Overwatch 2 Hotfix Nerfs Hazard, Sojourn, and Widowmaker

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Summary

  • Overwat​​ch 2’s recent hotfix nerfs Hazard’s Spike Guard, Sojourn’s Railgun, and Widowmaker’s projectile size in 5v5 only.
  • New Rapid Balance Update tech results in swift hero adjustments.
  • Replay codes are still available after hotfix, and the mid-Season 14 update is expected on January 14 or 21 for more balance changes.

In the game Overwatch 2, they’ve recently released an adjustment, or tweak, that decreased the effectiveness of Hazard’s Spike Guard in terms of damage reduction and duration, reduced the time Sojourn can hold a charge for her Railgun, and made Widowmaker’s bullets smaller. This minor balance change applies solely to heroes in 5v5 gameplay and is currently active within Overwatch 2.

Starting from Overwatch 2 Season 14 on December 10, 2024, characters Hazard and Sojourn were given significant boosts in power. However, an Overwatch 2 hotfix implemented on December 16 adjusted their abilities to reduce their strength a bit. Specifically, Hazard’s Downpour ultimate now needs more charge, while Sojourn experienced a reduction in the damage of her Railgun’s primary fire and the energy regeneration for her Disruptor Shot and Overclock ultimate was also decreased.

It appears that Overwatch 2 continues to adjust the abilities of these two heroes. A recent update has been implemented which decreases Spike Guard’s damage reduction by 10% and shortens its duration for Hazard, also increasing the time it takes for Sojourn’s Railgun to begin losing charge by three seconds. Furthermore, Widowmaker underwent a modification, as her Widow’s Kiss no longer receives the global projectile size increase from Overwatch 2 Season 14 while scoped, meaning players will need even sharper aim with the sniper.

This hotfix demonstrates the effectiveness of Overwatch 2’s rapid balance update technology in action. In contrast to previous balance adjustments once a month and switching between seasonal and mid-season patches, this new system introduced during Season 13 enables Blizzard to make quicker adjustments to heroes that are either overpowered or underpowered. Already, two additional micro-updates have been implemented in the first half of Season 14, implying that fans could potentially witness up to three times as many balance updates as they did before.

Since we’re dealing with a minor update for now, the replay codes haven’t been cleared away just yet. However, it’s anticipated that the mid-season patch for Overwatch 2 Season 14 will drop either on January 14th or 21st. So, if players wish to preserve any game highlights captured since December 19th, they should save them before they get wiped during the upcoming update.

In regular five versus five matches, changes to the heroes’ balance will only impact these three characters: Hazard, Sojourn, and Widowmaker. However, during six versus six games, these three characters will still adhere to the hero balance specific to that game mode because it is widely played. Overwatch 2 players have an additional two weeks to test out the 2-2-2 team composition in six versus six matches before the Min 1, Max 3 experiment begins on January 21st. Keep in mind that more changes to hero balance may occur during the mid-Season 14 update, possibly affecting both five versus five and six versus six games.

Overwatch 2 Season 14 Hotfix – January 7, 2025

Hotfix Balance Update

This is a hero balance hotfix. Replay codes from the December 19, 2024 patch are still available.

Hero Balance Updates

These hero balance updates only apply to our standard game modes and not the 6v6 Experiment.

Tank

  • Hazard
    • Spike Guard
      • Damage reduction is reduced from 75% to 65%.
      • Duration reduced from 3.5 to 3 seconds.

Damage

  • Sojourn
    • Railgun
      • Time before energy degeneration begins decreased from 12 to 9 seconds.
  • Widowmaker
    • Widow’s Kiss
      • Scoped shots no longer benefit from global projectile size increases.

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2025-01-08 03:23