[Update #2]: Overwatch 2's PvP mode is going free-to-play and launching on October 4th, 2022!

[Update]: Overwatch 2 is looking to rework Junkrat, Symmetra and Moira, as well as give Mercy a proper super-jump.

While most of the reworked tanks in the Overwatch 2 beta felt straight up amazing to play, the support heroes desperately needed a bit more work as they just didn't gel well with the new 5v5 environment. So in an effort to bring the support class up to speed, as well as correct some of the more obvious balance issues, Blizzard has now released the very first beta update.

Lucio's self-healing has been toned down due to how well it compounded with the new support role passive healing, while Ana's biotic grenade has had its duration reduced in order to make it less of a tank killer. On the completely opposite side of things, Baptiste's healing ammo has been increased, Brigitte's shield bash knockback has been doubled, and most excitingly of all, Zenyatta has received more health alongside a new passive ability that boosts his melee damage and makes him punt enemies a good few meters!

Oddly enough, Moira has not received any changes, despite having the same problems as Lucio in the sense that she can feel essentially invincible in a 1v1 duel. Rather than being ignored, I'm fairly certain this means that Moira is currently in the process of being reworked. If that ends up being the case, I can only hope she'll turn out to be a hero that's a little bit more interesting to play while still being accessible to players without much in terms of aiming skill.

That aside, the update has also nerfed Soldier 76 while making his ultimate more exciting to use, as well as buffed Sojourn's alternate fire since it isn't exactly easy to land on moving targets. There's also a couple of tweaks to less-used tanks like Roadhog, Zarya, Winston and Wrecking Ball which all seem like they've hit the nail on the head, so I must admit that for the first time in years I genuinely feel excited about Overwatch's future!

Whether you share the sentiment or not, you can find the full list of changes, as well as the reasoning behind them, over at the Overwatch website. Enjoy, and I hope to see you in the beta at some point!