Overwatch 2 Season 8 patch notes – what changes should you expect?

Want the Overwatch 2 Season 8 patch notes? With Season 8: Call of the Hunt on its way, it’s a good idea to make sure you’re up to speed with all the changes coming to Blizzard Entertainment’s team-based shooter. So what’s changing this season?

That’s what we’re going to answer here as we take you through the Overwatch 2 Season 8 patch notes ahead of the Season 8 start time. Be sure to put on that Season 8 preload in the background and read on while you’re waiting.

New patch notes for Overwatch 2 season 8

Here’s a rundown of everything of note from the Season 8 patch notes for Overwatch 2. For simplicity’s sake, we’re splitting these changes up into categories to help you make sense of it all a bit faster.

New and returning features

• The new Hero Mauga is arriving. He’ll be added to the lineup this update.
• Weapon skins. Along with all Season 8 skins arriving in the pass, Call of the Hunt will include dedicated weapon skins for Reaper, Reinhardt, and Mercy, separate from their Hero skins.
• New game modes. Battle of The Beasts is a 4v4 PvPvE gamemode arriving in Season 8. The Winter Holidays period will also see the return of celebrations with Winter Wonderland 2023.

General gameplay updates

• Endorsement decay will be reduced slightly, and Endorsement needed for level 5 will also be getting reduced.
• Anna, Ashe, Ramattra, Mercy, Bastion, Lifeweaver, and Widowmaker will be getting extra reticle settings added.
• Suspension times for leaving unranked matches will be increased, with 4 out of 20 leaves resulting in a 20 minute ban, and 6 out of 20 leaves resulting in a four hour ban.
• Hero Mastery training courses will be added for all heroes over time, beginning with courses for Lucio, D.Va, Mei, Echo and Genji arriving this season.

Competitive play updates

• MMR decay now only occurs at the start of a season for Competitive play.
• MMR decay won’t be applied to roles that qualify for a rank.

Hero updates

• All heroes will now get a maximum ultimate charge preservation of 25% instead of 15%.
• Doomfist is getting a nerf to health regen and ultimate cost.
• Muaga is getting more health, armor, and reduced hit boxes right out the gate. All his abilities are also getting stronger.
• Rammattra is losing 100 health, gaining 100 armor, and getting a slight range and damage buff to Void Accelerator.
• Sigma’s Experimental Barrier will get a slight regen rate nerf from 100 to 85.
• Winston’s Tesla Cannon will now ignore armor damage reduction.
• Mei will be getting an ammo nerf for Endothermic Blaster.
• Soldier 76’s Biotic Field will have a longer, 18 second cooldown.
• Sombra will get a damage nerf.
• Torbjörn is getting more Overhealth for Overload, from 75 to 100.
• Tracer is getting a minor damage buff.
• Baptiste is getting an ammo nerf.
• Bridgette’s Whip Shot is getting a damage nerf.
• Kiriko is getting some projectile speed and healing buffs.
• Activating Mercy’s Valkyrie ability will no longer disconnect the Caduceus Staff from its target.

Map updates

• Paraíso, New Queen Street, and Watchpoint: Gibraltar will be getting a visual overhaul with festive decor.
• A number of bug fixes for maps including Busan, Horizon Lunar Colony, Nepal, and more will come into effect.

That’s everything we’ve got for you on the Overwatch Season 8 patch notes. There are of course a whole lot of bug fixes coming alongside all of these changes. Other than that, the changes laid out promise a fair bit of rebalancing that will certainly affect the metas, though nothing too ground-breaking for the competitive scene. We’ve got plenty more for you on the coming season though. Whether you want an overview of the Season 8 battle pass or you just want to learn more about the new Mythic skin, we’ve got you covered.

Overwatch 2 Season 8 patch notes FAQ

Will there be a mid-season update for Overwatch 2 Season 8?

While not confirmed, there will almost certainly be a mid-season update for Season 8 of Overwatch 2.

Is Overwatch 2 Season 8 reworking any heroes?

So far, it looks like most Hero changes for Overwatch 2 Season 8 are rebalances, nerfs and buffs rather than any reworks.