Balance is probably the most contentious thing about Overwatch. Metas dictate how much the community engages with the game. Players’ personal favorite heroes may be pushed out of the meta or elevated to must-pick status. Despite the general reach of Overwatch, whether its lore, esports, or community, 🅠it all comes baꦡck to the gameplay.
All characters in the hero shooter changed since their initial release. There are just some who went through more drastic changes than others, whether it be buffs, nerfs, or reworks. Some heroes flourished while others languished. Here are some Overwatch heroes that🔥 changed drastically since their release.
11 Mei
Mei hasn’t been the most popular damage hero. While she was ne൩ver underpowered, she couldn’t compete with the mobility-based, high damage-dealing Genji, Soldier: 76, or Tracer.
The 𝓡Chinese climatologist never had a game-changing rework but she received plenty of changes and adjustments to her kit. She can freeze multiple targets at once. Her icicles can through targets and don’t have fall-off damage. The primary damage on Endothermic Blaster was ꩲincreased, and her freeze time was buffed.
Her wall’s health was reduced to compensate, but Mei’s ability to isolate targets an𒈔d dominate in duels make her a viable pick in the Season 18 meta.
10 McCree
McCree is a fan favorite for his clas🎀sic appeal, personality and skill requirements. McCree sometimes falters in prominence due to his lack of mobility and lack of burst damage. It is also ridiculously easy to shut down his ultimate. High Noon.
The cowboy went through many changes over the past year but mostly for the better. He got a for his Fan ꦿthe Hammer. High Noon’s range is now 200 meters, and his Peacekeeper’s minimum damage at max range increased from 30 percent to 50 percent.
McCree’s most dramatic buff was when they reduced his primary fire recovery, which increased his fire rate, improved 🧸his accuracy and reduced his recoil. This also means that McCree’s damage output and ultimate charge got indirectly buffed. The former Blackwatch agent is enjoying some r🍌enewal right now.
9 Sombra
Sombra is for the strategic and sleuthy. She frus🦄trates players with her innate ability to disable their abilities൲ and passives for a short amount of time. Her Hack received a few adjustments over the years, but her half her kit got in July 2018.
Instead of her Sꦏtealth having a duration, Sombra can now stay invisible until disruption or cancellation. To compensate, Stealth got a speed nerf and can no longer contest objectives, however. Her translocator🌺 can be destroyed by Sombra herself and has a shorter cooldown.
EMP and Hack w꧃ere nerfed in August, but that did not stop Sombra from being a viable pick when needed. There’s a reason𝕴 why Hackfist (Doomfist and Sombra) is a rather strong pairing.
8 Reaper
The death bringer 𓆉himself. Reaper’s strengths lie in his ability to duel and tank-busting damage. While dealt high damage, his stiff mobility, vulnerability to headshots and sustain made him weak compared to other damage heroes.
One of the biggest changes to come to Reaper was the , which would drop from fallen allies and enemies. Blizzard replaced that mechanic with inna𒊎te-lifes😼teal from his gun damage. While it was a good change, the lifesteal was rather weak.
Blizzard mega-buffed the Talon agent’s li🥀festeal and made his Wraith Form faster and togglable. Shadow S𒈔tep received the most changes; the ability had its voice over reduced, animation sped up, and can be used in the air. Reaper’s lifesteal was nerfed to 40 percent, but he is still one of the best duelists in the game.
7 Hanzo
Hanzo was another meme in the community for the longest time. His Scatter Arrow would either one-shot enemies or do nothing. He offered inconsistent damage output and zero mobility. He wa⛄s used more in Quick Play than actual competitive, and only higher-ranked players got some value out of him.
Then came the that caused arguably more backlash than his first iteration. Storm Arrow was the biggest additionཧ, replacing Scatter Arrow with six quicker but weaker arrows. It's effective at bursting down targets an📖d breaking barriers but was too powerful. Hanzo also gained a Leap ability that can be used while aiming and in the air.
Most changes to Hanzo affected Storm Arrow, such as reduced🎉 damage and arrows, and ✱eventually, Dragonstrike got . The elder Shimada brother is still a strong hero and can hold his own in most duels and team fights.
6 Brigitte
Brigitte, Brigitte, Brigitte. No other hero has received as much vitriol and controversy as Brigitte. Torbjorn’s daughter could effectively duel most of the roster in t൲he game, tank major damage and ushered in the undying GOATS meta that displaced damage heroes for some time.
Many streamers and Overwatch personalities criticized Blizzard for releasing such a “broken” and “overtuned” hero, so "nerfed away" Blizzard did. Armor’s damage reduction num🍸bers changed. Her Rally got a 30-second duration after the ultimate is done. Her shield bash cooldown increased slightly, and the amount of armor Rally restores was reduced from 150 tꦓo 100.
The biggest blow came to Brig’s survivability with her recent overhaul. She became less of a duelist and more of a support character. Her barrier health went down t♊o 250, which is flimsy for the amount of burst damage in the game. Because her kit depends on direct engagement, Brigitte’s effectiveness in the game is hit-or-miss right now.
5 Lucio
Lucio is a hero with an interesting presence in the Overwatch community. Reddit Lucios post their craziest wall ride endeavoꦇrs, boops, and solo 🍌eliminations. Some contention was been brought toward Lucio’s Amp It Up (Speed Boost), and how it enables snowballing; snowballing is when a team overwhelms the enemy team after a successful team fight.
Most of Lucio’s changes affected his Crossfade’s effectiveness and range. The modifiers changed a few times over Overwatch’s history alongside Lucio’s Wall-Ride. Sound Barrier to grant 750 temporary s🎀hields but deplete faster. Knockback was changed to bounce back targets more, making his Soundwave (Boop) more effective.
4 Torbjorn
Oh, Torbjorn. Such a decorated history in the community. Popular Overwatch streamer and former esports 💃player solidified this hero as a “tr𒈔oll pick” by throwing his games with Torbjorn.
was the cornerstone of his kit. It didn’t auto-build as it would now. Players would have to build it fro൩m level one to level 2. Before Brigitte was released, Torbjorn was the sole hero that could give armor packs as pick-ups.
Torb’s former passive allowed him to pick up scrap from fallen allies or enemies. Scrap would be consumed to create armor packs or maintai💛n the turret. His ultimate transformed his turret into a rocket-blasting nightmare, while Torb h🌳imself got increased damage, extra armor, and a speed buff.
When the defense category collapsed, Torb’s🤡 rework made him a . His ultimate buffs became a cooldown ability. The turret auto-builds and can be thrown for better positioning. His new Molten Core ultimate shoots globules of liquid metal that can cauꩲse immense fire damage.
Bec🎃ause he was so overbea𝕴ring with the damage, Blizzard dialed back his a bit to compensate.
3 D.VA
D.VA came a long way since he✱r beta release. She used to be killed by her own Self-Destruct (like Junkrat), and her mech was slow as molasses while it was moving and shooting. Her Defense Matrix (DM) is the strongest part of her kit, deleting most projectiles, bullets, and damage in the game.
introduced her Micro Missiles as a cooldown ability. 🍌Whi🍃le flying, D.VA can deploy her Boosters and shoot at the same time. She can also use her missiles while flying or using her DM.
Many players complained about D.VA’s DM, so hit the the hero has. Players can no longer flick it, so it requires some patience and timing ꩲto effectively use it. She got some relief in a recent patch, but players will have to see when D.VA becomes a more viable tank.
2 Mercy
Mercy is a controversial hero due to and lower skill requirements to play. She is meant to be an introduct🌼ory cha✨racter to the support category.
The ✃original Mercy didn’t have an E-input ability and could only heal, boost and fly. Her ultimate, Resurrect, was the biggest part of her kit. Mercy could revive up to five allies, granted their souls were in the vicinity of the character. Mercy could fly in and instantly bring her allies back from a team wiping Barrage, Dragonblade, or Earthshatter combo.
Various members of the community called for Mercy to change since her utility overshadowed many of the support players at the time (i.e. Ana, Lucio, and Zenyatta). Enter the , which made Rez a 30-seconไd cooldown ability and gave her a new ultimate: Valkyrie.
Valk was pretty overwhelming when it was released in the PTR. Mercy could get her Rez cooldown mitigated when she ꦿwent into Valk, allowing her to revive two teammates at any point in the match. That was 𓃲removed and Rez was . Coupled with a few , support players and Mercy enthusiasts the current state of the hero.