Blizzard Developers Discuss Further Changes in Overwatch 2 Beta

Blizzard developers have shed some light on the internal thought process behind what could be the next set of tweaks in Overwatch 2's beta testing.

In a developer log this past Thursday, Overwatch developers discussed the behavior they'd seen in the first week of the brand new beta testing period. Between expected longer tank queues thanks to Junker Queen and players attempting to work around the shifts to Symmetra and Mercy's playstyles, the team had certainly had their hands full with feedback. Now, they've gathered their thoughts and published them on the Blizzard news blog.

Blizzard Developers May Be Looking to Tweak Sojourn, Zenyatta, and More

Developers plan to further adjust Mercy's Guardian Angel jump — the player-found bug turned full-blown feature — midway through the testing period. While they agree that mobility helps her remain in the game, they expressed interest in refining the ability a bit more.

"Our goal with the next change is to give players even more control over Guardian Angel while also increasing its flexibility," developers wrote.

Mercy mains will now have a meter that charges when players prompt Guardian Angel without immediately launching them into the air. Once cancelled with Jump, Mercy will rocket forward in whichever direction she's facing. The higher the charge on the meter, the more momentum Mercy will have.

Symmetra is a different case. Her recent series of nerfs stemmed from fears that she would become overpowered as she's already a "statistically strong hero." Developers may be looking to roll a few of these back or in a different direction as they gather data from the following internal tests:

• Secondary Fire projectile size increased from .4 back to .5
• Secondary Fire charge time reduced from 1.2 seconds back to 1 second
• Teleporter cooldown reduced from 16 seconds to 12 seconds
• Potential quicker level 3 beam charge, according to developers

"We’re not sure if this change will stick, but our goal is to make Symmetra feel more natural in Overwatch 2," they wrote.

Meanwhile, it appears Zenyatta and Sojourn have gained some attention under Blizzard's microscope. Developers noted that the two may need to be "tuned down" in the future. Roadhog has also noted for another reason: they like how his new ultimate is playing out and are looking to "intuitive and polished."

Developers ended the log by telling players to expect the announced changes to Mercy and unmentioned changes to Moira in the midweek patch.