Overwatch 2 has officially launched its mid-Season 20 update, which features buffs and nerfs to over a dozen heroes, Mythic Magma Doomfist, and several limited-time events, including the return of Assault. While some of these activities are still a little way off, most of this update, including the balance adjustments, are live in Overwatch 2 right now.
Season 20 came to Overwatch 2 on December 9, with new melee damage hero Vendetta as the star of the show. Additionally, Overwatch 2 kicked off its Winter Wonderland event, added Doomfist and Wuyang to Stadium, and introduced the Challenger Leaderboards feature for the Top 500 in Competitive Play.
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New Events in Overwatch 2 Mid-Season 20 Update
Now that it has been about a month, it’s time for Overwatch 2 to mix things up for the second half of Season 20. The Overwatch 2 mid-Season 20 update is officially live, featuring several in-game events, the most exciting of which is the new Quick Play Hacked: Assault Returns. From January 8 to 11, the Assault game mode will be re-added to the Quick Play rotation, wherein fans can fight on familiar Overwatch maps like Hanamura, Temple of Anubis, and Volskaya Industries, but with modern Overwatch 2 heroes and game balance.
Assault, sometimes called 2CP, was an Overwatch 1 game mode that was removed from the core rotation in the sequel, where the attacking team had to capture two objectives before time ran out.
Beyond that, two more events will take place within the next few weeks: Showdown Shuffle and Junkrat’s Loot Hunt. Showdown Shuffle runs from January 13–26, and is an iteration on the Spirit Showdown game mode introduced during the Overwatch 2 mid-Season 19 update, in which gamers are swapped to a new hero in their chosen role every time they get an elimination, or after dying twice. This time, heroes also swap after a certain number of assists, and wild modifiers each match will keep things interesting, such as all heroes being half their normal size or being able to jump twice as high. Meanwhile, Junkrat’s Loot Hunt takes place from January 22–25, giving players the chance to earn up to nine Loot Boxes by playing a bunch of games throughout the weekend.
Overwatch 2 Mid-Season 20 Mythic Skin, Balance Adjustments, and More
A second Mythic skin has arrived in Overwatch 2 Season 20 in the form of Magma Titan Doomfist, featuring molten SFX, a customizable gauntlet, and fiery red, blue, and green colorways for fans of the Talon leader to choose from. Several other skins will also arrive in the store during the second half of the season, including Cosmic OWL Widowmaker, Lucio, and Reinhardt; Borealis Mercy, Wuyang, Lifeweaver, Sojourn, and Echo; and Heist Roadhog, Reaper, and Ashe.
Of course, no major Overwatch 2 patch would be complete without some hero balance adjustments. This time around, Roadhog, Freja, Genji, Illari, Moira, and Zenyatta all lucked out with some buffs to their core kits and Perks. Meanwhile, Doomfist, D.Va, Ashe, Bastion, Symmetra, Vendetta, Venture, and Lucio all caught at least one nerf.
This Overwatch 2 update is also a rebase patch, which is a foundational update that rebuilds the core client from the ground up for long-term stability. These patches are larger than usual, especially on consoles, but ultimately reduce the game’s overall file size.
There is only about one month left of this season, with Season 21 currently scheduled to arrive on February 10. While players don’t know much about what’s coming in this update, they could see the new Atlantic Arcology or Tokyo Overwatch 2 maps there. However, the update will include the first rank reset for 2026, so fans might want to consider climbing the ladder as high as they can before then – and the Season 20 Competitive Drives from January 30 to February 4 should help them do just that.
Overwatch 2 Mid-Season 20 Patch Notes – January 8, 2026
Game and Event Updates
Rebase
2.20.1 is a full rebase, all platforms. Expect a much larger than usual patch size, specifically for consoles.
Showdown Shuffle
Showdown returns with a twist! From January 13–26, Heroes shuffle mid-match and wild modifiers keep the chaos coming. Complete challenges to earn cosmetics, lootboxes and Battle Pass XP!
Here is the list of modifiers that will randomly rotate during the match:
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Mini Maxing
- All heroes are 50% smaller. Health reduced by 30%
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Lie Low
- Heroes become invisible while crouching. However, their invisibility can still be detected at a short distance. The hero stops being invisible when they receive damage or attacks.
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Power Punch
- Quick melee attacks knock back enemies
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Vampiric Healing
- Heroes don’t passively regenerate HP, but each hero has the vampiric passive
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Aerial Combat
- Heroes deal and receive 50% more damage while in the air. Gravity decreased
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Back in Action
- Respawn time decreased. Does not apply during Overtime.
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Damage Pack
- Health packs also increase damage dealt by 250% for 10–20 seconds or until death.
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Berserkers
- Heroes don’t passively regenerate HP. For each 10% of total HP lost, increases attack speed by 6% and reduce cooldowns by 6%.
- Super Jump
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Explosive
- Heroes explode on death, dealing damage to all nearby heroes.
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Hyper Speed
- Movement speed is increased by 30% for all heroes.
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Buff Hunt
- Every minute, one random hero has increased HP, deals more damage, and generates ult charge faster. Eliminate the buffed hero to gain the buff.
Quick Play Hacked: Assault Returns!
Play the classic Assault maps this weekend January 8–11 in our latest Quick Play: Hacked – in 5v5, 6v6 and Mystery Heroes queues!
Junkrat’s Loot Hunt
Junkrat’s Loot Hunt is back again, running from January 22–25! Earn lootboxes by completing challenges that unlock as you play!
Tank Updates
Doomfist
Empowered Punch can be held indefinitely, creating situations with limited counterplay. Adding a duration sets clearer expectations while maintaining its intended impact. The Power Matrix adjustment aligns its effective area more closely with Doomfist’s model for gameplay clarity.
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Rocket Punch
- Empowered punch now deteriorates after 20 seconds.
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Power Matrix perk
- Projectile absorption area scaled down to more closely match the size of Doomfist’s model.
D.Va
Extended Boosters successfully encouraged more aggressive Booster usage, but the damage bonus was too high for a minor perk. Reducing the value maintains its purpose while lowering overall lethality.
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Extended Boosters perk
- Additional Booster damage reduced from 100% to 40%.
Roadhog
Whole Hog’s knockback can make confirming eliminations difficult. This small damage increase improves its reliability, especially in open spaces.
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Whole Hog
- Damage per pellet increased from 6 to 7.
Damage Updates
Ashe
The increased falloff range helped reinforce Ashe’s role as a long-range hitscan, but it has made her damage output too consistent at far distances. Partially reverting this change reins in her long-range pressure while preserving this identity.
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Viper’s Sting perk
- Ammo gained reduced from 2 to 1.
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The Viper
- Secondary fire falloff range reduced from 40–60 meters to 35–55 meters.
Bastion
Recent fire-rate improvements enhanced the feel of Bastion’s primary fire but also increased his damage output more than desired. Reducing damage slightly offsets this while keeping the improved weapon flow intact.
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Configuration Recon
- Damage reduced from 25 to 23.
Freja
The primary-fire adjustments improve Freja’s baseline weapon consistency and reduce her reliance on empowered bolts. Increasing Take Aim’s damage restores an important breakpoint against 225-health targets while keeping its overall impact in check.
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Revdraw Crossbow primary fire
- Maximum spread reduced from 2 to 1.5 degrees.
- Spread now ramps up more slowly and fans out horizontally.
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Take Aim
- Impact damage increased from 30 to 35.
Genji
Genji’s ammo allows more consistent pressure in fights and secure kills without needing to reload as often.
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Shuriken
- Ammo increased from 24 to 30.
Symmetra
Reducing the secondary-fire projectile size increases the precision required to use it effectively. Lowering Teleporter durability provides clearer counterplay and encourages more deliberate placement.
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Photon Projector Secondary fire
- Base projectile size reduced from 0.5 to 0.4 meters.
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Teleporter
- Base shield health reduced from 250 to 200.
Vendetta
While recent changes improved ability flow, Vendetta’s overall lethality has remained too high. These adjustments reduce key breakpoints and alter the combinations required to secure eliminations.
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Projected Edge
- Damage reduced from 80 to 70.
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Soaring Slice
- Soaring Slice now starts on cooldown when respawning (does not apply when Resurrected or in Death Match)
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Whirlwind Dash
- Damage reduced from 80 to 70.
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Raging Storm perk
- Damage reduced from 40 to 35 per spin.
Venture
Drill Dash could feel too reliable when used in close proximity. Reducing the radius requires slightly more control and better aligns the ability’s impact with its visual size.
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Drill Dash
- Radius reduced from 2.4 to 2.0 meters.
Support Updates
Illari
Illari offers less utility than other offensively oriented supports, so increasing her damage raises her impact and improves her effectiveness when she’s positioned well and landing shots.
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Solar Rifle
- Maximum damage increased from 70 to 75.
- Minimum damage increased from 20 to 25.
Lucio
Soundwave can be disruptive on a short cooldown. Increasing its cooldown reduces how frequently it can be used and slightly lowers Lucio’s overall pressure.
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Soundwave
- Cooldown increased from 4 to 5 seconds.
Moira
This change increases Coalescence generation to better align its impact with other support ultimates.
- Ultimate cost reduced by 7%.
Zenyatta
Zenyatta’s limited survivability and defensive options can limit his overall impact. Increasing Discord Orb’s amplification improves his contribution when he’s able to position safely and keep the Discord Orb active.
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Discord Orb
- Damage amplification increased from 25% to 30%.
Bug Fixes
General
- Fixed an issue where D.Va’s Precision Fusion perk incorrectly applied to Micro Missiles instead of only her primary fire.
- Fixed an issue where Cassidy could not ping enemies through walls during Deadeye, he now matches other heroes with conditional wall visibility. (no ticket)
- Fixed an issue where aim assist would trigger on friendly pets and deployables.
- Fixed an issue where Moira’s Biotic Grasp would not target Lifeweaver’s Petal Platform.
- Fixed a bug that allowed Vendetta to temporarily store her Palatine Fang’s overhead slash
- Fixed an issue in 6v6 Open Queue where Zarya’s Projected Barrier would not activate when holding the button early before targeting a teammate, matching the Role Queue experience.
- Fixed an issue where Wuyang’s “Superflexor” mod would not activate on healing.
- Fixed an issue where Mercy’s “Supply Surge” power would incorrectly grant Winston unlimited ammo.
- Fixed an issue where Sigma’s “Astrophysical” power would not trigger other “on ability use” powers.
- Fixed an issue with the trap on Junkrat’s mythic skin
Stadium
- Fixed an issue where the general item “Superflexor” would not activate on healing for Wuyang.
- Fixed an issue where Mercy’s “Supply Surge” power would incorrectly grant Winston unlimited ammo.
- Fixed an issue where Sigma’s “Astrophysical” power would not trigger other “on ability use” powers.
- Fixed an issue where Genji’s Dragonblade wasn’t counted as Ability Damage for Ability Damage effects.
- Fixed an issue where the Gadget “Colossus Core” wasn’t sometimes not properly granting Knockback Resist.
- Fixed an issue where the general item “Mark of the Kitsune” wasn’t counted as Ability Damage for Ability Damage effects.
- Fixed an issue where Doomfist’s “Block Party” power could be kept permanently if sold in the shopping phase. Block Party has been re-enabled.
- Released
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August 10, 2023
- ESRB
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T For Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence
