Overwatch 2 Jan 24 update nerfs Roadhog, Orisa, Sojourn and more: Patch notes

Michael Gwilliam
roadhog nerfed in ow2

A long-awaited Overwatch 2 patch is finally out on PC, PS5, Xbox and Nintendo Switch consoles introducing some nerfs to the ever-problematic Roadhog and Sojourn.

Overwatch 2 has been dominated by one-shot heroes since the beginning of Season 2 as Roadhog and Sojourn annihilated the ranked ladder.

This is finally going to be changing, however, as a new patch has gutted Roadhog’s ability to blow away enemy heroes with ease. In addition to his damage being lowered, Chain Hook is going to start bringing targets a bit further away.

Also of note, Orisa’s Fortify health is being decreased to 75 from 125 which should make her much easier to kill. Kiriko is also getting some changes with her Healing Ofuda recovery time being increased to allow her to use more primary fires.

Orisa spear
Orisa is getting nerfed a bit in this latest patch.

This could very well lead to a new tank meta, especially with Ramattra looming as a very powerful sleeper pick going into Season 3.

Full patch notes:

HERO UPDATES

Tank

Orisa

Fortify

  • Health bonus reduced from 125 to 75

Roadhog

Chain Hook

  • Impact damage reduced from 30 to 5
  • The enemy final position distance from Roadhog after being pulled increased from 3 to 4 meters

Scrap Gun

  • Damage per pellet reduced from 6.6 to 6
  • Recovery time reduced from 0.85 to 0.8 seconds
  • Reload time reduced from 2 to 1.75 seconds
  • Maximum ammo increased from 5 to 6

Developer comments: These changes aim to reduce the frustration of dying in one shot immediately after being hooked and pulled by Roadhog. Chain Hook is still a powerful utility to forcibly reposition enemy players, so it will still often lead to eliminations. Its effectiveness will now be more dependent on specific hero matchups and how the hooked target is able to respond.

Damage

Sojourn

Railgun

  • Energy gain is no longer based on damage done by primary fire. Each primary fire hit against an enemy player now grants 5 energy
  • Primary fire damage per projectile reduced from 10 to 9

Developer comments: The energy gain adjustment will help smooth out Sojourn’s average Railgun charge time because it won’t benefit as much from critical damage or damage boost abilities. Hitting armored targets or other sources of damage reduction will result in quicker energy gains than before.

Previously, damage boosts and critical damage had an amplified effect for Sojourn since it reduced the time to build energy and lowered the threshold at which her Railgun secondary fire became lethal. The reduction to primary fire damage will further slow that down as well.

Support

Kiriko

Healing Ofuda

  • Recovery time increased from 0.85 to 1 second

Developer comments: Despite Kiriko’s healing projectiles being slow-moving and single target, her average healing output per match is higher than we’d like. We’ve seen players tend to get overly focused on maximizing her healing potential and only use primary fire for extended periods of time. Rather than reduce the amount of healing per projectile, which may lead to feeling locked into focusing on primary fire even more, we’re increasing the recovery time before she can start firing the Healing Ofuda. Increasing recovery times opens the opportunity to weave in secondary fire Kunai more freely.

BUG FIXES

GENERAL

  • Fixed an issue with the “Winged Sandals’ weapon charm’s ‘How to Unlock’ text
  • Adjusted footstep audio mixing to make enemy footsteps more audible

HEROES

Lucio

  • Fixed an issue with Lucio’s Hermes skin exhibiting incorrect physics

Reinhardt

  • Fixed an issue with Reinhardt’s Hammer appearing deformed during the Sweethardt emote

Sojourn

  • Fixed an issue where Sojourn’s Cyber Detective Skin would fail to load

Wrecking Ball

  • Fixed an issue with Adaptive Shield where it could be incorrectly applied before the cooldown was complete

About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam