Armor and tanks nerfed in latest Overwatch patch

Fariha Bhatti Published 24/01/2019

A new patch has been introduced to live servers, bringing a few balance changes to heroes just in time for the start of Overwatch League Season 2.

Patch 1.32.1 will be used for Stage 1 of the Overwatch League, with commissioner Nate

Nanzer announcing that the patch used by the professional players will be in line with versions at home.

The biggest change in the patch affects multiple heroes, as it makes adjustments to the armor mechanic. Previously, armor worked by reducing five points of damage per shot from any given hero. With the new changes, this has now been reduced to three points of damager per shot. While the change may not immediately seem significant, heroes with a rapid rate of fire will the see effects stack up against enemies with large armor bonuses.

Brigitte has received another nerf to her kit, with the duration of her ultimate being capped at 30 seconds. This prevents bonus armor from staying on allies between separate uses of her ultimate.

D.Va’s Defense Matrix has been updated with a longer cooldown period between uses. While previously at one second, the ability now takes 2 seconds to become available for use again. Defense Matrix is a particularly strong ability as it can absorb all projectiles while active. The changes will make it easier for her enemies to break through D.Va’s defenses..

The final balance change buffs DPS hero Reaper. His passive ability The Reapening steals life from his targets, and will now restore 50% of all damage dealt as health. This is up from 30%, and should allow Reaper to be more effective against tank heroes with their large health pools.

The update also activated the Lunar New Year event, which brought a host of new cosmetics to the loot pool. The event runs from January 24 to February 19.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

View full profile

Read Also

Kick

Kick Surpasses 1M Average Live Viewers, Claims 35% Market Share Khizar Mundia Kick co-founder Bijan Tehrani has celebrated Kick crossing another major milestone, joking on X that “more people watch Kick than flying on a plane every night.” The platform has increased its market share by 10 percentage points in 2026 while surpassing 1 million average live viewers. It’s not a secret that Eddie Craven and Bijan Tehrani initially launched Kick in 2022 in large part as a direct competitor to Twitch. ...

Dota 2

Dota 2’s new Tidehunter Arcana is mind-blowing, but prepare to spend $200+ to get it Michael Hassall Night owls in North America and early risers in Europe woke up to a brand new Dota 2 Arcana, the first new release of Dota’s rarest and most-coveted cosmetics since 2024. The recipient? Tidehunter, whose Maw of the Megladon Arcana transforms the already selachian sea-dweller into a full-blown shark. But while Arcana’s have traditionally been part of big events in Dota 2, either the now-discontinued Battle Passes, or most recently, ...

Movies & TV

Oscars 2027 — Will the Odyssey Earn the Most Nominations? Zachary Roberts The Odyssey came out in July, and it somehow delivered on all the hype and anticipation that Christopher Nolan's latest film had. Will that translate to Oscars? It can be impossible to predict how a body of voters will lean after an entire year of film releases. However, Polymarket traders think this year will be pretty easy win for Nolan and leading man Matt Damon. The Odyssey was a massive ...

Esports Betting

LeBron James will earn more from prediction markets than basketball this year Michael Hassall Superstar basketball player Lebron James will earn more from prediction markets this year than from playing ball thanks to his mind-blowing 15 million dollar Polymarket sponsorship. The deal has highlighted both the contentious issue of prediction markets and sport (and the true market value of a 41-year-old player) as one of the NBA’s biggest stars now clearly has more cultural cache off the court than the value of a teammate ...

Esports Betting

Polymarket bank failure predictions could force UK intervention Michael Hassall Crypto-based prediction market Polymarket has drawn the ire of the United Kingdom's (UK) establishment after several markets emerged predicting the downfall of British high street banks HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group. The prediction market, which also has markets tracking the downfall of the likes of JP Morgan, US Bank, and BNP Paribas, also included markets predicting the failure of several UK banking institutions. The markets, mainly “Which banks will fail ...

Twitch

What Is Twitch Spendable Balance and How To Use It? Khizar Mundia Twitch is adding another way for viewers to manage their subscriptions, with recurring subscriptions now available through Spendable Balance. But what exactly is Twitch Spendable Balance, and how can creators use it? Here’s what you need to know. Many creators livestream on platforms such as Kick and Twitch full-time and rely on their earnings to pay for basic necessities. This was recently seen on Kick, when the platform’s KPP glitched ...

Kick

Eddie Craven: Kick Remains Creator-Focused As Ads Contribute Little Revenue Khizar Mundia Kick initially prioritized the viewing experience and didn’t add ads to its content, which is why it was a major surprise when the platform finally started showing adverts. CEO Eddie Craven has addressed some of the criticism, revealing that ads are a minor revenue source for Kick, and reiterated that the platform remains creator-first in its approach. Ads initially appeared on Kick in May 2026, which sparked a backlash from ...