Overwatch 2 Team Reveals When Next Balance Changes Will Happen
The Overwatch 2 meta is in a pretty sustainable spot right now, according to Blizzard, which means that the developers aren't in a rush to get our any urgent balance changes right now. More heroes are being played more frequently instead of DPS players sticking solely to Sojourn, and even though Wrecking Ball is much more popular now after his buffs, Blizzard said his rise in prominence has allowed for other heroes to be picked more frequently in response to him, too. Because of all this, Blizzard said it's not planning on putting out any balance changes for heroes until the midseason update releases.
The stance on the current meta and the setting of expectations for the next balance changes were shared in a post on the Overwatch 2 site where the game's devs talked about the current state of things. After talking about the situation the three different roles are in right now, Blizzard said "we're not looking at doing balance changes until our midseason patch."
Heroes like Kiriko, Ana, Cassidy, and Sojourn are talked about pretty frequently, but Wrecking Ball is a relatively new one to these sorts of meta discussions. Blizzard acknowledged the tank's rise in popularity and said that he's not quite problematic just yet but that the devs were keeping an eye on him to see if anything needs to be done later.
Hi everyone! Just posted another blog piece with an update on the matchmaker and some of the improvements and issues we're working through. Plus, a summary on balance with stats on the most played/highest performing heroes.https://t.co/uw85NtazGd
— Aaron Keller (@aaronkellerOW) February 24, 2023
"Wrecking Ball is probably the biggest tank topic in the community right now, with takes varying," Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller said. "Some think he's overpowered, others feel that he is in a good spot, and still, others think both… and flip flop, back and forth… His win rate is among the top 3-4 tanks at most tiers and bounces between 51-55%. His pick rate is lower in the metal ranks, increasing as player skill rises. By Top 500, he is far and away the most picked Tank. We think that this has enabled other heroes to stand out in the current meta along with Wrecking Ball, but we are keeping an eye on him and want to make sure that players don't get fatigued by seeing too much of the little guy."
Along with balance changes, Blizzard said it also has more matchmaking adjustments planned for the midseason update.