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Overwatch Season 5 Patch Notes: Genji Buff, Cassidy Nerf and More
Overwatch Season 5 is now live, and with it came several new additions as well as some much‑needed adjustments. While hero balance updates are kept to a minimum this time, there are still some interesting changes.
Doctrine officially enters the server, but with some necessary tweaks. The new Support hero sees massive nerfs compared to his Hero Trial version. Additionally, Genji, D.Va, and Domina get buffs, Bastion and Cassidy receive small nerfs, and Ana and Shion see Perk swaps.
Blizzard seems to have put an end to the Jetpack Cat‑Cassidy Deadeye combo with this update. The developers also nerfed the cheeky sightline that Defenders used to exploit on Eichenwalde's first chokepoint.
Read on for a deep dive into the Overwatch Season 5 patch notes.
Core Game Updates
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Advanced Info Panel: Added Projectile Speed and Projectile Size to all relevant abilities and weapons. Additionally, added new keywords and line items to describe complex ability mechanics in detail.
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Protects: Tanks with Damage Reduction and Overhealth abilities are now more likely to get Protects when using these abilities and while being targeted, instead of nearby allies. Increased cooldown and lowered damage mitigation threshold for Protects to give tanks a chance to earn Protects more often.
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Ping system: Removed text in the chat box that was added in Season 4 when pinging enemy heroes to avoid clutter.
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Mystery Heroes: 3 Tank maximum restored.
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Map Voting: Your last 2 maps played will not be offered within 2 hours. Escort and Hybrid will now be treated as the same mode, so Map Voting offers at least two different game modes. The random map does not follow these new rules and can be any mode.
Map Updates
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Grímsvötn: New Escort map added.
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Halloween Maps: Halloween-themed versions of Hollywood, Lijang Tower, and Château Guillard are available now through November 3rd in all queues.
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Eichenwalde: Fixed an old pesky sightline through a door near the first chokepoint.
Hero Reworks
Roadhog and Sombra underwent massive reworks in Overwatch Season 5. Here’s our full breakdown of the changes.
Hero Balance Changes
Tank
|
Hero |
Ability/Perk |
Change |
|
D.Va |
Micro Missiles |
Fire rate increased from 11 to 14 shots per second. |
|
Domina |
Crystal Charge |
Cooldown reduced from 8 to 7 seconds. |
|
Reconstruction (Passive) |
Ability lifesteal increased from 75% to 100%. |
Damage
|
Hero |
Ability/Perk |
Change |
|
Bastion |
Reconfigure |
Duration reduced from 6 to 5 seconds. |
|
Cassidy |
Deadeye |
Now prevents attaching to Jetpack Cat's Lifeline. |
|
Emre |
Cyber Frag |
Cooldown reduced from 10 to 9 seconds. |
|
Genji |
Swift Strike |
Damage increased from 50 to 60. |
|
Dragonblade |
Damage reduced from 110 to 100. Swing speed increased by 15%. | |
|
Shion |
Rapid Reload (Minor Perk) |
Removed. |
|
Survival Instinct (Minor Perk) |
New. Evade's overhealth duration is increased by 1 second. |
Support
|
Hero |
Ability/Perk |
Change |
|
Ana |
Groggy (Minor Perk) |
Removed. |
|
Local Anesthetic (Minor Perk) |
New. Sleep dart explodes on impact, slowing enemies and dealing 45 damage over 3 seconds. | |
|
Doctrine |
Ultimate cost |
Increased by 8%. |
|
Transfusion (Major Perk) |
Damage and healing conversion rate reduced by 50%. | |
|
Invigorating Drones |
Attack Speed reduced from 35% to 30%. | |
|
Shrouded Momentum |
Cooldown increased from 7 to 8 seconds. Damage reduction reduced from 50% to 40%. No longer provides critical hit immunity while active. | |
|
Deliverance |
Drone Fire Rate increased from 4 to 5. Overhealth and debuff duration reduced from 8 to 6 seconds. Decay duration reduced from 5 to 4 seconds. | |
|
Lucio |
Beat Drop (Minor Perk) |
Amp It Up is now active for 4 seconds after casting Sound Barrier. |
|
Sound Barrier |
Duration increased from 5 to 6 seconds. |
Hero Hit Volumes
Tank
|
Hero |
Change |
|
Doomfist |
Head hit volume increased from 19.7 to 21. Waist hit volume increased from 30 to 35. Leg hit volume increased from 21 to 26. Fist hit volume reduced from 24 to 20. |
|
Hazard |
Head hit volume increased from 18.5 to 20. Leg hit volume increased from 21.9 to 24. |
|
Junker Queen |
Head hit volume increased from 17.8 to 19. Torso hit volume increased from 26.2 to 28. Waist hit volume increased from 23.8 to 26. Leg hit volume increased from 19.2 to 22. |
|
Mauga |
Head hit volume increased from 22 to 23.5. Hand hit volume reduced from 16 to 12. Leg hit volume length reduced from 50 to 35. Torso hit volume increased from 40 to 42. Torso hit volume width increased from 30 to 40. |
|
Reinhardt |
Shoulder hit volume reduced from 40 to 35. Hand hit volumes reduced from 25 to 20. Foot hit volumes reduced from 40 to 30. |
|
Wrecking Ball |
Head hit volume increased from 22 to 25. Torso hit volume increased from 83.5 to 87.5. |
Damage
|
Hero |
Change |
|
Anran |
Head hit volume increased from 15.2 to 17. Torso hit volume increased from 18 to 23. Leg hit volume increased from 14.7 to 19. |
|
Ashe |
Torso hit volume increased from 22.4 to 25. Leg hit volume increased from 16.7 to 19. |
|
Bastion |
Head hit volume increased from 20 to 21.5. Back minigun hit volume reduced from 20 to 18. Lower arm hit volume reduced from 20 to 15. |
|
Cassidy |
Torso hit volume reduced from 37 to 33. Leg hit volumes reduced from 24 to 22. |
|
Echo |
Head hit volume increased from 15.9 to 18. Leg hit volumes increased from 14.6 to 20. |
|
Emre |
Head hit volume increased from 16 to 18. Leg hit volumes increased from 17.5 to 20. |
|
Hanzo |
Head hit volume increased from 16 to 18. |
|
Junkrat |
Torso hit volume reduced from 32 to 29. Leg hit volume increased from 17.3 to 20. |
|
Sierra |
Torso hit volume increased from 20.7 to 23. Legs hit volume increased from 16.7 to 19. Lower leg hit volume increased from 15 to 19. Lower leg hit volume height reduced from 54.9 to 40. |
|
Sojourn |
Head hit volume increased from 14.9 to 16. Torso hit volume increased from 20.5 to 23.5. Leg hit volume increased from 17 to 18.5. |
|
Symmetra |
Torso hit volume increased from 22.4 to 24. Leg hit volume reduced from 22.4 to 20. |
|
Torbjorn |
Head hit volume reduced from 23.3 to 20. Claw hand hit volume reduced from 15 to 11. |
|
Tracer |
Torso hit volume increased from 22.4 to 24. Leg hit volumes reduced from 22.4 to 20. |
|
Venture |
Torso hit volume increased from 22.9 to 25. Leg hit volumes increased from 17 to 21. |
Support
|
Hero |
Change |
|
Ana |
Head hit volume increased from 16.9 to 18. |
|
Baptiste |
Head hit volume increased from 15.1 to 16. |
|
Illari |
Head hit volume increased from 14.9 to 18. Torso hit volume increased from 20 to 23.5. |
|
Jetpack Cat |
Head hit volume increased from 15.8 to 18.5. Torso hit volume increased from 14.8 to 17. Waist hit volume increased from 19.5 to 26. Leg hit volumes increased from 9.7 to 12. |
|
Juno |
Torso hit volume increased from 19 to 23. Hand hit volumes reduced from 8.5 to 5. Arm hit volumes reduced from 9 to 7. |
|
Kiriko |
Head hit volume increased from 14.9 to 16. Torso hit volume increased from 17.7 to 21. |
|
Lifeweaver |
Head hit volume increased from 14.8 to 17. Torso hit volume increased from 19.7 to 25. Leg hit volume increased from 15.5 to 19. Waist hit volume increased from 15.9 to 20. |
|
Lucio |
Head hit volume increased from 13.2 to 16. |
|
Mercy |
Head hit volume increased from 14.4 to 17. Torso hit volume increased from 22.4 to 24.5. Leg hit volume decreased from 22.4 to 20. |
|
Mizuki |
Head hit volume height reduced from 10 to 6. Head hit volume increased from 16 to 17.5. Torso hit volume increased from 22 to 24. Leg hit volume increased from 17 to 19. |
|
Moira |
Torso hit volume reduced from 27 to 25. |
|
Sombra |
Head hit volume increased from 14 to 16. Torso hit volume reduced from 25 to 23. Leg hit volume increased from 15 to 18. |
|
Wuyang |
Head hit volume increased from 14.85 to 16. Torso hit volume increased from 20.2 to 23. |
|
Zenyatta |
Head hit volume reduced from 20 to 17. Torso hit volume reduced from 32 to 30. Leg hit volume reduced from 24 to 22. |
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Featured Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
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