Overwatch 2 Reveals Mid-Season 14 Update Patch Notes

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By  Eric Law

To tide them over until the next major update, Overwatch 2 has officially launched its mid-Season 14 update. The star of this patch are the twin 6v6 game modes: Min 1, Max 3 and the Overwatch: Classic Moth Meta. The former lets players flex between one and three of each role using the same hero balance from the first 6v6 experiment, and is available from now through February 3. Then, from February 4 until the end of Season 14, fans can enjoy Overwatch: Classic’s second run with the Moth Meta, featuring Mercy’s overpowered Resurrect, DPS Doomfist, and Symmetra’s Shield Generator.

The rest of Season 14 will also feature back-to-back holiday events. The Year of the Snake event is live from now through February 3, bringing back the Mischief & Magic, Capture the Flag, and Bounty Hunter game modes, plus in-game challenges that reward a player icon, card, spray, and Juno voice line. The Valentine’s Day event runs for two weeks once the Lunar New Year event concludes, and features Cupid Hanzo’s Love of Geometry game mode.

No mid-season update would be complete without a slew of hero balance updates. Ramattra, Echo, Tracer, and Illari all received buffs, while Ana, Juno, and Hazard caught some slight nerfs in Overwatch 2. Winston, on the other hand, got a little of both, with more ammo and charge range for his Tesla Cannon, while having his Ultimate cost slightly increased.

For cosmetic collectors, Ashe’s Mythic weapon skin in Overwatch 2, Lead Rose, is now available in the Mythic Shop, featuring four levels of unlocks. Fans who hope to obtain the Jade Weapon Variants from 2024’s Competitive year should do so before February 18, as they will become unavailable in Season 15. Lastly, Maximilien’s Vault is a new limited-time shop featuring a rotating stock of personalized premium cosmetics at large discounts, giving players the chance to flesh out their collection with some rare skins using their Overwatch Coins.

Overwatch 2 Mid-Season 14 Patch Notes – January 21, 2025

YEAR OF THE SNAKE SEASONAL EVENT

Celebrate the Lunar New Year - Year of the Snake - in Overwatch 2 with the return of Mischief & Magic, a festive game mode that blends strategy, stealth, and skill along with Bounty Hunter and Capture the Flag. Complete event challenges to unlock exclusive rewards, including Lunar New Year-themed cosmetics that capture the joy and vibrancy of the season. Don’t miss your chance to outwit, outplay, and outlast your opponents!

VALENTINE’S DAY 2025

Take aim and fall in love again with the return of the Love of Geometry game mode. This team Deathmatch brawl pits teams of four Cupid Hanzos against each other. Be sure to watch out as hiding around corners is not safe as everyone can use the original Scatter Arrow ability for Hanzo. This is an event that you’ll fall in love with again as it runs from February 4 to February 18.

6V6 EXPERIMENTAL - MINIMUM 1, MAXIMUM 3

Step back into Overwatch’s origins even more with a fresh twist on the beloved six-player team format. The 6v6 Min 1, Max 3 Mode is a unique experiment that blends nostalgia with modern gameplay dynamics, offering a structured composition alongside the flexibility to switch roles mid-match. And your participation in this experiment will help shape the future of Overwatch 2’s gameplay—so don’t miss this chance to leave your mark.

• Heroes are selected first come, first serve.
• Each team must have at least one hero from all three roles, but cannot have more than three heroes from any given role.
• Players can switch between roles while in the spawn room.
• Hero balance for this experiment uses the same hero balance from the 6v6 2-2-2 Role Queue experiment.
• This game mode is available to play in Unranked from January 21 to February 3.

OVERWATCH CLASSIC - MOTH META

Overwatch Classic - Moth Meta brings you back to one of the most iconic and chaotic chapters in Overwatch history. Mercy’s legendary “Moth” gameplay takes the spotlight as her lightning-fast Resurrects redefine team fights, while heroes like DPS Doomfist and Symmetra with her Shield Generator make a triumphant return to the battlefield. Step onto beloved maps Oasis, Eichenwalde, and Junkertown, where every skirmish is packed with nostalgic strategies and unpredictable mayhem.

• Heroes added include Ana, Sombra, Orisa, and Doomfist.
• Maps added include Eichenwalde, Oasis, Horizon Lunar Colony, and Junkertown.
• Hero balance is adjusted to the September 2017 Hero Balance.

NEW MYTHIC WEAPON - ASHE'S LEAD ROSE

Our latest Mythic Weapon is Ashe's Lead Rose. Growing up in the Lead Rose Manor, Ashe was expected to be the perfect daughter. But while her parents had hoped for a flawless rose, they never expected Ashe's thorns. Like Ashe, this weapon is both beautiful and lethal. The more Ashe embraces her rebellious nature by earning eliminations, the more she blooms into the person she was meant to be! At level one, players will unlock her base Mythic weapon. Level two unlocks reactivity and the Mythic HUD. The beloved flourish is on Level Three which allows Ashe to tauntingly toss a rose at her opponents. And Level Four is the elimination effects, exploding enemies in a burst of rose petals.

COMPETITIVE UPDATES

COMPETITIVE DRIVES

• A new Drives signature is available to earn from February 11 to February 16
• Players can now earn up to 6,000 Competitive Points by completing Competitive Drive Stages, enough to unlock 2 Jade or Golden Weapon Variants.

COMPETITIVE REWARDS

As the 2024 Competitive Year concludes, Season 14 is the last chance to redeem Competitive Points for Jade Weapon Variants. After Season 14 is complete, any accumulated Competitive Points will be converted to Legacy Competitive Points which can be redeemed for Golden Weapon Variants. Jade Weapon Variants will not be available to collect starting in Season 15.

HERO UPDATES

These hero balance updates only apply to our standard game modes and not the 6v6 Experiment or Overwatch Classic.

TANK

Ramattra

Developer Comment: Ramattra has been underperforming relative to other brawl tanks. Adding a small increase to his armor will provide a necessary boost without altering his core gameplay.

• Base Armor increased from 75 to 100

Winston

Developer Comment: Winston's dive potential has been impacted by the increased health pools of enemies. By boosting the damage of the Tesla Cannon's secondary fire and providing more ammo, this will allow Winston to follow up and finish off enemies without needing to reload as often.

• Tesla Cannon
  • Ammo increased from 100 to 120
  • Secondary fire max charge damage increased from 50 to 60

• Primal Rage
  • Ultimate ability cost increased by 12%

Hazard

Developer Comment: We’re finding our newest tank’s mobility to be a little too hazardous. By decreasing Violent Leap’s cooldown, Hazard will have to be more selective with how he dives into the opponent backlines.

• Violent Leap
  • Violent Leap cooldown increased from 5 to 6 seconds.

DAMAGE

Echo

Developer Comment: Echo has been slightly underperforming recently, so we are increasing the base damage of the Focusing Beam. This change will make it easier to push enemies into the critical health threshold.

• Focusing Beam
  • Damage-per-second on targets above 50% HP increased from 50 to 75.

Tracer

Developer Comment: Tracer has remained less threatening since the damage reduction to her Pulse Pistols. Reducing their spread will make her damage more consistent at slightly longer ranges.

• Pulse Pistols
  • Spread decreased by 15%

SUPPORT

Ana

Developer Comment: Recent changes to her rifle have made Ana a highly impactful support. Reducing the damage of her Biotic Grenade will adjust some of her breakpoints and slightly affect her self-sustainability.

• Biotic Grenade
  • Explosion damage and healing decreased from 90 to 75.

Illari

Developer Comment: lllari can struggle to heal allies without her Healing Pylon. Increasing the maximum resource of her secondary fire will allow her to support her team more effectively during those moments.

• Solar Rifle
  • Secondary Fire Maximum resource increased from 3 to 3.5 seconds.

Juno

Developer Comment: Juno’s ultimate remains too powerful when used effectively by her allies. Reducing both the duration and damage amplification will reduce the potency of the ultimate.

• Orbital Ray
  • Duration reduced from 10 to 8 seconds
  • Damage amplification reduced from 35% to 30%

BUG FIXES

GENERAL

• Fixed an issue where competitive titles will sometimes unequip after a logout.

MAPS

• Circuit Royal
  • Fixed an issue which now prevents turrets from being placed inside the sportscars.

HEROES

• Bastion
  • Fixed in previous release, fixed an issue causing Bastion's Ultimate to not have impact sounds or VFX.

• Hazard
  • Fixed an issue where Hazard's Jagged Wall projectiles would pass through certain player made objects such as Cryo-Freeze, Ice Wall, Petal Platform.

• Sombra
  • Fixed an issue where Sombra's EMP can sometimes fail to hit opponents if they had previously interacted with Jagged Wall.

• Zenyatta
  • Fixed an issue causing Zenyatta to T-Pose with the "Retro Hero" emote.

6 /10

Overwatch (Formerly Overwatch 2)

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Shooter

FPS

MOBA

Multiplayer

Systems

OpenCritic Reviews

Top Critic Avg: 77 /100 Critics Rec: 65%

Released

August 10, 2023

ESRB

Teen / Violence, Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)

Developer(s)

Blizzard

Publisher(s)

Blizzard

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SUBSCRIPTION

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DIGITAL

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OVERWATCH®, A FUTURE WORTH FIGHTING FOR! Overwatch® is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future.

Overwatch® is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based hero shooter game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 or 6v6 battlefield brawl featuring new heroes and maps, different ways to play, and unique cosmetics! Lead the charge, ambush your enemies, or aid your allies as one of Overwatch’s 40+ distinct heroes. Team up with friends, take them into battle across 25+ futuristic maps inspired by real-world locations, and master multiple unique game modes.

Reign of Talon - Season 1: Conquest
The Next Big Story Begins

The world shifts as 2026 begins a year-long narrative arc where Overwatch and Talon face off in the fight for the future, joined by five new Heroes at once. Step into the story and shape what comes next!

After ten years, Season 1 opens the first chapter of Overwatch's next big story, where your choices will put you right into the fight for the future!

For the first time, five new Heroes hit the roster together, bringing new playstyles, new dynamics, and new voices into the fray all at once. Jet Pack Cat, Anran, Domina, Emre, and Mizuki arrive just in time for Reign of Talon: Conquest, launching a year-long narrative where conflict takes center stage and you contribute to how it unfolds.

Choose where you stand as Overwatch and Talon collide in a faction-driven event with outcomes that will leave visible marks on the world and your legacy. Along the way, Competitive gets a refresh and Core gameplay evolves, changing how things feel across the board.

This season sets a fresh tone for how the Overwatch story is told and how you play it.

Engine

Proprietary Engine

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op

Cross-Platform Play

Full

Cross Save

yes

Franchise

Overwatch

Steam Deck Compatibility

Playable

Platform(s)

PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC

Genre(s)

Shooter, FPS, MOBA, Multiplayer

How Long To Beat

35 hours

X|S Optimized

Yes

File Size Xbox Series

85.1 GB

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

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