Overwatch season 2 patch notes today - Sierra, buffs & nerfs, more

It’s time for Season 2 in Overwatch‘s Reign of Talon campaign, and there’s plenty of new content for players to explore.

Overwatch season 2 patch notes

Here’s a list of all major additions in the second season of OW’s new era in 2026.

New Damage hero: Sierra

Sierra is the latest addition to the roster that keeps getting bigger. You can find everything about her in this guide, which also includes a brief description of her abilities. She’s got a Helix Rifle and a drone to wreak havoc on the battlefield.

Hero buffs and nerfs

There are quite a few changes for heroes in six-vs-six play. Here’s all of the tweaks, including many changes to Perks.

Tank

Winston OW2 — Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Sigma
- Hyper Regeneration – Minor Perk
  - Now restores barrier health only when damaging enemy heroes.
- Experimental Barrier (6v6)
  - Maximum health reduced from 650 to 600.
Ramattra
- Ravenous Vortex
  - Vengeful Vortex moved from Perk to Baseline ability.
  - Projectile now explodes on contact with the ground.
  - Explosion can now be manually detonated while airborne.
  - Explosion damage reduced from 50 to 15.
- Prolonged Barrier – Minor Perk
  - Added.
  - Void Barrier duration and size increased by 25 percent.
- Vengeful Vortex – Major Perk
  - Removed.
- Void Surge – Major Perk
  - Moved from Minor to Major Perk.
  - Delay between bursts reduced from 0.75 to 0.6 seconds.
Reinhardt
- Shield Slam – Minor Perk
  - Added a custom setting allowing Shield Slam to be bound to Quick Melee, enabling free look while the perk is equipped.
Roadhog
- Scrap Gun
  - Reload time increased from 1.5 to 1.75 seconds.
- Chain Hook
  - Cooldown increased from 6 to 8 seconds.
- Invigorate – Major Perk
  - Removed.
- Hogdrogen Exposure – Major Perk
  - Added.
  - Take a Breather now heals nearby allies for 50 percent of its healing amount.
Winston
- (6v6) Base health reduced from 350 to 325.
- (6v6) Total health reduced from 550 to 525.
- Tesla Cannon
  - Deals 50 percent increased damage to deployables.
Wrecking Ball
- (6v6) Base health reduced from 475 to 450.
- (6v6) Total health reduced from 575 to 550.

Damage

Overwatch 2 Vendetta spin — Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Anran
- Perk Costs
  - Minor Perk cost reduced by 7 percent.
  - Major Perk cost reduced by 5 percent.
- Fan the Flames
  - Impact damage increased from 5 to 6.
- Inferno Rush
  - Impact damage reduced from 50 to 30.
- Dancing Blaze
  - Now heals Anran for 50 health on the first target hit and 25 health for each subsequent target.
- Hungering Blaze – Major Perk
  - Perk Changed.
  - Increases the healing of Dancing Blaze’s subsequent strikes by 25.
Ashe
- Double Barreled – Minor Perk
  - Time required to retrigger Coach Gun increased from 1 to 2 seconds.
Bastion
- Perk Costs
  - Minor Perk cost increased by 10 percent.
  - Major Perk cost increased by 6 percent.
- Configuration Reload – Minor Perk
  - No longer fully refunds cooldown.
  - Now reduces cooldown by 4 seconds.’
- Armored Artillery – Minor Perk
  - Overhealth degeneration reduced from 100 to 50 per second.
Echo
- Duplicate
  - Can now duplicate allied heroes.
- Focused Rush – Minor Perk
  - Range increased from 4 to 6 meters.
Emre
- Siphon Blaster
  - Added an accessibility option allowing right‑click auto‑fire at a reduced fire rate.
- Heat Sink – Minor Perk
  - Heat generated from direct hits reduced from 100 percent to 60 percent.
Junkrat
- Mine Recycling
  - Moved from Minor to Major Perk.
  - Eliminations with Concussion Mine restore one charge.
- Bomb Voyage
  - Moved from Major to Minor Perk.
  - Attack speed bonus reduced from 35 percent to 25 percent.
Pharah
- Hover Jets
  - Bonus movement speed reduced from 40 percent to 30 percent.
- Barrage
  - Pharah can now move while using Barrage.
  - Explosion damage reduced from 30 to 25.
- Drift Thrusters – Minor Perk
  - Removed.
- Concussive Force – Minor Perk
  - Added.
  - Concussive Blast deals up to 50 explosion damage.
Reaper
- Dire Triggers
  - Moved from Perk to Baseline ability.
  - Cooldown increased from 3 to 6 seconds.
- Trigger Finger – Major Perk
  - Added.
  - Using an ability or reloading refreshes Dire Triggers’ cooldown.

OW2 Soldier 76 resilient pride skin — Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Soldier: 76
- Sprint
  - Can now reload while sprinting.
  - Reloading while sprinting reduces Sprint’s movement speed bonus by 50 percent, diminishing over the duration.
  - Added a custom setting allowing Sprint to cancel reload.
- Agility Training – Major Perk
  - Removed.
- Full Stride – Major Perk
  - Added.
  - Sprint’s movement speed bonus gradually increases by an additional 25 percent over 2 seconds.
Sombra
- Perk Costs
  - Minor Perk cost reduced by 6 percent.
  - Major Perk cost reduced by 5 percent.
- Stealth
  - Movement speed bonus reduced by 50 percent while revealed by damage.
Tracer
- Perk Costs
  - Minor Perk cost reduced by 10 percent.
  - Major Perk cost reduced by 7 percent.
Vendetta
- Perk Costs
  - Minor Perk cost reduced by 6 percent.
  - Major Perk cost reduced by 5 percent.
- Armor reduced from 100 to 75.
- Onslaught (Passive)
  - Movement speed per stack reduced from 4 percent to 2 percent.
- Palatine Fang
  - Overhead swing bonus range reduced from 2.5 to 2.0 meters.
Widowmaker

Support

Lifeweaver in Overwatch 2. — Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Ana
- Biotic Grenade
  - Cooldown reduced from 14 to 12 seconds.
Brigitte
- Barrier Shield
  - Health increased from 250 to 300.
- Combat Medic – Minor Perk
  - Cooldown refunded increased from 0.5 to 0.75 seconds.
Jetpack Cat
- Frenetic Flight
  - Acceleration reduced by 11 percent.
Juno
- Pulsar Torpedoes (6v6)
  - Cooldown increased from 10 to 12 seconds.
- Glide Boost
  - Movement speed bonus reduced from 50 percent to 40 percent.
Lifeweaver
- Healing Blossom
  - Maximum healing increased from 80 to 90.
- Rejuvenating Dash
  - Healing increased from 45 to 55.
- Life Grip
  - Now cleanses allies when pulled.
- Sow the Seed – Major Perk
  - Cooldown reduced from 14 to 11 seconds.
Lúcio
- Crossfade (6v6)
  - Healing reduced from 20 to 18.
- Accelerando – Major Perk
  - Changed.
  - Gain 15 percent attack speed while Lucio’s Speed Song is active, tripled during Amp It Up.
Kiriko
- Swift Step
  - Teleport range reduced from 35 to 30 meters.
- Healing Ofuda
  - Fire rate increased from 5 to 7 per second.
Mizuki
- Perk Amounts
  - Minor Perk amount increased by 16 percent.
  - Major Perk amount increased by 10 percent.
- Remedy Aura (6v6)
  - Minimum Healing reduced from 5 to 4.5.
  - Maximum Healing reduced from 20 to 18.
- Kekkai Sanctuary
  - No longer spawns if Mizuki is eliminated during the cast time.
- Katashiro Return
  - Can now activate return while other abilities are active, excluding Kekkai Sanctuary.
  - Movement speed bonus reduced from 35 percent to 30 percent.
Mercy
- Flash Heal
  - Added as a baseline ability.
  - Cooldown reduced from 15 to 12 seconds.
  - Base healing increased from 50 to 60.
  - Healing multiplier on allies below 50 percent health reduced from 3x to 2x.
- Caduceus Staff
  - Healing reduced from 60 to 55.
- Guardian Angel
  - Launch speed reduced by 10 percent.
- Flash Heal – Major Perk
  - Removed.
- Double Dose – Major Perk
  - Added.
  - Flash Heal gains an additional charge, but its base healing is reduced by 10.
Wuyang
- Rushing Torrent
  - Duration reduced from 4 to 3.5 seconds.
Zenyatta
- Orb of Discord (6v6)
  - Damage amplification reduced from 30 percent to 25 percent.

Grand Mesa event

The Grand Mesa event will be available for three weeks as part of Sierra’s lore and her fight against Talon. The journey will help you figure out who Sierra is as you explore the curated challenges to get different loot. Happening across four different beats, there’s plenty to be done before it expires on May 4.

Post-Match Accolades return

Once a match is done, you’ll have a short window to vote for the teammate or opponent who excelled. There will be different accolades to help the better performers stand out, and it’s all presented in a new 3D stage along with a crown that’s rewarded for those who are chosen as the top players.

New battle pass

A slew of new skins are available in the battle pass, including those below. More are coming to the store, as usual, too.

Antarctica map rework

The Antarctic Peninsula map has been reworked to create cleaner engagements and smoother team pushes. Icebreaker now features stronger ship theming, streamlined flanks, and new alternate paths that move naturally toward the point. Research Station opens its main choke and adds a new backside flank for better options to push and apply pressure. Underground has been updated with higher ceilings, simplified layouts, and clearer staging areas to improve visibility and overall fight flow.

New Mythic skins

The second season will feature several Mythic skins with unique abilities unlocked at different levels.

Volted Overdrive: Soldier 76 Hero skin

Soldier 76 Mythic skin — Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Level 1 unlocks an Ability VFX Toggle that adds a biotech feel to your arsenal.
Level 2 adds two additional hairstyles for you to dispense justice in style.
Level 3 introduces red/black and white/blue colorways, augmenting your cybernetic details so you can glow with dangerous intent or bright appeal.
Level 4 unlocks the Ambient VFX Toggle, making sparks fly to solidify your Mythic battlefield presence.

Sumi-ichimonji: Genji Weapon skin

Genji Mythic weapon skin — Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Level 1 unlocks the weapon, establishing your Mythic presence through unique ink and dragon details.
Level 2 adds reactivity, bringing your weapons to life with flowing splatter effects.
Level 3 unlocks two flourish animations to celebrate your eliminations by spinning your shuriken into two variations.
Level 4 lets you master the blade with a kill VFX where ink follows your command as you slash through enemies.

For the full extensive list of patch notes, visit the Overwatch website.

Overwatch Reign of Talon season 2 patch notes – Sierra, balance changes, and more

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