Mercy, Juno, and Sombra among heroes to receive new Perks in Overwatch 2’s season 16

Overwatch 2's introduction of Perks this season has changed the game in a fun way, but some heroes are having a bit too much fun while others need some help in its next update. In a new Director's Take blog for OW2, associate game director Alec Dawson detailed Perk changes coming in the season 16 update less than two weeks away, explaining how Blizzard decides what to do when it comes to balancing Perks moving forward after their debut. Image via Blizzard Entertainment "We look at a combination of what we’re seeing in the data—like pick rate gaps—and the amount of influence Perks have in moment-to-moment gameplay," Dawson said in the blog post. "If we feel a hero has a less impactful perk set overall, we also wanted to offer them new options. There’s also constant iteration going on behind the scenes to dream up bigger and better options for future seasons." Some of those "less impactful" Perks, for example, are Mercy's Angelic Recovery, Sombra's Stack Overflow, and Juno's Re-Boots, which are all being replaced. And that's just the beginning of what the patch will entail, according to Dawson. Here are some of the new Perks coming in season 16: Mercy New Minor Perk: Angelic Resurrection - Gives 100 overhealth upon casting Resurrect. Replaces Angelic Recovery. Sombra New Major Perk: Viral Replication - Allows Virus to spread to nearby enemies. Replaces Stack Overflow. Juno New Major Perk: Locked On - Lowers cooldown on Pulsar Torpedoes for every enemy hit. Replaces Re-Boots. Dawson also teased that some Perks are a bit too strong, like Tracer's which allow her to triple Blink, and that will likely be nerfed or "dialed back," while the team is also aware that players have responded well to Perks that bring back old kit abilities like Orisa's shield and Hanzo's Scatter Arrow. Elsewhere in the update, new hero Freja will receive some buffs in light of her playtest a couple weekends ago. Dawson says that her Revdraw Crossbow will now shot 12 shots before max spread, increased from eight, and her ultimate's damage over time is getting an increase along with an increase to its max radius. These changes and more will go live in OW2's season 16, which is set to drop on April 22. The post Mercy, Juno, and Sombra among heroes to receive new Perks in Overwatch 2’s season 16 appeared first on Destructoid.

Apr 10, 2025 - 19:56
 0
Mercy, Juno, and Sombra among heroes to receive new Perks in Overwatch 2’s season 16

OW2 Mercy in her Rose Gold skin

Overwatch 2's introduction of Perks this season has changed the game in a fun way, but some heroes are having a bit too much fun while others need some help in its next update.

In a new Director's Take blog for OW2, associate game director Alec Dawson detailed Perk changes coming in the season 16 update less than two weeks away, explaining how Blizzard decides what to do when it comes to balancing Perks moving forward after their debut.

Overwatch 2 Juno playable weekend
Image via Blizzard Entertainment

"We look at a combination of what we’re seeing in the data—like pick rate gaps—and the amount of influence Perks have in moment-to-moment gameplay," Dawson said in the blog post. "If we feel a hero has a less impactful perk set overall, we also wanted to offer them new options. There’s also constant iteration going on behind the scenes to dream up bigger and better options for future seasons."

Some of those "less impactful" Perks, for example, are Mercy's Angelic Recovery, Sombra's Stack Overflow, and Juno's Re-Boots, which are all being replaced. And that's just the beginning of what the patch will entail, according to Dawson.

Here are some of the new Perks coming in season 16:

  • Mercy
    • New Minor Perk: Angelic Resurrection - Gives 100 overhealth upon casting Resurrect.
      • Replaces Angelic Recovery.
  • Sombra
    • New Major Perk: Viral Replication - Allows Virus to spread to nearby enemies.
      • Replaces Stack Overflow.
  • Juno
    • New Major Perk: Locked On - Lowers cooldown on Pulsar Torpedoes for every enemy hit.
      • Replaces Re-Boots.

Dawson also teased that some Perks are a bit too strong, like Tracer's which allow her to triple Blink, and that will likely be nerfed or "dialed back," while the team is also aware that players have responded well to Perks that bring back old kit abilities like Orisa's shield and Hanzo's Scatter Arrow.

Elsewhere in the update, new hero Freja will receive some buffs in light of her playtest a couple weekends ago. Dawson says that her Revdraw Crossbow will now shot 12 shots before max spread, increased from eight, and her ultimate's damage over time is getting an increase along with an increase to its max radius.

These changes and more will go live in OW2's season 16, which is set to drop on April 22.

The post Mercy, Juno, and Sombra among heroes to receive new Perks in Overwatch 2’s season 16 appeared first on Destructoid.