There were a ton of changes showcased in the Overwatch 2 alpha test. With the beta coming right up, here’s all the hero changes you can expect to see as things get going.
Overwatch 2 is right around the corner, with beta testing set to begin on Tuesday, April 26. As we head into the next chapter of the game, it’ll be very helpful to be aware of the changes to heroes we’ll be seeing.
Here, we’ve compiled a list of all the hero changes coming in Overwatch 2, based on the alpha testing period. Heroes will be broken up into Tank, Support, and DPS categories. Not every hero will be listed, as not every hero is getting significant changes for the sequel.
Overwatch 2 Tank hero changes
Doomfist Overwatch 2 changes
The big news for Overwatch 2 is Doomfist, formerly a DPS hero, being transformed into a Tank. This means his health has been drastically increased as well, to 450 HP total.
Along with changes to his base attack, Rocket Punch, Seismic Slam, and Meteor Strike ultimate, his Uppercut ability has been removed completely and replaced with a new move called Power Block.
This will protect Doom from frontal attacks, and powering up Rocket Punch to be faster, go farther, and deal more damage based on how much incoming damage is mitigated.
Reinhardt Overwatch 2 changes
Compared to Doomfist, Rein doesn’t have near as many major changes going on. However, he will now have two Firestrikes to use on one cooldown, instead of just one.
In addition it will be much easier to steer his Charge, and we can even cancel it early if we like, which was impossible before. Rein’s shield is also being buffed, up to 1600 HP from 1200.
Orisa Overwatch 2 changes
Orisa joins Doom in the rework department, getting one of the most substantial overhauls of any hero headed into Overwatch 2. Her Protective Barrier, Halt! and Supercharger are all being replaced with brand-new abilities: Energy Javelin, Javelin Spin, and Terra Surge.
Energy Javelin will launch a projectile at enemies that stuns and knocks them back, with a longer stun if enemies end up hitting a wall as a result.
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Javelin Spin will destroy projectiles, push enemies away, and increase Orisa’s forward speed. Finally, Terra Surge, her new Ultimate, will sweep in enemies and anchor Orisa down, giving her the effects of Fortify and charging a “surge of damage.” Orisa can use her primary fire to unleash the surge early as well.
Zarya Overwatch 2 changes
Zarya joins Rein in not having as substantial overall changes like Doom or Orisa, but still sees significant adjustments to her bubbles. Instead of having one charge for herself and one for allies, she can now use both charges interchangeably.
This means she can put two barriers on herself, two on an ally, or split them like before. It should give more flexibility and make her able to adapt to more situations, but could make cooldown management a bit more complicated as a result.
D.Va Overwatch 2 changes
D.Va is the tank who sees the least amount of changes, other than Roadhog, who has none as far as we can tell. Defense Matrix now lasts slightly longer, and recharges faster.
In addition, she can also move slightly faster when using her primary fire — with the spread from her guns seeing a tiny reduction as well.
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Overwatch 2 DPS hero changes
Sombra Overwatch 2 changes
Sombra is receiving some big changes for Overwatch 2, besides her new voice line, of course. Hack will now only have a cooldown of 3 seconds, instead of 8. However, it will also only prevent enemies from using their abilities for one second, instead of the previous 5.
Stealth will also activate quicker, but Sombra will be easier to detect while invisible, up to a radius of 4 meters from just 2 before. Hack no longer cancels Stealth, but Sombra will now become visible for a short time.
Cassidy Overwatch 2 changes
There’s only one change coming for everyone’s favorite cowboy hero, and it’s replacing his Flashbang Grenade entirely. Instead, he’ll now have a Magnetic Grenade, which will stick to enemies and deal damage.
As the Flashbang was a major part of his kit and strategy, it will be very interesting to see how the community reacts to this new move once more players have a chance to try things out in the beta.
Mei Overwatch 2 changes
Mei will no longer be able to completely freeze enemies in Overwatch 2, which will mean a massive change to her playstyle. Instead, her primary fire will just slow enemies who get hit.
Her Ultimate will still freeze enemies solid though, however losing her primary fire freeze could drastically lower her pickrate.
Bastion Overwatch 2 changes
Bastion is one of the DPS heroes receiving massive changes, along with Sombra. He has a new ultimate, Configuration: Artillery, and a new ability called Tactical Grenade.
In addition to those changes, he’ll also be able to move in Sentry mode, but his weapon in that mode has had its damage reduced by 40%. It will also take much longer to switch between Turret and Sentry modes, so players will have to be much more careful.
Junkrat Overwatch 2 changes
Junkrat has probably the most minor changes of any DPS we’ve seen so far. All that’s changed for him is heroes can now slightly move when stuck in his traps. They can’t move a large amount, but it could be enough to keep them alive if they play it right.
Overwatch 2 Support hero changes
Mercy Overwatch 2 changes
Mercy’s only change to speak of is a decrease to her self-healing, which will decrease her survivability a bit. The good news is these changes shouldn’t take too long to get used to for experienced players.
Brigitte Overwatch 2 changes
Brig’s shield bash no longer stuns enemies, but it can interrupt certain abilities instead. However, it now has a longer range and does more damage than before. Not only that, but it can also move through shields as well. Fun!
Ana Overwatch 2 changes
The cooldown on Ana’s Sleep Dart has increased to 15 seconds, up from 12 seconds in the original game. In addition, it seems her Healing Grenade only restores 60 HP, instead of 100. That being said though, it still applies a healing debuff to enemies hit.
Zenyatta Overwatch 2 changes
Finally, Zen sees the most minor of all Support changes, with only new visual indicators to show who’s in range of his Transcendence.
That’s all the changes coming to Overwatch 2 we know about right now, but be sure to check out our Overwatch section as the beta begins for full coverage of the sequel.
