All hero buffs and nerfs in Overwatch Season 1

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Overwatch Season 1 is here with significant changes to hero power levels. These adjustments – including boosts and reductions to various heroes’ abilities – are expected to dramatically shift the way the game is played.

Overwatch is entering a new era with Season 1, prioritizing a strong narrative experience. The game, now simply called Overwatch, will release a year-long story arc, then refresh with a new one annually.

This update introduces five new playable characters. Alongside these additions, we’re also making significant balance adjustments to existing heroes to ensure fairer gameplay for everyone.

Here are all of the buffs and nerfs in the Overwatch Season 1 update. A

All hero changes in OW Season 1

Tank

D.Va’s health has been adjusted. In the current 5v5 game mode, her base health is now 325 (down from 375), bringing her total health to 650 (down from 700). For 6v6 matches, her base health is 250 (down from 300), and her total health is 550 (down from 600).

Mauga
● Kinetic Bandolier – Minor Perk
○ Ammo generation now grants 150 ammo instantly instead of over time.
Orisa● Protective Barrier – Major Perk (6v6)
○ Cooldown increased from 8 to 10 seconds.
● Charged Javelin – Major Perk
○ Fixed animation issues when charging Javelin.
Reinhardt● Barrier Re-Charge – Minor Perk
○ Removed.
● Crusader’s Resolve – Minor Perk
○ While using Barrier Field, passive health regeneration triggers 75% sooner.
Roadhog● Take a Breather (5v5)
○ Resource maximum duration increased from 2.5 to 3 seconds.
● Pulled Pork – Major Perk
○ Overhealth maximum increased from 250 to 300.

Sigma’s experimental barrier now has 650 health, down from 700. Additionally, his Hyper Regeneration perk, which converts damage into barrier health, now converts only 40% of damage, reduced from 50%.

Winston
● Barrier Toss – Minor Perk
○ Removed.
● Electric Charge – Minor Perk
○ Winston gains 10% movement speed for each enemy damaged by his primary fire, up to 30%.
Wrecking Ball
● Pack Rat – Minor Perk
○ Removed.
● Multi-Ball – Minor Perk
○ Press Ultimate within 5 seconds after using Minefield to deploy 7 additional mines.
Zarya
● Particle Cannon
○ Primary fire maximum damage per second reduced from 190 to 175.
● Energy Converter – Minor Perk
○ Removed.
● Spotter – Minor Perk
○ Moved from Major to Minor.
○ Movement speed bonus reduced from 25% to 20%.
● Energy Lance – Major Perk
○ No longer requires being above 50 energy.
● Extra Oomph – Major Perk
○ While a Barrier is active, dealing damage with Particle Cannon’s beam generates energy.

Damage

Here’s a breakdown of the hero changes:

Ashe
Sidewinder (Minor Perk) has been removed.
 Double-Barreled (Minor Perk) now allows you to use Coach Gun again quickly after knocking an enemy back, with 25% less knockback.

Anran
Fan the Flames now deals 5 impact damage, up from 4, and can hold up to 10 bullets, up from 8.
 Inferno Rush’s maximum height has been reduced by 20%. A new option allows you to hold the button to activate Inferno Rush.
Dancing Blaze’s cooldown is now 8 seconds, down from 10. The ability no longer cleanses negative effects.

Cassidy
 Combat Roll’s cooldown has been reduced to 5 seconds, down from 6.
Gun Slingin’ (Major Perk) has been removed.
 Rollin’ Round-Up (Major Perk) now heals 15 health each time you reload while rolling.

Echo
● Focused Rush – Minor Perk
○ Movement speed bonus increased from 10% to 20%.
Freja● Hunter’s Instinct – Minor Perk
○ Removed.
● Relentless Barrage – Minor Perk
○ Moved from Major to Minor.
● Rising Winds – Major Perk
○ Updraft gains an additional charge but has 20% reduced height.
Hanzo● Lunging – Minor Perk
○ Removed
● Dragon Fury – Minor Perk
○ Moved from Major to Minor.
○ Attack speed reduced from 25% to 20%.
○ Duration reduced from 2 to 1.5 seconds.
● Frost Arrow – Major Perk
○ Press Reload to ready an explosive frost arrow that slows enemies by 35% for 3 seconds.
Pharah● Sky Spy – Major Perk
○ Removed.
● Rocket Salvo – Major Perk
○ After using a movement ability, the next primary fire shoots two spiraling mini-rockets, each dealing 40 damage.
Reaper● Shadow Step
○ No longer cleanses on use.

Okay, so here’s the deal with the latest updates for my main heroes. For Soldier: 76, they fixed a bug where firing rockets would mess up my normal shooting while using Tactical Visor – huge improvement! They also removed the Recycled Pulse Munitions perk, which honestly, I didn’t really use much. But they did buff his Helix Rockets, making them 50% faster – that’s gonna feel amazing!

Now, for Sombra. They changed Opportunist so it doesn’t just show low-health enemies anymore. Instead, it now shows when enemies are building their ultimates, which is way more useful for coordinating with the team. They also removed Healthy Hacker, but the big change is to High-Speed Bandwidth. Now, when I hack a health pack for my teammates, they get a speed boost and some extra health for a few seconds – that’s a game changer for pushing or escaping!

Torbjörn● Fully Loaded – Minor Perk
○ Removed.
● Pre-Heated – Minor Perk
○ Molten Core activates Overload.
Tracer● Pulse Pistols
○ Damage reduced from 6 to 5.75.
○ Gains the increased global projectile size (0.04 meters).
● Chronal Dash – Minor Perk
○ Blink distance increased by 20%.
● Flashback – Major Perk
○ Removed.
● Blink Packs – Major Perk
○ Moved from Minor to Major.

The Vendetta class has been updated: its health has increased from 150 to 175, but its armor has been reduced from 125 to 100. The cooldown of the Soaring Slice ability has been increased from 6 to 7 seconds. The Extra Edge perk now costs 25% less energy. The Relentless perk has been upgraded from a Minor to a Major perk, while the Swift Vengeance perk has been removed.

Okay, so they’ve tweaked Widowmaker a bit! My favorite, the Seeker Mine, now does way more damage over time – 75 instead of 50, which is awesome. They totally removed ‘Escape Plan,’ which kinda stinks, but the big change is to Widow’s Bite. Now, if I fully charge a scoped shot, it’ll pierce right through enemies! That’s a game changer for lining up those clutch shots and taking out multiple targets at once. I’m definitely excited to try this out!

Support

Baptiste’s abilities have been adjusted. His Assault Burst perk is now a minor perk and its attack speed was reduced slightly. The Biotic Reloader perk has been removed entirely. The radius of his Immortality Field has been increased by 30%. Automated Healing has been upgraded to a major perk and now heals for 40 per shot, up from 25.

Here’s what’s changing for Illari: Her Solar Rifle’s secondary fire now regenerates resources more slowly (reduced from 43 to 35). The cooldown for her Outburst ability has been increased from 7 to 8 seconds. Finally, her Solar Flare major perk no longer uses resources, but it now has a 10-second cooldown.

Here’s what’s changed with Kiriko:

Healing Ofuda: Travels faster now.
 Swift Step: No longer removes negative effects when used.
* Foxtrot: The bonus to ability cooldown speed has been removed, but the speed boost it gives you now lasts twice as long (4 seconds instead of 2).

Here’s a breakdown of the changes to Lifeweaver’s abilities:

Tree of Life: The amount of extra health converted from overhealing has been doubled, increasing from 50% to 100%.

Perk Removals: The following perks have been removed: Lifeweaving, Cleaning Grasp, and Petal Power.

Petal Protection: Allies now receive 20 health per second while standing on a Petal Platform.

Dashing Escape: The distance of the Rejuvenating Dash has been increased by 30%.

Sow the Seed: When using Quick Melee with the Healing Blossom equipped, a seed is thrown forward. Allies who collect this seed gain 75 temporary health and a 25% speed boost for 5 seconds.

Okay, so they’ve made some changes to Mercy! They took away her ‘Sympathetic Recovery’ ability, which was a passive that healed nearby allies. But the good news is they’ve buffed ‘Swift Recovery’! Now, Mercy will start regenerating health much faster, which is awesome for staying alive during and after fights. It’s a bit sad to see Sympathetic Recovery go, but faster self-healing sounds really good!

Moira has been adjusted! Her ‘Focused Healing/Damage’ bonus is now 30%, up from 25%. Wuyang’s ‘Restorative Stream’ now has a reduced passive healing effect (20, down from 25), but its beam healing has been increased to 55, up from 50.

Okay, so they made a couple of tweaks to Zenyatta. They totally removed the ‘Transcendent Condemnation’ perk, which is fine, I barely used it anyway. But the big change is ‘Discordant Repair’ – now whenever I hit an enemy with Discord Orb, I heal myself for 10% of the damage! That’s gonna be awesome for staying alive during team fights, seriously a nice little boost to his survivability.

For more on Overwatch, be sure to check our hero tier list and the 2026 roadmap.

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2026-02-10 22:22