Overwatch 2 Hotfix Attempts to Fix Tank Problem

An Overwatch 2 hotfix has nerfed meta heroes that have been a bit oppressive in Season 11.

Overwatch 2 released a hotfix patch earlier today in response to the much-hated balance patch that overpowered tanks.

The Season 11 patch has been called the worst balance change in the game so far. The buffs to each tank signifncantly overpowered them in the current meta. Mauga was the biggest offender since his Cardiac Overdrive ability was given too much power. Now, Mauga can heal himself as he's doing damage and now also heal at the equivalent of his damage output. This has made him able to tank to an extreme level.

What was meant to make tanks feel tankier in an attempt to allow support heroes to stop pocketing that one player has outraged the Overwatch 2 community so much that a hotfix has arrived.

me thinks this is no good pic.twitter.com/JoNhLImQMA

— Hydron (@KingHydron) July 9, 2024

Overwatch 2 Season 11 Hotfix Patch Notes

Here are the full hotfix patch notes:

Ramattra
Nemesis Form:
→ Cooldown increased from 7 to 8 seconds.
→ Base armor reduced from 100 to 75.
→ Base health reduced from 275 to 250.

Zarya
Particle Barrier:
→ Shared cooldown increased from 10 to 11 seconds.
→ Duration reduced from 2.5 to 2.25 seconds.
Projected Barrier:
→ Shared cooldown increased from 10 to 11 seconds.
→ Duration reduced from 2.5 to 2.25 seconds.

Pharah
Base health:
→ Reduced from 250 to 225.

Illari
Healing Pylon:
→ Cooldown increased from 12 to 14 seconds.
Captive Sun:
→ Ultimate cost increased by 12%.

Lúcio
Sonic Amplifier:
→ Knockback reduced by 10%.

Ramattra saw a cooldown increase for Nemesis Form and armor and health reduction. This should make him feel a bit less oppressive since he was easily jumping into fights without a lot of consequence. Zarya had a similar change that increased her Particle Barrier cooldown and reduced its duration so she also can't run in and absorb damage as carelessly.

Overwatch 2 players were shocked by the sudden Lucio nerf on top of everything else. Many have already been complaining about Lucio feeling underwhelming and this only confirmed that developers must "hate" this hero. Some argued back that Lucio is currently the strongest support and that his "boop" was overpowered.

For similar reasons, Illari was also nerfed. She's been performing extremely well in competitive Overwatch 2 and is actually the top support in the Top 500. She's become a bit too strong and there weren't enough answers to her abilities as she was previously.

But why not Mauga nerf? Most likely because these heroes are used more often and considered part of the meta so they needed more immediate action. We'll have to see how players like the hotfixes and see if there's any more updates from Blizzard regarding tank heroes.