Blizzard has released the patch notes for a Stadium balance hotfix applied to Overwatch 2 on July 24. The patch affects the abilities of four Overwatch 2 heroes: D.Va, Freja, Mei, and Juno. The changes made in the July 24 hotfix are meant to supplement a larger mid-season patch released on July 22, just days before.
The July 22 patch for Overwatch 2 marked the halfway point for Season 17 and brought a number of changes to the game's hero balancing, systems, and maps, namely New Junk City and Suravasa Flashpoint. Heroes D.Va, Freja, Mei, and Juno all received a power-up for one or more of their abilities, as did core Overwatch 2 characters Reinhardt, Winston, Bastion, Hanzo, Junkrat, Widowmaker, and Zenyatta. The update also added Loot Box rewards for players who queue up with friends, with Stadium matches counting twice toward each milestone. With the July 24 hotfix specifically affecting Stadium games, diligent players will want to pay close attention to the recent changes to have an edge on the competition.
Overwatch 2: 14 Best Female Heroes
Diverse and interesting, Overwatch 2's roster of female heroes is quite commendable, with the following characters standing out the most.
Blizzard posted the retail patch notes for the July 24 hotfix balance update, which solely applies to the Overwatch 2 Stadium game mode. Of the four heroes affected by the hotfix, D.Va and Mei had their abilities nerfed, while Freja and Juno both received buffs. The damage D.Va is required to take before automatically firing Micro Missiles with her Defense Matrix has been increased from 100 to 150, and Mei's Slowball will now only decrease enemies' speed by 15% instead of 30%. Freja's Bola Build was strengthened to keep up with her Weapon Power builds by increasing the effectiveness of her Lille Faelde Power and the duration of her So Cooked Power, while the critical hit damage bonus of Juno's Medimaster Power was buffed to a 1.5 multiplier.
None of the changes made in the recent hotfix affect those made in the July 22 patch. Notably absent from the update is a fix for the recently disabled Overwatch 2 map Midtown, which was removed from the map pool in the Unranked and Competitive game modes due to an issue with cars becoming invisible on lower graphics settings. Blizzard has still not provided a timeline for the map's return as of this writing.
With Season 17 at the halfway point, fans have a little over a month left before Season 18 releases on August 26, bringing a brand new support hero to Overwatch 2. Water-themed rebel Wuyang promises to make waves when he premieres alongside the new season, with Blizzard teasing that the healer/damage hybrid will be difficult to master.
Overwatch 2 July 24 Hotfix Patch Notes
Stadium Updates
TANK
D.Va
Developer Comments: Micro Missile build has been delivering consistently high damage output, often exceeding expectations in both burst and sustained fights. This update tones down its effectiveness slightly to bring it more in line with other build options, while still preserving its core playstyle and impact.
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Countermeasures - Power
- Increased damage required to mitigate to 150 (Up from 100).
DAMAGE
Freja
Developer Comments: Freja's Bola Build has been underperforming, especially when comparing to Freja's more dominant Weapon Power builds. We're increasing the power here to add more build variety for Freja.
-
Lille Faelde - Power
- Increased effectiveness to 40% reduced (Up from 50% reduced).
-
So Cooked - Power
- Increased duration to 3s (Up from 2s).
Mei
Developer Comments: Slowball has been effective at disrupting enemies, but the slow was a bit too punishing for how easy it was to apply. We’re reducing the slow strength to make it less oppressive while still rewarding accurate shots and smart use of Mei’s secondary fire.
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Slowball - Power
- Decreased slow to 15% (Down from 30%).
SUPPORT
Juno
Developer Comments: Medimaster wasn’t quite delivering the payoff expected for a critical-focused builds. This buff increases its crit multiplier to better reward precision and reinforce its role as a high-risk, high-reward option for skilled players.
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Medimaster - Power
- Increased critical scalar to 1.5 (Up from 1.25).
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 77 /100 Critics Rec: 65%
WHERE TO PLAY
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.
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- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Full
- Cross Save
- yes
- Franchise
- Overwatch
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
- Early Access Release
- October 4, 2022
- PC Release Date
- August 10, 2023
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- August 10, 2023
- PS5 Release Date
- August 10, 2023
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
- August 10, 2023
- Genre(s)
- Shooter, FPS, MOBA, Multiplayer
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- How Long To Beat
- 35 hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
