All Hero Changes in Overwatch 2 Season 19 Stadium Update

Season 19 of Overwatch 2, known as the Stadium update, has rolled out a wealth of hero adjustments in addition to adding two new playable heroes.

The new heroes in Season 19

Image Credits: Blizzard Entertainment

Hazard and Sojourn are arriving in the Stadium on Season 19, with Hazard being a brand-new tank hero that has a very aggressive kit. Built around the strengths of his two abilities, Bonespur and Spike Guard, he encourages close brawling and mobility with high-impact attacks like Barbed Shot, Bonerot, and Violent Leap, rewarding skillful accuracy and timing. With his ultimate ability, it’s called Downpour, you’ll be able to bait abilities into cooldown resets and add temporary buffs, further enhancing a high-tempo style of play. 

Sojourn receives a handful of tweaks to enhance her precision-based gameplay. Activating the Overcharge ability enables a Railgun shot charge of up to 150%, allowing for higher offensive potential while preserving balance with ammo consumption limits.

Key Changes to Tank Heroes

A number of established tank heroes have all received changes to adjust to the new meta. Orisa’s Advanced Throwbotics now has significantly raised damage potential at 75%. This change will not only enhance Orisa’s damage capabilities but also her overall team presence. For the other tank, Sigma, his Zero Gravity ability’s uptime has been extended to four seconds, and his damage resistance has also increased, giving him ultimate sustains and more mobility. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Reinhardt’s Rocket Boots have been removed, limiting his mobility options. 

With the addition of Hazard, the new hero has introduced a set of unique hero items, such as Calcium Efficiency, Sharpsurge, and Blood Needle, all of which deal with lifesteal and resource regeneration, providing a new customization path for tank players. 

Read More: Overwatch 2 Season 18 End Date and Time for All Regions

Damage Heroes

Image Credits: Blizzard Entertainment

Damage heroes have seen some slightly less drastic, though still important, tuning. Junkrat’s Slapnel ability has had its cooldown reduced from 10 seconds to six seconds, which can improve Junkrat’s repositioning and trapping opportunities. Reaper’s Strangle Step and Spirited to Splay powers have both also received slight changes to lessen the number of times Reaper could escape focus and be more intentional with engagements. 

Balance and the Meta

With the focus of overall emphasis on balance, the Stadium update pushes more overall versatility with new heroes adding depth to team composition, as well as new powers or changes in existing powers, resulting in overall fairer match-ups in general for all heroes. This season of Overwatch 2’s season 19 continues Blizzard’s revisions, along with all miscellaneous changes that address the competitive experience, and will set the stage in regards to the tuning and miscellaneous changes in self-adjusting patches midseason to come.

James Steward

James Steward is an experienced writer with a deep passion for the gaming and esports space. With years of experience in the industry, he has a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics, trends, and evolution of competitive gaming. His writing offers precise insights and reflects his expertise.

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