Overwatch 2 announces massive DPS ultimate charge change ahead of second beta

Philip Trahan
overwatch 2 tracer ultimate header

In preparation for the upcoming second beta period for Overwatch 2, Blizzard Entertainment is changing up Damage heroes’ passive role ability in a big way.

Overwatch 2’s next beta test begins on June 28, and fans are excited to see just how much the game has evolved since the first beta earlier this year.

This second beta for Overwatch 2 brings console support, Junker Queen, and a brand new map for players to try out ahead of release.

Now, Blizzard Entertainment has also announced some balance changes, including a massive ultimate charge change coming to Damage heroes in the form of their role passive ability.

Damage heroes get new role passive in Overwatch 2

devs confirm third overwatch 2 beta
Sojourn, Overwatch 2’s newest Damage hero, will be one of the many characters to benefit from this new role passive ability.

The announcement comes by way of the official Blizzard news blog, which talks about a variety of topics like the various goals the team has for the upcoming second beta.

When talking about game design and balance goals, Blizzard said that the team made several changes that will have a big impact on gameplay.

Notably, the team is replacing the Damage Passive speed boost present in the previous beta in favor of “a new passive that allows Damage heroes to maintain up to 30% of their Ultimate charge when swapping to other Damage heroes.”

This is a massive change, as it gives Damage hero mains much more versatility during a match.

Sombra in OW2
Sombra’s aggressive EMP Ultimate could benefit very well from this new role passive change.

For example, this ability could potentially give the option for a player to use a hero they are more comfortable with before switching to a different hero with a potentially more helpful Ultimate in certain situations, with less of a penalty.

The post goes on to say that the team is also focusing attention on Support heroes, as well, based on feedback from the first beta period.

Aside from overall role changes, individual heroes will also be seeing some changes, like the buffs confirmed for Junkrat during this upcoming beta.

Overwatch 2 fans can look forward to trying out this new Damage role passive ability next beta period beginning on June 28 for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox owners.

About The Author

Philip is a Staff Writer at Dexerto based in Louisiana, with expertise in Pokemon, Apex Legends, and general gaming industry news. His first job in the games industry was as a reviewer with NintendoEverything.com while attending college. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication focusing on Multimedia Journalism, he worked with GameRant.com for nearly two years before joining Dexerto. When he's not writing he's usually tearing through some 80+ hour JRPG. You can contact him at philip.trahan@dexerto.com.