Every veteran hero’s biggest change in Overwatch 2

While there will be plenty of new heroes coming to Overwatch 2, the returning roster has earned a lot of dedicated players’ hearts through their gameplay or lore. With the switch to a 5v5 format, it was important that a lot of the cast get updates to them to compensate for the lack of one less Tank on the team and to push the meta away from relying on stuns and hiding behind barriers, which was a common occurrence in the first game. Here are the biggest changes to every veteran hero in Overwatch 2.

Related: All content included in the Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack

The biggest changes to each returning hero in Overwatch 2

• Ana
  • Ana’s most significant change is her Sleep Dart getting three seconds longer on cooldown. That being her best way to protect herself, this is significant and will make you think a little harder before throwing it out there.
• Ashe
  • For the most part, Ashe is the same as she was in the first game. The only real change to her kit actually affects her trusty bodyguard, B.O.B. He has 200 less health than he did before, making it a little easier for the opposing team to take him out of the fight.
• Baptiste
  • Baptiste got some pretty nice minor buffs in the jump to Overwatch 2, but the two that stand out the most are his Regenerative Burst healing being bumped to 100 total health points and his damage falloff range being extended to 25 feet. This makes his overall healing better in tense situations and gives him just a bit more offensive potential.
• Bastion
  • Bastion received a pretty significant rework for Overwatch 2. The biggest part of this overall change is his turret form. He can no longer stay in it forever, and it has a cooldown. He can move around while in the form too. This, along with the other changes to the omnic, has essentially completely changed the character from the bunker-down one-trick that he was for the entirety of the first Overwatch.

• Brigitte
  • The biggest change to Brigitte is that her Shield Bash ability no longer stuns enemies. This was the easiest stun in the first game, so it losing that utility makes sense with the change in philosophy for Overwatch 2’s multiplayer.
• Cassidy
  • Outside of the recent name change, the biggest change to Cassidy is that he no longer throws a Flashbang to stun enemies. Now it is replaced with a Magnetic Grenade that explodes after a second or two. This essentially eliminates him from the group of heroes good at slowing and stopping flankers like Tracer and Genji from getting in the back lines.
• D.Va
  • D.Va got multiple changes to her moves, but the biggest change for her, in our opinion, is the extra health she gained while in her mech. Now that she will be the only Tank on a team, she has to be much more mindful when jumping into fights, and the 50 extra health will help.
• Doomfist
  • Doomfist is the only returning hero to change classes between games, moving from Damage to Tank. The biggest change in this shift is to his most notable weapon, his Rocket Punch. It has received a significant damage reduction with the class change.

• Echo
  • Echo’s Duplication Ultimate now only gives her a maximum of 300 health when she transforms. This makes her survivability when she takes the form of a Tank take a dramatic hit.
• Genji
  • Genji has not received any updates to his kit besides the new Damage class passive ability that lets him reload faster after he gets an elimination.
• Hanzo
  • Hanzo has only received a small change in Overwatch 2. His Storm Arrow, his most lethal weapon, deals slightly less damage.
• Junkrat
  • Junkrat’s biggest change comes from his Steel Trap that can now be thrown out further and faster and deals more damage when an enemy steps in it.
• Lucio
  • Lucio now heals himself a little slower with his Crossfade to account for the passive healing he gets being a Support character.

• Mei
  • Mei’s Ice Wall ability has been made weaker, making it a tool not quite as great at holding off and delaying enemies like it was for a very long time.
• Mercy
  • Mercy has had a super jump move that players exploited in the first game for a very long time. Now with Overwatch 2, performing it is easier so anyone can launch her into the air to avoid incoming fire.
• Moira
  • Moira now does less self-healing when she is damaging enemies, making it a little tougher for her to outlast 1v1 situations.
• Orisa
  • Orisa is one of the heroes that received a significant rework in Overwatch 2. While there are many changes, the biggest one for her is the loss of her Barrier Shield. No longer can she create a bunker for her teammates. Instead, she needs to use her javelins to initiate fights.

• Pharah
  • Pharah has not received significant changes from Overwatch 1, just a few small things. Her reload speed being faster when she is out of ammo is probably the biggest change for her.
• Reaper
  • Reaper got a significant nerf with Overwatch 2, losing a Tank on the field. Additionally, he deals less damage and has a higher spread, significantly reducing his damage potential.
• Reinhardt
  • Reinhardt’s biggest change in Overwatch 2 is the big health bonus he got to help him survive fights longer. He has more armor and base health, making this wrecking crewman tougher to bring down.
• Roadhog
  • Roadhog now has to manually fire his Ultimate, Whole Hog. This allows you to stop shooting it when you want, and stuns do not cancel it.
• Sigma
  • Sigma received a few small updates, but the biggest change will be to the refresh rate of his barrier when it is not on the field. It recharges a little slower now.
• Soldier 76
  • Soldier 76 can now get critical hits with his Ultimate, Tactical Visor. While the move already ensures you will hit enemies in the large aiming area, placing your cursor on the enemy’s weak point will do extra damage.
• Sombra
  • Sombra received some pretty big changes to her overall kit, but the biggest change is that she can now hack enemies without leaving her Stealth. She will be revealed when hacking this way, but if she gets behind enemies, she can constantly bug them and take advantage of her new passive that gives her extra damage to hacked enemies.

• Symmetra
  • Symmetra got a bunch of small buffs, but the biggest change, in our opinion, is that her secondary fire is now faster to pull off.
• Torbjorn
  • Really the only change that Torbjorn has received is that he recovers from his firing a little faster, making his fire rate a little better.
• Tracer
  • Tracer is essentially exactly the same as she was in the first Overwatch, only receiving a very small damage nerf to her Pulse Pistols.
• Widowmaker
  • Widowmaker’s only change is that she is back up to 200 maximum health after it being reduced to 175 in Overwatch 1 a while ago.
• Winston
  • Winston has a new secondary fire that lets him charge up an electric current and shoot it out at enemies to complement the usual wave primary fire you have known him to have.

• Wrecking Ball
  • Wrecking Ball, or Hammond, received significant buffs to his Adaptive Shield. The radius and the amount of shields he gets from enemies in the radius have been increased to make him even harder to kill.
• Zarya
  • Zarya can now deploy multiple of her bubble barriers at a time. They are on a new shared cooldown system. A second pretty big change is that her gathered energy now degenerates faster than it did before.
• Zenyatta
  • Zenyatta’s biggest change is a new passive ability that increases the knockback on his melee attack. Now you can Sparta-kick enemies into pits or just get them out of your face.