Overwatch 2 is allowed to be fun this week

02.04.2024 - 17:49 / polygon.com

A new patch for Overwatch 2 rolled out Monday that promises a “really, really, really balanced” version of the game. That patch landed on April Fools’ Day, of course, bringing back googly-eyed heroes and a sweeping set of changes to characters’ abilities. It’s a chance for Overwatch 2 players to have a week’s worth of chaotic fun, and for Blizzard to test out some secretly very good tweaks to the game.

The new Balanced Overwatch mode is only available in the arcade section of Overwatch 2, meaning these changes don’t affect Quick Play or Competitive modes — for good reason. Some changes are ridiculous: Relatively new tank Mauga is now 50% smaller, and has just 25 health (down from 525), making him a tiny terror. Conversely, support hero Brigitte is now a full-on tank; she’s 1.5 times bigger, has an always-massive shield, and got a huge increase to her armor and shield HP.

Some changes are just straight-up silly. Illari becomes solar-powered on any map where the sun is out. Moira’s Biotic Grasp has been flipped, meaning her healing ability now does damage, and her damage ability now does healing — potentially causing DPS Moiras to actually heal their teammates by mistake. Torbjörn’s turrets now stick to anything: walls, ceilings, even other heroes.

Balanced Overwatch also includes some fun new abilities, some of which should actually be in the game. Mei can now summon an ice pillar that launches her into the air. Pharah gets a new ability called Jet Land that lets her dash downward toward the ground while in the air. Reinhardt can reflect incoming fire with his shield, but at the cost of health.

Blizzard has implemented some previous April Fools’ Day prank changes into the main game. In 2021, Blizzard gave D.Va the ability to crush her enemies when calling in her mech, and gave Zarya a shared cooldown across her two types of bubbles. Those changes ultimately made it into the core modes of Overwatch 2.

More importantly that stealth-introducing actual long term game changes is giving Overwatch 2 players a chance to have fun without the promise of idealistic perfect game balance. Go ahead and win or lose, but have fun, and try to ride on the back of Orisa as Hanzo while you’re at it. You’ll get some free sprays (and lots of XP) for playing.

Balanced Overwatch runs April 1-8, and is accessible from the PLACEHOLDER_TEXT menu in Overwatch 2. You can read about the latest changes in Blizzard’s patch notes below.

Developer Comments: Mech go zoom and D.Va bomb go boom.

Boosters

Self Destruct

Developer Comments: Doomfist is a mobility hero, so there’s no reason he should be slowing down while blocking right?

Power Block

Developer Comments: Leave it to Junker Queen to cut her way toward new heights.

Jagged