Overwatch 2 Releases Mid-Season 17 Content Update Patch Notes

The latest update for Overwatch 2 during the middle of Season 17 is out now, featuring hero balance tweaks for both regular gameplay and Stadium mode, map overhauls on New Junk City and Suravasa Flashpoint, and a series of time-limited events. As we reach the midway point between Seasons 17 and 18, these changes are currently active within Overwatch 2.

Commencing on June 24th, Season 17 of Overwatch 2 was launched, tagged as Powered Up. This update brought a host of thrilling elements to the game, such as the Map Voting system, the Aatlis Flashpoint battlefield, and an abundance of fresh cosmetics in the revamped Battle Pass.

Currently, Overwatch 2 has rolled out a substantial midseason update to keep things fresh for the second half of Powered Up. Notably, this update includes revamps for New Junk City and Suravasa, the initial maps designed for Flashpoint. These battlefields in Overwatch 2 have undergone significant changes, drawing inspiration from the contemporary design approach of Aatlis. The modifications include more open layouts, balanced choke points, and environments that are more immersive and detailed.

In addition to this update, various changes were made to the balance of characters in Overwatch 2. Reinhardt, Winston, Bastion, Hanzo, Junkrat, Widowmaker, and Zenyatta received enhancements to their basic abilities or Perks, while D.Va, Orisa, Reaper, Tracer, and Lucio experienced a decrease in power. Sigma, Ashe, Freja, and Juno saw both buffs and nerfs. For the Stadium mode, D.Va, Mei, Ana, and Juno received some boosts, whereas Orisa and Kiriko underwent nerfs, although they also received some power reworks that should benefit them in future matches.

Three special events have been unveiled in these updates too:

1. From July 29 until August 25, players can earn three Loot Boxes by finishing up to six group games as part of the Better Together challenge.

2. On August 1, 2, and 3, Junkrat’s Loot Hunt will make a comeback. This event gives fans the opportunity to get up to nine free Loot Boxes if they accomplish daily win challenges throughout the weekend.

3. Lastly, Competitive Drives in Overwatch 2 will take place from August 19 to 26. Players can complete this event in either core Competitive or Ranked Stadium modes during that timeframe.

In the Season 17 update summary, there was no indication about the forthcoming Wuyang hero trial scheduled for his Season 18 debut. Players should anticipate learning details about this upcoming Support character, such as his background and abilities, within the coming weeks. Additionally, no hints were given regarding the speculated collaboration between Overwatch 2 and Nerf, so we’ll have to wait and see if this partnership materializes before Season 17 concludes.

Overwatch 2 Mid-Season 17 Patch Notes – July 22, 2025

Better Together Challenges

In the period from July 29 to August 25, playing Overwatch in a group will earn you rewards! Finish 2, 4, and 6 games together to unlock up to three Loot Boxes. Each milestone is reached once upon completion. Winning games and participating in Stadium matches are worth double points, so make sure to play your best. Gather your friends or team up with new ones for a strong finish. Let’s have fun together!

Junkrat’s Loot Hunt

Starting from August 1st until August 3rd, Junkrat returns with another wave of mayhem, and as usual, it’ll rain both loot and potentially shrapnel. The Junkrat’s Loot Hunt features daily match challenges that reward you with 3 Loot Boxes per day and up to 9 in total. Complete 2, 5, or 10 matches each day to reach your goals and maximize your rewards. Your progress resets every morning at 11AM PT, giving you a new opportunity to blow things up daily.

General Updates

New Tag Improvements

We’ve made several enhancements to the “New” tag for newly acquired cosmetic items and brought back the “Mark All as Seen” button in the Hero Gallery. Because this is implemented, all previously owned items will appear as “New”, but you can dismiss it by clicking the “Mark All as Seen” button.

Drives

From August 19 to 26, Competitive Drives are back with a refreshed challenge system and the Season 17 Signature! Earn victories, track your advancement, and hone your skills on your way to the top. Squad wins grant additional Drive Score bonuses, and if you’ve finished the previous Drive, you’ll find a stunning Prestige upgrade awaiting at the summit. In the early stages of the competition, you won’t lose any Drive Score from losses, and the rate of loss now increases up to last season’s level as you progress through the checkpoints, making it simpler than ever to secure these fantastic prizes.

Drive progress can now be earned in both Competitive Play and Stadium Ranked modes.

Hero Updates

Game Developers’ Notes: During the majority of Season 17, the meta has remained stable, so this Midseason update gives us an opportunity to examine underperforming traits, adjust them based on hero ban patterns, and fine-tune a few heroes in light of the changes brought about by Season 17 and the enhanced Damage Role Passive. With numerous Perk modifications expected in Season 18, we aim to highlight a selection of our least chosen/weakest perks, making them competitive options that can break traditional gameplay routines. As players have grown accustomed to their preferred perk choices for specific heroes, some of these changes may exceed what would have been considered for perk balance in Season 15. Over the course of the game’s development, we’ve discovered what makes perks appealing as a distinct choice and significantly impactful on your approach to confrontations.

In the following section, you’ll notice some modifications related to hero bans or the present meta have been made. For instance, Orisa’s matchup spread has changed significantly since hero bans, especially against beam-based heroes like Zarya. Her ability to dodge such opponents has increased her popularity and performance, so we are making slight adjustments to reduce her survivability and cooldown duration. As for Freja and Tracer, we’re planning to decrease their damage potential a bit and aim for a balanced position in the damage tier list. Lastly, Zenyatta will experience an increase in Harmony Orb healing as its current output has been deemed insufficient given the stronger Damage Role Passive environment.

TANK

D.Va
- Heavy Rockets – Major Perk
  - Number of rockets reduced from 8 to 7.
  - Impact damage reduced from 7 to 5.
  - Explosion damage increased from 14 to 22.
  - Explosion radius increased from 2.75 to 3 meters.
  - Projectile gravity increased.
Orisa
- Armor health reduced from 325 to 300.
- Energy Javelin – Secondary Ability
  - Cooldown increased from 6 to 7 seconds.
Reinhardt
- Crushing Victory – Major Perk
  - Overhealth gain increased from 50% to 100% of Charge damage.
Sigma
- Experimental Barrier – Secondary Ability
  - Deployment cooldown reduced from 2 to 1 second.
- Massive Impact – Minor Perk
  - Knockdown stun now reaches maximum duration at 30 meters, down from 40 meters.
Winston
- Short Circuit – Minor Perk
  - Bonus damage to buildable objects increased from 50% to 100%.

DAMAGE

Ashe
- Rapid Fire – Minor Perk
  - Primary fire damage penalty reduced from 15% to 10%.
- Sidewinder – Minor Perk
  - Knockback increase for both Ashe and enemies reduced from 20% to 12%.
Bastion
- Configuration: Artillery – Ultimate Ability
  - Ultimate cost reduced 7%.
Freja
- Revdraw Crossbow – Primary Fire
  - Primary fire damage reduced from 30 to 25.
  - Maximum ammo increased from 12 to 15.
Hanzo
- Storm Bow – Primary Fire
  - Bases projectile size increased from 0.1 to 0.125 meters.
- Dragonstrike – Ultimate Ability
  - Ultimate cost reduced 8%.
  - Damage per second increased from 300 to 400.
- Dragon Fury – Major Perk
  - Attack speed duration increased from 1 to 2 seconds.
- Yamagami Technique – Major Perk
  - Cooldown speed increased from 250% to 300%.
Junkrat
- Aluminum Frame – Minor Perk
  - Now prevents trapped enemies from being healed instead of revealing them through walls.
- Tick Tock – Major Perk
  - Concussion Mine arming time reduced from 0.5 to 0.25 seconds.
Reaper
- Death Blossom – Ultimate Ability
  - Ultimate cost increased 9%.
Tracer
- Pulse Pistols
  - Spread increased from 3.0 to 3.5 degrees.
Widowmaker
- Infra-Sight – Ultimate Ability
  - Ultimate cost decreased 10%.

SUPPORT

Juno
- Mediblaster – Primary Fire
  - Minimum falloff range increased from 20 to 25 meters.
- Glide Boost – Ability 1
  - Movement acceleration in air reduced when changing directions, after the initial movement burst.
Lúcio
- Sound Barrier
  - Ultimate cost increased 9%.
Zenyatta
- Harmony Orb
  - Healing increased from 30 to 35 health per second.
- Transcendence
  - Healing per second increased from 300 to 400.

Core Map Updates

Our team’s comments about Flashpoint are that it has always stirred strong feelings, and with the introduction of the new map Aatlis, we drew from our experiences working on Suravasa and New Junk City. Consequently, we thought it would be appropriate to revisit and improve those maps as well. The enhancements focus on three key aspects: clarity, stronger storylines, and smoother gameplay progression.

Or: Since Aatlis has been a hit, we looked back at our work on Suravasa and New Junk City for inspiration. This led us to decide it was time to revamp those maps as well, focusing on improving readability, strengthening themes, and ensuring smoother gameplay flow.

Or: With the arrival of Aatlis, we found ourselves reminiscing about our work on Suravasa and New Junk City. This sparked a desire to rework those maps too, with a focus on enhancing readability, developing more compelling storylines, and improving gameplay flow.

Navigation and familiarizing yourself with your current location and destination should now be simpler. The entrances to key locations are now marked more distinctly, and the designs of many entranceways and surrounding structures have been revamped. Building heights have also been adjusted to emphasize points of interest and spawn rooms. Comprehending these maps is vital, and making each area visually distinct is crucial. Many themes have been refined to make each section feel more robust, unique, and identifiable during intense battles. Objective Points are now less constricted. The chokepoints, as the team describes it, are “less congested.” Additional cover, new flanking routes, and improved connecting paths have been incorporated to provide players with a wider range of choices—improving their chances of successfully capturing points.

Suravasa
- Market
  - Boxes have been added to the walls surrounding the point for easier upward access.
  - Signage and surrounding prop cleanup have been made to help highlight the entrance to the Market.
- Temple and Ruins
  - The entrance to the areas surrounding these points has been rotated 45 degrees and scaled up to feel more open and intuitive to players on approach.
  - The pavilion in the transition near the starting spawn has been replaced with an open wall and recessed garden area, giving players a cleaner line of sight and making it easier to orient.
  - Theres a new back path connecting Temple and Ruins for more strategic rotations.
  - The long staircase into Ruins now opens to a balcony that overlooks the point.
  - Water has been added to the Ruins to visually reinforce the point’s theme.
  - There is also a new back path behind the points to connect Temple and Ruins for more strategic rotations.
  - The Market and Garden areas will have cover adjustments, and one of the less-used side paths is getting removed entirely to simplify the layout.
- Starting Spawn
  - The enclosed structure near the starting spawns on the Temple and Ruins side has been replaced with an open wall and recessed garden area, giving players a cleaner line of sight and making it easier to orient.
New Junk City
- To varying degrees, there have been reworks to every point on New Junk City.
- Arena
  - The Hammer Mill entrance has been scaled up, the column inside slimmed down, and the side door is bigger.
  - A new hallway will link both lower sides with grating that lets you see—but not shoot—onto the point, offering an easy connection to navigate the space without making players feel exposed.
- Bomb Flats
  - The 2 main side chokes have been widened, slightly moved to the side and the overhang removed. Cover placement and theme around the point has been reworked.
  - New bomb props and visual elements will make the area feel stronger thematically; while pathing and sightlines are being refined for better fights and easier comebacks for the attacking team.
  - The street at the main entrance has been simplified and the lowered path removed.
- Junkyard
  - New crane props and thematic changes have also been added to the front entrance to further sell the setting and support player orientation.
  - The large trash piles in the choke are scaled down. Ramps have been added along with other small layout changes to the center route for easier rotations around all entrances.
- Refinery
  - The main entrance doors have been scaled up for cleaner sightlines and smoother movement.
  - The props and their positions outside of the main entrance have been changed to strengthen the theme and flow around the exterior.
  - On the point, the small cylinder props now have extended cover along the sides.
- The Ducts
  - Redesign of the exterior shell and pathing into the point.
  - The entrances now connect and flow together.
  - The main front entrance is now highlighted as such with stronger thematic elements and navigation options.
  - There is a new interior flank through the side chokes. These changes are meant to be a total flow fix to this point.
- Forward Spawn
  - Runbacks are slightly reduced with new upper paths and overhangs. It’s a small timing change that adds up over the course of a match.
- Exterior Streets
  - Similar to Suravasa, there have also been readability adjustments around the entire map to improve the general navigation for players.
  - Various building heights have been reduced and simplified to help frame the points of interest around the map.
  - Various cover objects have been removed or their placement adjusted. Navigating the map should be much easier for players.

Stadium Updates

GENERAL UPDATES

Ability tooltip details in the Armory UI are now always display. This option has been removed from the Armory.
Third Person Camera
- Aim down sights for Ana and Ashe has been updated to fade out over time for the local player while scoping in from third person.
- Your camera will now smoothly fade when it collides with allies from third person.

TANK

D.Va

Developer Notes: D.Va is struggling in the initial rounds, particularly against heroes who specialize in beams and exploit her defensive abilities. To enhance her performance in these challenging encounters, we’re planning to introduce a new item for heroes that should boost her effectiveness. Furthermore, D.Va’s ability to survive on her own has been underperforming compared to other tanks. This update aims to strengthen her longevity in fights and make her more resilient, even when facing minimal team support.

TOKKI Slam – Power
- Now the damage scales from both armor and shield combined.
Facetanking – Power
- Increased healing scalar to 50% (up from 30%).
Refraction Armor – Normal Survival Hero Item
- New Hero Item
- +25 Armor
- While you have Armor, gain 15% damage reduction against beams.
- Cost: 2000

Orisa

In this update, we’ve streamlined Orisa’s javelin-centric build to make it more efficient at hindering opponents. However, some awkward exchanges were causing issues with its dependability and understanding. This release aims to polish those areas, enhancing the overall experience by making her disruption features seem more responsive and user-friendly.

Advanced Throwbotics – Power
- Now shoots the javelin after 0.5s and the Javelin Spin must be ongoing to shoot. Canceling Javelin Spin will also cancel shooting the javelin.
Lassoed – Power
- If a javelin hits an enemy, nearby enemies are pulled to the enemy’s position now instead of where it was hit.
- If a javelin hits the environment, it just pulls nearby enemies.
- If a javelin hits a barrier, the pull will not activate.

DAMAGE

Mei

Update Enhancements: For a more consistent performance, this upgrade allows for smoother execution of chilly plays, giving you an edge over your opponents. Have fun outplaying them!

Slowball – Power
- Now normal hit with Secondary Fire will also apply slow to the hit enemy.

SUPPORT

Ana

Developer’s Note: Ana has found it challenging to leave a mark in the later stages of the game with her unscoped weapon power setup. To rectify this issue, we’ve created a new epic item specifically for her. This new item will equip her with the necessary tools to become a more consistent and formidable adversary.

Unscoped Resources – Epic Weapon Hero Item
- Added +15% Weapon Power.

Juno

Developer Note: In its current state, Stellar Focus doesn’t have a distinct advantage over other power choices, appearing weak in actual use. This update intends to enhance its influence, making it more noticeable and competitive, so it becomes a significant and compelling option for your setup.

Stellar Focus – Power
- Increased duration to 50% (Up from 35%).

Kiriko

Developer Notes: Kiriko’s duplicate is revamped for a utility-oriented role, instead of acting as the heavily destructive auto-turret it previously was. This alteration will likely make her more dependable in contributing to team utility and earning Stadium Cash more frequently. Furthermore, Fleet Foot has been adjusted according to player feedback, making it slightly harder to use effectively when attacking the enemy’s backline, thereby emphasizing the strategic risk and reward of bold plays.

Clone Conjuration – Power
- Now the Clone’s heal and damage contributes to earning Stadium Cash.
- Now there is a short delay before the Clone starts healing or dealing damage after being spawned.
- Clone’s health has been reduced and can be increased by Ability Power.
Fleet Foot – Power
- Swift Step cooldown is increased by 30% when used without a target.
Foxy Fireworks – Power
- Projectile speed is now the same as regular kunai.

ARMORY

Ironclad Exhaust Ports – Rare Survival General Item
- Each stack of Overhealth granted now expires individually instead of refreshing the duration of all stacks of Overhealth granted from this Item.

“The Ironclad Exhaust Ports have been excessively strong on certain characters with lower base cooldown abilities, overshadowing alternative survival strategies at their current cost. To balance this out and make it more in line with other health stacking effects, we’re adjusting them to provide a more moderate payoff.”

Bug Fixes

General
- Fixed an issue that could cause the top 5 highlights to have unsynchronized sound and video.
Heroes
- D.Va
  - Fixed an issue with D.Va’s Defense Matrix visual effects while using Boosters in 3rd person.
- Echo
  - Fixed an issue where Sunstruck explosions from an Echo Clone after the clone timer ended didn’t deal any damage.
- Soldier: 76
  - Fixed an issue with Soldier’s animation while using the “Stim Pack” perk and sprinting.
Maps
- Aatlis
  - Fixed an issue where the Aatlis map was unavailable in 6v6.
Stadium
- Fixed an issue where a user’s Career Profile displayed incorrect data for Stadium games.
- Fixed an issue that caused animations to stop playing on certain abilities after death.
- Ana
  - Fixed an issue with Ana’s “Dreamy” Power incorrectly doubling the damage of her Sleep Dart.
- Junker Queen
  - Fixed an issue with Junker Queen’s “Let’s Go Win” power not reducing the Commanding Shout cooldown by the stated 50%.
- Kiriko
  - Fixed an issue with Kiriko’s “Clone Conjuration” power where her clone would not always award bounty currency correctly.
- Reinhardt
  - Fixed an issue with Reinhardt that caused Barrier Field to shift slightly upward while jumping.
- Sigma
  - Fixed an issue that prevented the Sigma “Perfected Barrier” and “Orbital Bombardment” challenges from progressing.

2025-07-22 23:15