Blizzard’s new Overwatch 2 patch includes a contentious tweak to Moira, which has some players questioning balancing priorities. With the release of Overwatch 2 and the transition to 5v5 team engagements, the gameplay balance altered heavily in favour of Support characters. As a consequence, Overwatch 2 players are leery of alterations that enhance Support or encourage them to deal more damage. But that’s precisely what Blizzard looks to have done to Moira.
Overwatch 2’s supports are more adept than ever at enduring damage on their own. Because of how Overwatch 2 queues function, some DPS players are even queuing as Support and concentrating only on dealing damage. It’s sparked some debate, with some Overwatch 2 players claiming that Supports are the strongest characters in the game when they should be the most susceptible. Blizzard, on the other hand, has shown no signs of a problem.
?NEW PATCH ALERT ?
?? NEW LTM: BATTLE FOR OLYMPUS
? Tweaked ability kits for Junker Queen, Zarya, Brigitte, and Moira
? A fresh order of hotfixes& Much more!
Get the full rundown ?: https://t.co/i04TAxw51R pic.twitter.com/KLw4Avf36k
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) January 5, 2023
Moira has come under fire for her ability to do a lot of damage at the price of healing. Moira’s Biotic Orb skill exemplifies this contradiction since she can only toss either a damaging or a healing orb. Instead of encouraging Moira players to use her healing orb more often, as some players would want, Blizzard’s most recent Overwatch 2 modification may encourage players to use her devastating orb more frequently.
“Dealing damage with Biotic Orb now restores a small amount of Biotic Energy,” notes the Moira update in Overwatch 2’s January 5 patch. The key point is that this encourages players to utilise the harmful Biotic Orb rather than the healing Biotic Orb. Giving Moira players extra Biotic Energy for healing, in other words, does not cause them to heal. If the argument is that Moiras doesn’t heal quickly enough, it’s a fair point.
There is a perspective on the circumstance where this is the right choice, which is to Blizzard’s credit. If Blizzard notices that Moira players nearly often use the harmful Biotic Orb and that Moira players frequently do not heal due to a shortage of Biotic Energy, then this modification works flawlessly. Moira’s damage isn’t increased since they’re already spamming damaging Biotic Orbs, and it allows them Biotic Energy to heal more without pushing them to.
Aside from the controversy, Moira gamers are likely to be pleased with this development. It’s a pure buff with no drawbacks. Greater Biotic Energy implies more healing when they need it. Moiras will continue to play as previously if they do not feel like healing. At the very least, the change should not be disruptive.
