Overwatch 2 Releases New Stadium Update for October 2025

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Overwatch 2 recently released a minor update for the Stadium mode. It includes changes to hero balance for Freja, Tracer, and Brigitte, as well as adjustments to how players earn or lose Ranked Stadium Points. This update is available in Overwatch 2 now and is expected to be the final one before Season 19 starts.

On September 16, Overwatch 2 launched its mid-Season 18 update, bringing many changes to game balance and adding new content, like Tracer appearing in Stadium. However, Tracer, a hero with time-skipping abilities, quickly caused problems in the game. She had to be temporarily removed for about a week while Overwatch 2 developers fixed a glitch. Once the issue was resolved, Tracer was made available again.

Currently, Overwatch 2 has issued a minor update addressing a few remaining issues within the Stadium game mode. The core of this patch revolves around hero adjustments for Freya, Tracer, and Brigitte. Freya received improvements to five of her abilities, aiming to increase her success rate, whereas Brigitte’s Shield Boomerang ability now deals less damage. Finally, Tracer experienced both enhancements and reductions to her Overwatch 2 Stadium Items, Abilities, and Passive traits, designed to fine-tune her ability to stay alive, reduce ability cooldowns, increase movement speed, and deal damage.

We’ve also made several improvements to how you progress in Ranked Stadium. We’ve adjusted the system so it’s easier to reach Elite rank. Specifically, we’ve changed how many Stadium Points you can earn or lose in each match, and you’ll now lose fewer points based on the number of rounds you win in a best-of-seven match. This should make progression feel fairer and more rewarding.

Naturally, every Overwatch 2 update includes bug fixes. Problems on the Aatlis map, affecting Moira, Pharah, Reinhardt, and Soldier: 76 in Stadium, with Mercy in the original Overwatch, and with Wuyang’s ultimate ability in Overwatch 2 have all been fixed. This ensures players won’t experience unwanted errors or strange behavior while playing.

This is likely one of the final updates fans will receive before Overwatch 2 Season 19 begins. The big update is scheduled to launch on October 14th – just under two weeks from now. While a small hotfix might be released next week, it won’t likely be substantial. In any case, players will soon find out more details about the upcoming season. New Overwatch 2 maps such as Atlantic Arcology and Tokyo, Stadium heroes like Sojourn and Torbjorn, and Stadium features including consumables, active items, and Trials are just a few things that could be included in the next update.

Overwatch 2 Stadium Update Patch Notes – October 1, 2025

Stadium Updates

Stadium Competitive Updates

  • Fixed an issue where players near their predicted rank started to gain extremely low Stadium Points.
  • We have adjusted the Stadium Ranked distribution curve to make it easier to reach Elite rank for most players.
  • We have made adjustments to reduce the amount of Stadium Points lost when players lose a match, as each round won now provides a greater reduction in the overall point loss.
  • We have made adjustments to the maximum and minimum amount of Stadium Points that can be won or lost from a competitive match.

Developer Comments: We’ve noticed that recent changes to the Stadium Competitive system are making it harder for players to reach their expected ranks quickly. We’re working on adjustments to improve this and will continue monitoring the situation, especially as we approach Season 19.

Damage

Freja

So, as a player, I’ve noticed Freja’s been struggling in Stadium for a while now, consistently having the lowest winrate. The devs have told me they’re trying to fix that by making her builds more reliable and consistent, so she can better compete with other damage dealers. They know she *can* do a ton of damage when played perfectly, but they’re not trying to make her even stronger – they just want to help her perform consistently without making her a one-shot machine. Basically, they’re aiming for a more reliable Freja, not a more overpowered one. You can find more details on their official forums.

  • Lille Fælde – Power
    • Increased effectiveness to 30% reduced effectiveness (up from 40% reduced effectiveness).
  • Seismic Shot – Power
    • Increased explosion radius increased to 50% (up from 33%).
  • Forager – Power
    • Increased Max Life Heal per shot to 5% (up from 4%).
  • Deep Pockets – Power
    • Ammo Restore on Ability Use increased to 40% (up from 25%).
  • Volley à Deux – Power
    • Increased damage on additional bolts to 50% reduced (up from 66% reduced).

Tracer

As a big Tracer fan, I’ve been watching her closely, and the developers seem happy with how she’s doing overall. They’re just tweaking things a little bit – making it a bit harder for her to max out her health, which I think is good, honestly. It keeps things risky and engaging when she jumps into fights. They’re also giving some love to her Powers that aren’t as focused on her weapons, which is cool – they want to make sure all her builds are viable. They’re going to keep a really close eye on her, especially since she seems to benefit a lot from the stat boosts in Stadium. It’s good to see they’re paying attention! I’m excited to see how these changes play out.

  • Chronal Crux – Stadium Passive
    • Now gains 35% less Health, Armor, and Shields from items and cash (previously 25% less).
  • Alternate Ending – Power
    • Healing increased to 100% of damage taken (up from 75%).
  • Blink of An Eye – Power
    • Cooldown reduction reduced to 0.04s (down from 0.05s).
  • Foresight – Power
    • Auto-aim reduced to 4 shots (down from 6).
  • Temportal – Power
    • Increased the portal’s duration to 8s (up from 6s).
  • Chrono Bomb – Epic Ability Hero Item
    • Increased Ability Power to 20% (up from 15%).
    • Increased cost to 10500 (up from 10000).

Support

Brigitte

As a Brigitte fan, I’ve been enjoying her recent changes, but it sounds like the developers found something they need to tweak. They said the damage increase to Shield Bash in the main game accidentally made her Sköldkastning ability really strong – stronger than they intended. So, they’re lowering the extra damage on Sköldkastning to bring it more in line with her other abilities. They want to make sure there are lots of different ways to build her, and it sounds like this change will help with that!

  • Sköldkastning – Power
    • Shield Boomerang damage reduced to 40% of Shield Bash damage (down from 60%).

Armory

General Item Updates

  • Codebreaker – Epic General Weapon Item
  • Cost increased to 10000 (up from 9000).

Bug Fixes

  • Heroes
    • Mercy
      • Fixed an issue with the animation and voice line of Mercy’s Ultimate in Overwatch Classic.
    • Wuyang
      • Fixed an issue where Wuyang’s Ultimate sometimes targeted closer enemies than intended.
  • Maps
    • Aatlis
      • Fixed an issue with the stairs in Aatlis and the map has been re-enabled.
  • Stadium
    • Moira
      • Fixed an issue where Moira’s Power Optimal Overflow spawned Biotic Orbs without reduced duration.
    • Pharah
      • Fixed an issue where Pharah’s Triple Volley rockets dealt more damage than intended.
    • Reinhardt
      • Fixed an issue where Reinhardt’s Power Shield Stampede caused camera to not lock in place during Charge.
    • Soldier: 76
      • Fixed an issue where Soldier 76’s Power Peripheral Pulse didn’t deal reduced damage to additional targets during Tactical Visor.

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2025-10-02 01:19