Overwatch Reveals Reign of Talon Mid-Season 1 Update Patch Notes
Overwatch has revealed the full patch notes for the Reign of Talon mid-Season 1 update, which includes several limited-time events and game modes, balance adjustments, and more. This big Overwatch update is officially live in-game right now.
On February 10, Overwatch shook things up in a big way by introducing five new heroes at once, an overhaul to the UI, subroles, year-long seasonal storylines, and much more. The soft relaunch was a huge success, with Overwatch breaking daily player count records for the first time in almost four years.
New Overwatch Ban Rates and Win Percentages Prove You May Be Wrong About This Season 1 Hero
Those curious to know how Overwatch’s Reign of Talon heroes are performing need wonder no longer, with Blizzard’s data providing clear insight.
More Overwatch Reign of Talon Season 1 Game Modes and Events
Now, a month after the launch of Reign of Talon Season 1: Conquest, Overwatch has released a sizable mid-season update. The eponymous Conquest event in Overwatch has entered its fifth and final week, with both teams currently tied. The team that wins will determine if the Overwatch or Talon-themed Echo skin will be granted to all players. Once the winner is decided, Overwatch will inform fans who were victorious in a few different ways, suggesting there may be some surprises once Conquest wraps up after March 16.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
The Overwatch x Nier: Automata collaboration has also officially begun, introducing five new hero skins inspired by the existential android action RPG:
- Adam Lifeweaver
- 9S Wuyang
- Commander White Mercy
- 2B Kiriko
- A2 Vendetta
In addition to these premium shop skins, players can also enjoy a Nier: Automata lobby and thematic changes to the Blizzard World map. Additionally, fans can complete in-game challenges to earn an Emil Weapon Charm, Namecards for the five character skins, the YoRHa Soldier Player Title, and some Battle Pass XP. The Overwatch x Project YoRHa collaboration is set to run through March 23.
Then, from March 27–30, Junkrat’s Loot Hunt begins once more. Players who complete matches throughout the weekend will be able to earn several free Loot Boxes simply by playing, with each subsequent challenge unlocking as the previous one is finished.
Finally, from April 1–13, Overwatch is introducing a new spin on its beloved April Fools’ Day game mode. Underwatch adorns every character with googly eyes in a horribly unbalanced clash, where physics and hero abilities behave in unexpected ways. Fans can expect another set of “patch notes” detailing these changes on April 1 when the event starts, after which they will be able to earn some more suitably hilarious rewards.
The new Hop Online! Mei Mythic skin has also arrived. Featuring cyber-bunny ears, customizable hairstyles and headphones, and pixel effects, this skin transforms the sub-zero scientist into an adorable gamer. Like other Overwatch Mythic skins, Hop Online! Mei can be purchased directly from the cash shop or for 80 Mythic Prisms.
Balance Adjustments for Overwatch Heroes and Subroles
Of course, no Overwatch patch would be complete without some hero balance adjustments. For tanks, Ramattra’s Void Barrier and Annihilation both received buffs, Roadhog’s weapon damage was increased, and Hazard’s subrole was changed from Stalwart to Initiator to better fit his playstyle. New Overwatch Season 1 damage heroes Anran and Emre both got buffs, with Inferno Rush increasing the former’s Jump height, and the latter’s Altered Vitals triggering faster. Lastly, the radius of Mizuki’s Remedy Aura has been increased by two meters.
A few heroes received some nerfs instead. The cooldown of D.Va’s Boosters was increased, Vendetta’s Siphoning Strike and Raging Storm Perks swapped places, and Illari’s Summer Solstice Perk, Sunburn Perk, and Solar Rifle secondary fire were all reduced in strength. Meanwhile, Overwatch has officially removed Jetpack Cat’s overpowered Territorial Perk, made Claws Out into a Major Perk, and added a new Minor Perk called Ulterior Motive.
Several of the new subroles also received some adjustments. The Medic subrole for supports has been nearly doubled in effectiveness, and the Bruiser subrole for tanks now activates at 50% health, rather than only at critical health. Meanwhile, the Tank’s Initiator subrole has been slightly nerfed to restore fewer hitpoints, though it now doesn’t trigger while at full health, making it more efficient.
This is only some of the content in this update; the all-Emre Shgyrq arcade mode, updated Stadium general Item icons, bug fixes, and a new round of Drives from April 9–13 are included in this patch as well. This is the last major update before Season 2 starts on April 14, so fans should be sure to hop on and enjoy the changes – especially since Overwatch is giving Double Match XP to all players every weekend in March.
Overwatch Reign of Talon Mid-Season 1 Patch Notes – March 10, 2026
Conquest Event Finale (Talon v Overwatch)
The battle continues! The event will conclude its final week on 3/16 and a global winner will be announced!
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Participate to earn the final week of rewards for either Overwatch or Talon (or both!):
- OW: 2 player icons, 1 namecard, 1 common and 1 legendary lootbox
- Talon: 1 spray, 1 icon, 1 voiceline, 1 common and 1 legendary lootbox
- Whichever side wins by the end of the week will determine which Echo skin (Talon/OW) all eligible players that week will receive!
- At the end of week 5, you might notice a few different ways the winner is made known – keep an eye out!
New Arcade Mode: Shgyrq
Emre only, 4v4. Are you ready to Slay?
Junkrat’s Loot Hunt
Junkrat’s Loot Hunt is back again, running from March 27–30! Earn Loot Boxes by completing challenges that unlock as you play!
Hero Updates
This patch is lighter in scope, as many adjustments for newer heroes were made earlier to support balanced performance since launch. The focus of this update is on subrole tuning, addressing heroes that are out of line, and applying additional refinements to the newest heroes.
Medic Subrole
- Increased self-healing from 25% to 40%.
The Medic subrole has been underperforming, as its self-healing conversion was not impactful enough in combat. Increasing self-healing will allow it to cut through in engagements.
Bruiser Subrole
- Now triggers below 50% health.
The activation threshold for the Bruiser subrole has been adjusted from critical health to below 50% health. This change standardizes when the effect becomes active and increases the window when the subrole is active.
Initiator Subrole
- No longer triggers while at full health.
- Healing reduced from 75 to 60.
The Initiator subrole’s passive has been reduced in effectiveness as it has been providing more healing than intended throughout matches. Healing will no longer trigger while at full health to avoid starting the internal cooldown.
TANK
D.Va
D.Va’s mobility and survivability combination provides a high level of uptime during engagements. Increasing Boosters’ cooldown creates clearer commitment windows while reducing the effectiveness of the Initiator subrole.
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Boosters
- Cooldown increased from 3.5 to 4 seconds.
Hazard
Hazard was originally placed in the Stalwart subrole to mitigate the impact of crowd control during engagements. Since the introduction of subroles, he has struggled in performance. Moving Hazard to the Initiator subrole better supports a more aggressive, sustain-focused playstyle.
- Subrole moved from Stalwart to Initiator.
Ramattra
Reducing Void Barrier’s cooldown improves its cycling within engagements, while increasing Annihilation’s damage per second enhances its presence during extended fights.
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Void Barrier
- (5v5) Cooldown reduced from 13 to 12 seconds.
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Annihilation
- Damage per second increased from 30 to 35.
Roadhog
Roadhog’s overall effectiveness has remained lower than intended since his minor rework. Increasing Scrap Gun’s damage will improve the consistency of his Hook combo while additionally increasing overall damage output.
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Scrap Gun
- Damage per pellet increased from 6.5 to 7.
DAMAGE
Anran
These movement adjustments improve Inferno Rush’s fluidity and traversal options while the ability is active.
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Inferno Rush
- Will now automatically climb over small ledges.
- Jump height while active increased by 20%.
Emre
Reducing the delay before Altered Vitals triggers allows it to activate more reliably when disengaging.
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Altered Vitals
- Time before trigger reduced from 4.5 to 4 seconds.
Vendetta
Siphoning Strike has provided significant self-sustain relative to being a Minor perk. Moving it to Major better reflects its impact while additionally avoiding the overall passive power when combined with Relentless. Raging Storm damage has been reduced and moved to a Minor to compensate.
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Raging Storm – Minor Perk
- Moved from Major to Minor.
- Damage per spin reduced from 35 to 30.
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Siphoning Strike – Major Perk
- Moved from Minor to Major.
- Overhead lifesteal increased from 30% to 40%.
SUPPORT
Illari
Illari has been delivering strong healing alongside high offensive pressure. Reducing her secondary fire uptime and tuning down specific perks lowers her overall performance while maintaining her identity.
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Summer Solstice – Minor Perk
- Attack speed gained reduced from 30% to 20%.
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Sunburn – Major Perk
- Damage reduced from 70 to 50.
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Solar Rifle
- Secondary Fire Maximum resource reduced from 3.5 to 3 seconds.
Jetpack Cat
Territorial has been removed due to high offensive potential with limited counterplay. Claws Out moves to a Major perk with a reduced cooldown due to its relative strength, while a new Minor perk, Ulterior Motive, introduces an additional fuel recovery option to support healing-focused playstyles.
- Territorial – Major Perk
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Claws Out – Major Perk
- Moved from Minor to Major.
- Cooldown reduced from 8 to 6 seconds.
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Ulterior Motive – Minor Perk
- New
- 15% of Biotic Pawjectiles healing is converted into fuel.
Mizuki
Maintaining allies within Remedy Aura’s radius can be restrictive during engagements. Increasing the radius improves accessibility, while reducing the degeneration delay makes sustaining higher Aura levels more difficult.
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Remedy Aura
- Radius increased from 10 to 12 meters.
- Time before degeneration reduced from 2 to 1.75 seconds.
Stadium Updates
Stadium General Mod Icon Update
Hey everyone! Let’s talk General Mods – the bread and butter of your Stadium builds, what makes or breaks a match, what defines heroes and – well, you get the drift. When Stadium launched last March, we knew that eventually we’d like to update the design of the General Mods and make them look similar to our Powers and Hero Items. When discussions for Season 1 of Overwatch began, we believed it would be the perfect time to give the General Mods a ‘refresh’ as the rest of the game was getting the same treatment.
We wanted to create designs based on the mod name and color them based on stat (ex: ‘Field Rations’ is now a macaroni and cheese container, and ‘Aerial Distresser’ looks like a plane) because we believed it would be far easier to locate unique and distinct designs than trying to find ‘that mod with a health icon’. And though we aimed high with these designs, we missed the mark and strayed away from one of our core design principles of accessibility and readability. We’ve heard your feedback (thank you, by the way!) and have reverted the General Mods back to rarity color, with slightly brighter backgrounds so the icon art pops against it. Additionally, in the coming months, we’ll be performing color passes on the icon art to ensure that it maintains readability (don’t worry, the overall shape won’t change!) and we’ll continue to monitor feedback from the community and see how we can improve to ensure everyone’s Stadium experience, especially in the Armory, is as smooth as possible!
Bug Fixes
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General
- Fixed an audio issue where Mizuki’s Ultimate sound was similar to the teammate eliminated sound.
- Fixed an issue which allowed Mizuki to incorrectly charge his Remedy Aura before the round started.
- Fixed an issue where Mizuki’s Paper Doll totem briefly appeared in unintended areas of the map before landing in its proper location.
- Fixed an issue preventing weapon variants from being applied to Juno’s Pulsar Torpedoes.
- Fixed an issue where Wrecking Ball’s Multi-Ball perk would not award additional mines if they were not used during the first ultimate.
- Fixed an issue which incorrectly allowed Pharah to move during Barrage while tethered by Mizuki’s chain.
- Fixed an issue which incorrectly allowed Anran’s Dancing Blaze ability to cleanse Junker Queen’s ultimate effect.
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Stadium
- Fixed an issue with Torbjörn’s Skyline Nanites item not dealing bonus damage to airborne enemies.
- Fixed an issue with Juno’s Orbital Alignment power not lifting enemies into the air.
- Fixed an issue with Juno’s Medimaster power not reducing the cooldown of Hyper Ring.
- Fixed an issue with Vendetta’s The Closer mod not granting the 10% critical damage bonus to her overhead swing.
- Fixed an issue with Vendetta’s Scaled Steel mod not granting the 25% range increase.
- Fixed an issue with Vendetta’s Warrior’s Shout mod not applying when using Whirlwind Dash into a wall.
- Released
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August 10, 2023
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)