Overwatch 2 Season 16 is now out, bringing with it lots of changes to many Perks. There are a whole lot of new ones, too.
Season 16 of Overwatch 2 has kicked off, and with it, we have seen several updates to Hero Perks. One of the biggest seasons for the game to date saw the launch of the new Stadium game mode, which completely re-shaped how we play. Alongside this came a host of changes to the recently added Hero Perks system, too, with a list of new additions and a host of changes made.
While we have had some time to explore the Hero Perk system through most of Season 15, the new additions can become confusing. With that in mind, below is a list of each changed or new Hero Perk in Season 16 to get you through your Competitive battles in OW2.
Tank Hero Perks in Season 16
D.Va
Bunny Stomp
- Now combined with Ejection Suit.
Bunny Power (New Minor Perk)
- Eject grants 75 temporary overhealth, and Call Mech’s damage radius is increased by 50%.
Extended Boosters (New Minor Perk)
- Hitting an enemy with Boosters increases the duration by 0.5 seconds.
Combining D.Va’s two previous Minor Hero Perks and giving her a completely new one, too, is a serious buff. Bunny Power could simply just be better overall if you can survive to re-mech and get some big damage in.
Hazard
Off the Top
- Increases Leap Slash’s damage from 30% to 50%.
Previously, Off the Top caused Hazard’s Violent Leap Slash to do 30% increased damage to heroes with over 250 health. The change adds a bit more damage, meaning that some of the more pesky damage dealers should not bother Hazard as much.
Orisa
Heat Dissipator
- Increase amount of heat reduced per headshot by 33%.
While Orisa’s Perks remained mostly untouched, the small tweaks and changes to the hero could be enough to make her competitive once again.
Reinhardt
Fiery Update
- Removed
Crusader’s Fire (New Minor Perk)
- Refund a charge of Fire Strike when you stun an enemy, overfilling up to 3.
Shield Slam
- Shield Slam distance increased by 50%.
Reinhardt’s new Minor Hero Perk replaces Fiery Update as a way to get more people to pick it. Much of the usage of the previous Perk came after a few weeks into Season 15. As more players realized its strength. Unfortunately, this was seemingly too strong for everyone’s favorite shield-bearer, with Crusader’s Fire looking to promote a similar playstyle.
Roadhog
Hog Toss
- Removed
Pent Up (New Minor Perk)
- When Pig Pen is triggered, refill 50% Take a Breather resource, which can overfill.
Hogdrogen Exposure
- Increased radius from 8 to 10 meters.
When you can simply throw hooks and keep firing, Hog Toss felt like the weakest pick for Roadhog. With buffs to one of his Major Perks, as well as the new Minor Perk, Roadhog may see some changes in Perk selection.
Sigma
Levitation
- Jump can now be held down to hover.
Damage Hero Perks
Casssidy
Past Noon
- Removed
Even the Odds (New Minor Perk)
- Regenerate 20 health per second for each enemy targeted by Deadeye.
Past Noon was buffed during the mid-season patch in OW2, but even at a 40% refund, it was not up to scratch. Even the Odds gives Cassidy some interesting survivability options if he can escape to the backline without his support nearby.
Junkrat
Aluminum Frame
- Now also reveals trapped enemies to allies.
Tick Tock
- The description has been changed to “Concussive Mine strengthens 0.5 seconds after landing, increasing damage by 50%, explosion radius by 50%, and health by 200%.
The buff to the Aluminum Frame’s Hero Perk can help Junkrat’s teammates focus down a target fast, while the slight wording change on Tick Tock lets players know that their mine gets stronger after a certain timing, instead of players thinking that the Perk was not working as intended.
Mei
Chilling Reach
- Removed.
Biting Cold (Moved to Minor Perk)
- Secondary fire hits slow enemies by 20% for 1.5 seconds.
Deep Freeze (New Major Perk)
- Continuously hitting enemies with primary fire freezes them for a short time.
Many never thought they would see the day when the freezing power of Mei would return to haunt us. Her new Major Perk returns her to her strongest self, with the ability to simply nuke many heroes in a few seconds.
Sombra
Viral Efficacy
- Removed.
Encrypted Upload (New Minor Perk)
- Hack can be used while invisible, and successful hacks increase the duration of stealth by 2 seconds.
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Stack Overflow
- Removed.
Viral Replication (New Major Perk)
- Hitting a hacked enemy with Virus spreads Virus to enemies within 8 meters.
Sombra’s kit left a lot to be desired when perks were introduced. Leaving the White Hat Major Perk and allowing for Sombra players to still utilize a small heal on allies at times feels decent. But when the two new Perks make the hero a much bigger threat in the damage role, we can definitely see White Hat falling off quite fast.
Soldier: 76
Field Emergency
- The description has been changed to “Biotic Field’s healing is increased by 100% on Low health targets.”
Previously, the wording mentioned “critical health targets”, so this change to the description rectifies any confusion caused.
Torbjörn
Overloaded Turret
- Now transforms into Level 3 Sentry Turret if Overload was activated before fully constructed.
This slight buff to Torbjörn’s Overload Turret Perk should make it so that players can utilize Overload much more easily.
Tracer
Flashback
- Blinks restored reduced from 3 to 2.
Quantum Entanglement
- Quantum Entanglement now additionally grants 20 over ammo.
Both of Tracer’s Major Perks received a small change in Season 16. Although Flashback’s nerf hits pretty hard, the extra ammo of Quantum Entanglement makes it a bit more interesting in the right moments.
Support Hero Perks in Season 16
Ana
Groggy
- Reduced initial slow from 75% to 50%.
- Now also deals 50 damage over the duration.
Biotic Bounce
- Second bounce damage and healing reduced from 50 to 25.
Ana’s double dose of nerfs to Minor Perks means that you can now possibly escape if you are hit by a stray Sleep Dart, while also still ensuring that the hero has a chance to escape a dangerous situation.
Baptiste
Assault Burst
- Will now do instant healing, but cannot critically heal low targets.
The Assault Burst Major Perk for Baptiste removed a good amount of healing previously, exchanging it for attack speed. This change will bring back the heal, as well as the attack speed, while sacrificing double healing on low health allies.
Juno
Hyper Boost
- Removed
Re-Boots (Moved to Minor Perk)
- Duration increase removed.
Locked On (New Major Perk)
- Reduce the cooldown of Pulsar Torpedoes by 1.5 seconds for every enemy hit.
Juno was stuck in a world where the hero had enhanced mobility that was further enhanced by the Perk system. The changes give Juno more chances to utilize Pulsar Torpedoes in most situations, while still allowing those who prefer to critical strike enemies to do so.
Lifeweaver
Lifeweaving
- Bonus healing increased from 30 to 40.
A small but valuable buff to one of Lifeweaver’s Major Perk choices brings it in line with the Superbloom perk damage.
Lúcio
Groovin
- Removed
Beat Drop (New Minor Perk)
- Amp it Up is active during Sound Barrier.
Lúcio’s Wall Ride is one of the strongest parts of his kit, as he dashes in and out to heal and boost his allies. The Groovin Perk made this far too strong, it seems, and as such, has been balanced out with a new Minor Perk.
Mercy
Angelic Recovery
- Removed
Angelic Resurrection (New Minor Perk)
- Mercy gains 100 overhealth after casting Resurrect.
Mercy's original perk felt like one of the weaker Minor Perk choices. While Mercy players are generally trying to avoid damage at all costs, the new Minor Perk will allow the hero to hopefully get off some of the more difficult Resurrects on players who have over-extended, while allowing Mercy mains to still feel relatively safe.
Zenyatta
Ascendance
- Jump can now be held down to hover.
Duality
- Increased converted damage from 20% to 30%.
Zenyatta’s Duality Major Perk change makes the omnic an even stronger healing presence, especially with some pinpoint headshots.
While some heroes saw a few nerfs, overall, the Season 16 Perk changes are buffs. The new Perks feel as though they can work out far better for certain playstyles, while still leaving previous playstyles open to explore. Blizzard is likely to continue tweaking and figuring out the Perk system throughout the year, but for now, we are all excited to get stuck in on Overwatch 2 Season 16 and Stadium.
For more Overwatch 2 news and information, stay tuned to esports.gg.
