Overwatch 2’s Big Midseason Update Just Hit the Wrong Target

Overwatch 2 fans have been patiently waiting for the midseason update, looking forward to the game’s much-needed story timeline as well as the usual buffs and nerfs. The story section seems to be a big hit for fans of Overwatch 2’s lore, especially after Blizzard promised it’ll be updated with new narrative content every single Season going forward. As for the latest balance pass, there are some legitimately positive adjustments, such as a Wrecking Ball HP nerf and a buff to Brigitte’s Repair Pack speed, as well as a change to Lifeweaver’s model size that should increase his survivability. However, one particular buff — that being to the Damage hero Ashe — and a lack of changes for Mercy stand out as some clear disappointments.

Overwatch 2’s Ashe Buff Could Make Her a Menace

One of the most difficult things about balancing Overwatch 2 and its predecessor has been how different the game can feel on PC compared to consoles. For this reason, there were periods where a hero like Torbjorn was a menace on console while being extremely easy to deal with on PC, and heroes like Pharah remain more intimidating on PlayStation and Xbox because finding reliable hitscan players is harder. Recently, the Overwatch 2 hero Ashe has been a prime example of this problem, as while she’s a decent B-tier pick on PC, she’s proven very strong on console. After her latest change, she will very likely be too strong on console.

Overwatch 2’s Ashe buff sees her falloff range increased significantly. Previously, damage fell off from 30-50 meters, whereas now, it falls off from 40-60 meters. This change allows Ashe to play further back from the enemy while still dishing out the same amount of damage, meaning she can snipe foes and really dominate lobbies since it will be harder to reach her. This power increase coupled with a Mercy pocket could see Ashe being a genuine nightmare in the second half of Overwatch 2 Season 19. With her being usable on PC and strong on console already, this kind of major buff is a bold decision that could turn out to be problematic.

On the Damage front, there was a much greater need for a noticeable nerf to series mascot Tracer, as she has been running lobbies for the last several weeks. Her weapons dealing 6 damage per shot has proven to be unpopular with the Overwatch 2 community, as it’s made it difficult for characters like Echo to find value. While the projectiles no longer have the global size increase applied, players were hoping for Tracer to be knocked down a peg, but that hasn’t happened. Buffing Ashe while leaving Tracer un-nerfed is an odd slip-up, but what’s even more of a bummer is that a hero that players have been begging to see updated has gone with no changes yet again.

Overwatch 2’s Mercy Remains a Weak Link

Overwatch 2 players have been in constant demand of a Mercy rework, with suggestions ranging from entirely new abilities to making Flash Heal a part of her base kit and giving her a different perk. While she will inevitably still be played since there is a passionate community of Mercy players, and because she’ll be able to boost the now-terrifying Ashe for further damage, the big issue with Mercy remains. She simply lacks playmaking potential outside of her frustrating rez, which is difficult to pull off and always feels unfair to the opposing team.

While a major rework for Mercy would make more sense for something like Season 20, which has been hyped up by Blizzard as a game-changer for the hero shooter, there was still a chance for her to receive some kind of buff or the aforementioned flash heal change right now. For Mercy mains, it’s been frustrating seeing heroes like Reinhardt become bigger playmakers in Overwatch‘s sequel, whereas Mercy is essentially the odd one out, and it remains to be seen if that will ever change. Sure, there’s plenty to appreciate about Overwatch 2’s latest patch, but ignoring Mercy, buffing Ashe, and failing to nerf Tracer stand out as key misses this time around. Hopefully, the Season 20 balancing pass will hone in on any underpowered or overpowered heroes, as on paper there are some red flags to be concerned about for the rest of Season 19.

Released

August 10, 2023

ESRB

T For Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence