Overwatch 2 Midseason Patch: Fine-Tuning Clash and Rebalancing Tanks

Overwatch

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Kaustavmani Choudhury

This week, Overwatch 2 developers shared a glimpse into the upcoming midseason patch for Season 12. From exciting hero updates to improvements in gameplay, this patch will offer players a more balanced and engaging experience. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the changes, including reflections on the introduction of Juno, adjustments to the new Clash mode, and overall balance updates.

Juno: A Community Favorite

Since her debut in Season 12, Juno has quickly become a fan favorite. Her journey from prototype to fully realized hero was a long one. But the Overwatch team is thrilled with how the community has embraced her. Juno’s unique abilities, especially her Pulsar Torpedoes, initially raised concerns due to their lock-on nature, but players have adjusted to countering her effectively.

Juno has found a comfortable niche in the “safe side of strong” category, thriving particularly on Payload and Hybrid maps like Circuit Royal, King’s Row, and Blizzard World. While she excels in most game modes, her speed gives her a noticeable edge in more confined spaces, making her a versatile addition to any team. In competitive play, especially in OWCS Korea, Juno has been paired with support heroes like Ana and Brigitte, a trend likely to continue in the coming weeks.

Overall, Juno’s introduction has been a success. The developers plan to keep her current kit intact for now. All the while monitoring her performance to determine if further adjustments are needed.

Clash Mode: Tweaks on the Horizon

Clash, introduced alongside Juno in Season 12, was designed to offer fast-paced action without long stretches between objectives. While it has delivered on that front, the developers acknowledge that there’s room for improvement. Feedback from the community has highlighted a few key areas for adjustment.

Key Priorities for Clash:

Decrease the current stomp rate and number of short matches: Some Clash matches end too quickly, making them feel unsatisfying. The goal is to give teams more opportunities to recover from early setbacks, ensuring matches last longer and are more competitive.

Incentivize attacking objectives A and E: The final capture points have proven difficult to secure. While breaking them into three ticks helped, the developers want to encourage attacking teams to be more proactive, creating more intense and strategic fights at these crucial moments.

Increase the feeling of fairness: Players have reported that some matches feel lopsided, with defending teams gaining momentum too easily. Adjustments will be made to improve the balance. Particularly around objectives B and D, where attackers should feel like they have a fighting chance.

Keep Clash clear and understandable: While Clash’s fast pace is part of its appeal, it can sometimes lead to confusion. Developers are committed to ensuring that players always have a clear sense of where the match stands, without overcomplicating the rules or scoring system.

The first round of light tweaks will arrive in the midseason patch, with more substantial changes planned for Season 13.

Midseason Balance Updates

A major focus of the midseason patch will be adjustments to Tank survivability. Since the large Tank patch in version 2.11.1, it has become more difficult to counter Tanks, especially D.Va. To address this, developers will be slightly scaling back the power of Armor and Tank defensive passives. These changes aim to bring Tanks back in line without undermining their role as frontline defenders.

Additional Balance Adjustments:

Hero counters: The team is also experimenting with reducing the effectiveness of certain hero counters, particularly beam damage against Tanks during defensive abilities. This will make the gameplay experience feel fairer for Tanks who currently struggle against heroes with beam-based attacks.

Sombra tweaks: Sombra has been a hot topic in the community, and the developers are looking at changes to her Stealth duration, among other aspects of her kit, to bring her more in line with the rest of the roster.

What’s Next?

Players can expect the midseason patch to drop next week, bringing these balance changes along with a special Overwatch 2 x World of Warcraft cosmetic event. While the full details of the event are still under wraps, fans can look forward to unique crossover cosmetics celebrating both iconic Blizzard franchises.

Read the full Director’s Take HERE.

Stay tuned to Strafe Esports for more updates as Season 12 continues to evolve!

Featured Image Source: BLIZZARD/Overwatch 2

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