The Overwatch 2 Season 9 patch notes have arrived, and Blizzard promises “changes to the fundamentals of Overwatch 2 gameplay that affect every hero.” It’s an exciting shake-up, with health regen for all heroes and increased health across the board, but shots being made easier to land. However, this latter change has had a seemingly unintended side effect, and it means some of my favorite characters are struggling to land headshots in the free Steam game.
Overwatch 2 heroes are divided up between hitscan (shots that land the instant they’re fired) and projectiles with travel time, but almost every regular attack across the board has seen an increase to its size, making it easier to land your shots in the multiplayer game. The biggest increases have been handed to projectiles that take a little longer to reach their target, but that’s left some Overwatch 2 favorites at an unexpected disadvantage.
The increased hitboxes have certainly been the talk of the town, although many players on Reddit and Twitter remark that we’ve seen very generous hit detection on the likes of Mercy’s pistol for a long time. As noted by Overwatch streamer ‘kayjii’ however, the change now means that Genji’s shuriken barrage seems to prioritize the arms of characters who keep them raised, meaning shots that used to land as headshots now count as regular hits.
You can't headshot certain heroes anymore, even if you aim for their heads, as their arms now take priority due to larger projectiles. 😂
Season 9 vs Old Hitbox pic.twitter.com/3DchdGgV7w
— kayjii (@kayjii) February 14, 2024
I’ve done some in-game testing for myself, and it’s certainly noticeable with Genji, along with other slower projectiles such as Mei’s icicle or, a personal favorite of mine, Zenyatta’s balls. It affects targeting on some heroes such as Baptiste and Tracer who tend to keep their arms quite high, and can often be dependent on the angle you’re firing from, but it’s a noticeable impact to consistency – and probably makes it all the more imperative that you use Genji’s aerial mobility to your advantage.
Fortunately, hitscan heroes appear to be largely unaffected at the moment, which will be a big relief to the likes of Cassidy players who rely on landing those precise dome shots. We have seen hands get in the way before – notoriously, Kiriko’s raised arm would block Widowmaker headshots – so it remains to be seen whether we’ll see this adjusted, but it’s something to keep in mind when you queue up for your next match.
Elsewhere among the rest of the comprehensive Overwatch 2 Season 9 changes, there are 15-25% health increases for everyone, the much-discussed passive health regen for all, more damaging base melee attacks, and an increased ultimate cost to slow down the pace they appear. You can read the full list courtesy of Blizzard. It also introduces a Junkertown overhaul with more cover, and a new co-op mission, Cosmic Crisis, which offers branching objectives and modifiers on each attempt.
Quite how that’ll shake up the Overwatch 2 tier list remains to be seen, so be sure to keep a close eye on it. We’ve also got more of the best FPS games in 2024, if you’re in the mood to try something new.
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