Overwatch 2 Players Concerned After May 15 Hotfix Patch

The Overwatch 2 Developers are back with another Stadium Patch. This marks the third consecutive week we have had a Patch for Stadium. The most recent Patch Notes are lighter, indicating that Stadium is getting closer to an ideal balance state. The question emerges whether the Live Game for Overwatch 2 should receive as many updates as Stadium has gotten?

Overwatch 2 May 15th Patch Notes

Stadium Updates

Economy

• Increased bounty cap to 3000 (up from 2000).

Armory

• Reduced timer from 100 seconds to 75 seconds in round 1 and 3.
• Reduced timer from 75 seconds to 60 seconds in round 2.

Tank

Zarya

• Reduced cash income from damage and healing by 12.5%.

Damage

Cassidy

• Reduced income from damage and healing by 12.5%.

Reaper

Revolving Ruin – Power

• Reduced Attack Speed per stack to 4% (down from 5%).
• Increased maximum stacks to 10 (up from 8).

Wraith Renewal – Power

• Fixed an issue where Wraith Renewal healing was always being doubled, regardless of what your current Life was.

Spirited to Slay – Power

• Fixed an issue that caused Reaper’s cooldowns to be reset without getting an Elimination.

Support

Ana

Home Remedy – Power

• Increased Overhealth gain to 200% (up from 100%).

Dreamy – Power

• Decreased heal to 80% (down from 100%).
• Decreased duration to 4s (down from 8s).

Venomous – Power

• Increased damage to 50 (up from 30).

Quick Scope – Rare Hero Weapon Item

• Increased Weapon Power to +10% (up from 5%).

I.V. Drip – Rare Hero Survival Item

• Increased Overhealth to 150 (up from 100).

Patch Thoughts

One of the changes that caught the eye is the change to armory time. It often felt like you were waiting longer than needed for the rounds to start. Especially now that players have a better idea of what builds they want to run, they need less time to look through items and powers. Ana felt like she would dominate Stadium, but that was not the case, so her receiving the most changes in this Patch makes sense. Reaper should be weaker, while Zarya and Cassidy must perform better in matches to snowball the game.

More Live Game Patch Updates?

With the continuous Stadium updates, the community has asked for Patches similar to those in the Live Game. The Live Game does not need as many updates, as the balance is more or less at an ideal level. Most underperforming heroes like Mercy, Lifeweaver, and Roadhog are in that category because of their kits, not hero balance. Stadium has plenty of balance irregularities, so it makes sense that Stadium receives updates more often than the Live Game.