Overwatch 2 Season 17 Buffing Bastion and Making Changes to Other Heroes

Overwatch 2 just revealed some of the balance changes coming in Season 17, including a 10% reduction to Bastion’s size. This hilarious buff arrives alongside adjustments to Junker Queen, Pharah, Lifeweaver, and more when Overwatch 2 Season 17 begins on June 24.

The 17th season of Overwatch 2 is right around the corner. To hype players up for the new release, Overwatch 2 recently confirmed a trailer for the arcade-themed Season 17, titled Powered Up!, will be arriving on June 17, a week before its release on the 24th.

Overwatch 2: Stadium Hero Tier List (Season 16)

Overwatch 2 Stadium players can get an idea of where each hero currently stands with the help of this detailed tier list.

Now, Overwatch 2 has pulled back the curtain on some of the hero changes coming in the update. In a recent Weekly Recall blog post, Overwatch 2 associate hero designer Scott “Custa” Kennedy revealed how data and feedback affect balance adjustments, and teased some of the changes coming in the next update. Among all of these buffs and nerfs, one in particular stood out: Overwatch 2 is shrinking Bastion in Season 17. Though the original target was to make him 15% smaller, Kennedy admitted it made him “too cute,” causing Overwatch 2 to land on a 10% reduction instead, making him a harder target to hit and aiding in his survivability.

Confirmed Overwatch 2 Season 17 Balance Adjustments

Damage role passive healing penalty increased to 30% (was 25%)
Global health regeneration timer increased to 6 seconds (was 5)
Bastion size reduced by 10%
Junker Queen Commanding Shout prioritizes Overhealth for allies
Quality-of-life improvements to minor Perks:
- Pharah’s Helix Shields
- Lifeweaver’s Cleansing Grasp

Outside this particularly comical change, Kennedy revealed a few other improvements as well. Overwatch 2 will be giving Junker Queen an “important change” to Commanding Shout that prioritizes ally Overhealth to help her be a stronger offensive tank, while Pharah and Lifeweaver will see quality-of-life improvements to their Helix Shields and Cleansing Grasp Perks respectively. Fans can expect plenty of other minor balance changes once the update arrives.

Perhaps the most impactful change actually comes as yet another adjustment to global passives. The ever-changing healing reduction for the damage role passive in Overwatch 2 is being increased from 25% to 30%, and the basic global health regeneration timer is increasing to six seconds from five, which should help counter the high healing numbers support characters are putting out right now, and make damage heroes feel appropriately dangerous.

Kennedy spoke briefly about future hero balance adjustments to Sombra. The resident hacker of Overwatch 2 is getting some changes soon due to her extremely high ban rate, but according to Kennedy, she is a “complex case that can’t be solved overnight.” From the sounds of it, Sombra may not be getting any noteworthy nerfs in Season 17, but players shouldn’t be surprised if she gets another significant adjustment – or even another full-blown rework – in the near future.