Season 3 of Overwatch 2 is here and it is the first one without a new hero. Though there is no hero, there are map and other changes, including some pretty major Mercy changes. Blizzard has also revealed that starting in season 4, they are removing the map pool and that all maps will be available going forward.
Antarctic Peninsula
There is a new map called Antarctic Peninsula. As its name implies, it takes place in the Antarctic. The map features penguins and an area where you can attack water and have fish fly out of it. The map is pretty similar to the training area and if you spent a lot of time there, it will feel very familiar.
NEW FEATURE: STREAMER PROTECT
Players can activate streamer protect from the in-game settings. This will hide yours and others’ names while streaming Overwatch. It is a client side option, so your name will not be hidden from other players, just hidden on your stream. All in all, this seems pretty useless compared to other games’ streamer mode.
Overall Changes
Players can now endorse members of the opposing team. This means that if you are in a full party, you still have thee option and ability to endorse and be endorsed after games. Speaking of after games, you can now view scoreboards from your previous matches in the View Game Reports screen. Previously you couldn’t see the scoreboards unless you were playing back a game.
Legacy credits are now earnable in the Battle Pass. Previously called Legacy Credits, these weren’t able to be earned in Overwatch 2 and were instead carried over from the previous game. These credits can be used to purchase skins that were available in Overwatch 1.
When changing heroes, your ultimate charge will be reduced to 25% as opposed to the 30% it previously was. Also when playing game modes where you can have more than one tank, all tank health will be reduced.
There’s some big competitive changes as well. In seasons 1 and 2, you needed 7 wins or 20 losses to get an initial rank, then the same number to either rank up or down. Season 3 is reducing the numbers to 5 wins or 15 losses. I think this is still too much and it should go back to Overwatch 1’s ranking system, but it is a step in the right direction. I haven’t personally played the new system, but less time between rank changes is a good idea.
Hero Changes
The biggest change to heroes is Mercy. Her movement ability cooldown is going down a full second to 2.5 seconds. Mercy’s healing per second is being reduced to 45, but will also be increased 50% for teammates under half health. She’s also losing the ability to heal over time that all the other support heroes have. She will now self heal equal to 25% of her output. These changes are meant to force her to heal others more instead of damage boosting as much as players have been doing. I am not a Mercy player and I can feel these changes. She is, without a doubt, a lot easier to kill.
Reinhardt also had some significant changes as well. His charge cooldown has gone down to 7 seconds and his fire strike damage has increased to 100 from 90. His Earthshatter direct hit damage has been reduced to 170 while increasing the knockdown duration to 2.75 seconds. He feels good, even with these changes, he doesn’t feel much different if at all.
Orissa’s Augmented Fusion Driver now damages less at 15 meters as opposed to 25. Personally, this one isn’t that noticeable as someone who plays a lot of Orissa. Ramattra’s Ultimate now lasts a maximum of 20 seconds, which still seems really long, but at least there is a time limit for it now, instead of going on potentially forever. It will also take longer for him to get his Ultimate. Roadhog’s Ultimate also got increased from 6 seconds to 8 seconds. Roadhog, Reinhardt, Wrecking Ball, Zarya, Soldier:76, and Symmetra’s Ultimates all cost more.
Mei, Pharah, Reaper, Brigitte, Lucio, and Moira’s Ultimates have all been reduced. I can definitely feel Mei and Brigitte’s reduced cost, these two have been having Ultimates a lot more often in games I’ve played.
Final Thoughts
Overall these changes are good. They’re not perfect, not by a long shot, but it feels good. I am enjoying the new season and have purchased the Battle Pass after being unsure because there’s no hero this time around. The new skins look great and the fact that you can get credits for even more skins, I think it’s a good deal. I’m having fun and will be getting to level 80 of the pass, like I have the previous two seasons.
