Overwatch 2 dev explains why Zenyatta needed to be nerfed already

A developer has explained the reason for a nerf in Overwatch 2 that reduces the attack speed Zenyatta gains from Kiriko’s ultimate.

As a support hero, Kiriko can often prove vital to the tide of battle. Her ultimate ability especially accentuates this point, given its ability to boost the cooldowns, attack speed, and movement of allies within its area of effect.

In the lead-up to Overwatch 2’s release, players discovered a devastating combo when allowing Kiriko’s ultimate ability to enhance Zenyatta.

The combo saw Zenyatta’s orb attacks pick up an unbelievable amount of speed, so much so that many players deemed the move overpowered. As a result, the sequel’s latest patch significantly reduces the orbs’ lightning-fast speed during the Kiriko combo.

Overwatch 2 dev explains reason behind the recent Zenyatta nerf

Patch notes for Overwatch 2‘s most recent update went live today, October 13, and noted that Zenyatta “no longer receives extra attack speed on top of the bonus from Kiriko’s ultimate.”

Overwatch-dedicated Twitter page Overwatch Cavalry shared this specific note in a post, which soon thereafter garnered a response from a Blizzard Test Analyst, Wes.

According to Wes, the Kiriko ultimate provided Zenyatta with “too much attack speed.” The new patch addresses the bug by ensuring Zenyatta’s attacks now gain the intended amount of speed.

To clarify, Zen was receiving too much attack speed from kiriko ult and this is fixing a bug where he now gains the correct amount of attack speed

— Wes (@Moofzy) October 13, 2022

Thus, while the Overwatch 2 update does nerf Zenyatta, it only course corrects an error that rendered her abilities overpowered for a time.

Given the nature of the game, balancing acts of this nature will more than likely persist for a long time to come.

Overwatch 2 is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.