Overwatch 2’s May 20 Patch: Epic Street Fighter Crossover and Major Hero Changes!

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In simpler terms, the mid-season update for Overwatch 2 has been released, featuring balance adjustments along with the collaboration with Street Fighter, among other enhancements, as detailed in the May 20th update notes.

In simple terms, Overwatch 2’s Season 16 has brought some major updates that have given the game a refreshing feel. Among these changes is the introduction of the new character, Freja, and the addition of the Stadium map, helping to keep the game exciting and engaging.

In the May 20th patch, Blizzard has added fresh content with their midseason update, keeping fans entertained. As anticipated, the collaboration with Street Fighter is now active, transforming certain heroes into new designs inspired by the popular franchise.

Just like every time, there are fresh features, bug squashes, and adjustments to our favorite heroes, and more! Here’s a rundown of all the exciting goodies this update brings your way.

Overwatch 2 midseason update patch notes (May 20)

Stadium Continues!

Midway through Season 16, it’s all about flair, festivities, and shocks as the action unfolds. Pick your combatant to knock out the competition in the Overwatch 2 x Street Fighter 6 crossover event! Don’t miss out on Dokiwatch – grab the Legendary Compassionate Mechanical Mercy Weapon Skin by unlocking it!

Step back into a bygone era of Overwatch Classics, rekindle the battle using Drives, and adorn yourself as if you were part of the Palace Royalty. To add to this, Freja storms into the Arena, wielding powers that will leave your adversaries astonished!

Jump back into Overwatch Classic’s timeline, engage in combat again using Drives, and dress yourself as if you were a member of the Palace Royalty. To top it off, Freja enters the field, showcasing powers that will leave your enemies speechless!

Overwatch 2 x Street Fighter 6 

As a gaming enthusiast, I can’t contain my excitement for the first-person perspective! Here we go: Round one – Fight! The epic clash between Overwatch 2 and Street Fighter 6 is upon us in an action-packed crossover event. It’s a fusion of adrenaline-pumping gameplay from both universes!

I’m talking eight fierce skins, dynamic emotes, and stylish combos that echo iconic moves and matchups – all brought to the battlefield in Overwatch 2. Street Fighter 6 is storming into this collision like a hurricane! Get ready for an unforgettable experience as these two titans meet head-on!

Prepare yourself for swift kicks like lightning, charge up your Psycho Power or release an arrow similar to Hadoken, as every action packs a punch with this collaboration’s fighting style. It’s now time to select your combatant and knock out the opposition in the struggle towards the future.

Mythic Merciful Magitech Mercy Weapon Skin

Despite her departure from the Heroes of Heart, the essence of Mercy’s compassion lingers on. The Merciful Magitech Mythic Weapon draws upon the spirit of Eleos, the Hamster of Kindness, and reinvents Mercy’s Caduceus Staff and Blaster using the brilliant power of Magitech energy.

After a thrilling breakout, Eleos now extends kindness, healing, and hope to the heroes who continue their valiant struggle against adversity. When you’re protecting your team, this endearing companion in your Mythic weapon ensures that the benevolent legacy of Mercy the Hero of Heart endures in every ray, every power-up, and every act of compassion.

Overwatch Classic: October 2020 

As a gamer, I can’t hide my excitement – Overwatch: Classic is back in full swing! Reliving the October 2020 Patch feels like stepping into a time machine with its intense 6v6 gameplay. The balance changes are returning, role queue is set, and heroes such as Sigma, Echo, Baptiste, and others are ready for battle once more. Whether you’re an old-timer coming back home or a newcomer eager to explore the past, this classic clash is one you won’t want to skip!

General Updates 

PLAYER REPORT TOOL 

  • Players can now receive an instant notification if a player is already actioned. 
  • Prior to this feature, reporting a player that had already been banned or suspended would not result in any additional information. The Instant Reporting Feedback feature will immediately inform the player of the fact that banned or suspended players have been actioned when they are reported. 

Hero Updates 

Tank

Hazard

Vault – Passive 

  • Ledge climb animation time reduced from 0.6 to 0.4 seconds

Anarchic Zeal – Major Perk  

  •  Spike Guard’s Lifesteal is increased from 25% to 40%. 

Developer notes: To align with his heavy tank concept, Hazard moves slowly when climbing, but this caused issues during chases or escapes against enemies. As a solution, we’re increasing the speed at which he can leap over obstacles. Furthermore, we’re enhancing Anarchic Zeal’s ability to steal life force since its current effectiveness was insufficient.

Reinhardt 

Fire Strike – Ability 2 

  • Projectile speed increased from 25 to 30 meters per second. 
  • Recovery time reduced from 0.63 to 0.45 seconds. 

Developer notes: Reinhardt performs consistently throughout the game, but his effectiveness diminishes at higher skill levels. To improve its dependability at a distance, we’re enhancing the speed and reactivity of Fire Strike.

Damage 

Freja 

Quick Dash 

  • Cooldown increased from 3.5 to 4 seconds. 

In simpler terms, the developer’s note suggests that Freja’s victory rate has increased as players get more familiar with her abilities. To balance this out, they plan to slightly increase the cool-down time for Quick Dash, which should decrease her time spent in the air and lessen the frequency of explosive bolts she fires.

Genji 

Shuriken – Primary and Secondary Fire 

  • Ammo reduced from 30 to 24. 
  • Projectile speed increased from 60 to 75. 

As a gamer, I’ve noticed that sometimes Genji’s shurikens don’t seem to hit fast-moving targets consistently. To make them more dependable, let’s up their speed. Additionally, reducing the number of shurikens will help balance out this increased effectiveness.

Hanzo 

Storm Bow – Primary Fire 

  • Draw time reduced from 0.8 to 0.72 seconds. 

Sonic Disruption – Minor Perk 

  • Health pack hack time increased from 12 to 30 seconds. 

In simpler terms, the developer has noted that Hanzo’s performance has been lackluster as of late, so they are returning his bow draw speed to its initial, quicker pace. Additionally, the Sonic Disruption perk isn’t chosen much, but extending its duration will make it more practical and less demanding to manage a healing station.

Pharah 

Drift Thrusters – Minor Perk 

  • Movement speed while using Barrage reduced by 20%. 

Concussive Implosion – Major Perk 

  • Distance pulled reduced by 50%. 

developer notes: The Drift Thrusters and Concussive Implosion abilities have been overly effective in causing enemy eliminations. These modifications aim to create more chances for opponents to respond when facing these skills during combat.

Reaper 

Dire Triggers – Major Perk 

  • Recovery reduced from 0.7 to 0.5 seconds. 

To enhance the smoothness while switching between the two, we are synchronizing the trigger activation of Dire Triggers with the main attack of Reapers.

Soldier: 76 

Stim Pack – Major Perk 

  • Anti-heal removed. Now deals 75 self-damage on use.  
  • Is now activated by using Weapon Swap.

The developer noted that activating the Stim Pack was challenging, particularly during battles. Assigning it to Weapon Swap enhances the control layout, and eliminating the anti-heal feature makes it less severe when employed.

Sombra 

Translocator – Ability 2 

  • Fade in time increased from 0.15 to 0.3 seconds. 
  • Stealth reveal duration on taking damage increased from 1 to 1.3 seconds. 

The developers note that the invisibility feature can be challenging for players, so they’re expanding the opportunities for a response. Now, Sombra will stay in stealth mode for a longer duration and will linger after being damaged before disappearing.

Widowmaker 

Widow’s Kiss – Primary Fire 

  • Maximum spread reduced from 3 to 2 degrees. 
  • Damage increased from 13 to 14. 

Deadly Deux  

  • Venom Mine’s bonus damage increased from 50% to 100%.

Developer notes: Widowmaker’s effectiveness tends to be more dependent on the map as compared to many other heroes. Given the recent restrictions on hero bans, we aim to make her suitable for a wider range of situations.

Support 

Illari 

Solar Rifle – Secondary Fire 

  • Range increased from 15 to 20 meters.  

Developer notes: Illari frequently needs to advance into potentially hazardous locations for efficient healing. Prolonging the reach of her healing beam would provide her with greater freedom to position herself and aid her team more adaptably.

Lifeweaver 

Healing Blossom – Primary Fire 

  • Auto-Charge rate increased by 25%.  

Superbloom – Major Perk 

  • The number of hits to trigger reduced from 20 to 16. 

Developer notes: The penalty for using Thorn Volley instead of repeatedly activating Healing Blossom remains excessive. To reduce the consequences of interspersing damage with healing, we’re enhancing the automatic charge feature.

Or more informally:

Developer comments: It’s way too costly to opt for Thorn Volley over just keeping Healing Blossom on constant charge. We’re going to make it less painful to switch between dealing damage and healing by boosting the auto-charge ability.

Stadium Updates 

Mercy Rule 

  • Now triggers when the cash disparity between the teams is at 10,000 or more (down 

from 15,000). 

In our opinion, it appears that too few games that end with scores like 3-0 aren’t activating the Mercy Rule when perhaps they should. We plan to closely monitor this situation and may also explore modifications to the Mercy Rule guidelines in the future.

Round Completion Cash 

  • We’ve added a system where players are granted an additional boost to their Round Completion Cash in rounds that end with players on both teams having lower than intended amounts of cash. This additional cash will be equivalent for every player. 

Tank

Reinhardt 

Smashing – Power 

  • Reduced Move Speed per stack to 1% (down from 2%) 
  • Reduced Life Steal per stack to 3% (down from 5%) 
  • Increased maximum stacks to 10 (up from 5) 
  • Reduced duration to 2s (down from 3s) 

To Me, My Friends! – Power 

  • Increased healing based on Max Life to 4% (up from 3%) 

Wilhelmwagen – Power 

  • Decreased healing from damage mitigated to 5% (down from 15%)

Rocket Strike – Epic Hero Ability Item 

  • Decreased Fire Strike Projectile Speed to 25% (down from 50%) 
  • Decreased Ability Power to 10% (down from 20%) 

Chimera’s Maw – Rare Hero Ability Item 

  • Decreased Ability Power to 5% (down from 10%) 

To balance out the power increase in Reinhardt’s Fire Strike ability in Overwatch’s Core version, we’re reducing the damage potential of his Fire Strike build and making sure the maximum speed at which Fire Strike travels remains consistent. Additionally, we’re adjusting Reinhardt’s Melee build to make it easier for opponents to counter, as it’s currently too powerful given the significant reward it offers.

Damage

Freja 

  • Added to the Stadium Hero Roster 

Cyclone – Power 

  • New Stadium Power. 
  • When you use Updraft, fire a Take Aim bolt at your crosshair. 

Seekerpoint – Power 

  • New Stadium Power. 
  • When Take Aim bolt sticks an enemy, automatically fire 3 additional crossbow shots at them that deal 66% reduced damage. 

Seismic Shot – Power 

  • New Stadium Power. 
  • Take Aim explosion radius is increased by 33%. Double this if the bolt is stuck to a target. 

Thread the Needle – Power 

  • New Stadium Power. 
  • Take Aim bolts pierce enemies. Additional explosions deal 66% reduced damage. 

Deep Pockets – Power 

  • New Stadium Power. 
  • When you use an ability, restore 50% of your Max Ammo. 

Forager – Power 

  • New Stadium Power. 
  • For 2 seconds after using Quick Dash. Revdraw Crossbow hits heal you for 3% of your Max Life. 

Peak Performance – Power 

  • New Stadium Power. 
  • While firing Revdraw Crossbow your fall speed is decreased by 80%. 

Redux – Power 

  • New Stadium Power. 
  • Revdraw Crossbow hits against targets stuck by a Take Aim bolt or Bola Shot reduce the cooldown of your abilities by 5% and refunds 1 ammo. 

Volley à Deux – Power 

  • New Stadium Power. 
  • Every fifth Revdraw Crossbow shot fires an additional 2 bolts in a spread that deal 50% reduced damage.

Lille Félde – Power 

  • New Stadium Power. 
  • After using Updraft, your next Take Aim while airborne fires a Bola Shot that deals 60% reduced damage instead of an explosive bolt.

So Cooked – Power 

  • New Stadium Power. 
  • Bola Shot’s damaging zone deals 50% more damage and lingers for 3 seconds. Bola 
  • shot eliminations count toward Bounty Hunting. 

Mighty Gust – Power 

  • New Stadium Power. 
  • Updraft launches a wind blast toward your crosshair, knocking back enemies and dealing 40 ability damage. 

Tracker Tag – Rare Hero Weapon Item 

  • New Rare Hero Weapon Item. 
  • 30% Max Ammo. 
  • When Take Aim bolt sticks to an enemy, increase your Attack Speed by 20% for 3 seconds. 

Slipstream Scarf – Rare Hero Weapon Item 

  • New Rare Hero Weapon Item. 
  • 25 Health. 
  • 5% Weapon Power. 
  • 25% Quick Dash Distance. 

Portable Zipline – Epic Hero Weapon Item 

  • New Epic Hero Weapon Item. 
  • 15% Weapon Power. 
  • Eliminations reset both charges of Quick Dash cooldown. 

Windwalker Boots – Rare Hero Ability Item 

  • New Rare Hero Ability Item. 
  • 25 Health. 
  • 5% Cooldown Reduction. 
  • 20% Updraft Height. 

Magnetic Maelstrom – Epic Hero Ability Item 

  • New Epic Hero Ability Item. 
  • 15% Ability Power. 
  • Bola Shot pulls in nearby enemies even when it misses. 

Hunter’s Mark – Rare Hero Survival Item 

  • New Rare Hero Survival Item. 
  • 25 Health. 
  • Enemies with a Bounty of 75- or more are revealed to you within 40 meters. 
  • Eliminating them grants 250 additional Stadium Cash. 

Aeroweave Cloak – Rare Hero Survival Item 

  • New Rare Hero Survival Item. 
  • 25 Health. 
  • 100% Take Aim Slowed Momentum Duration. 

Tourniquet – Rare Hero Survival Item 

  • New Rare Hero Survival Item. 
  • 25 Health. 
  • After using Updraft, reset Quick Dash and gain 50 Overhealth for 5 seconds. 

Toxin Tips- Epic Hero Survival Item 

  • New Epic Hero Survival Item. 
  • 50 Health. 
  • Take Aim bolts sticks and explosions slow enemies by 30% but takes 1 second longer to explode. 

Soldier: 76 

Cratered – Power 

  • Reduced increased Explosion Damage to 15% (down from 25%) 

Development note: The current setup of Soldier: 76’s Helix Rocket is dealing damage a tad excessively frequently. To lessen its explosive power, we’ll be lowering the damage slightly to minimize its high-impact capabilities.

Item Changes 

Champion’s Kit – Epic Ability Item 

  • Increased cost to 14000 (up from 13500). 
  • Decreased Ability Power to 35% (down from 40%). 

The Closer – Epic Weapon Item 

  • Increased cost to 14500 (up from 13000). 

Eye of the Spider – Epic Weapon Item 

  • Increased cost to 14000 (up from 13500). 

Nano Cola – Rare Ability Item 

  • Increased cost to 6000 (up from 5500). 

Talon Modification Module – Rare General Weapon Item 

  • Increased cost to 6000 (up from 5500).

Gloomgauntlet – Epic Survival Item 

  • Increased cost to 10000 (up from 9500).

Icy Coolant – Rare Weapon Item 

  • Increased cost to 5500 (up from 5000). 

Multi-Tool – Rare Ability Item 

  • Decreased cost to 4500 (down from 5000). 
  • Decreased Cooldown Reduction to 5% (down from 10%). 
  • Increased Ability Power to 10% (up from 5%). 

Bloodbound – Epic Survival Item 

  • Decreased cost to 9000 (down from 9500). 

Geneticist’s Vial – Epic Survival Item 

  • Increased Life after reviving to 250 (up from 200). 

Electrolytes – Common Survival Item 

  • Now gives 100 Overhealth every time you respawn (instead of just at the start of the round). 
  • Increased cost to 1500 (up from 1000). 

Adrenaline Shot – Common Survival Item 

  • Increased Health to 25 (up from 10). 
  • Increased cost to 1500 (up from 1000). 

In simpler terms, the developers have noted an excessive use of Weapon Power and Ability Power in items, which is limiting other options. To encourage more variety in item choices and reduce the strength of builds that heavily rely on quick burst damage from stacked Weapon or Ability Power, they plan to decrease the efficiency of these powerful items. Furthermore, they aim to enhance some currently weak item options.

Bug Fixes 

General 

  • Fixed an issue where challenges were not progressing when queued as a specific role. 
  •  Fixed a graphical error that caused flashing for certain heroes on consoles. 

Heroes 

  • Fixed an issue where Doomfist was able to continue charging his punch through Sigma’s Accretion stun. 
  • Fixed an issue where Illari’s Captive Sub Ultimate would not explode after a deflect. 
  • Fixed an issue where Mercy’s resurrect could complete in spawn if spawn timer was reached. 

Stadium 

  • Fixed a visual issue causing the Rank Progress bar to show incorrect Stadium Points after a match. 
  • Fixed an issue with Competitive title rewards displaying the wrong role in stadium. 
  • Fixed an issue with Zarya not working with Codebreaker item. 
  • Fixed and issue where the mercy rule would activate inconsistently. 
  • Fixed an issue with Mercy’s First Responder power. 
  • Fixed an issue where the armory could load in an incomplete state. 
  • Fixed an issue where the Better Together challenge was not tracking for D.VA players under certain conditions. 
  • Fixed an issue where the Better Together challenge was not counting towards MVP or Star of the Show challenges. 
  • Fixed an issue that occurs when Soldier uses the On Me power with both Vishkar Condenser and Vital-E-Tee mods together. 
  • Fixed an issue that occurs when Junker Queen uses both the Reckoner’s Roar power and Cybervenom mod. 
  • Fixed an issue that occurs when Ana uses both Comfy Cloud and Dreamy powers. 
  • Fixed an issue that occurs when Mei uses both the Coulder power and Cybervenom mod. 
  • Fixed an issue with Freja’s animation while holding down her secondary fire. 
  • Fixed an issue with Mercy’s Equivalent Exchange mod and this has now been reenabled. 
  • Fixed an issue with Genji’s Deflect-O-Bot power and this has now been re-enabled. 
  • Fixed an issue where Moira’s Empowering You power would not play hit markers when the buffed ally dealt damage. 
  • Fixed an issue where Zarya’s Hybrid Battery item wouldn’t reset energy to 0 when sold.

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2025-05-20 21:22