In Overwatch 2, players will take on the roles of the world’s heroes in cooperative missions that challenge them to team up, power up, and stand together against an overwhelming outbreak of threats around the globe. Players will also battle each other in the next evolution of competitive Overwatch play, which carries forward existing players’ accomplishments and loot collections and features the current complete Overwatch roster, a new generation of heroes, new internationally recognizable maps that widen the scope of the world, a new Push map type, and more.

In the sequel’s action-packed cooperative Story Missions, players will experience the advent of a new Overwatch as Winston, Tracer, and other members of the original Overwatch join forces with a new generation of heroes. Players will take an active role in the Overwatch saga as a new global crisis unfolds through a series of intense, high-stakes four-player missions. As the story progresses, players will team up as different sets of heroes and fight to defend the world from the omnic forces of Null Sector, uncover the motives behind the robotic armies’ attacks, and come face-to-face with rising new threats around the globe.

The battle continues in Hero Missions, where the Overwatch team will be called upon to go beyond their limits as they deploy across the planet, defending cities against robot invasions, taking on elite Talon agents, and battling the villainous forces laying siege to the world. In this highly replayable mode, players can level up their favorite heroes and earn powerful customization options that supercharge their abilities in co-op play—such as altering Reinhardt’s Fire Strike to ignite nearby enemies or modifying Tracer’s Pulse Bomb to cause a devastating chain reaction—granting the extra edge they need against the overwhelming odds.

Two opposing forces—one a benevolent protector of Numbani, the other a mighty successor to the city's Scourge—are both receiving reworks just in time for the Overwatch 2 PvP Beta. 

Although the new 5v5 team composition will change the way tanks approach team fights, their primary objectives will remain the same: focus on making space for their team, initiate engagements, and peel for allies in trouble. Overall, they’re going to feel brawlier, dishing out damage while utilizing their strong defensive capabilities. Lead Hero Designer Geoff Goodman led the charge on Doomfist’s transition from damage to tank hero, and Senior Hero Designer Brandon Brennan took point on the Orisa rework. Let’s jump into how both heroes have been tailored to fit the changes coming in Overwatch 2!  

DOOMFIST 

Doomfist’s current playstyle is unique, even for a damage hero: He’s a fast-paced, mobile, and lethal brawling machine. “Doomfist is a combo hero, taking a page out of fighting games. We want to keep that feeling while moving him to the tank role,” explains Goodman. Some abilities, he says, will seem familiar, while others will further define him as a tank.  

His base health is increasing from 250 to 450, putting him much more in line with other tank heroes. Hand Cannon will function similarly, trading faster ammo recharge for slightly less damage. Rocket Punch is quicker and deals less damage, but still has the potential to knock back enemies.  

Power Block is the new core of Doomfist’s kit. With Power Block, Doomfist enters a defensive stance that reduces all damage taken from the front by 90%. Doomfist’s gauntlet becomes charged if he blocks enough damage with Power Block. His charged gauntlet empowers his next Rocket Punch’s damage, knockback radius, travel speed, and distance. His targets will be stunned if he knocks them against a wall.  

“Opposing players should be cautious about charging Doomfist’s gauntlet,” says Goodman. “Power Block feels kind of like Zarya when people shoot into her shields, but instead of passively gaining damage, his next punch will get a buff that lasts until he either uses Rocket Punch or is eliminated.” Doomfist’s kit rewards both defensive and offensive playstyles with many high-damage combos. When he blocks damage for his team, he can quickly charge Rocket Punch, knock enemies back, and potentially stun them for around one second if they are punched into a wall. “When you block a hard-hitting attack, you get powered up instantly. It almost feels like a parry,” says Goodman.  

Seismic Slam now launches Doomfist into the air towards where you’re aiming, like Winston’s leap. Upon landing, he creates a shockwave that damages and slows enemies. “Doomfist has super fluid mobility on all planes right now,” says Goodman. “He gained a ton of mobility with Seismic Slam, but he doesn’t have as much jerky, unpredictable movement.” He has many similarities to other disruptor tanks like Wrecking Ball or Winston, so it’s important to be very aware of Doomfist’s placement. For example, remembering that Power Block only blocks damage from the front is key when jumping into the enemy team with Seismic Slam; you’ll want to ensure that you jump all the way over your enemies so you can Power Block their damage and Rocket Punch them into your team without taking heavy hits from the back.  

Doomfist’s ultimate, Meteor Strike, has gained new utility and a shorter cast time. Overall, the damage has been reduced, but the impact damage at the center will still be a hard hitter. The knockback has been removed and replaced by a slow for all enemies hit, making this ability a great initiating tool for your team. This modified ultimate, paired with his tank-aligned changes, enables the quick, impactful gameplay that he had as a damage hero. While his new positioning and combos require more finesse to manage, he has transformed into a more approachable, free-flowing, and impactful tank—all while feeling familiar to current Doomfist players.  

ORISA 

While some of Doomfist’s power was shifted to his defensive abilities to make him a viable tank pick, Orisa underwent the opposite. The team noticed that she struggled with brawling and toe-to-toe engagements, so we had to adapt her into the future of the game. “We don’t take Orisa’s rework lightly,” says Brennan. “We want it to be meaningful to the game and feel good for players who are attached to her.” Orisa’s rework will adapt her playstyle to 5v5 and give her more tools to engage in team fights.  

Her health and armor are being increased to help her push head on into the enemy team. Orisa’s primary fire is a projectile that is larger and does more damage the closer she is to enemies. Instead of ammo, her primary fire builds up heat that only decreases when not firing her weapon. If her weapon overheats, it will be unusable for 3 seconds. “We want Orisa to push and engage enemies more,” says Brennan. “Her gun encourages her to get close to enemies and play more forward in Overwatch 2.”

Orisa’s secondary fire, Energy Javelin, is now a skill shot projectile javelin that impacts the first enemy in its path. “It’s a micro-stun and can do more damage when there’s a wall behind you,” says Brennan. 

Javelin Spin, another new ability, enables Orisa to rapidly spin a javelin that destroys incoming projectiles, increases forward movement speed, and damages enemies while pushing them back. “Our primary purpose with Javelin Spin is to help Orisa engage and get into the fight,” says Brennan. “When paired with her other abilities, it can become a lethal combo. You can herd enemies backward and follow up with an Energy Javelin to push them into a wall.”  

Fortify has received a few adjustments to fit her new playstyle, including generating less heat with Orisa’s primary weapon, allowing her to fire it for longer. The ability also provides 125 extra health, giving her increased survivability in team fights. Brennan explains: “The idea behind this change is that Fortify will always yield meaningful defensive value for Orisa whenever she uses it.”  

Terra Lance is Orisa’s new Ultimate ability. She becomes fortified and pulls in nearby enemies while charging up an area-of-effect attack. “We started her rework by removing Orisa’s barrier and her Halt ability, but we still thought Halt was really cool,” says Brennan. “We incorporated the idea of Halt into Orisa’s new ultimate, and this is where the pull comes from.” This creates a moment for the team to rally around and quickly coordinate combos. However, enemies aren’t bound to the center of Orisa’s pull like a Zarya Graviton Surge, so you will need to collaborate quickly to make the most of this ultimate!  

As we begin beta testing with the significant shift to 5v5 and one tank per team, please keep in mind that all these changes and reworks are a work in progress. They are subject to change as we see more and more players use these heroes in game. We look forward to hearing your feedback and seeing these reworked heroes shine in the upcoming PvP Beta! 

To help realize these missions, the sequel also introduces significant engine upgrades that support larger maps for co-op (PvE) play, as well as the wide variety of new enemies and factions that players will encounter on their missions. The game also introduces visual enhancements designed to bring players’ favorite heroes—and their new looks for Overwatch 2—to life in greater detail.

Overwatch 2 also represents the beginning of a new era for the series’ world-renowned competitive 6v6 play. In addition to carrying forward all of the original game’s heroes, maps, and modes—as well as existing Overwatch players’ accomplishments and loot collections—the sequel adds multiple new playable heroes to the ever-growing roster; widens the scope of the world with even more maps and locations; and adds a new Push map type, in which two teams compete to make a robot (that happens to be pretty good at pushing things) push the map’s objective to their opponent’s side.

Overwatch 2 also renews Blizzard’s commitment to continue supporting the existing Overwatch community. Current Overwatch players will battle side-by-side with Overwatch 2 players in PvP multiplayer. In addition, current Overwatch players will be able to play Overwatch 2 heroes and maps, ensuring the core PvP experience remains dynamic and vital for today’s community in the Overwatch 2 era.

More details on Blizzard’s plans, including some of the new heroes joining the fray, will be announced in the future as development continues.