All New Overwatch Heroes Receive Nerfs, One Exception Remains

Just a few days after introducing five new heroes to Overwatch, Blizzard rolled out a patch that brings some balance tweaks for the entire roster. Most heroes received nerfs, with the exception of Emre, while Anran received some much-needed buffs to her overall damage output and a slight change in how her Fan the Flame damage interacts with armor, which is more significant than it may seem.

Domina is at the forefront of these updates. For now, her primary fire’s impressive range remains unchanged, along with the perk that extends that range. However, it will now be easier to take down panels from her barrier shield. Interestingly, a Blizzard developer commented on one of Emongg’s streams about an additional change to Domina that isn’t listed in the patch notes. This change prevents her crystal charge from restoring shields if it damages a deployable object, like another Domina’s shield, and it also means that self-healing no longer contributes to her ultimate charge. While this comment couldn’t be verified, in-game testing suggests these changes are indeed in effect.

Other notable adjustments include an increased explosion range for Emre’s powerful grenades and a reduction in fall-off damage distance when he’s aiming down sights, making it easier to take out airborne characters like Jetpack Cat. Anran’s primary fire now deals more damage, and her Fan the Flames damage is treated as a beam attack, meaning armor only reduces its damage by 30%, which should help against tougher opponents.

As for Jetpack Cat, her (counter-able) ultimate remains unchanged, but she now has less fuel to work with. Vendetta’s lifesteal perk has also been reduced from 40% to 30%.

Here are the full patch notes:

Barrier Panel

Zhuque Fans

Fan the Flames

Inferno Rush

Ignition – Passive

Synthetic Burst Rifle – Take Aim

Cyber Frag

Spirit Glaive

Healing Kasa

Ultimate

Frenetic Flight

Siphoning Strike – Minor Perk