There have been several frustrations held within the Overwatch community throughout the lifespan of Season 2. Fortunately, as of Blizzard Entertainment’s latest update of information regarding Overwatch, they are moving towards fixing a lot of these issues with the following seasonal update. We’ve got all the information you’ll need to know, so follow along below for all upcoming changes announced for Overwatch 2 Season 3.
What Changes Are Being Made In Overwatch 2 Season 3?
A large number of changes are reportedly said to start with the launch of Season 3, including more frequent events, in-game currency changes, hero reworks, monetization tweaks, and more. Keep reading below for a full breakdown of every change on its way to the game.
Ramattra Nerf
While Ramattra certainly had an impressive debut, he didn’t operate to the full potential that the Overwatch team had envisioned. To remedy this, Blizzard Entertainment buffed his abilities before he was made available as a selection in Competitive matches. This was achieved by buffing his Nemesis form and decreasing the cooldown on his Void Barrier to increase overall uptime with his abilities. These changes caused a positive shift in Ramattra, making him one of the stronger Tank picks in the game.
However, one part of his kit has remained devastating in battle, and the Overwatch team has acknowledged that they knew it would be a risk upon his release. The specific ability in mind is Ramattra’s Ultimate, Annihilation. Annihilation currently has an infinite timer as long as enemies are in the area of effect.
This has caused the leader of Null Sector to feel overpowered when using his Ultimate ability, as it’s naturally a team fight winner and could be used with strategy to claim victory by wiping the enemy out in Overtime. Going up against a Ramattra using Annihilation often feels entirely hopeless, as if you’ve already lost the fight, and for that reason, this ability is getting a change.
In Season 3, Ramattra’s Annihilation will have a timer that ticks down slower if enemies are within the area of effect, with a cap of 20 seconds. These changes aim to bring more counterplay opportunities for going up against Ramattra’s Annihilation and ultimately lead to more balanced team fights.
In-Game Events
The Overwatch 2 team has been vocal about their goal to include more limited-time events and game modes after the game’s initial release. It seems Blizzard is making an effort here, trying to bring some new events to the screen to see what players enjoy and bring back old festive favorites.
Battle For Olympus made its debut in Overwatch 2’s Season 2, offering a limited-time game mode, new skins for purchase, challenges, and a free reward in the form of Mercy’s Winged Victory skin. However, the best part of this event was that the participating Hero with the most Final Blow Eliminations at the end of the event was set to receive a statue on all three Ilios maps.
While the event was undoubtedly something fresh and unique, there are several modifications the Overwatch team aims to make for its next annual return, such as making the challenges easier to achieve, enabling a Team Deathmatch mode, and incorporating it in Custom Game modes.
Overwatch 2’s second season also saw the return of the familiar Winter Wonderland and Lunar New Year events. However, for many returning players, these events felt entirely underwhelming this time, with a lack of brand-new Hero Skins, Weekly Challenges to earn seasonal freebies and changes to the festive game modes. The lack of cosmetics left a nasty taste in the mouths of those familiar with the events, as the free rewards that were primarily offered consisted of reused skins from the same events in Overwatch 1.
After listening to player feedback regarding this issue, the Overwatch team has stated that they plan to release new rewards for all players more frequently, as well as continue to provide new in-game experiences. They’ve even said that in Overwatch 2 Season 3, one of the brand new events will feature an all-new Legendary Skin reward, and in Season 4 and onwards, they plan to offer these rewards for all Seasonal and limited-time events.
Competitive Changes
Since the game’s release, Overwatch 2 has had a long list of issues with the Competitive mode and general matchmaking. Blizzard has made another statement in this last batch of information, stating that they’re aware of these problems, specifically with the inconsistency and infrequency of the matchups and competitive updates. The Overwatch team has revealed that they have a variety of improvements coming to matchmaking, as well as updates to the competitive system soon.
Currency Changes
Many fans of Overwatch have found disappointment in Overwatch 2’s monetization and removal of loot boxes in favor of the new Overwatch Coins. It’s not so much the lack of loot boxes that is the issue, but more the fact that with Overwatch Coins being the main currency in the game, there’s a total lack of ways to earn the credits for free. Not everyone has the spare cash to purchase Overwatch Coins, and the fact that they weren’t easily obtainable in-game meant that obtaining new Hero Skins or collectibles seemed nearly impossible.
Season 3 brings the return of Overwatch Credits, the currency from Overwatch 1. Previously, these had shown in-game as ‘Legacy Credits’ and have been unearnable in Overwatch 2. Now, every player can earn up to 1,500 Overwatch Credits as free seasonal rewards, and Premium Battle Pass owners will be able to earn an extra 500, for a total of 2,000 Credits. The Overwatch team has also stated they will be adding more uses for Credits so that there are more rewards for players to choose from.
Hero Gallery Changes
The Overwatch 2 Hero Gallery is also receiving a couple of significant changes. The first of these changes is that all Epic and Legendary skins released before the Overwatch 2 launch will always be available in the Hero Gallery for purchase, using either Overwatch Coins or Credits. This includes skins from previous Seasonal event modes, which will be available at any time of the year rather than waiting for the event to roll around again. Prices for these skins will now be lowered to 1,500 Overwatch Coins or Credits, meaning players can earn a Legendary skin of their choice each season.
That’s everything you need to know about all upcoming changes announced for Overwatch 2 Season 3. For more helpful gameplay guides, lists, and news, check out the rest of our content here at Twinfinite. We have a variety of Overwatch 2 topics to keep you up to date on all the latest news and changes to your favorite Heroes, so feel free to scroll down and have a look at our related posts below.
