Overwatch 2 Is Nerfing Several Characters, And Bringing Back More Crowd Control For Season 5

With season five of Overwatch 2 right around the corner, Blizzard has to share some of the changes players can expect going forward with heroes such as Junker Queen and Lifeweaver.

According to an Overwatch blog post, Junker Queen received a 5% win rate after being buffed and becoming one of the most popular tanks. One of her buffs allowed her to increase her healing via her passive, but to balance her out, her Command Shout will reduce how much health she receives. Before the changes, she'd gain 200 HP, and now she'll only gain 150 HP. In addition to that, her ult cost will be increased since she's "getting it at a faster rate than before the midseason changes."

But Junker Queen isn't the only one receiving changes. Since not enough people are playing as Lifeweaver, Blizzard is looking into making him more approachable for players. In season five, "there will be quite a few changes (mostly buffs) coming to Lifeweaver," such as an increase to his healing and damage output, a heal on his Life Grip, a reduced hitbox, and quality-of-life changes to Petal Platform.

In season five, Widowmaker's damage fall-off will be changed from 70-100 meters to 40-60 meters, and her damage fall-off scalar will increase from 30%-50%. She'll still be able to one-shot heroes at 200 health as long as she's within 50 meters of them, but if further than that, it won't kill them. Hanzo will also be receiving a nerf. He'll no longer be able to one-shot enemies with at least 250 health. His Sonic Arrows will now be more "recognizable by the enemy team" to help "reduce his kills that feel like they come out of nowhere."

Lastly, changes to Mei and Cassidy will be made to help with crowd control. Mei's blaster will still slow targets, but it'll "also build up to an effect that will apply a much larger slow for 1.5 seconds." On the other hand, Cassidy's magnetic grenade will deal less damage, but it'll apply "an effect that slows and blocks movement abilities."

For more Overwatch 2-related news, check out our story on how Overwatch 2 is celebrating Pride Month and how Blizzard is getting ready to unveil its own AI Tool for concept art.