Overwatch 2 Season 12 mid-season update teases tank nerfs

Amy Chen

Amy Chen

“Tank survivability shot up and it’s felt very difficult to punish Tanks effectively (D.Va especially).”

Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller just teased some tank nerfs set for the Overwatch 2 Season 12 mid-season update. In the post, Keller also revealed that his team is experimenting with adjustments to Sombra, looking into light changes to the game's Clash mode, and more.

D.Va is likely getting nerfed in the Overwatch 2 Season 12 mid-season update (Image via esports.gg)
D.Va is likely getting nerfed in the Overwatch 2 Season 12 mid-season update (Image via esports.gg)

Overwatch 2 director's take September 13

  • Adjustments to tank survivability with a focus on armor and defensive passives
  • Changes to Sombra’s Stealth duration (beyond the mid-season balance changes)
  • Reduced effectiveness of certain hero counters like beam damage against a subset of tanks (beyond the mid-season balance changes)
  • Juno to sit in her current state for a bit
  • Clash adjustment priorities
    • Decrease the stomp rate
    • Decrease the number of matches with very short durations
    • Incentivize attacking objectives A or E for the attackers
    • Increase the overall feeling of fairness
    • Make this game mode easier to understand
Reinhardt is a tank in Overwatch 2 (Image via esports.gg)
Reinhardt is a tank in Overwatch 2 (Image via esports.gg)

Overwatch 2 nerfs tanks in mid-season update

According to the Sept. 13 Overwatch director's take, the mid-season update is going to nerf the survivability of tanks by adjusting armor and defensive passives.

"Since our bigger [tank] patch in 2.11.1, tank survivability shot up and it’s felt very difficult to punish [tank] effectively (D.Va especially)," Keller explained, adding the part about armor adjustments and passives.

Sombra is a damage hero in Overwatch 2 (Image via esports.gg)
Sombra is a damage hero in Overwatch 2 (Image via esports.gg)

More Overwatch 2 Season 12 updates

As for additional changes, Keller revealed that his team is looking into hero counters plus updates to Sombra's Stealth duration.

"Beyond the [mid-season] balance changes, we’re currently experimenting with reducing the effectiveness of certain hero counters, such as beam damage against a subset of [tanks] while they are using their defensive abilities," he explained.

That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more news and updates.