Overwatch 2 Season 18 Patch Notes: New Hero Wuyang, Summer Games, Hero Updates

Overwatch 2 Season 18 Patch Notes and Updates: Know about the Patch Details

Season 18 of Overwatch 2 is making a splash, ushering in sweeping changes and a host of new content for fans. Launching August 26, this much-anticipated season introduces Wuyang—the game’s brand new Support hero whose aquatic abilities promise to shake up team compositions.

But Wuyang isn’t the only headline: Season 18 brings back the beloved Summer Games event, rolls out a major new Hero Progression 2.0 system, and implements fresh perks and balance changes affecting the entire hero roster.

There’s plenty here for both casual and hardcore players to dive into, from the introduction of mouse and keyboard support on console (finally!) to a competitive refresh and the highly-requested crossover events.

Blizzard clearly isn’t pulling any punches, making this one of the biggest seasonal updates Overwatch 2 has delivered yet. Whether you’re keen on climbing new ranks, showing off Ascended borders, or just looking forward to some Lucio Ball and Winston Volleyball in the Summer Games, this season invites you to jump in and make some waves.

Overwatch 2 Season 18 Patch Notes

Season 18: Stadium Quick Play

Season 18: Stadium Quick Play reshapes the current with a PvP refresh, a massive Stadium overhaul, and the debut of our newest Support hero—the rebellious aquatic, Wuyang. Master the rhythm with a flow-powered kit, dive into the updated Stadium with new heroes and Payload Race mode plus climb the ranks after our PvP System Refresh resets the competitive playing field. Whether you’re drafting comps, experimenting with Perks, or flexing your skills in third person Lúcio Ball, it’s time to make a splash.

Event Updates

Summer Games 2025

Summer Games return with a slick new POV and a few extra tricks. Lúcio Ball & Lúcio Ball Remix kick into third person for the first time and the high-flying Winston Volleyball has returned for you to rally your squad on the court. Earn a new summer-colored skin for Lúcio and more seasonal rewards just by logging in and getting your reps. Spike, slide, and score—Summer Games heat up from Sept 2–15!

Junkrat’s Loot Hunt

It’s raining loot again (and probably shrapnel). From September 12 to September 15, Junkrat’s Loot Hunt brings chaos back to the weekend with daily match challenges that unlock up to 9 Loot Boxes. Play 2, 5, and 10 matches each day to hit your milestones and stack the rewards. Wins count double, and all game modes apply. Progress resets at 11AM PT—so jump in, cause a little mayhem, and claim what’s yours before it all goes up in smoke.

General Updates

Hero Progression Updates

Hero Progression 2.0 rebuilds the system from the ground up with faster leveling, smoother UI, and a permanent prestige system built to flex your grind. Earn animated Ascended borders at milestone levels, unlock Loot Boxes at key breakpoints, and track long-term growth with every Hero. If you’ve been putting in the hours, this is the system that finally shows it off.

• Hero Level represents how much time you’ve spent playing each hero. Level up your heroes by completing games in any game mode.
• Progression Level represents how much you play overall. Every time you level up a hero, your Progression Level also goes up.
• Your hero and account level badges are automatically prestiged after reaching certain levels.
• Level up your heroes to earn Ascended borders, which displays in most areas during the course of a match. Opponents will not be able to see your Ascended prestige until after the match begins.
• As you level up, kickstart your cosmetic collection for your favorite heroes by earning Highlight Intros, Emotes, Victory Poses, Player Icons, Credits, and more.
• Additionally, unlock evolving Name Cards and Player Titles to show off your high level heroes!
• Progression accolades can be hidden in Streamer Mode settings.

Advanced Information Panel

• While in a match or the Practice Range, players can now interact with the Hero Information screen to find advanced details about their weapons, abilities, and passives.
• The following types of information are present for all heroes where relevant: Damage, Healing, Cooldowns, Range, Radius, Effect Durations, Magazine Size, Reload Time, Falloff Ranges, Barrier Health, Overhealth, Overshield, Overarmor, Damage Amplification, Damage Reduction, Movement Speed Modifications, Deployable Health, Shot Spread, Shots Per Volley, Knockback, Charge Times, Energy, and many hero-specific mechanics that don’t fall into the above categories are also included.
• Some notable exceptions like Ultimate Charge and Rate of Fire are works in progress that we hope to add in future updates. We’re excited to hear your feedback on this feature and we’d love to hear what specific additional information you’d like us to add in the future!
• Keywords are included to help players understand how they interact with each other.
• Keyword definitions can be accessed for in-depth explanations of mechanics.
• Any part of a Keyword definition that is highlighted indicates that this aspect of the definition is not always the same for every instance of this Keyword.
• Perks are not currently included in this feature.
• This feature is not supported to calculate for Stadium Powers and Items equipped.
• This feature is not supported in the Hero Gallery.

Mouse and Keyboard for Consoles

• Console players can now use a Mouse and Keyboard natively to play Overwatch 2 if they prefer not to use a controller.
• When it comes to the matchmaking pools, PC Pool and Console Pool will now be referred to as the Mouse and Keyboard Pool and the Controller Pool. This change will be updated in our in-game UI in a future update.
• When on console and using a Mouse and Keyboard, you will be prompted to switch to the Mouse and Keyboard Pool in order to use a Mouse and Keyboard to play the game with. If you do not accept to switch to the Mouse and Keyboard Pool, your Mouse and Keyboard inputs will not work for gameplay controls, and you will only be able to use Controller. You can also manually switch to either pool in your Gameplay Options.
• You can still use Mouse and Keyboard in either Pool to type messages into text chat and other editable fields.
• When you switch to the Mouse and Keyboard Pool, you will be paired with all PC platforms and any console players who are using Mouse and Keyboard inputs and your internal MMR, skill ratings, and ranks for all game modes will be separate from your statistics in the Controller Pool.
• When playing in the Mouse and Keyboard Pool, aim assist features are not available even when you are using a controller.
• Controller players on PC platforms cannot enter the Controller Pool and cannot access aim assist features. To play on the Controller pool, you must play on a console platform.
• Use of unauthorized peripherals to bypass the restrictions in the Controller Pool will be considered as cheating and will result in actions taken on your Battle.net account.

Real-Time Text Moderation

• If another player types a message into Text Chat that is detected to be potentially disruptive, offensive, or harmful to other users, the message in its entirety will be hidden from other players.
• You may choose to see that message and report it, if necessary, directly from the text chat feed.
• You can disable this filter in the Text Chat section of the Social Options.
• As always, using inappropriate chat or being disruptive to other players is against our In-Game Code of Conduct, regardless of the words used or the context implied.

First-Time User Experience

• New players will now have access to every Hero in the game from the start!
• The entry requirement to participate in Competitive matches has been lowered to 20 wins in Unranked matches.

Competitive Play Updates

Hero Skill Rating

Skill Rating (SR) has returned to Overwatch in a new form, allowing players to analyze their skill at individual heroes. We originally removed Skill Rating from Competitive Play because players perceived it as an absolute truth about skill, instead of the best-guess approximation it really is. For two Gold 5 players on a team together today, we think players feel accurately represented in how closely skilled they are.

But for 2069 and 2068 players on a team together, we’ve made a subtle implication that one of these players is better. These players are extremely close in skill and it would be incorrect to assume with certainty that one is more skilled than the other, but players tended to see a higher number as objectively more skilled, and this led to some unfortunate social dynamics within matches because of the comparisons it caused.

Comparisons are great for Hero Skill Rating though! Since this information isn’t shared outside of your Career Profile, we think giving you our best guesses will help you to understand and analyze your own skill at your stable of heroes in the most fun way.

• Hero Skill Rating is a number between 0 and 5000, with 5000 being equivalent to the top of Champion 1.
• Hero Skill Rating is not used in Matchmaking in any way.
• After Placements in Role or Open Queue, players will now be able to Place each of the 44 heroes in Season 18.
• A hero needs to play 5 Placement matches to get their final Hero Skill Rating.
• A hero must be played for at least 3 minutes within a match to qualify for Placement.
• A hero must be one of your top 3 most played heroes within that match to qualify for Placement.
• Hero Placements (and Hero Skill Rating) are not shared across Role and Open Queues.
• Hero Skill Rating updates are shown at the end of the match on the Competitive Overview screen.
• Only your top 3 most played heroes within that match will be displayed here, but every hero played in the match is updated behind the scenes based on the amount of time they were played within the match.
• Your Hero Skill Ratings can be viewed in the Career Profile under the Hero Comparison dropdown at any time, and on each hero’s Statistics page.
• A new tab has been added to the Competitive Info screen explaining many of the topics above.

Skill Rank Reset

• With a huge wave of new Perks and tuning to existing Perks, this soft reset is designed to put players on an even playing field and give them a chance to climb even higher than ever before.
• The highest Ranks (Master, Grandmaster, and Champion) have been tuned again to include a higher percentage of the player population once players are well calibrated.
• All ranks in Role Queue and Open Queue in Competitive Play have been reset to Unranked, and all players will need to complete their respective 10 placement matches for each role.
• Hero Skill Ratings have also been soft reset for the first time.

Competitive Rewards

• Achieving Diamond or above in Role Queue or Open Queue will now unlock Freja’s Galactic skin.
• Rewards are now based on your highest rank in a season instead of your final rank.
• Top 500 rewards are an exception to the change above and require your final rank to be Top 500 at the end of the season.

Competitive Play New Player Requirements

• The new player requirement to unlock Competitive Play has been lowered to 20 total matches won in Unranked modes.

Hero Updates

• Armor still reduces incoming damage by 7, up to a maximum of 50% of the damage received.
• Combined damage reduction and armor can no longer exceed 50% unless an ability increases it past that point, such as Ramattra’s Block or Hazard’s Block.
• In cases where total damage reduction already exceeds 50% before armor is applied, armor will have no additional effect.

Developer Comments: Since Season 16, a notable bug has altered how damage reduction and armor interact. This fix restores their intended functionality and clarifies the rules moving forward.

In addition to balance changes for some of our heroes, every hero will be getting at least one new perk to help give options for more fun, impactful gameplay that aligns to the hero’s identity.

Tank

D.Va

Heavy Rockets - Major Perk

• Removed.

Precision Fusion - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Press Reload to reduce Fusion Cannon’s spread by 75% for 3 seconds.

Doomfist

Developer Comments: The change to Power Matrix aligns the perk with Doomfist’s regular Power Block, ensuring consistency in how Empowered Punch is charged.

One-Two - Minor Perk

• Now updated to where hitting an enemy into a wall with Rocket Punch reloads Hand Cannon and overfills ammo by 2.

Seismic Empowerment - Major Perk

• Removed.

Aftershock - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Enemies hit by Seismic Slam are slowed by 30% for 1.5 seconds.

Power Matrix - Major Perk

• Damage absorbed during Power Matrix now provides equivalent Empowered Punch amount to Power Block.

Hazard

Developer Comments: Jagged Wall was providing too much impact as a single ability, particularly in combination with the Reconstitution perk. Reducing its health and knockback damage lowers its overall value, while the Spike Guard change requires Hazard to be actively fighting to gain its ammo benefit.

Spike Guard - Secondary Fire

• Now only refills ammo while dealing damage to an enemy.

Jagged Wall - Ability 2

• Knockback damage reduced from 50 to 40.
• Health reduced from 400 to 350.

Off the Top - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Deep Leap - Minor Perk

• Changed to a Minor Perk.
• Violent Leap’s range is now only increased by 15% (down from 20%).

Anarchic Zeal - Minor Perk

• Changed to a Minor Perk.
• Spike Guard’s spikes now only gain 25% lifesteal (down from 40%).

Reconstitution - Major Perk

• Changed to a Major Perk.
• Now drains additional resource before base resource.

Explosive Impalements - Major Perk

• New Major Perk
• Bonespur hits mark targets with spikes. Quick Melee and Violent Leap’s Slash detonate them for 40 explosive damage.

Junker Queen

Rending Recall - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Rampant Change - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Gain Unstoppable and refresh all cooldowns when using Rampage.

Deep Wounds - Major Perk

• Removed.

Willy-Willy

• When recalling Jagged Blade, its radius is increased by 100% and it deals 30 additional impact damage.

Mauga

Two Hearts - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Pyromaniac - Minor Perk

• Igniting enemies with Incendiary Chaingun grants 50 overhealth.

Orisa

Heat Dissipator - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Fleeting Bulwark - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Defense Protocol - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Regenerate 100 health per second while charging Terra Surge.

Mobile Fortification - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• While Fortify is active. Orisa has no move speed reduction and no heat generation.

Ramattra

Developer Comments: Ramattra has become too durable in Nemesis Form while blocking. The armor and Block adjustments reduce his ability to withstand large amounts of damage and force more deliberate defensive choices. The change to Ravenous Vortex removes the jarring stop in horizontal momentum, notably when paired with Vengeful Vortex.

Ravenous Vortex - Ability 2

• No longer interrupts horizontal momentum when first affecting a target. Nemesis Form
• Bonus armor reduced from 300 to 250.

Block (Nemesis Form) - Secondary Ability

• Block ability now triggers a 1-second cooldown.

Prolonged Barrier - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Relentless Form - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• While Nemesis Form is active, eliminations extend the duration by 1 second, half that during Annihilation.

Reinhardt

Crusader’s Resolve - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Barrier Re-Charge - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Distance travelled while using Charge regenerates your Barrier Field by 150 per second.

Crushing Victory - Major Perk

• Removed.

Ignited Fury - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• For each enemy you hit with Fire Strike, gain 2 seconds of 25% increased attack speed.

Roadhog

Developer Comments: Pig Pen was originally intended to give Roadhog more spatial presence on the battlefield, but in practice it reinforced his hook combo playstyle and limited his flexibility in engagements. To address this, we’ve restored the classic Primary and Secondary Fire on Scrap Gun, providing more consistent damage options and letting Roadhog better contest space on the front line.

The Take a Breather adjustments have been successful, offering greater defensive uptime without excessive personal sustain, so its functionality remains the same, but it has been moved to Ability 2 with a default toggle and additional cancel options to keep that flexibility intact.

Scrap Gun - Primary Fire

• Reverted to classic Primary and Secondary Fire functionality.
• Primary Fire no longer includes a volley of 4 extra large, long-ranged projectiles.
• Number of projectiles for Primary Fire increased from 16 to 25.
• Damage per pellet for Primary Fire reduced from 6.25 to 6.

Scrap Gun - Secondary Fire

• Secondary Fire initial volley no longer crits.

Pig Pen - Ability 2

• Ability removed.

Take a Breather - Ability 2

• Moved from Secondary Fire to Ability 2.
• The option to toggle on the ability is now on by default.
• Added Ability 1, Primary Fire, and Secondary Fire as additional cancel buttons while toggled.
• Minimum time before cancelable reduced from 0.8 to 0.6 seconds.

Pent Up - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Shrapnel Launcher - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Extend the range of Scrap Gun’s secondary fire by 50% and tighten its burst spread by 25%.

Hogdrogen Exposure - Major Perk

• Removed.

Pulled Pork - Major Perk.

• New Major Perk.
• Gain overhealth based on how far you pull enemies with Chain Hook, up to 250.

Sigma

Massive Impact - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Hyper Regeneration - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• 50% of Hyperspheres’ damage restores Experimental Barrier’s health.

Winston

Short Circuit - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Barrier Toss - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Winston now throws his Barrier Projector forward when used.

Wrecking Ball

Transfer Efficiency - Major Perk

• Removed.

Adaptive Barrier - Major Perk

• Adaptive Barrier generates a 1.4 second barrier on activation, consuming 50 overhealth.

Zarya

Graviton Crush - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Energy Converter - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Hits with Particle Cannon’s secondary fire generate 3 energy.

Damage

Ashe

Rapid Fire - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Remote Detonator - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• After using Dynamite, pressing E again causes it to detonate after a 0.5 second delay.

Bastion

Smart Bomb - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Configuration Reload - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Refresh the cooldown of A-36 Tactical Grenade when changing configurations.

Cassidy

Developer Comment: Recent weapon changes have made Cassidy a highly consistent threat. Reducing his health brings him more in line with other hitscan heroes.

• Base health reduced from 275 to 250.

Quick Draw - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Bang Bang - Minor Perk

• Changed to a Minor Perk.
• Now reduces the damage from both Flashbangs by 40% (up from 30%).

Silver Bullet - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Peacekeeper’s secondary fire is replaced with a piercing shot that inflicts bleeding. Combat Roll and Deadeye reset its cooldown.

Echo

Friendly Imaging - Minor Perk • Removed. Enhanced Duplication - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Focused Rush - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Focusing Beam’s range is increased by 4 meters and movement speed is increased by 10% when active.

Partial Scan - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Duplicate starts with 50% of its ultimate charge.

Full Salvo - Major Perk

• The damage reduction has been removed from all sticky bombs fired.

Freja

Frost Bolts - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Tracking Instinct - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Hunters Instinct - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Direct hits with Take Aim reveal enemies to Freja for 3 seconds.

Momentum Boost - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Quick Dash distance is increased by 20%.

Ready to Hunt - Major Perk

• Removed.

Aerial Recovery - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• After using Updraft, heal for 30 health per second until Freja touches the ground.

Genji

Acrobatics - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Swift Cuts - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Quick Melee reduces the cooldown of Swift Strike by 3 seconds.

Blade Twisting - Major Perk

• Now Swift Strike deals 25 additional damage over time if the enemy is below half health.

Hanzo

Swift Lunge - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Arrow hits reduce the cooldown of Lunge by up to 1 second, based on charge.

Yamagami Technique - Major Perk

• Removed.

Scatter Arrows - Major Perk

• Changed to a Major Perk.
• Now on first ricohet, Storm Arrows split into 5 shots dealing 33% damage and bounce 1 extra time.

Junkrat

Aluminum Frame - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Mine Recycling - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Killing blows with Concussion Mine restore one charge.

Tick Tock - Major Perk

• Removed.

Bomb Voyage - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• After launching with Concussion Mine, Junkrat gains 35% increased attack speed for 3 seconds.

Mei

Biting Cold - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Permafrost - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Skating Rink - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Allies within Blizzard gain 25% increased movement speed and heal for 50 health per second.

Glacial Propulsion – Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Double jumping creates a small ice pillar that launches Mei into the air.

Pharah

Concussive Implosion - Major Perk

• Removed.

Sky Spy - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Concussive Blast reveals targets to Pharah for 3 seconds. During this, the next direct Rocket Launcher hit per target deals 30% extra damage.

Reaper

Death’s Shadow - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Shadow Blink - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Shadow Step’s cast time and cooldown are 25% faster, but the range is reduced by 25%.

Sojourn

Developer Comment: While Sojourn’s win rate is relatively low, she can still feel frustrating to play against. Lowering her health increases her vulnerability, but the slight mobility and primary fire improvements help offset the loss in survivability.

• Base health reduced from 250 to 225.

Railgun - Primary Fire

• Primary fire shots-per-second increased from 15 to 16.

Power Slide - Ability 1

• Cooldown decreased from 8 to 7 seconds.

Extended Mag - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Deceleration Field - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Enemies hit by Disruptor Shot are slowed by 25%.

Adhesive Siphon - Major Perk

• Removed.

Friction Generators - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• While sliding, Power Slide generates up to 50 energy.

Soldier: 76

Field Emergency - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Tactical Salvo - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Helix Rockets cooldown is reduced by 80% during Tactical Visor.

Stim Pack - Major Perk

• Now changed so that Stim Pack replaces Biotic Field and now heals Soldier: 76 for 30 health per second and gains 20% increased attack speed for 5 seconds.

Sombra

White Hat - Major Perk

• Removed.

Adept Hacker - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Hacked health packs provide up to 50 overhealth to Sombra.

Symmetra

Advanced Teleportation - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Perfect Alignment - Minor Perk

• Changed to a Minor Perk.
• Now only increases the range of Photon Projector’s primary fire by 20% regardless of the charge level of the beam.

Hovering Barrier - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Teleporter gains the option to create a forward moving barrier instead. Pressing E again slows down the barrier’s movement.

Torbjörn

Craftsman - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Hammer Time - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Move 20% faster while Forge Hammer is equipped.

Tracer

Developer Comment: Tracer’s weapon improvements have increased her overall effectiveness. Extending Recall’s cooldown reduces her uptime, especially when paired with Major perks.

Recall - Ability 2

• Cooldown increased from 12 to 13 seconds.

Blast From The Past - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Kinetic Reload - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Melee hits grant 20 ammo.

Venture

Seismic Sense - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Deep Burrow - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk
• Drill Dash distance is 50% longer while burrowed.

SMART-R Excavator - Major Perk

• Removed.

SMART Extender - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Empower SMART Excavator with E to increase its maximum projectile range by 100% for 4 seconds.

Widowmaker

Focused Aim - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Sniper’s Instinct - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Scoped shots charge 100% faster for 2 seconds after using Grappling Hook.

Deadly Deux - Major Perk

• Removed.

Seeker Mine - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Vemon Mine now fires poison darts at enemies within 10 meters and remains active after triggered.

Support

Ana

Speed Serum - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Nano Boost grants a 40% movement speed boost to both Ana and her target.

Shrike - Major Perk

• Removed.

Biotic Bounce - Major Perk

• Changed to a Major Perk.
• Now deals 60 damage and healing (up from 25).

Baptiste

Field Medicine - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Biotic Reloader - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Hitting an entire three-round burst reloads a healing projectile. Healing projectile direct hits reloads 3 primary fire ammo.

Automated Healing - Minor Perk

• Changed to now using any ability triggers Baptiste’s Shoulder Turret, periodically firing up to 3 shots at allies, each restoring 25 health.

Brigitte

Barrier Restoration - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Combat Medic - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Melee attacks reduce the cooldown of Repair Pack by 0.5 seconds.

Quick Fix - Major Perk

• Removed.

Inspring Strike - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Shield Bash grants 30% increased movement speed for 2 seconds. Inspire’s healing is instant when activated by Shield Bash.

Illari

Solar Power - Major Perk

• Removed.

Solar Flare - Major Perk

• Press Primary Fire while using Solar Rifle’s healing beam to consume all energy, healing allies in front of Illari for up to 120 healing.

Juno

Re-boots - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Locked On - Minor Perk

• Changed to a Minor Perk.
• Cooldown reduction now 1 second (down from 1.5 seconds).

Master Blaster - Major Perk

• Removed.

Lift Off - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Martian Overboots can now triple jump.

Faster Blaster - Major Perk

• While Glide Boost is active, Mediblaster fires continuously.

Kiriko

Shuffling - Major Perk

• Removed.

Ready Step - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Swift Step grants Kiriko 40% increased attack and reload speed for 2 seconds.

Foxtrot - Major Perk

• Projection Suzu now only grants 30% increased movement speed for allies (down from 40%) but now grants 100% increased cooldown recovery.

Lifeweaver

Developer Comment: Lifeweaver has received numerous buffs to improve his effectiveness, but his increased survivability has become difficult to deal with. This health reduction brings him in line with the rest of the support roster.

• Base health reduced from 225 to 200.

Life Cycle - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Lifeweaving - Minor Perk

• Changed to a Minor Perk.
• Rejuvenating Dash now only adds 20 healing to the next Healing Blossom (down from 40 healing).

Petal Power - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Allies gain 25% attack speed while standing on a raised Petal Platform.

Lúcio

Bass Blowout - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Soundwave Rider - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Wall Riding empowers your next Soundwave, increasing its knockback by 25% and damage by 50%.

Mercy

Winged Reach - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Divine Momentum - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• Increases Mercy’s travel speed by 15% after cancelling Guardian Angel.

Moira

Vanish - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Uprush - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Destruction’s Divide - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk
• Coalescence can be toggled between pure healing or pure damage, with 25% greater effect.

Ethical Nourishment - Minor Perk

• Changed to a Minor Perk.
• The instant healing is reduced to 30 (down from 50 healing).

Contamination - Major Perk

• Removed.

Reversal - Major Perk

• New Major Perk
• Reactivating Biotic Orb reverses its direction.

Phantom Step - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Fade lasts 0.5 seconds longer and boosts jump height by 50%.

Wuyang

Developer Comments: Wuyang had a successful trial weekend as one of the top performing heroes across all platforms. Given his relatively strong standing, these adjustments are primarily targeted at gameplay-feel rather than raw damage and healing output. In particular, Rushing Torrent has been adjusted to help him reach high ground more easily, and Guardian Wave will now travel down tall ledges, which will help him support from those locations without having to give up positioning.

• Now available to play in Competitive Play.
• Quick Melee now interrupts controlling the water orb and channeling Restorative Stream.

Rushing Torrent - Ability 1

• Initial speed boost on activation increased by 50%
• Jump height increased by 2 meters.

Guardian Wave - Ability 2

• Decreased maximum range by 5 meters.
• Shockwave drop height increased from 3 to 20 meters.

Tidal Blast - Ultimate Ability

• Self-usage time decreased from 0.8 to 0.6 seconds.

Zenyatta

Developer Comments: Recent Harmony Orb buffs have allowed Zenyatta to charge Transcendence much faster. Increasing its cost helps balance the improved healing of the ultimate.

Transcendence - Ultimate Ability

• Ultimate Cost increased by 9%

Zenith Kick - Minor Perk

• Removed.

Transcendent Condemnation - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• While using Transcendence, apply Discord Orb to all enemies within range.

Duality - Major Perk

• Removed.

Dual Harmony - Major Perk

• Gain a 2nd Harmony Orb but they both heal for 70% effectiveness.

Introducing Stadium Quick Play

Stadium Quick Play is a faster, lighter Stadium mode with shorter match times, quicker item economy, backfill support, and Cross Play.

• Stadium Quick Play matches play best of 5, meaning the first team to win 3 rounds wins.
• Powers are granted on rounds 1, 2, 3, and 5.
• Stadium Quick Play uses an accelerated economy allowing players to reach the maximum potential of their builds faster.
• Stadium Quick Play uses the same Cross Play grouping and matchmaking rules as Unranked Quick Play.
• You can group together with your friends regardless of skill level or input pool for Stadium Quick Play matches.
• Stadium Quick Play will feature backfill for whenever a player leaves or disconnects from a match.
• If you are backfilling a match, you will be granted a cash amount that is the average to your remaining teammates, and you will have one minute to shop in the Armory and equip powers and purchase items while the current round is playing.

New Stadium Map Type — Payload Race

Payload Race pits both teams in a race to push their own payload to the finish on a symmetrical map.

• Like in Escort, push your own payload when standing next to or on top of it.
• If you contest the opponent’s payload, it will stop progress until you are eliminated or pushed away.
• A payload that is not being escorted will slowly move backwards.
• Teams need to coordinate between both pushing their own payload while also trying to slow down progress of their opponents.
• The map features checkpoints on each team’s track to guarantee progress once the payload crosses that point.
• Whoever reaches the finish line first or pushes their payload the farthest when time expires will claim the win for that round.

New Stadium Maps

• Powder Keg Mines - Payload Race - On a lost detour from Route 66, you’ll race through a not-so-abandoned mine and go for the gold.
• Thames District - Payload Race - Push the payload through the foggy alleys of Kings Row in this exciting showdown.
• Oasis Gardens - Control - Return to the gardens of Oasis and play with new jump pads and explore all corners of the popular control map.

Stadium Competitive Play Updates

Stadium Competitive Play Draft

Draft Mode is a new way to play Stadium Competitive Play and gives teams the power to shape matchups from the start, adding strategy to the selection process and gives players a pre-match advantage, enabling smart counter-picks and better team coordination. We’re going to be seeing how well players enjoy playing Stadium Competitive Play this way throughout Season 18.

• Randomized snake draft for pick order. Where one team’s player will pick their hero first, followed by two opponents on the opposite team, and continue with two players on a team at a time until the draft is complete.
• No mirror match picks allowed. Once a hero is picked, that hero cannot be played by any other player for the game.
• Prior to the draft, players can swap positions on their team.
• Tank players are never first to choose their hero in the draft.

New Player Requirements

• New players will need to win 10 Stadium Quick Play matches in order to unlock Stadium Competitive Play.
• This requirement does not apply to players that played Stadium in Season 16 and 17.

New Stadium Rewards

• Players who reach Elite in the Tank role will now receive the Elite Reinhardt Epic Skin.
• Players who reach Elite in the Damage role will now receive the Elite Mei Epic Skin.
• Players who reach Elite in the Support role will now receive the Elite Ana Epic Skin.
• Players who reach All-Star in any role by the end of Season 18 will receive the All-Star D.Va Legendary Skin.

Stadium Competitive Play Grouping Restrictions

There are now grouping restrictions for Stadium Competitive Play that will help ensure more competitive integrity at the highest of tiers as players make their way up the ladder every season.

• Rookie, Novice, Contender and Elite players will have no grouping restrictions.
• Pro players can group within 15 divisions.
• All-Star players can group within 10 divisions
• Legend players can group within 5 divisions.

Leaver Compensation

• Players who have leavers outside of their own group during a Stadium Competitive Play match will have reduced points lost whenever there is a leaver in the match.
• This compensation will be reduced at higher leagues.
• Players who still leave Stadium Competitive Play matches will receive the full loss penalty and be suspended from all Competitive Play modes.

Dynamic Stadium Point Adjustments

• Stadium Points earned or lost from Stadium Competitive Play matches are no longer a fixed amount.
• Stadium Points earned or lost are now dynamically determined for every match based on your current and predicted rank. This change should help you find your expected rank much faster at the start of every season.
• Players with larger gaps will progress faster to their predicted league.
• Players are protected from rank loss until they get close to their predicted rank, no matter which league they are in.

Loser Consolation

• When a player loses a Competitive game, each individual round now grants Stadium Points toward their rank and Competitive Points.
• Loser consolation is disabled for players at All-Star and Legend leagues.

General Stadium Updates

Stadium Cash

• On the in-game scoreboard, Stadium Cash now respects the round and match option. Displaying which option is selected in the scoreboard header and persisted across rounds. Only resetting at the start of a new match.

Stadium Third-Person Camera Settings

• Improved the third person camera’s height smoothing to more naturally adjust as the hero’s vertical positioning changes.
• Updated the third person camera’s local player transparency behavior to fade the hero in and out over a short duration, which previously instantly switched between transparent and opaque.
• Updated the third person camera to add a short duration over which the camera’s distance from the player is smoothed when there is no longer anything behind the camera previously blocking it.
• Updated Reinhardt to no longer force the camera to ground level when first starting to hold up Barrier Field, in either first or third person.
• Improved the fidelity of motion of the third person camera as it transitions to new offsets away from the hero.
• Aim Assist now works correctly when using third person camera in Stadium.

Stadium Control Settings

• Players can now access Stadium control and camera settings by a hotkey while on the Hero Select Screen at the start of the match.
• There is a new third-person perspective option to show an indicator to whenever you are in melee range of an opponent that can be togged on for each hero in your Stadium control settings.
• Added new scoping camera options for Ana and Ashe when playing in third person. Available options now include the existing behavior of zooming into first person, and a new behavior of zooming into an over-the-shoulder view.
• A new setting has been added to that will dynamically swap Lucio’s third person camera sides when wall riding.

Armory and Hero Build UI

• You can now see what weapons, abilities, and passives are affected for each Stadium modification type when you hover over that stat in the detailed build view in the Armory.
• Ability detail tooltips are now defaulted to on permanently for all players.
• There is now a new Armory footer toggle to quickly display the detailed build view.

Other Stadium Updates

• Reduced the respawn timer during overtime in Stadium matches by 2 seconds.
• Spawn points on Temple of Anubis have been pushed back and now it takes about 1.5 seconds more to reach the objective.
• Player Endorsements are now available at the end of Stadium matches.

Stadium Balance Updates

Tank

D.Va

Developer Comments: D.Va’s Defense Matrix and Tokki Slam builds have been overperforming compared to other tank options, giving her too much consistency across different situations.

We are tuning both down slightly to bring their effectiveness more in line with other tanks, ensuring healthier balance and more diverse build choices.

Tokki Slam - Power

• Decreased damage to 25% (Down from 30%).

Face Tanking - Power

• Decreased healing to 40% (Down from 50%).

Junker Queen

Developer Comments: Time to sharpen the blade. Junker Queen’s axe has been stealing the spotlight for a while now, but we want her knife and blade build to cut in on the action too.

With more enemies taking to the skies this season, this buff gives her the edge she needs to bring them crashing back down.

Merciless Magnetism - Power

• Increased distance to 25 meters (Up from 15 meters).

Twist The Knife - Power

• Increased duration to 2 seconds (Up from 1 seconds).

Blade Parade - Power

• Decreased charge time to 0.65 seconds (Down from 1 seconds).

Cut 'Em, Gracie! - Power

• Added: Hit enemies are slowed by 35% for 1 seconds.

Royal Bullets - Power

• Decreased duration to 2s. (Down from 3s).
• Removed distance condition.

Thrill of Battle - Power

• Increased heal to 100% (Up from 50%).

Bigger Magnet - Rare Ability Hero Item

• Now pulls downward if the enemy is airborne.

Sigma

Developer Comments: Sigma is going through a series of balance updates aimed at smoothing out his overall performance. One of his toughest matchups has been against brawlers who can charge in and overwhelm him.

This update is part of the ongoing improvements to give Sigma more tools to hold his ground and perform better in those high-pressure encounters.

Zero Gravity - Power

• Added: While flying, gain 10% Damage Reduction.

The Harness – Epic Ability Hero Item

• Added: +15% Ability Lifesteal.

Winston

• Added to the Stadium Hero roster.

Circuit Breaker - Power

• Electric damage is increased by 5%. Gain 15% of Electric damage as Overhealth, up to 100.

Electro Cluster - Power

• +20% Tesla Cannon Primary Fire Range.
• Tesla Cannon’s Primary Fire deals 3% increased damage per enemy being hit.

Lightning Rod - Power

• Hits with Tesla Cannon’s fully charged secondary fire bounce to all other enemies within 6 meters for 50% reduced damage.

Volatile Volt - Power

• Tesla Cannon’s secondary fire can critically hit for 175% damage.

Lunar Leap - Power

• Gain 2% bonus Ultimate Charge per enemy damaged by Jump Pack’s landing. While using Jump Pack, gain 5% of Max Life as Overhealth every 1s, up to 100.

Moon Landing - Power

• Heal for 7% of Max Life per enemy damaged by Jump Pack’s landing.

Primal Punch - Power

• Melee or Jump Eliminations reset Jump Pack cooldown.
• For every 25 Armor you have, gain 5% Melee damage.

Pocket Projector - Power

• Activating Barrier Projector attaches an additional, smaller Barrier Projector to Winston with 5% health.

Surge Protector - Power

• Allies within Barrier Proejctor gain 25 temporary Overhealth every 1 second up to 100.

Tesla Field - Power

• Enemies within Barrier Projector take 40 Electric damage every 1 second.

Primal Slam - Power

• While using Jump Pack, press jump to quickly slam toward your current facing direction. During Primal Rage slam speed is increased by 50%.

Thick Skin - Power

• When activating Primal Rage, Winston gains additional Armor equal to 100% of Max Armor.

Current Convertor - Rare Weapon Hero Item

• 10% Weapon Lifesteal (Tesla Cannon).
• Gain 15% of damage dealt by Tesla Cannon’s secondary fire as Overhealth, up to 100.
• Cost: 4,000.

Deconstructor - Rare Weapon Hero Item

• 15% Max Ammo.
• Tesla Cannon deals 50% more damage to deployable objects, such as turrets and barriers.
• Cost: 4,000.

Gibraltar Generator - Epic Weapon Hero Item

• 10% Weapon Power.
• Barrier Projector grants Winston 10% increased Weapon Power while inside.
• Cost: 10,000.

Harold’s Glasses - Epic Weapon Hero Item

• 25% Max Ammo.
• Tesla Cannon’s secondary fire deals 25% increased damage.
• Cost: 12,000.

Zero-G Suit - Rare Ability Hero Item

• 5% Cooldown Reduction
• 5% Move Speed.
• After activating Jump Pack. Increase Move Speed by 50% for 2 seconds when you next jump.
• Cost: 4,000.

Horizon Expander - Epic Ability Hero Item

• 20% Ability Power.
• Jump Pack’s landing area can increase by up to 100% while airborne.
• Cost: 11,000.

Unstable Prototype - Epic Ability Hero Item

• 10% Cooldown Reduction.
• Barrier Projector bursts when it is removed, dealing 25% electric damage to nearby enemies.

Lucheng Launchers - Epic Ability Hero Item

• 50% Primal Rage duration.
• 50% Jump Pack base damage.
• During Primal Rage, Jump Pack’s base damage becomes Electric and can increase up to an additional 100% while airborne.
• Cost: 12,000.

Winton - Common Survival Hero Item

• 10 Health.
• Winning a round awards Winston 2000 bonus cash.
• Cost: 3,500.

Premium Peanut Butter - Rare Survival Hero Item

• 25 Health.
• Using Jump Pack cleanses all negative effects.
• Cost: 4,000.

Smart-Armor - Rare Survival Hero Item

• 25 Armor.
• While below 50% Life, take 25% reduced damage from Shotguns, such as Reaper, Junker Queen, and D.Va’s Primary Fire.
• Cost: 4,000.

S.Pacearmor - Epic Survival Hero Item

• 50 Armor.
• When exiting Primary Rage, gain 100 Overhealth.
• Cost: 9,000.

Simian Supplements - Epic Survival Hero Item

• 50% Barrier Projection duration.
• Barrier Projector’s max health is increased by 300.
• Cost: 10,000.

Fortified Jump Pack - Epic Surival Hero Item

• 50 Armor.
• Damage received during Jump Pack is reduced by 35%.
• Cost: 10,000.

Damage

Ashe

Developer Comments: Head Honcho has always been a bit of a gamble, high risk but not always high reward. With this update, we’re making it a safer pick that feels more consistently useful while keeping the overall power ceiling in check.

Head Honcho – Power

• Remove resets on reload.
• Decreased cap to 15% (Down from 30%).

Early Detonation - Power

• Now only heals amount of reloaded ammo when restoring health through Reload Therapy.

Cassidy

Developer Comments: Cassidy’s trusty six-shooter has always kept him sharp against fliers, but with the spicy Stadium powers, the skies have gotten downright unruly.

This season, we’re giving Cassidy some upgrades to his weaker tricks so he can hold his own, keep his aim true, and remind everyone who’s the fastest draw in the West.

Sunrise - Power

• Increased slow duration to 2.5s (Up from 1.5s).

Think Flasht - Power

• Added: Flashbang’s hinder duration is increased by 50%.

Flash In The Pan - Power

• Increased ultimate charge to 20% (Up from 15%).

Quick Draw – Power

• Increased distance to 15m (Up from 9m).

Wanted Poster – Rare Survival Hero Item

• Added: Deadeye damage charges 35% faster on airborne enemies.

Freja

Developer Comments: Freja continues to struggle at generating currency compared to other damage options. With the improved counterplay options in the Armory and the introduction of Draft, we are bumping up her currency generation from damage to help increase her consistency in Stadium.

• Increased income from damage and healing by 11.7%.

Mei

Developer Comments: Based on our testing data, Mei was having a hard time dealing with fliers. This update gives her a new counter item to help level the playing field and give her a bit more edge against airborne enemies.

Coldspot – Rare Survival Hero Item

• Added: Primary fire applies 35% Slow for 1.5s to an airborne enemy.

Pharah

• Added to the Stadium Hero roster.

Evasive Maneuvers - Power

• After using Jump Jet, Concussive Blast gains homing and hinders enemies for 1.5 seconds on direct hit.

Extra Charge - Power

• Concussive Blast gains 1 extra charge.

Launch Vector - Power

• Whenever you knockback an enemy with Concussive Blast, fire 3 homing mini-rockets at them.

Blitz Barrage - Power

• Gain 40% Move Speed during Barrage.
• After using Jet Dash, fire a Barrage with 60% fewer Mini-Rockets.

Carpet Bomb - Power

• Gain 40% Move Speed during Barrage.
• Barrage has 50% increased duration.

Recursion Battery - Power

• Mini-Rockets gain 50% Ability Lifesteal.

Cyclic Salvo - Power

• Rocket Launcher direct hits grant 10 fuel and reduce your cooldowns by 1 second.

Fuel Depot - Power

• Rocket Launcher direct hits permanently increase your maximum fuel by 2, stacking up to 25 times.

Triple Volley - Power

• After using an ability, your next Primary Fire fires 3 rockets that each deal 40% damage.

Fuel Conversion - Power

• Jet Dash gains 50% cooldown reduction but now costs 65 fuel.

Heat Seekers - Power

• After using Jet Dash, your next Primary Fire locks onto enemies.

Speed Kills - Power

• Dealing Weapon Damage grants 5% Move Speed and 3% Attack Speed for 3 seconds, stacking up to 6 times. Direct hits grant double stacks.

Blast Enhancer - Epic Weapon Hero Item

• 15% Weapon Power.
• 25% Rocket Launcher Explosion Radius.
• Cost: 11,000

Precision Targeting - Epic Weapon Hero Item

• 20% Weapon Power.
• Rocket Launcher direct hits restore 1 ammo.
• Cost: 13,500.

Cairo Coolant - Rare Ability Hero Item

• 25 Health.
• 5% Cooldown Reduction.
• When you knock yourself back with Concussive Blast, gain 20% Movement Speed for 3 seconds.
• Cost: 4,000.

Overcharged Ordnance - Rare Ability Hero Item

• 10% Ability Power.
• 25% Mini Rocket Explosion Radius.
• Cost: 4,000.

Helix Inhibitor - Epic Ability Hero Item

• 20% Ability Power.
• Concussive Blast slows affected enemies by 20% for 2 seconds.
• Cost: 11,000.

Flight Plan - Rare Survival Hero Item

• 25 Health.
• After using Jump Jet or Jet Dash, gain 25 Overhealth for 3 seconds.
• Cost: 4,500.

Tuned Turbines - Rare Survival Hero Item

• 25 Health.
• Hover Jets consume 20% less fuel.
• Cost: 4,500.

Forward Shielding - Epic Survival Hero Item

• 25 Health.
• 10% Ability Power.
• When you use Barrage, gain 25% of your Max Life as Overhealth for 3 seconds.
• Cost: 11,000.

Ana’s Aim Assist - Epic Survival Hero Item

• 50 Health
• Rocket Launcher direct hits heal 15% of your maximum health over 3 seconds.
• Cost: 12,000.

Support

Ana

Developer Comments: Live data shows that Ana currently earns the lowest average currency at late game. While her overall performance has improved, we want to ensure she has enough resources to make meaningful and strategic choices in the armory. This update should help boost her economy and open up more build paths.

• Increased income from damage and healing by 11%.

Venomous - Power

• Set duration to 2s.

Tranquilizer - Epic Ability Hero Item

• Added: +10% Cooldown Reduction

Brigitte

• Added to the Stadium Hero roster.

Burst Aid - Power

• Use Quick Melee to consume all Repair Pack charges. For each charge, heal 20% of Max Life and gain 5% Attack Speed for 3 seconds. (10 second Cooldown).

Righteous Cleave - Power

• After using Shield Bash or Whip Shot, your next Rocket Flail swing heals allies within 5 meters for 100% of damage dealt.

Whirlwhip - Power

• After using Shield Bash or Whipe Shot, your next Rocket Flail swing hits all enemies around you within 5 meters.

Optimizer - Power

• For each Repair Pack active, increase Repair Pack Healing by 10% and heal yourself for 5% of your Max Life every 1 second.

Packstacker - Power

• Repair Pack duration is increased by 50%. Ability damage extends the duration of all active Repair Packs by 1 second.

God Ray - Power

• Ability damage to targets over 10 meters away Burns them for 4% bonus damage for every 1 meter the ability traveled.

Maces to Faces - Power

• Whip Shot’s size is increased by 1 meter and can hit multiple enemies. Inspire lasts 1 second longer when triggered by Whip Shot.

Mender Bender - Power

• After using Shield Bash, heal 33% Barrier Shield Health and trigger Inspire.

Sköldkastning - Power

• After using Shield Bash, your next Rocket Flail swing projects a Shield Boomerang that deals 60% Shield Bash damage.

Lindholm Wall - Power

• Increase Barrier Shield size by 60% and Barrier Shield Health by 100%.
• Shield Bash can hit multiple targets.

Aura Farming - Power

• When Inspire is triggered by an ability, all heroes affected by it gain Overhealth equal to 5% of your Max Life for 5 seconds.

Consecrated Ground - Power

• +25% Starting Ultimate Charge.
• While Rally is active, trigger Inspire every 1.5 seconds and ability cooldowns refresh 25% faster.

Omni-Boost - Rare Weapon Hero Item

• 25 Health.
• 5% Weapon Power.
• 40% Shield Bash Distance.
• 4,000 Cost.

Haste Paste - Rare Ability Hero Item

• 25 Health.
• 5% Ability Power.
• Repair Pack grants 10% Move Speed to target while active.
• Cost: 4,000.

Chain Extender - Epic Ability Hero Item

• 15% Ability Power.
• 50% Whip Shot Range.
• Cost: 9,000.

Scavenged Steel - Epic Ability Hero Item

• 50 Armor.
• 5% Cooldown Reduction.
• Ability damage grants 3% Ultimate Charge.
• Cost: 9,500.

Mitzi’s Medicine - Epic Ability Hero Item

• 10% Ability Power.
• 10% Cooldown Reduction.
• Repair Pack healing can overheal allies up to 75 Overhealth while active.
• Cost: 10,000.

Squire’s Satchel - Rare Survival Hero Item

• 25 Armor.
• While using Shield Barrier gain 25% Damage Reduction.
• Cost: 4,000.

Valkyrian Core - Rare Survival Hero Item

• 25 Armor.
• After Barrier Shield is destroyed, it begins regenerating 50% sonner.
• Cost: 4,000.

Dragon’s Incinerator - Epic Survival Hero Item

• 25 Armor.
• 20% Rally Duration.
• Enemies within Rally are burned for 5% of their max Life for every 1 second, healing you by the same amount.
• Cost: 9,000.

Nullifier Neuroworks - Epic Survival Hero Item

• 50 Armor.
• Rocket Flail damage reduces cooldown of Repair Pack by 0.5 seconds.
• Cost: 10,000.

Hardlight Weave - Epic Survival Hero Item

• 25 Armor
• Increase Barrier Shield Health by 150% of Max Armor.
• Cost: 10,000.

Juno

Developer Comments: Juno lost her blinky shoes, and her performance took a hit. While some players were happy to see her less airborne, it made it much harder for Juno to stay impactful. This buff helps her regain strength while making sure she doesn’t end up permanently zipping around the skies.

Orbital Alignment - Power

• Now enemies within the Orbital Ray will float up.

Blink Boosts - Power

• Increased cooldown reduction to 40% (Up from 30%).

Lúcio

Developer Comments: More dunking.

Beat Drop - Power

• Increased Max Damage from landing on an enemy with Sound Barrier to 250 (Up from 200).

Mercy

Developer Comments: Mercy has consistently been one of the top heroes in Stadium and hasn’t yet received any major updates. In this update we have a large suite of changes with the goal of adding more variety to how Mercy players can build. Most notably Crepusuclar Circle has been replaced.

It has long been a dominant pick that made it very difficult to build any other way as well as being a pain point for Mercy’s opponents. However, we’ve added two new powers in its place. So, we hope you’ll enjoy exploring the new options. We’ve tried to make Ability Power builds and Caduceus Blaster builds more realistic with new Power interactions and updated itemization.

Triage Unit - Power

• Changed to now increase all healing from mercy instead of just Caduceus Staff.
• Bonus healing reduced to 25% (down from 35%).

Crepuscular Circle - Power

• Removed.

Threads of Fate - Power

• Reduced chain effectiveness to 35% (down from 50%).

Battle Medic - Power

• Attack Speed per stack reduced to 3% (down from 4%).

Serenity - Power

• Reduced extra healing to 10% (down from 20%).

Protective Beam - Power

• Added additional effect: Caduceus Staff stays tethered 1s longer to allies not in line of sight.

Tethered Tourniquet - Power

• New Power.
• After swapping to Caduceus Blaster, Caduceus Staff automatically heals allies at 100% effectiveness for every 1s you spent tethered, up to 10s.

Supply Surge - Power

• New Power.
• Reloading Caduceus Staff grants allies affected by it 20% Move Speed for 2s, restores 50% Ammo, and reduces their cooldowns by 3s. (10s Cooldown)

Glass Extra Full - Rare Weapon Hero Item.

• Changed to a Rare Weapon Hero Item (from a Power).
• 25 Health.
• 5% Attack Speed.
• Now grants up to 25 Overhealth when healing full health allies (down from 50).
• Cost: 4,500.

Chain Evoker - Epic Survival Hero Item

• Changed to now grant 50 Health instead of 50 Armor.

Angelic Acrobatics - Epic Ability Hero Item

• Added 15% Ability Power.
• Cost increased to 11,000 (up from 10,000).

Blessed Boosters - Epic Ability Hero Item

• Changed to an Epic Ability Hero Item (from an Epic Survival Hero Item).
• Added 10% Ability Power.
• Reduced Health to 25 (down from 50).

Armory

General Items

Developer Comments: These general item changes are aimed at overall making you feel like you have more viable options to select within the Armory. We’re improving situational itemization in the common and rare tiers, particularly against fliers. We’re also adding some more survivability, particularly in some of the less popular rare items, so there’s more options for damage-oriented builds in the mid-game.

Ballistic Buffer - Common Survival General Item

• New Common Survival General Item.
• +10 Health.
• After taking damage beyond 20m, gain 50 Overhealth for 3s (15s cooldown).
• 1,000 Cost.

Icarus Protocol - Rare Weapon General Item

• New Rare Weapon General Item.
• +25 Health.
• +5% Weapon Power.
• Weapon Damage to airborne targets above 3m deals 10 bonus damage and slows the enemy by 25% for 3s (10s cooldown).
• 4,000 Cost.

Skyline Nanites - Rare Ability General Item

• New Rare Ability General Item.
• +10% Ability Lifesteal.
• Ability Damage to airborne enemies above 3m deals 20% bonus damage over 3s.
• 4,000 Cost.

Electrolytes - Common Survival General Item

• Added 10 Health.

Field Rations - Common Survival General Item

• Changed to Move Speed every time you respawn instead of just the first time you respawn.
• Move Speed increased to 30% (Up from 20%).

First Aid Kit - Common Survival General Item

• Now also reduces Shield Regeneration time.

Stockpile - Rare Weapon General Item

• Added 10 Health.

Emergency Chip - Rare Weapon General Item

• Changed from “While you are below 150 Life, gain 15% Weapon Lifesteal” to “Every life, if you would go below 150 Health, gain 50 Overhealth and 15% Weapon Lifesteal for 3s”.

Technoleech - Rare Weapon General Item

• Added 25 Health.
• 5% Weapon Power changed to 5% Attack Speed.

Custom Stock - Rare Weapon General Item

• Added 10 Health.

Wrist Wraps - Rare Ability General Item

• Added 10 Health.

Junker Whatchamajig - Rare Ability General Item

• Added 25 Health.

Vitality Amplifier - Rare Ability General Item

• Changed to now while above 50% Life, gain 10% Ability Power, but otherwise, gain 15% Ability Lifesteal and abilities refresh 10% faster.
• Cost increased to 5,000 (Up from 4,500).

Vishkar Condensor - Rare Survival General Item

• Increase Health to Shield Conversion to 150 (Up from 100).
• Decreased cost to 3,750 (Down from 4,000).

Reinforced Titanium - Rare General Survival Item

• Added 5% Ability Power while you have Shields.

Iron Eyes - Rare Survival General Item

• Added 5% Move Speed.
• Decreased cost to 3,750 (Down from 4,000).

Bloodbound - Rare Survival General Item

• Rarity changed to Rare (Down from Epic).
• Cost reduced to 4,000 (Down from 9,000).

Crusader Hydraulics - Rare Survival General Item

• Added 5% Attack Speed when you have Armor.
• Changed from “heal for 20% of damage taken” to “gain Overhealth equal to 20% of damage taken for 3s”.
• Damage Condition now tracks pre-mitigation damage for synergy with other damage reduction effects.
• Damage Condition now tracks damage within a 0.2s period.

Sonic Recharger - Epic Ability General Item

• Cost decreased to 9,000 (Down from 9,500).

Overdrive Core - Epic Weapon General Item

• Cost decreased to 9,500 (Down from 10,000).

Bug Fixes

Heroes

Hazard

• Fixed an issue where Hazard’s ultimate could deal extra damage to D.Va while she was in her mech.

Mercy

• Fixed an issue where Mercy’s Resurrect animation did not stop after the ability was cancelled.

Ramattra

• Fixed an issue where Ramattra Vengeful Vortex perk was affecting enemies at a range larger than intended.

Sojourn

• Fixed an issue where Sojourn’s Overcharge perk caused her to lose extra charge after using her ultimate.

Stadium

General

• Fixed a bug where aim assist was inconsistent when using third-person view.
• Fixed an issue where the “Reset Build” button in Stadium did not properly clear all previous values.

Ashe

• Fixed an issue with Ashe’s Ironsights mod, it is now enabled again.

D.Va

• Fixed an issue where D.Va’s Junker Whatchamajig mod granted 25% ultimate charge every time she used Call Mech.

Mei

• Fixed an issue that prevented Mei’s passive ammo regeneration while in Cryo-Freeze when the Commander’s Clip mod was equipped.

Mercy

• Fixed an issue with the Whambulance power where it did not count as Ability Healing for items like Biotech Maximizer and Catalytic Crystal.

Solider: 76

• Fixed an issue where Soldier’s Hunker Down and Double Helix powers triggered ability gains from Ironclad Exhaust Ports and Hardlight Accelerator multiple times from a single use.
• Fixed an issue where Soldier’s Chaingun power had increased recoil under high latency conditions.

Zenyatta

• Fixed an issue where Zenyatta’s Salvaged Slugs mod did not restore ammo properly.