Overwatch 2 devs working on a Hanzo buff to make him more lethal

Modified Jun 27, 2024 16:20 GMT

Hanzo in Overwatch 2 (Image via Blizzard Entertainemt)

In the recent Overwatch 2 developer Q&A, Lead Gameplay Designer Alec Dawson provided some exciting information about one of the Shimada brothers, Hanzo. This character could be receiving a buff. After certain changes a few seasons ago, this unit's pick rate has plummeted quite a bit. Since those alterations were made, players have either switched to Ash or Widowmaker, as these characters can be quite deadly if played correctly.

Read on to learn about the Overwatch 2 Hanzo buff that Alec Dawson has in mind. If buffed correctly, this unit will likely be one of the most picked Heroes due to his lethality.

Note: Some Aspects of this article are subjective and solely rely on the writer’s opinion.

A Hanzo buff will be introduced to Overwatch 2 players in future updates

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In the Overwatch 2 Season 11 dev Q&A with Alex Dawson, the Lead Game Designer stated that he and his team are currently working on a Hanzo buff. While they are not sure what they can improve to make this unit more lethal, Alec stated that the team might tweak the latter’s Storm Arrows or bring back some of his one-shot capabilities to use against certain characters.

Additionally, the Lead Game Designer said that the developers might tweak some of the character's HP pool to 225 health to help reintroduce Hanzo in the meta again. If the team lowers the HP pool of certain characters, this unit will be extremely effective against them.

Additionally, the older Shimada brother is quite effective against characters such as Widowmaker, Tracer, and more that have 200 or less HP. Although hitting Tracer is quite difficult for Hanzo since she can swiftly move around the map with her blinks, a stationary Widowmaker is an easy target for him.

If the developers decide to buff Hanzo to boost his pick rate in various game modes, they can turn his Arrows from being projectile to hitscan. This buff would allow him to hit his opponents easily. However, since Arrows are not usually considered as hitscan objects, this change is unlikely to be implemented.

Apart from the normal arrows, the developers can definitely tweak Hanzo’s Storm Arrows into being hitscan instead of projectiles. Since the unit can launch five arrows in rapid succession, it will be an interesting change to his kit.

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