Overwatch 2's May 2025 Update Brings Balance Changes and Hotfixes

Overwatch 2 rolled out a major update on May 1, 2025, bringing balance adjustments to some heroes, with special emphasis on tuning the new Stadium mode. This patch is part of the regular improvements under Season 16, which has already received good player response following the addition of Stadium. The mode has attracted attention due to its competitive structure, with teams of five competing in a best-of-seven series, and players able to gain in-game currency to spend on upgrades and strengthen their heroes.

Stadium Mode Faces Early Challenges

Stadium mode has fast become the mainstay of Overwatch 2's current season. It gives players a chance to plan and become more powerful in matches, just like in other tactical shooters like Counter-Strike 2. The mode is also having growing pains, though. Glitches like high rates of players quitting partway through matches and performance issues on older hardware have been reported. Though the mode has led to a surge in player base, the development team is actively tracking such issues and will likely rectify them in the near future.

Hero Adjustments

The recent patch has significantly changed many heroes, specifically with respect to the economy of Stadium Cash, the currency of the game that can be accumulated during games. A few heroes such as Kiriko, Soldier: 76, and Reaper were gaining Stadium Cash too fast, and so their rewards were reduced. Damage and healing for Kiriko were both changed by 16.67%, and Soldier: 76 was subjected to an equal drop of 12.5%, with his Rocket Visor power also undergoing a change to being shorter in duration and restoring more ammo. 

Tank and Damage Heroes Get Tweaks

D.Va, a tank from the game, had her Nitrous Nano Glue item changed, which used to have her come back to her mech too quickly. The health of this item was decreased, along with a reduction in the Nano Boost's duration. Orisa's Solar Regenergy skill also received a decrease in its healing and armor regain, bringing it more in line with items of the same price.

Zarya's Particle Barrier health scaling was cut in half, reducing her survivability when the barrier is active. Mei’s damage output has been adjusted to provide more knockback with fewer instances, while Reaper saw a slight reduction in Stadium Cash earnings and changes to his power abilities.

Support Role Adjustments: Kiriko and Lucio in the Spotlight

Support heroes Kiriko and Lucio also received attention in this update. Kiriko's Stadium Cash gain was decreased by 16.67% because she could gain too much currency too fast, whereas Lucio had an increase in the amount of Stadium Cash he could gain. Lucio's Crowd Pleaser ability received a small nerf, decreasing the healing it gives, whereas his Megaphone ability had a decrease in the length of its Amp It Up effect. Moreover, another support hero, Juno, also had a boost in her Stadium Cash gains, thus a more equitable balance across all roles.

Further Adjustments to Come

With the dev team remaining keen on observing player comments, further adjustments to weaker powers and items are on the horizon. As high as expectations are with Stadium mode, Blizzard seems dedicated to perfecting the gameplay experience as well as ironing out balance issues as well as performance technical issues.

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This May update is the first in a series of continuous changes for Overwatch 2, and more will likely happen as the season goes on and additional features get tested. Players can look forward to continued updates in an effort to make the overall experience better, making sure that Stadium is a fun and balanced mode for the Overwatch community.