Here are the hero changes in Overwatch 2 Season 8 you must be aware of and how they’ll affect the current meta.
The arrival of Overwatch 2 Season 8 means that we have access to tons of things. There are new events, a new hero, and loads of other changes. Speaking of the devil, this article will go over the specific hero changes you must be aware of. We will include everything new regarding each hero and see how it changes the meta.
Hero Changes in Overwatch 2 Season 8 – Basics
When we analyze the complete hero changes in S8, we can see that some heroes received a small buff or nerf. However, there are also a few options that have way more changes than the rest. Consequently, the meta will be very different than before.
Doomfist
Starting with the first hero, Doomfirst got 2 interesting changes to Meteor Strike. One of them is an increase of 16%, whereas the other one is that the ultimate will allow him to regen 75 HP/sec while in the air. The idea behind this change is to make his ultimate defensive tool he can use in difficult situations.
Junker Queen
One of the best tanks from last season in Overwatch 2 will continue to be among the most dominant forces. After the hero changes in Overwatch 2 Season 8, Junker Queen’s spread is reduced by 8. Consequently, the hero will be more effective against small targets and have a better team fight presence.
Mauga
Despite the fact that Mauga is finally in the game, the hero’s stats and abilities are not the same. In fact, there are a lot of changes, so let’s dive in.
Starting with his HP, it is now 350 instead of 500, but the hero gets 150 armor. Moreover, his head hit volume is down by 15%, meaning it should be ab it harder to land headshots.
There are also a lot of changes to Incendiary and Volatile Chainguns. For example, the Spread for firing both guns is down by 15%, whereas the fire rate multiplier for firing both guns is down to 0%. The damage falloff is now 30m, and the dmg per shot is 5 instead of 4.5. On top of that, the maximum ammo is 300 instead of 250, and the movement speed penalty is 15% per gun instead of 20%.
- Overrun is no longer interrupted by Hack, and its damage reduction is up to 50% (it was 30%).
- Cardiac Overdrive’s Lifesteal is now 70% instead of 60%.
- Barserker’s Overhealth conversation rate is now 50% instead of 40%
Overall, we can see that Mauga got tons of buffs following the hero changes in Overwatch 2 Season 8. Almost all of them are buffs, so don’t be surprised if this hero dominates in the new meta.
Sigma & Winston
Sigma’s Experimental Barrier’s regeneration rate is down to 85 from 100 hp/sec, whereas Winston’s Tesla Cannon now ignores armor damage reduction.
Mei & Soldier
Mei’s Endothermic Blaster now has a maximum ammo of 120 instead of 150. On the other hand, Soldier: 76’s Biotic Field has an 18s CD. This is a pretty big nerf to one of the popular DPS heroes, but overall, he will remain one of the popular options.
Sombra
When talking about hero changes in Overwatch 2 Season 8, Sombra is another name that got new things. The hero’s EMP lockout duration is now 3 seconds instead of 1.5 seconds, which is an insane buff. It will make the ultimate a lot more impactful than before. Despite the fact that its damage is down from 30% of current HP to 25%, most people will be more than happy with that trade.
Torb
When it comes down to Torb, we expected Blizzard to nerf him in S8 of Overwatch 2. However, it seems like the devs weren’t happy with his current state because the hero gets a small buff. His Overload now gives 100 extra HP instead of 75, meaning it will be even harder for enemies to bring him down.
Tracer
The hero changes in Overwatch 2 Season 8 also affected none other than Tracer. With that said, she only got one small change, and that’s a damage boost to her pistols. They will do 6 instead of 5.5 damage, meaning she can kill her targets much faster.
Baptiste
In terms of the support hero changes in Overwatch 2 Season 8, Baptiste’s Biotic Launcher received a big nerf. Instead of having 45 bullets, it will now have 36, which means the hero won’t be able to do so much damage. This change was expected because a lot of people were using him as a bonus damage dealer.
Brigitte
When talking about damage from support heroes, Brigitte also won’t do as much as before. Following the new season, her Whip Shot deals 70 instead of 80 damage, making it a bit harder to land a kill.
Kiriko
One of the all-time favorite support heroes in Overwatch 2 also receives a few interesting changes. Kiriko’s Healing Ofuda now has 18 meters per second projectile speed instead of 14. As for Protection Suzu, the invulnerability duration is down from 0.85 to 0.65 seconds. The good news is that the healing explosion is double – 80 instead of 40.
Mercy
The last hero changes in Overwatch 2 Season 8 affect none other than Mercy. When you activate Valkyrie, it will no longer disconnect Caduceus Staff from its target. This is definitely a quality of life update than anything else, but Mercy players will definitely appreciate it.