Overwatch 2's latest season made changes to the FPS' bullet size, but fans can't decide if they can actually tell the difference.
On February 13, Blizzard launched Overwatch 2 Season 9 which added a lot of new content and made several gameplay changes. You can read the full patch notes here, but the main takeaway here is an almost across-the-board change to projectile sizes, which have come in addition to a new co-op event, competitive play updates, a new skill tier, and much more.
As the patch notes reveal, many Heroes' weapons have been affected, including Tracer's Pulse Pistols, Cassidy's Peacekeeper, Roadhog's Scrap Gun, and plenty of others. In a blog post, Blizzard went into detail about why it decided to change the size of Overwatch 2's projectiles, explaining: "When it comes to aiming as a mechanical skill requirement, even players with excellent aim often mention how it can feel random whether a shot hits or not." Different weapons have been adjusted in different ways depending on their type (i.e. shotguns vs SMGs vs snipers) or whether they are hit-scan or travel time weapons.
Now that Season 9 is officially here, several players have put the new projectile sizes to the test. Twitter user @confusionkys recently shared a video from streamer and former pro Hydron that sees Junkrat seemingly attempting to deliberately miss Tracer, who's standing just to the right of where they're aiming. Their problem seems to be that Tracer takes damage after the shot is fired, despite the fact that the shot has been deliberately aimed away from the character.
its over pic.twitter.com/WP13v3nIofFebruary 13, 2024
Blizzard: We need OW2 to be accessible for a casual audience.What if we drop the aim skill ceiling to the floor 🤔 https://t.co/AeNwgH7MF2February 13, 2024
junk has always been this insane btw. this was recorded 3 months ago. https://t.co/1Eu25uKJvO pic.twitter.com/DQTMtzJt0uFebruary 13, 2024
Since this clip was posted, however, other Overwatch 2 players have been chiming in to offer potential explanations of what's seen in the video. Some note that Junkrat's weapon is a grenade launcher, and that the damage we're seeing is splash damage, not projectile damage. One Twitter user has pointed out that Junkrat has "always been this insane" and shared a video from three months ago that features a similar instance between the Hero and Kiriko.
Others have pointed out that Overwatch's character hitboxes have never been entirely snug, and that in a game with so much movement - in combination with this particular weapon - this might not be the impact of Blizzard's new update.
Others still, however, are complaining that this is further evidence of the skill ceiling lowering. With Overwatch 2 having struggled since launch, the pervading wisdom seems to be that Blizzard is looking to appeal to more casual players who might have lapsed from the game, in an attempt to bring them back in. That could be good if you're planning a return to Overwatch 2 with this new season, but it's understandable that a substantial shift might not be popular among high level players.
Fancy a break from Overwatch 2? Take a look at our best FPS games list for ideas on what to play next.
