overwatch’s Reign of Talon Season 1: Conquest, she’s central to the storyline, having risen to leadership of Talon and launched an attack on Overwatch.

Jetpack Cat, one of the most unusual heroes added to Overwatch, has been proving too strong due to high damage, excellent movement, and dominance in the air. To balance things out, the cooldown for his Claws Out ability has been increased, and the damage boost from his Territorial perk has been lowered from 50% to 33%. This is just the first step in making Jetpack Cat more balanced. The Territorial perk is planned to be removed entirely in a patch coming in a couple of weeks during the middle of Season 1, and will be replaced with a new ability.

The next big update should be released around March 10th or 17th, and the new season will begin on April 14th. While there might be some small adjustments to heroes before then, don’t anticipate any major changes until the update arrives.

Overwatch Reign of Talon Season 1: Conquest Hotfix Patch Notes – February 24, 2026

Hero Balance Changes

  • Domina
    • Panopticon
      • Cost increased by 12%
  • Anran
    • Inferno Rush
      • Cooldown reduced from 8.5 to 8 seconds.
    • Dancing Blaze
      • Increased the distance you can move while active from 1.5 to 2.25 meters.
  • Emre
    • Synthetic Burst Rifle
      • Damage increased from 20 to 22.
  • Vendetta
    • Palatine Fang
      • Overhead swing damage reduced from 130 to 120.
      • Bug fix — Overhead swing can now be affected by horizontal knockback while launching downward.
  • Jetpack Cat
    • Minor Perk – Claws Out
      • Cooldown increased from 6 to 8 seconds.
    • Major Perk – Territorial
      • Damage dealt reduced from 50% to 33%.
  • Mizuki
    • Kekkai Sanctuary
      • Duration increased from 6 to 7 seconds.

Bug Fixes

  • General
    • Fixed an issue with missing textures on the Charming: 76 skin.
    • Fixed some minor issues with Jetpack Cat and the tether animation for various heroes.
    • Fixed an issue that hid Jetpack Cat’s aim‑assist strength and threshold settings.
    • Fixed an issue with Vendetta’s sword‑throw animation in third person.
    • Fixed an issue where Mizuki could still perform Katashiro Return while stunned.
    • Fixed an issue where Mercy’s passive displayed incorrectly in the Advanced Info Panel.
  • Stadium
    • Fixed an issue causing the Stadium UI to disappear after a round transition.
    • Fixed an issue where Vendetta could spam her ultimate power without a full charge.
    • Fixed an issue where Vendetta would not receive ultimate charge while using the “Overloaded” strike power.
    • Fixed an issue where Vendetta’s Primary Fire would not trigger Gloomgauntlet or be increased by Melee Damage.
    • Fixed an issue where the VFX for Bola Shot when using Freja’s “So Cooked” power were incorrect.
    • Fixed an issue with Ana’s “Dreamy” power that incorrectly canceled the benefits of Artsy Daisy and Tactical Rifle.
    • Fixed an issue where Mercy’s Self Healing from healing allies with missing health was incorrectly reduced to 15% instead of the intended 40%.

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2026-02-25 03:39