Complete Guide to Hero Buffs and Nerfs in Overwatch 2 Season 12

<p>Overwatch 2 Season 12 has arrived, introducing a plethora of Hero buffs and nerfs aimed at ensuring matches are as balanced as possible.

This update features the new Support character Juno, who is expected to become a highly sought-after choice from day one. Nonetheless, the adjustments to the existing Hero roster will significantly influence the meta and determine the top-performing heroes.

Blizzard has confirmed modifications to Lifeweaver and other mobile characters, so let’s dive into all the Hero buffs and nerfs for Overwatch 2 Season 12.

Overwatch 2 Season 12 Hero Changes

Tank

D.Va

Developer Comment: The boost in Defense Matrix availability did not improve D.Va’s overall performance significantly, especially considering the frustration it caused for opposing players, so we’re reverting it to its previous duration.

Defense Matrix

Maximum duration reduced from 3.5 to 3 seconds.

Idol

Developer Comment: Orisa continues to underperform, so we’re enhancing the impact damage of Energy Javelin to more effectively reward accuracy with this ability.

Energy Javelin

Impact damage increased from 60 to 80.

Orisa has received a slight buff in Season 12.

Zarya

Developer Comment: Zarya’s secondary fire did not benefit much from the projectile size changes introduced in Season 9, as it primarily targets the ground. To maintain effectiveness, we are increasing its damage to keep it competitive with her primary fire beam.

Particle Cannon

Secondary fire minimum damage increased from 47 to 55.
Secondary fire maximum damage increased from 95 to 110.

Damage

Echo

Developer Comment: No further adjustments are necessary to support the decreased health pool, as Echo, like Pharah, has been among the top-performing Damage heroes recently.

Base health reduced from 250 to 225.

Hanzo

Developer Comment: Hanzo doesn’t fit the highly mobile category like other heroes transitioning to 225 HP, but he can achieve long-range lethality, allowing him to one-shot the 225 HP heroes. The Hanzo mirror match will also become more decisive.

Base health reduced from 250 to 225.

Junkrat

Developer Comment: This change largely reverts Junkrat’s grenade mechanics to resemble how they ricocheted in early Overwatch, providing more control over bounce angles and enhancing weapon effectiveness in controlling space. However, the projectile size is now reduced after a couple of bounces, resulting in fewer random direct impacts towards the end of the projectiles’ life.

Frag Launcher

Projectile size is now reduced by half after the second ricochet.
Projectiles preserve slightly more velocity on ricochet.

Sojourn

Developer Comment: Following the reduction of the maximum damage of the Railgun’s secondary fire, we continue to assess Sojourn’s primary fire effectiveness. These adjustments are intended to enhance accuracy and improve the rewards for precision shots by increasing energy gained from headshots.

Railgun

Primary fire weapon spread reduced from 2 to 1.6 degrees.
Critical hits now grant 10 energy.
Energy degeneration rate reduced from 33 to 15 per second after 7 seconds.

Shadow

Developer Comment: The increase in movement speed while in stealth will better enable Sombra to position herself advantageously or evade attacks with the new lower health.

Base health reduced from 250 to 225.

Virus

Impact damage increased from 25 to 35.

Stealth

Bonus movement speed increased from 45 to 60%.

Torbjörn

Developer Comment: This adjustment to Torbjörn’s armor health is aimed at increasing his survivability against heroes that are most affected by armor damage reduction, such as Tracer.

Base health reduced from 250 to 225.
Base armor increased from 50 to 75.

Support

Years

Developer Comment: Illari can deal substantial damage during a match but may have too much ammunition, particularly since her projectiles are easier to land due to an increase in size. We’re also eliminating the additional environmental collision size on her Captive Sun projectile to prevent early detonations against nearby walls. Similar adjustments will be made to ensure her secondary fire beam targets allies instead of walls.

Solar Rifle

Maximum ammo reduced from 16 to 14.

Captive Sun

Projectile environment collision size reduced from 0.15 to 0 meters.

Juno

Developer Comment: Community feedback regarding Juno’s trial was mixed, with opinions divided between her being over and underpowered. Statistically, she performed well across multiple categories, particularly regarding healing output during a match. These changes aim to enhance her utility while slightly reducing healing output, allowing her to launch strongly as players adapt to her playstyle. Numerous quality-of-life improvements will also be implemented as detailed in the patch notes.

Juno has been added to the hero roster.
Juno is now available for Competitive Play.
Base health reduced from 250 to 225.

Mediblaster

Burst projectile volley rate of fire reduced from 34 to 28 shots per second.

Pulsar Torpedoes

Damage and Healing impact increased from 75 to 85.
Healing-over-time reduced from 60 to 50 health.

Hyper Ring

Deploy range increased by 3.5 meters.
Cooldown reduced from 16 to 14 seconds.

Orbital Ray

Beam travel speed increased from 1.9 to 2.25 meters per second.

It’s there

Developer Comment: Despite perceptions of Kiriko’s power level, she consistently underperformed in game win rates. However, being a highly evasive hero, it makes sense for her to fall into the 225 health category. To counterbalance the health reduction, we’re enhancing the consistency of her damage output by increasing the Kunai weapon’s base damage and removing the enhanced critical hit multiplier.

Base health reduced from 250 to 225.

Kunai

Critical multiplier reduced from 2.5 to 2x.
Damage increased from 45 to 60.
Recovery time increased from 0.5 to 0.55 seconds.

Lifeweaver

Lifeweaver receives a significant buff in Season 12.

Developer Comment: The Petal Platform was previously too easily wasted when players accidentally traversed it without intending to use it. It will now reset back to the ground if unoccupied. We’re also reducing its health for better counterplay opportunities to destroy the platform. Additionally, Healing Blossom can now charge passively at a slower rate, enabling players to interchange their weapons without the risk of falling behind in healing.

Healing Blossom

Healing progress can now charge passively at a reduced rate.
No longer reduces movement speed when holding a full charge.

Petal Platform

Duration only counts down while the platform is elevated.
Platform resets if unoccupied for 2 seconds.
Duration increased from 10 to 12 seconds.
Health reduced from 400 to 300.

Rejuvenating Dash

Healing reduced from 60 to 45.

Mercy

Developer Comment: Mercy’s Guardian Angel ability allows her to evade attacks effectively, yet also remains one of her most enjoyable abilities. We’re transitioning her to 225 HP while enhancing her Caduceus Staff healing output.

Base health reduced from 250 to 225.

Caduceus Staff

Primary fire healing increased from 55 to 60 health per second.
Secondary fire damage boost increased from 25% to 30%.

Moira

Developer Comment: Moira can prove difficult to eliminate due to the low cooldown on her Fade ability and self-healing via the Biotic Orb. With adjustments, she now has 225 HP and a slight increase in damage output to maintain her offensive edge.

Base health reduced from 250 to 225.

Biotic Grasp

Secondary fire damage increased from 60 to 65 damage per second.

Pike

Developer Comment: Lucio ranks as one of the most mobile heroes, providing speed boosts to allies. Hence, he’s transitioning into the 225 HP hero category. His playstyle often involves engaging at close range, prompting us to increase his Primary fire damage output for more effectiveness before diving in.