Overwatch 2 Season 6 Patch Notes: Invasion, Illari, and Hero Balance
Welcome to the newest era of Overwatch 2. Season six hits servers on Aug. 10 and brings tons of new content, including PvE Story Missions, a new game mode, and a sun-wielding support hero. Existing heroes have also been tuned up–or nerfed down–in order to make the game a bit more fair amid a sometimes-stale competitive meta.
New Support Hero: Illari
Praise the sun and heal your allies as Illari, a Peruvian warrior that harnesses the sun’s energy to meet her needs. Illari’s Solar Rifle deals damage with an auto-charged laser and heals allies with her secondary fire, a solid beam of light. She can throw out Healing Pylons to save her team and leap out of danger with the Outburst jump. Her ultimate, Captive Sun, is a wide explosion that deals damage and also has a slowing effect.
New Game Mode: Flashpoint
Get your running shoes on for Flashpoint, Overwatch 2’s newest game mode. In two new massive maps–Suravasa and New Junk City–players will be tasked with capturing a series of control points as they unlock. The first team to capture three of the five control points takes the game. It’s a speedy, chaotic mode that should keep even the most dedicated players busy for a long while. Flashpoint will be available in Quick Play and Arcade for a few weeks before it’s added to Competitive mode at a later date.
Invasion Story Missions
By purchasing the Invasion Bundle, players will get access to three PvE Story Missions that move the canon Overwatch 2 story along for the first time in seven years. Four players can assemble to take on Null Sector’s devious forces in Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, and Gothenburg. Each mission has a restricted (and lore-appropriate) hero roster as well as four difficulty levels. Missions can be accessed through the new “Winston’s Desk” area, which includes a comprehensive lore database and hidden notes about Overwatch’s history.
New Event: Underworld
If you’re not ready to dive into Story Missions, you can enjoy an ever-changing live event that’s free for all players. Overwatch 2’s Push bot, TS-1, is angry and outfitted with new machinery to take on Null Sector on King’s Row. Each week of the event, which runs from Aug. 10 to Sept. 5, will offer new ways to play the mode.
General Updates
Players can now practice, play, and show off their skills in new ways. A Firing Range has been added to the standard Practice Range to help hone aim in more specific ways. Hero Progression has been added for every Overwatch 2 hero, allowing players to rack up ranks the more they play a specific hero. Whether you’re a specialist or a jack of all trades, the system feels satisfying to level up. Hero Mastery courses will also be added to Overwatch 2 at a later date during Season Six.
Hero Changes
Tank Heroes
D.Va
- Booster cooldown reduced from 4 to 3.5 seconds.
- Pilot is now immune from damage for 0.4 seconds while ejecting.
Doomfist
- Seismic Slam cooldown reduced from 7 to 6 seconds.
- Power Block now reduces damage from stuck projectiles.
Orisa
- Fusion Driver damage falloff range increased from 15 to 20 meters.
- Fortify health bonus increased from 75 to 125.
Ramattra
- Block (Nemesis form) now reduces damage from stuck projectiles.
- Annihilation ultimate cost increased 12%.
Sigma
- Base movement ground deceleration increased to match standard heroes movement.
This change should reduce the “floatier movement” that Sigma has, especially after he’s been knocked back, according to developers.
Winston
- Tesla Cannon secondary fire charge time reduced from 1.2 to 1 second.
- Tesla Cannon secondary fire recovery time increased from 0.5 to 0.75 seconds.
Damage Heroes
Bastion
- A-36 Tactical Grenade maximum explosion damage falloff reduced from 70% to 50%.
- Detonation time reduced from 0.5 to 0.35 seconds.
- Recoil adjusted to recover more quickly.
- Projectile size increased from 0.2 to 0.25.
- Impact damage increased from 15 to 30.
- Configuration Recon reload time reduced from 1.5 to 1.2 seconds.
- Changing to Configuration Assault now repairs 50 armor health.
- Configuration Artillery targeting state movement speed increased from 20 to 25 meters per second.
Cassidy
- Base health increased from 200 to 225.
- Peacekeeper damage falloff range rescaled from 25-45 meters to 25-35 meters.
- Magnetic Grenade now has a maximum travel time of 1.5 seconds.
- Slow amount reduced from 30 to 25%.
Hanzo
- Arrow draw progress during Storm Bow is no longer preserved while wall climbing.
Sombra
- EMP ultimate cost increased 15%.
- EMP no longer destroys Lifeweaver's Tree of Life.
Sombra has been a massive part of the Overwatch 2 meta for a long time and these small nerfs should do something to wedge her out of must-pick status. A major rework for Sombra is projected for later in the year, so this is more of a temporary fix.
Soldier: 76
- Helix Rocket explosion damage reduced from 90 to 80.
- Tactical Visor ultimate cost increased 10%.
Torbjörn
- Weapon swap time reduced from 0.5 to 0.4 seconds.
- Rivet Gun primary fire recovery time reduced from 0.55 to 0.48 seconds.
- Forge Hammer swing recovery time reduced from 0.75 to 0.6 seconds.
Support Heroes
Ana
- Biotic Rifle damage and healing per projectile reduced from 75 to 70.
- Unscoped projectile size increased from 0 to 0.1.
Developers are “increasing the size of unscoped projectiles when firing at enemies'' to help players land consistent shots at close range. Apparently, Ana’s projectiles have always been bigger for allies, but this change will now apply to enemies as well.
Brigitte
- Barrier Shield health reduced from 300 to 250.
- Rally ultimate cost increased 6%.
Kiriko
- Protection Suzu knockback removed.
- Healing reduced from 50 to 40.
- Now heals for an additional 30 health when cleansing a negative effect.
- Kunai damage increased from 40 to 45.
- Kunai recovery time reduced from 0.55 to 0.5 seconds.
- Critical damage multiplier reduced from 3 to 2.5x.
Lifeweaver
- Base health reduced from 200 to 175.
- Base shield health increased from 0 to 50.
- Thorn Valley has reduced spread for one of the two projectiles fired per shot by 25%.
- Rejuvenating Dash healing increased from 25 to 50.
- Life Grip mobility lockout duration increased from 0.45 to 0.75 seconds.
- 50% of Tree of Life’s overhealing is now converted into Overhealth – up to 100 maximum Overhealth.
Lifeweaver has felt underwhelming since his debut, so developers gave him a few important buffs to hopefully increase his pick rate. Overhealing by the tree is converted into Overhealth, giving allies a valuable cushion against damage. His primary fire, Thorn Valley, will also be a bit less random. His health has decreased but he gains shield health to “account for the large petal hit volume on his back,” according to developers.
Lúcio
- Crossfade self-healing penalty is now reduced from 60 to 0% for the duration of Amp It Up.
Mercy
- Caduceus Staff secondary fire damage boost reduced from 30 to 25%.
A number of bug fixes have also been added in the Aug. 10 patch; the full list can be found in the extensive patch notes.
