The Overwatch 2 game director apologized after announcing controversial new changes coming with the game's next seasonal update. Overwatch 2's Season 9 is expected to launch on February 20th.

Recently, Overwatch 2 announced big shakeups to the game's heroes. Beginning with Season 9, all Tank and Damage heroes will receive a less powerful version of the Support class' self-healing passive ability. This will likely shift Overwatch 2's meta quite drastically due to Damage heroes, in particular, not needing to rely on the healing abilities of their Support teammates. Some fans hope that the change will help revitalize Overwatch 2's gameplay, while many others worry that the change will devalue the importance of teamplay and teamfighting, which are some of the more unique features of the hero-based FPS game. In response to this community outcry, an Overwatch 2 developer shared his thoughts.

Aaron Keller, Overwatch 2's game director, explained that "it was a mistake to talk about this lone change out of context, since its a part of a much bigger set coming to Season 9. Sorry for that, and I look forward to more discussion around S9 balance changes when we drop more details." Keller further detailed that with the Season 9 update, Overwatch 2's development team is trying to focus on facets like "damage spikiness in game, the role of DPS in securing kills, and the strength of healing." While Overwatch 2's surprising change to Tank and Damage heroes will likely play a big part in addressing those topics, it's apparently just one of the multiple changes coming to the game with Season 9.

It was a mistake to talk about this lone change out of context, since its a part of a much bigger set coming to Season 9. Sorry for that, and I look forward to more discussion around S9 balance changes when we drop more details.

— Aaron Keller (@aaronkellerOW) January 13, 2024

Some fans have speculated that the Tank and Damage class' new healing ability will allow Overwatch 2's best Support and Tank combos to play more closely, while Damage heroes might be somewhat untethered from needing to rely on their Support teammates' healing abilities. This could lead to a stronger emphasis on individual playmaking rather than Overwatch 2's typical focus on teamfighting. It's still unclear how drastically Overwatch 2's gameplay will shift following the Season 9 update, but it's likely that players will feel a noticeable change from game to game.

It was a mistake to talk about this lone change out of context, since its a part of a much bigger set coming to Season 9. Sorry for that, and I look forward to more discussion around S9 balance changes when we drop more details.

Overwatch 2's Season 9 will bring other changes as well, like a new Competitive division, the return of placement matches, Emerald Weapons, and more. While Overwatch 2 will receive some major additions on Season 9's expected release date of February 20th, fans might not have to wait that long for some other interesting updates.

An Overwatch 2 developer recently shared his plans for future balance changes regarding Mauga and Orisa, two Tanks who have struggled to find a fair place within the meta recently. He explained that Mauga may be made into a more aggressive Tank, while Orisa might see changes to her power budget. It's not yet clear when exactly these changes will be implemented.

Posted: Jan 20, 2024 1:49 pm
Related Forum: PC Gaming Forum

Source: https://gamerant.com/overwatch-2-season-9-changes-apology/