Overwatch 2 Season 16 patch notes add Stadium mode, Hero bans, Freja & more
A Overwatch 2 Director’s Take has revealed a number of changes we can expect going into Season 16, enough to give us a glimpse of their overall vision for the patch.
And, though there are a few perk changes andFrejabuffs that have been revealed, there are also a number of more significant game-wide changes that were hinted at or outright revealed.
Here’s what we know so far aboutOverwatch 2 Season 16and what you’re able to expect from the full patch.
Overwatch 2 Season 16 patch notes
Stadium Mode arrives
The new third-person Stadium mode is coming this patch, providing a round-based experience where you get to build hero loadouts and play through a variety of modes in a best-of-7 format. Players earn Stadium Cash to spend between rounds to enhance their hero.
The mode is only launching with 17 playable characters, and it won’t have any perks. Additionally, your hero choice is locked in for the entire game and can’t be swapped. More heroes will be added in the future. Here’s the full list of heroes:
How does Stadium Cash work?
Though Stadium Cash is earned in a variety of ways, the game also has ways of modifying how much you get. Additionally, every player gets at least some cash by default. Here’s how the money breaks down:
What can you spend Stadium Cash on?
Stadium Cash can increase either Max Health or be used to buy Items from the Armory:
Increased Max Health:
Armory Items and Powers
On top of all this, Stadium will also have a rank system. You can read a full breakdown of how the ranks work differently from normal competitivehere, or check out our best builds guide if you want a head start on the best possible optionsfor each character.
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When is Overwatch 2 Season 16? Freja, Stadium mode, hero bans, more
Freja abilities and backstory in Overwatch 2
Competitive Play Hero Bans
Hero bans are coming to any mode that can be queued for Competitive Play. This will allow you to ban heroes before the match even starts, though the system has some restrictions on how many heroes you can ban per role. It’s a bit more complex than a typical ban system.
You can read more details on hero banninghere.
6v6 is sticking around
One of the biggest bits of information revealed in theDirector’s Takethat came before these patch notes is that 6v6 will be sticking around in both Competitive and Open Queue.
It’s not quite as popular as the core mode just yet, but it’spopular enoughto be sticking around for at least the duration of Season 16. It’ll keep the open queue format to make sure queue times don’t end up as long as they did in Overwatch 1, but the OW team plans on keeping the mode around long-term.
Hero Changes
On top of Overwatch 2 getting so many fundamental changes in this patch, it’s also getting a huge list of hero changes. While they’re mostly focused on changing Perks, with many of them getting removed and replaced with entirely new ones. Not to mention Freja getting added this patch.
There are, however, some other small changes that may make a huge difference. For instance, Hanzo can now keep the charge on his bow after wall climbing. You can read thefull list of changes here.
