Blizzard released the Overwatch 2 season 4 patch notes ahead of the season’s April 11, 2023, release, and a few heroes are getting some big changes. Sigma and Cassidy won’t be able to dominate the battlefield quite as easily anymore, while Mercy is better than ever, and Brigitte gets some much-needed changes to her ultimate. Other heroes received some minor changes, including Sombra – though not the sweeping overhaul Blizzard considered previously – Ana, and Reinhardt. Meanwhile, Blizzard is also releasing Lifeweaver at the start of the new season, a support hero who we think lives up to the role in more ways than just healing.
Reinhardt nerf and HP buff
Blizzard took a small chunk out of Reinhardt’s armor for the upcoming season, dropping it to 250 from 300. On the other hand, his total health gets a slight bump to 200, up from 175. Blizzard said in the comments section that the adjustment is to keep Reinhardt from being too powerful.
Sigma nerfs and buffs
Sigma’s basic attack takes a slight hit this time. The impact damage from his projectiles is now 40 instead of 60, though if a foe gets caught in the resulting explosion, it’ll deal 80 damage. Enemies struck by Sigma’s boulder will stay down slightly longer. Blizzard raised the time from 0.8 seconds to 1.1 seconds.
Cassidy nerfs
Cassidy proved a bit too strong in recent seasons, so Blizzard is dropping his health to 200 from 225 and is reducing his magnetic grenade damage slightly. The team said Cassidy’s grenade and one-shot follow-up left players without much recourse, though it’ll still make dealing with squishier enemies a breeze.
Sombra buff
While Blizzard is apparently still debating about what to do with Sombra’s invisibility and hacking skills, she’s only getting one small change in season four. Her EMP ultimate ability will now disable Mei’s blizzard skill. The team figured it made sense, considering Mei uses a piece of technology to activate it.
Mercy buffs
Despite the Overwatch community clamoring for Mercy nerfs, Blizzard actually made the healing angel stronger. Her Caduceus Staff will heal 55 per second instead of 45, though there’s no increased healing for allies under 50 percent health anymore. Blizzard reduced Guardian Angel’s cooldown by a second and removed the ability to cancel it by jumping or crouching.
Ana nerf
Ana’s sleep dart won’t work quite so effectively anymore, at least against tanks. When she uses it against the hardier heroes, it’ll only last for up to 3.5 seconds, instead of the previous five seconds.
Brigitte buffs and nerfs
Brigitte gets a significant set of changes to her ultimate. Rally Banner now provides her with 100 restorable armor while the ability lasts, makes her barrier larger, increases the barrier’s HP to 750, and lets Brigitte hit and stun multiple enemies with her shield bash skill.
Rally Banner’s movement bonus is getting cut in half, though, and Brigitte’s health pack range is reduced to 25 meters.
Moira buffs
Moira can use her Fade movement ability during her Coalescense ultimate now, and her primary fire healing ability will linger for slightly longer, letting her heal more effectively over time. She’ll move slightly slower during her ultimate, though.
Other notable changes
The new season will launch with the usual range of bug fixes and adjustments, but two noteworthy changes are tied to maps. Map rotation is no longer a thing in season four, so all maps will be available in rotation. Blizzard also made a map based on popular fan requests, an underwater Talon base with pits, traps, jump pads, and waterfalls. It’s only available for a week, though, from April 25, 2023, through May 1, 2023.
Blizzard posted the entire set of notes in the Overwatch forums, including all the bug fixes.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
