Soldier Nerfs and Zen Kick Buff | May 5, 2022 Patch Notes

Patch notes are a lot to read through, so we summarized the patch notes released on May 5, 2022 for the Overwatch 2 Beta! We also added the original patch notes, if you prefer reading it as is. The highlights in this patch are Soldier: 76 changes and Zen melee buff.

Patch Notes Summary and Highlights

Hero Changes and Notable Bug Fixes

Damage Hero Changes
Sojourn	[BUFFS] Railgun Alt Fire: Projectile size: 0.05m > 0.1m Power Slide: Reduced cooldown by 1 sec
Sombra	[NERFS] Stealth: Movement speed: 65% > 50%
Soldier: 76	[BUFFS] Tactical Visor: Critical hits enabled if aimed at head; damage falloff removed [NERFS] Heavy Pulse Rifle: 20 dmg > 18 dmg Sprint: Movement speed: 50% > 40%

Tank Hero Changes
Doomfist	[BUG FIX] Power Block: Melee attacks can now deal damage to Doomfist during Power Block.
Roadhog	[CHANGES] Whole Hog: 'Channeled' ultimate > 'Transform' ultimate ・Press Primary fire to continue ulting ・Can use normal abilities during ultimate ・Cannot be cancelled by stuns
Winston	[BUFFS] Tesla Cannon: Secondary fire ammo cost: 20 > 12
Wrecking Ball	[BUFFS] Roll: Knockback increased [BUG FIX] Enabled after fixing crash-causing bug.
Zarya	[BUFFS] Graviton Surge: Duration: 4 > 3.5 secs

Support Hero Changes
Lucio	[NERFS] Crossfade: Self-healing (unamped): 12.3 hps > 10 hps Self-healing (amped): 40 hps > 32.5 hps
Baptiste	[BUFFS] Biotic Launcher Alt Fire: Ammo: 10 > 13
Ana	[BUFFS] Biotic Rifle: Ammo increase: 12 > 15 [NERFS] Biotic Grenade: Duration: 4 > 3 secs.
Zenyatta	[BUFFS] Snap Kick: New passive; quick melee damage increased (30 > 45) and knocks enemies back much further
Brigitte	[NERFS] Shield Bash: Knockback doubled

Official Patch Notes

General

• Enabled Quick Play Open Queue
• Made adjustments to Kill Feed and Activity Feed UI
• Adjusted audio mix: 1) Reduced bass frequencies on 3rd person weapons, and 2) Fixed a bug in the reverb system that caused reverberation to play from all directions – now should be fully directional towards the sound’s source.

Bug Fixes

General

• Fixed a bug where the "Thank you for reporting" message would not clear
• Fixed a bug where names in the friends list would appear alphabetically regardless of game status
• Fixed a bug where heroes that killed themselves would show incorrectly in the kill feed
• Fixed a bug where health packs would sometimes be missing timers
• Fixed a bug where Reaper would sometimes be auto selected on hero select
• Fixed a bug where the control progress bar would sometimes be the wrong color
• Made several adjustments to sound volume and mix
• Fixed several crashes

Heroes

Maps

Heroes

Damage

Sojourn
Railgun Alt Fire ・Projectile width increased from 0.05m to 0.1m Power Slide ・Cooldown reduced from 7 to 6 seconds
Developer Notes We saw a lot of players at varying skill levels struggling to land shots with her Alt Fire, so we are making the projectile width wider. Sojourn is all about mobility, and we wanted her to move around the maps more freely. We think this will help increase her effectiveness and make her even more fun to play.

Soldier
Heavy Pulse Rifle ・Damage reduced from 20 to 18 Sprint ・Movement speed reduced from 50 to 40% Tactical Visor ・Now allows for critical hits, if a shot would have been a critical hit outside his ultimate ・No longer removes damage falloff from his Heavy Pulse Rifle
Developer Notes We believe Soldier 76 was over tuned during the first week of the PvP beta. He was extremely mobile with the new damage passive that increases movement speed by 10%. We brought his Sprint ability down a bit with the new passive in mind. Soldier 76 has always been a high damage output hero, but we are seeing fewer counters to him with one less tank per team. We lowered the damage of his Heavy Pulse Rifle to fit with 5v5. We wanted to make Tactical Visor a more interesting ultimate for players who want to push their aim skills through the ability. The point of this change isn’t purely to buff him or counterbalance the nerfs. We wanted to make Soldier 76 more fun to play while rewarding mechanical skill.

Sombra
Stealth ・Movement speed reduced from 65 to 50%
Developer Notes After a week of testing the new damage passive, we decided to balance Sombra’s Stealth speed with the 10% movement speed increase in mind.

Tank

Roadhog
Whole Hog This ability has changed from a ‘Channeled’ ultimate (e.g. Pharah, Reaper, Cassidy), into a ‘Transform’ ultimate (e.g. Soldier: 76, Genji, Winston). This is what that means: ・The weapon no longer automatically fires, and you must press Primary Fire to use the ultimate ・You can use normal abilities during Whole Hog without canceling the ultimate ・Stuns will no longer cancel the ultimate
Developer Notes We saw Roadhog underperforming, so we are making his ultimate more interesting, effective, and fun. Roadhog was dying frequently while using Whole Hog, so we are trying to give him more options and flexibility in his ult.

Winston
Tesla Cannon ・Secondary fire ammo cost reduced from 20 to 12
Developer Notes The change to Winston's secondary fire enables him to use it more often without sacrificing as much of his primary fire. We want his secondary fire to feel less restrictive to use and more fluid like his kit.

Wrecking Ball
Roll ・Knockback increased by 36%
Developer Notes We are reverting Roll’s knockback to the original value from when Wrecking Ball was launched. We wanted to give Wrecking Ball a more unique role as a dive tank that can split up enemy teams. We made this change with the Tank passive of 30% knockback resistance in mind.

Zarya
Graviton Surge ・Duration reduced from 4 to 3.5 seconds
Developer Notes There are less counters to Graviton Surge with one less tank per team and phase effects no longer escaping Zarya’s ultimate. We observed the ultimate over-performing, so this change brings it in line with 5v5 gameplay.

Support

Lucio
Crossfade ・Self-healing penalty increased from 30% to 60%
Developer Notes Lucio had incredible survivability with Crossfade stacked with the new support role passive, so we reduced the amount it heals himself.

Baptiste
Biotic Launcher Alt Fire ・Healing ammo increased from 10 to 13
Developer Notes Baptiste is under-performing because teams aren’t playing as grouped up right now. Increasing his healing ammo will let him heal more targets who aren’t necessarily grouped up.

Ana
Biotic Rifle ・Ammo increased from 12 to 15 Biotic Grenade ・Duration reduced from 4 to 3 seconds
Developer Notes Ana’s Biotic Grenade was too effective with one less tank and more infrequent barriers, so we are reducing the duration of the ability. We also saw Ana using her grenade less frequently on herself because of the new support passive ability. To help compensate for her grenade, we wanted to give her power back through increasing her Biotic Rifle’s ammo.

Zenyatta
Health ・Base shields increased from 150 to 175 Snap Kick ・New Passive Ability ・Increases Quick melee damage by 50% and significantly increases its knockback
Developer Notes Zenyatta has trouble fighting at close range, so he was at a disadvantage if an enemy flanked or jumped on top of him. His new passive, Snap Kick, will help him create space and put enemies at his fighting range. We think this new passive will be a fun adjustment to his kit, but we also want this change to acknowledge community concerns. We understand 5v5 has made support heroes feel more vulnerable, and we wanted to give Zenyatta tools to help create space between him and enemies.

Brigitte
Shield Bash ・Knockback doubled
Developer Notes It’s difficult to tell when Brigitte lands a Shield Bash because the impact of that ability was not easily noticeable. This is a subtle change that will make the ability feel more satisfying.

Overwatch 2 Related Guides

List of All Patch Notes