Overwatch 2 Patch Notes (12th May 2026)
Overwatch 2's 10th Anniversary update brings a Kiriko Suzu rework, Mercy mobility revert, and a big Initiator subrole overhaul alongside seasonal celebrations.
Ten years in, and Blizzard is marking the occasion with more than cake. The May 12th update kicks off a 10th Anniversary event running until June 1st, with community challenge bars, Anniversary Lootboxes, and rotating Arcade cards that drop players back into 2016 and 2020 era Overwatch. Nostalgic, sure, but the balance changes underneath deserve just as much attention.
Kiriko's Protection Suzu is the headline rework: the ability now grants invulnerability instead of phasing targets out, but loses the 30 healing on cleanse. Enemies can still knock invulnerable targets around, which is a smart way to preserve counterplay without gutting the ability entirely. Mercy gets a partial revert, with Guardian Angel's launch speed restored and Divine Momentum removed in favour of a new range-boosting perk. The Initiator subrole has also been tightened, now triggering only on specific movement abilities like Winston's Jump Pack or D.Va's Boosters rather than any airborne moment, and the heal drops from 60 to 50.
Lúcio's Sound Barrier takes a meaningful hit too, down from 750 to 625 overhealth and losing a full second of duration. I think that one's overdue. Here's the full breakdown.
Full Patch Notes
Patch Notes
Overwatch Retail Patch Notes - May 12, 2026
10th Anniversary
The last 10 years have been full of countless memories and epic matches, and we couldn't be more grateful to this amazing community. Whether you've been here since Day 1 or since our most recent Season 1, thank you for playing!
To celebrate, from 5/12 - 6/1 you can complete challenges to earn unique Anniversary Lootboxes packed with both new and nostalgic cosmetics - many created by players just like you! On top of that, each challenge you complete contributes to a Global Community Progress Bar. Every week, the community can work together to progress the reward bar past each checkpoint - upgrading that week's reward of a single regular Lootbox to include Epic and Legendary boxes as well!
And for those who like going the extra mile, there will be especially tough Prestige challenges to complete, which will net you even more rewards and extra progress toward upgrading the Community reward.
We'll also be running a different special Arcade card each week, where you can step into the state of the game as it existed in Overwatch eras past. The cards are as follows:
- Week 1: Overwatch Classic 2016
- Week 2: Mystery Showdown
- Week 3: Overwatch Classic 2020
We're excited to share the next 10 years and beyond with all of you, and can't wait to celebrate the game's history (and it's future) together. Are you with us?
Junkrat's Loot Hunt
Junkrat's Loot Hunt is back again, running from June 5-8! Earn lootboxes by completing challenges that unlock as you play!
General Updates
- All heroes now level up faster.
Whether you're trying a new hero or aspiring towards Ascended on your favorites, we want to make it faster to earn levels and rewards.
- Changed the default setting for "Play Sound When Teammate Eliminated" and "Play Sound When Enemy Eliminated" to "On".
- Added new keyword "Swap Reloads" to the Advanced Info Panel.
- Definition: "Fully reloads the hero's weapon after a delay when using another weapon, an alternate mode, or during a Transformation."
- This keyword has replaced the "Reloads" keyword on all relevant, with the key difference being that these are not instant reloads and have various unique passive reload times that are also now displayed in the line items of the Advanced Info Panel for all relevant abilities.
- Abilities that instantly reload weapons still use the "Reloads" keyword.
- Adjusted Post Match Accolades cards to show underrepresented statistics more often and lessen the frequency of overrepresented statistics.
Competitive Play Updates
- Increased requirement to unlock Competitive Play from 20 wins to 50 wins.
Hero Updates
UI Updates

Ramattra

- Cooldown is now visible while Nemesis Form is active.

Brigitte

- Added a custom UI element showing how many allies are currently being healed by Inspire.
- This UI element can be toggled on/off in Brigitte's Hero Options.
Tank
- No longer triggers while airborne.
- Now triggers when using a specified movement ability:
- Winston – Jump Pack
- D.Va – Boosters
- Hazard – Violent Lunge
- Wrecking Ball – Grappling Claw
- Doomfist – Rocket Punch
- Heal amount reduced from 60 to 50.
This change makes the Initiator subrole more deliberate. Rather than activating passively while airborne, tying the trigger to specific movement abilities better integrates the subrole into each hero’s core gameplay loop and gives players more agency over when to access its healing. The healing amount has also been reduced to lower overall effectiveness of the subrole.

D.Va
This change reduces Micro Missiles’ effectiveness at quickly eliminating lower maximum health targets, lowering D.Va’s assassination potential.

- Impact damage reduced from 3 to 2.

Doomfist
Seismic Slam’s shockwave is now more tightly synchronized with its visual impact, preventing cases where the effect could appear misplaced. This also ensures the camera lock occurs at the moment of impact, rather than triggering early if the camera is adjusted during the slam.

- Camera lock and shockwave effects now trigger later to better align with the animation.

- Added new visual and sound effects that play when Empowered Punch is about to time out.

Junker Queen
With limited defensive mitigation, Junker Queen struggles to sustain during extended engagements. This adjustment increases the reward for successfully applying Wounds and reinforces her aggressive playstyle.

- (5v5 only) Wound damage self-healing multiplier increased from 2.25x to 2.5x.
Damage

Emre
Emre’s ability to sustain while applying consistent close‑range pressure was exceeding intended levels. Reducing Siphon Blaster’s healing conversion lowers survivability. Cyber Frag’s minimum radius has also been reduced to require greater precision to get maximum value.

- Healing conversion reduced from 80% to 60%.

- Radius of maximum explosion damage reduced from 2 to 1.5 meters.

Freja
Reducing Updraft’s cooldown and removing Rising Winds’ height penalty improves Freja’s mobility and positioning. Increasing Bounty Hunting’s Ultimate charge bonus rewards players for securing final blows with more frequent access to Bola Shot.
Rising Winds – Major Perk
- No longer reduces the height gained from Updraft.

- Cooldown reduced from 12 to 10 seconds.

- Bonus Ultimate charge increased from 25% to 33%.

Sierra

- Weapon fire volume reduced.

Pharah
Pharah’s recent damage‑focused perks have improved her kill potential, but their combined consistency has pushed her burst damage too high and are being reduced.
Concussive Force – Minor Perk
- Damage reduced from 50 to 30.
Rocket Salvo – Major Perk
- Damage reduced per rocket from 40 to 30.
Support

Baptiste
Regenerative Burst’s long cooldown limited its availability during fights. Reducing the cooldown and increasing its healing output allows Baptiste to more reliably support himself and his team during engagements.

- Instant healing increased from 40 to 50.
- Healing over time increased from 40 to 50.
- Cooldown reduced from 14 to 12 seconds.

Illari
While Illari remains a strong offensive support, Solar Rifle’s base projectile size was too large relative to the damage output. Removing the additional base projectile size better aligns the weapon’s accuracy with other hitscan heroes.

- Base projectile size reduced from 0.05 to 0.
- Hitscan Global Projectile Size Bonus still applies (0.07).

Kiriko
Shifting Protection Suzu’s effect to invulnerability allows affected targets to remain interactable, preserving counterplay such as knockbacks while retaining Suzu’s defensive value. Removing additional healing on cleanse reduces the ability’s burst healing potential.

- Additional healing after negative status cleanse removed (was 30).
- Now makes targets invulnerable instead of phased out.

Lúcio
Sound Barrier remains one of the most impactful defensive ultimates when timed well. Reducing both its overhealth and duration shortens the mitigation window and places greater emphasis on timing.

- Overhealth granted reduced from 750 to 625.
- Duration reduced from 6 to 5 seconds.

Mercy
Mercy’s Season 2 mobility reduction had an outsized impact on her core gameplay flow. Restoring Guardian Angel’s base functionality reestablishes that feel, while removing Divine Momentum addresses the extreme mobility cases that motivated the original change.
Divine Momentum – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Winged Reach – Minor Perk
- New.
- Guardian Angel's range is increased by 30%.

- Launch speed increased by 10%. (Reverted to previous value)

Mizuki
Allowing Kekkai Sanctuary to absorb projectiles from both directions improves clarity and creates meaningful interactions when enemies push inside the barrier. Healing and duration have been reduced to offset the additional defensive value.

- Now absorbs enemy projectiles exiting the Sanctuary in addition to enemy projectiles entering the Sanctuary.
- Healing over time reduced from 50/s to 40/s.
- Duration reduced from 7 to 6 seconds.
Major Hero Bug Fixes

Lúcio

- Passive self-healing penalty is now correctly at 60% (was 70%).

Wuyang

- Fixed an issue where armor's damage reduction was being applied twice to Xuanwu Staff orbs.
Core Game Updates
- Re-enabled Perks.
Stadium Updates
- Increased the timer for a match to end automatically due to a player leaving the match to 3 minutes to cover the Armory timer.
Tank

Doomfist
Doomfist has been struggling in Stadium, so we're improving the damage and survivability of some of his core powers and some underutilized options. We're also treating his Passive similarly to many non-scaling Barriers, where they will naturally scale over time from currency.
- [The Best Defense] now scales proportionally with the Passive Health Gain from Currency.
Asteroid Smash - Power
- Cooldown reduced to 8s (Down from 10s).
Block Party - Power
- Ally Healing increased to 20% (Up from 15%).
Helping Hand - Power
- Overhealth Max Life Scaling increased to 10% (Up from 8%).
Overpowered - Power
- Level 3 Punch Bonus Damage increased to 50% (Up from 25%).
Rising Uppercut - Power
- Bonus damage increased to 20 (Up from 10).

Reinhardt
To Me, My Friends has been overperforming, granting too much output for how easy to use and consistent it is. We're tuning down the effectiveness to better match its execution burden.
To Me, My Friends - Power
- Barrier Healing per 1s decreased to 3% of Max Life (Down from 5%).
Damage

Freja
We're reducing the consistency of Freja's Machine Gun build by requiring her to play closer to her enemies to get full value from her powers.
- Decreased Currency from Healing and Damage by 5%.
Volley à Deux - Power
- Spread of extra bolts increased by 66%.
Forager - Power
- Max Life Healing reduced to 4% (Down from 6%).

Reaper
This is a mini rework designed to give Reaper a more potent anti-air build option, especially with the introduction of the Cat to the roster.
Backstabber - Power
- Reworked to "[Dire Triggers] deals 30(AP) additional damage over 3s to Airborne enemies and to enemies beyond 8m."
Trigger Finger - Power
- New.
- After use an ability or reloading, refresh cooldown of [Dire Triggers].
Vampiric Touch - Power
- Removed.

Soldier: 76
This interaction of Powers combined with Double Helix has proven to be out of bounds, so we're limiting how much Overhealth this setup grants to be more in line with Soldier: 76's other Power options.
Frontliners - Power
- Applied reduced effectiveness of Biotic Fields spawned via Hunker Down (50%) to Overhealth.

Vendetta
Vendetta's nerfs in Core have caused her to underperform in Stadium so we're bumping up her currency gain to be more in line with other Damage heroes.
- Increased Currency gain from Healing and Damage by 5%.
Support

Jetpack Cat
Cat.
Lindholm Inspiration - Power
- When [Purr] ends, all other allies within [Purr]'s radius gain Overhealth equal to 40% of damage dealt during [Purr] and 10% to yourself for 3s.
Purr-sistence - Power
- [Purr] persists 15% longer for each ally or enemy currently affected by [Purr], up to 75%. Amount of healing pulses resets every 4 pulses.
Territorial - Power
- Enemies within your [Purr] take damage equal to 30% of its healing.
Battle Fur-mation - Power
- [Lifeline] can tether to 1 additional ally.
Bell Bomb - Power
- Ability: [Lifeline] tethers an explosive Toy Ball, that explodes for up to 100 (AP) damage on impact. (6s Cooldown).
Tow Beans - Power
- When you release a target from [Lifeline] or [Catnapper], restore 20% Fuel. Restore 1% Fuel for every 10 Ability Damage dealt.
Frenzy - Power
- Ability: Your next [Quick Melee] deals 40 damage over 3s and increases [Quick Melee] Attack Speed by 100% for 1s (12s Cooldown).
Tomcat Reserves - Power
- While [Frenetic Flight] is active, [Purr]'s cooldown refreshes 40% faster and all other ability cooldowns refresh 80% faster.
Zoomies - Power
- After activating [Frenetic Flight] for 0.5s, next time you collide with an enemy, explode for up 120 damage and restore up to 40% fuel based on distance travelled.
Ambidex-fur-ous - Power
- While [Purr] is active, shoot both guns. The bonus shot deals 25% damage.
Bouncing Biscuits - Power
- When hitting an ally with [Biotic Pawjectiles], it bounces to 1 nearby ally within 5m at 25% effectiveness.
Scratch-ageddon - Power
- +25% Starting Ultimate Charge. [Catnapper] scratches enemies on impact, slowing them and dealing 150 damage over 3s.
Toxmoplasmosis - Rare Weapon Hero Item
- 5% Ability Power
- 10% Melee Damage
- [Quick Melee] damage Slows enemies by 10% and Reveals them for 3s.
- 4000 Cost
Recycling Rounds - Epic Weapon Hero Item
- 15% Attack Speed
- While [Purr] is active, restore 20% Max Ammo every 1s.
- 11000 Cost
Tether Speed - Rare Ability Hero Item
- 25 Shields
- 5% Ability Power
- When an ally is released from [Lifeline], they gain 30% Move Speed for 3s.
- 4000 Cost
Purr-imeter Expander - Epic Ability Hero Item
- 10% Ability Power
- 40% [Purr] Radius
- 10000 Cost
Big Boop - Rare Survival Hero Item
- +25 Armor
- +50% [Purr] Knockback Power
- [Purr] Knockback Damage slows enemies by 30% for 3s.
- 3750 Cost
Tether Toughness - Epic Survival Hero Item
- 50 Health
- While [Lifeline] is active, gain 1% Ultimate Charge for every ally tethered and grant 20 Overhealth to them, up to 100, every 1s.
- 9000 Cost
Fuel Pod - Epic Survival Hero Item
- 25 Shields
- 25% [Frenetic Flight] Fuel
- 10000 Cost

Wuyang
The burst damage of Paindrops has been an outlier, so we're shaving off a bit of damage here.
Paindrops - Power
- Bonus Orb Damage decreased to 30% (Down from 40%).
Splish Splash - Power
- Cooldown reduced to 10s (Down from 15s).

Zenyatta
Zenyatta's survivability has been an outlier among the supports, so we're reducing some of his self healing capabilities.
Enlightenment - Power
- Healing from damage dealt decreased to 20% (Down from 30%).
General Item Changes
Skyline Nanites - Rare Ability General Item
- Bonus Damage to Airborne targets increased from 20% to 25%.
Aerial Distresser - Epic Weapon General Item
- Bonus Damage to Airborne targets increased from 25% to 30%.
Sundering Vial - Epic Survival General Item
- Overhealth Reduction internal cooldown reduced from 5s to 3s.
- Overhealth reduction effect duration increased from 3s to 5s.
Necrotic Repellant - Epic Gadget
- Range increased from 6m to 8m.
Colossus Core - Epic Gadget
- Duration decreased from 5s to 3s.
Refresher - Epic Gadget
- Cost decreased from 13000 to 12000.
We're improving some under-utilized counter options and improving some of the anti-air options due to the increased number of fliers in the roster.
Website Updates
- Hero Stats now appear under Heroes → Hero Stats.
- Hero Ban Rates are now displayed on the PlayOverwatch website in Hero Stats.
- Hero Pick Rates and Win Rates are still included in Hero Stats.
- The existing Heroes page has been renamed to Hero Gallery.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where Mizuki’s soft targeting would no longer show while dead.
- Fixed an issue where Doomfist’s Seismic Slam would sometimes cause a desync issue when landing on the floor.
- Fixed an issue that incorrectly disabled the Requeue and Leave Game buttons in competitive modes during the post‑match accolades screen.
- Fixed an issue preventing stick and d‑pad navigation during “While You Wait.”
- Fixed Vendetta's overhead not getting kill credit when forcing enemies into pits.
- Fixed Brigitte's VO for Repair Packs being on cooldown not being played under the correct conditions.
- Fixed an issue where Ramattra's Power Final Form was not properly activating when entering Nemesis Form via Annihilation.
- Fixed an issue where Ramattra's Item R-7000 Powercell was not properly granting Weapon Power after its max Weapon Power bonus was reached.
- Fixed an issue where Ramattra's Power Void Blight's damage was not scaling with Weapon Power.
- Fixed an issue where Barrier Size was not increasing when Ramattra picked both Recursion Relay and Ramparts.
- Fixed an issue where Ramattra's Void Barrier was not triggering On Ability items.
- Fixed an issue where combining Swirling Ward and Final Form would cause Ravenous Vortex to heal enemies on Ramattra.
- Fixed an issue where Cybervenom applies Healing Reduction debuff to allies that are critically healed via Juno's Power MediMaster.
- Fixed an issue where Mercy's Flash Heal wasn't triggering On Ability Items.
Live Patch Notes
These patch notes represent general changes made to the Live version of Overwatch and the balance changes listed affect Quick Play, Competitive Play, Arcade, and Custom Games.
Stay on top of every update — find all the latest patch notes and gaming news at XP Gained. Join our Discord for live patch note alerts and discussion.
Written by
Nathan LeesGaming journalist and founder of XP Gained. Covering patch notes, breaking news, and updates across 160+ games.
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