Overwatch 2 Teases Balance Changes for Upcoming 6v6 Tests

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 22, 2024 7 Views 6 Min Read
Overwatch 2 Teases Balance Changes for Upcoming 6v6 Tests



Key Takeaways

  • Tank cooldowns are being increased for 6v6 tests in Overwatch 2 to rebalance gameplay.
  • Some heroes receive nerfs, while a couple of supports get buffs to adjust to the new 6v6 format.
  • The changes aim to reduce visual clutter, keep soft crowd control, and balance hero power levels.



Overwatch 2 recently teased some of the balance changes for the Season 14 6v6 tests, including cooldown adjustments, reversions to several hero reworks, and duration reductions for barriers and battlefield obstacles. These and more changes will be implemented in an effort to adapt Overwatch 2 to the 6v6 format when the first test begins on or around December 17.

6v6 has officially returned to Overwatch 2 in the form of Overwatch: Classic. However, this is only the beginning of a greater experiment with six-player teams, with two different 6v6 tests planned for Overwatch 2 Season 14. To facilitate these tests, certain heroes will undergo changes specifically in this game mode.

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During a recent interview with Overwatch 2 content creator Spilo, lead gameplay designer Alec Dawson gave a few examples of these changes. Many tanks in Overwatch 2 are receiving nerfs in the form of higher cooldowns on their abilities, such as with Ramattra’s Void Barrier and Reinhardt’s Charge. Others receive reversions to Overwatch 2 changes – Zarya’s barriers are on separate cooldowns again, Reinhardt loses one Fire Strike charge and steering efficiency on Charge, and Roadhog’s rework has been completely reversed.



Confirmed Overwatch 2 6v6-Specific Balance Changes

  • Tank nerfs
    • Many cooldown increases, including:
      • Ramattra’s Void Barrier
      • Reinhardt’s Charge
      • Reinhardt’s Fire Strike (now has one charge)
      • Zarya’s bubbles are on separate cooldowns
    • Tank critical and crowd control reduction passives are removed, health decreased
    • Reinhardt can cancel his charge, but maneuverability has been reduced
    • Roadhog’s rework is reverted, losing Pig Pen and the Take a Breather resource meter, but getting back his alt fire
  • Support buffs
    • Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord no longer has a cooldown per target, and has an increased effect
    • Ana’s Sleep Dart and Biotic Grenade cooldowns are reduced
  • Blanket changes
    • Automatic healing kicks in after 7 seconds, instead of 5 (Support is 3.5 seconds)
    • Persistent obstacles like Lifeweaver’s Tree of Life and Mauga’s Cage Fight will have duration reductions


That said, some heroes – especially supports in Overwatch 2 – are receiving buffs instead to help them juggle larger teams. For example, Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord has a bigger effect and no longer has a cooldown per target, and Ana’s Sleep Dart and Biotic Grenade both have their cooldowns reduced.

These balance changes may sound familiar, as they make heroes play similarly to how they do in Overwatch: Classic. In general, the design philosophy of the 6v6 tests is to move power from the tanks, reduce visual clutter and complexity, but keep Overwatch 2‘s “soft crowd control” approach. Obstacles like Lifeweaver’s Tree of Life and Mauga’s Cage Fight will have their durations reduced, tank passives will be removed, and the auto-healing factor will take two seconds longer to kick in. Not everything is being reverted to Overwatch 2 levels, however – Winston keeps his alt-fire, and Mei does not get her Endothermic Blaster’s freeze back. It seems like the 6v6 tests will be an interesting intersection between Overwatch 1 and 2 design philosophies.


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