Overwatch 2 confirms surprising new tank and DPS passives coming in Season 9

Overwatch 2’s next season will be introducing some major changes to the tank and DPS heroes in the form of new passive abilities.

A slew of updates are headed to Overwatch 2 in Season 9 including an upgraded Competitive mode, changes to burst damage and even passive abilities.

Passives in Overwatch 2 have been quite controversial with many players unsure on what the right approach for them is. Currently, DPS heroes get an increased reload speed after securing an elimination while tanks take less knockback from certain attacks.

Supports, meanwhile, automatically get their health restored when out of combat – something Overwatch 2’s Game Director Aaron Keller says will soon affect other roles as well.

DPS and tank heroes getting new Overwatch 2 passive ability

In a blog post discussing what features players can expect to see in 2024, Keller also discussed some big updates planned for Season 9.

After reiterating plans for significant balance changes and modifications to how chunks of damage are dealt, Keller revealed that the support healing passive will be shared with other roles.

“In Season 9, both Tank and Damage heroes will get a modified, tuned-down version of the Support self-healing passive,” he explained. “This should give non-Support players more options in terms of sustaining themselves.”

He went on to note how these updates should take some pressure off supports who feel overwhelmed with keeping their teammates topped off health-wise now that other heroes have more control over their HP.

“A change like this shifts that balance a bit. This is something that we are constantly evaluating. We still want Overwatch to be defined by team strategy and mechanics, but we feel this can be pulled back a bit now and possibly more in the future,” he added.

In the same blog post, Keller also revealed that long-awaited features to team play such as a PvE-style UI addition are in the works along with the possibility of a mini-map.

Expect to learn more about the upcoming Season 9 update and the major ranked overhaul in the weeks ahead.