Overwatch Season 5 is bringing buffs for the new boy, nerfs for our favorite Giant Woman, and finally putting Hanzo and Widow in their place.
For every action (buff) there is an equal and opposite reaction (nerf). So it goes with the ups and downs of balance changes in Overwatch. Revealed in a 'Director's Take' blog from Blizzard, Overwatch Season 5 will see a number of buffs and major nerfs based on the community's need. Of those, it appears our resident Giant Woman, Junker Queen, will get toned back down from deity to demi-god.
What else is in store? Let's look.
Overwatch Season 5 buffs, nerfs ahead
"Junker Queen was given a series of buffs, and she really started to dominate. Her win rate popped up by about 5%, and she went from being one of the lowest-picked tanks to one of the highest," says the Overwatch blog on upcoming Overwatch Season 5 buffs. This will come as no shock to anyone that's played Competitive Mode in the last month. Junker Queen went from a slightly better version of Roadhog to a go-to dive counter, overnight.
"At Masters and above, Queen is far and away the most picked tank." It's not hard to see why, given her passive healing. Despite that, the nerf for Giant Woman isn't coming to her heal, but instead to her Ultimate and Commanding Shout. Not only will Rampage take longer to build up, but she'll get less HP from her shift-ability.
Which, okay. Fine. But what about some good news? Well, more Lifeweaver buffs are on the way.
"Some of the plays that people have pulled off with him during Season Four were pretty astonishing. However, he's not powerful enough to be a solid pick for most players," the team says in reference to Lifeweaver. And it's true: Lifeweaver is fun-as-heck to play. However, being fun doesn't translate to being good.
The team didn't announce any hard changes, but did say they're looking at:
- Placing a heal on Life Grip
- Quality-of-life changes to Petal Platform
- Increased healing, damage output
- Shrinking his very large hitbox
Hanzo, Widow on the hit list
Two of the strongest Heroes in Overwatch 2 are Widowmaker and Hanzo. Their ability to one-shot opponents--sometimes seemingly out of thin air--is a hard mechanic to balance. Remove too much of their power and suddenly they have no value. The team is looking to reduce both of their damage falloff in Overwatch Season 5.
In the case of Widowmaker, somewhat drastically, saying "She will still have the ability to one-shot 200 health heroes at 50 meters or less, but further than that, it will no longer be a killing blow."
And you know what? That's fine. Good change.
As for Hanzo, he'll be looking at a damage nerf and a change to Sonic Arrow to make it more obvious that you're being watched.
Expect more announcements on the future of Overwatch Season 5, as it goes live next week.
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