Confirmed Changes to Tank Heroes in Overwatch 2

In a recent announcement, Aaron Keller, the Game Director of Overwatch 2, shared his plans to improve the tank role by implementing a series of individual buffs for all the heroes in this category.

The task of tanking in Overwatch 2 has proven to be quite difficult, leading the balance team to implement several changes in an effort to make the role more accessible.

Since the sequel’s transition from 6v6 gameplay to 5v5, tanks have undergone numerous updates, such as reduced knockback, decreased vulnerability to headshots, and more, due to the switch from one tank to two in the game.

In addition, the ability to provide substantial healing to tanks has led to the implementation of a new passive for DPS players, which decreases the amount of healing they receive when dealing damage to a target.

Despite the controversy surrounding this DPS passive, there have been requests for it to have less of an impact on tanks. According to Game Director Aaron Keller, the team is currently discussing this possibility, but he prefers to pursue a different strategy at the moment.

“In a blog post published on June 28, it was revealed that our current discussion is centered around whether the next steps should involve broad, systemic changes or per hero changes. Limited versions of the former are currently being considered, such as reduced versions of the Damage role passive. However, there is a desire to focus more on the latter.”

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According to Keller, focusing on individual heroes can greatly affect their effectiveness, in contrast to implementing changes that affect an entire role.

“We are currently working on a patch that aims to improve the durability of numerous heroes. This will be achieved through individual adjustments for each hero, with the intention of enhancing their unique characteristics. For instance, strengthening Reinhardt’s shield would effectively fulfill both of these objectives,”he explained.

According to the Director, the S11 mid-season patch could potentially include this patch, but it is possible that these changes will not be implemented until later in Season 12.

In June, Lead Hero Designer Alec Dawson announced that there are some balance adjustments planned for Winston and Reinhardt in an upcoming update. These changes include allowing Reinhardt’s Charge to once again eliminate squishy heroes, as well as enhancing Winston’s ultimate ability and secondary fire.

Dawson hinted at upcoming nerfs to crowd control abilities such as Sombra’s Hack and Ana’s Sleep Dart, in order to make playing as a tank less challenging.