Summary
Following the end ofOverwatch 2’s successful Halloween-themed Season 7 event, fans already have a fresh wave of content and balance changes to enjoy. With the game receiving a brand-new crossover event befit with limited time game modes and skins, it may be easy to overlook just how impactful the recent hero changes are for the title.
These balancing changes forOverwatch 2are quite comprehensive, with a number of Tank, DPS, and Support heroes being buffed and nerfed to create a more level playing field going forward. While this is nothing out of the usual for such a highly competitive shooter, these changes have a clear focus on significantly nerfing the game’s Support hero roster, while making Tanks much more potent. This has been a change that many in the community have long been calling for, but it could easily cause issues for more casual player-bases that highlights a big problem withOverwatch 2as a whole.
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Overwatch 2’s Support Hero Nerfs: A Disconnect Between Skill Levels
The Support roster ofOverwatch 2heroeshas been considered unbalanced for a while now, with the class-type receiving several new heroes in recent months. This expansion of Support heroes has made it difficult to fine-tune their presence in the game, with many players seeing the role as overpowered in more recent metas. While this has not impacted the DPS role that significantly, it has led toOverwatch 2’s Tanks feeling quite underpowered as a result.
These are the full Support balance nerfs that recently came toOverwatch 2:
This impacts a whopping 60% ofOverwatch 2’s Support heroes, making it clear that Blizzard made a concerted effort to dampen the role’s power with these changes. The overpowered state of Support heroes was most evident inOverwatch 2’s higher competitive ranks, withTank mains especially being hit hardby the dominant presence of Supports across the board. In this way, these changes offer a great step forward in making high-end comp a more viable and balanced experience.
However, while there is clear reasoning behind why these changes were made, there is an inherent downside to how sweeping andcomprehensive they are acrossOverwatch 2’s Supports. At lower skill-levels, the “broken” state of Support heroes was nowhere near as glaring as it was at higher rankings, leaving more casual players confused as to why the role has been so heavily targeted by Blizzard.
The high skill ceiling inOverwatch 2has created similar problems for years, with changes being introduced to cater to certain demographics while alienating others. These changes could easily ruin Support play at lower rankings, and so a different approach needs to be taken going forward. Many fans have long called for balance changes that are applied to different matchmaking ranks, tailoring any changes to a specific skill level. While this seems quite complex, it is the only surefire way to avoid everyOverwatch 2balance change from coming with a significant downside.
