Overwatch 2 is set to fundamentally change how Blizzard’s popular hero shooter works with some drastic Support hero nerfs in the pipeline along with a complete Brigitte rework.
With a shift from 6v6 down to 5v5, the entire Overwatch experience is undergoing some major adjustments ahead of the sequel.
We already know Tanks are in line for a huge overhaul, heroes like Tracer, Doomfist, and Wrecking Ball are all being reworked from the ground up, and now, Blizzard has confirmed Support hero changes as well.
The entire role will function differently when Overwatch 2 arrives. Sweeping nerfs “across the board” will shake up the very foundations of Overwatch.
Moreover, specific OW2 heroes like Brigitte will be completely different.
As development continues behind closed doors, Overwatch Community Manager Andy Belford provided a new update on the Blizzard forums to reveal “a ton of changes to the Support role.”
First and foremost, Belford outright confirmed Brigitte won’t be the same in Overwatch 2. The very basis of her kit, the controversial stun effect, will be removed from the Support character altogether.
Rather than nerfing or slightly altering her abilities, Blizzard is completely overhauling the hero. Despite this, “the playstyle of your favorite Support heroes should feel familiar,” Belford reassured.
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There’s no telling just yet, however, how the Overwatch 2 devs may accomplish that goal, considering heroes are being altered to such an extent.
Beyond Brigitte, Overwatch 2 will feature more drastic changes to the Support role in general. “Abilities like Regenerative Burst and Biotic Grenade” were mentioned by name. For powerful tools of this variety, the devs confirmed they will all “be tuned” in Overwatch 2.
Furthermore, as a result of only having one Tank hero in each game, Blizzard found Support heroes became “too effective at keeping the entire team alive.”
In order to rebalance the entire flow of a match with 5v5 in mind, the devs are currently “tuning down healing output across the board.”
This means your favorite Support heroes may not only appear with different abilities in Overwatch 2, but also with different goals. With healing being scaled back for the entire role, Supports will need to adapt their playstyle moving forward.
Although Blizzard is yet to confirm an official Overwatch 2 release window, sources have informed Dexerto that the 2022 Overwatch League season may run on an early build of the sequel title.
We should hear more about the upcoming release in the near future.
