The Weekly Recall for Overwatch gave us three changes coming in Season 17. All three changes are in balance changes, with two of them aiming to change the overall Overwatch 2 gameplay. The other sees the beloved Omnic, Bastion, receiving a size decrease in Season 17. The trailer for Season 17 was also released today, teasing what we can expect in the next season of Overwatch 2.
Overwatch 2 Damage Role Passive Adjustments
Image of Overwatch 2 Season 17, courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.The Damage role’s passive has seen changes to its numbers a few times since its introduction in Overwatch 2. In Season 17, the healing reduction is going to 30%, up from 25%. Considering the number of times it has been increased and decreased during its lifespan, it feels that the balance designers do not know what the magic number is. Increasing the healing reduction reduces the efficacy of most Tank and Support heroes, creating an unfun environment for players. Buffing the healing reduction is not the way to deal with the amount of healing in Overwatch 2.
Global Health Regeneration Adjustments
In Season 17, the time it takes for the passive healing for heroes to kick in is increased to six seconds. It was originally five seconds. It will predominantly affect heroes who play more independently, like Genji, Tracer, Sombra, and Wrecking Ball. Overall, the nerf should not change most fights in Overwatch 2, but there will be those niche instances where a player may have lived. Players will need to get used to the second increase.
Bastion Gets Downsized
Another change coming in Season 17 is the decrease in hitbox size for Bastion. His size is decreased by 10% to make it more difficult for players to kill him. Bastion will still be easier to take down than most heroes in the roster. While he is a frustrating hero to play against, he needs the survivability boost to help him contend with the best heroes in the game. It is unlikely Bastion will shoot to the top of the meta after this change, but keep an eye on his progression.
Hero Balance and Perk Changes
While they did not reveal all the balance changes coming in Season 17, we have a couple to think about until then. Junker Queen’s shout will help her allies more than it does now. Pharah’s Helix Shields and Lifeweaver’s Cleansing Grasp are getting quality-of-life updates. It is unknown what the exact changes are, so it remains difficult to judge how they will impact Overwatch 2 in the future.
Season 17 Trailer Teaser
The upcoming season is titled Season 17: Powered Up. The teaser did not reveal an abundance of information, but we can likely expect 8-bit-styled skins. The official trailer is out on June 17th, with Season 17’s release set for the week after, on June 24th.
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