Overwatch 2 will finally nerf Zenyatta’s Discord Orb in next balance patch

The Overwatch 2 development team has detailed a handful of balance changes coming in the next mid-season patch, including a nerf to Zenyatta’s Discord Orb and more.

As a live service game, Overwatch 2 is constantly receiving balance updates for its huge roster of Heroes. While some of these updates come through hotfixes, many of the bigger balance updates come through season patches.

Considering Season 5 started on June 12, 2023, it’s nearly time for the next mid-season update to come to the game.

In a recent Director’s Take blog post, the Overwatch 2 dev team teased the next round of Hero balance adjustments for the mid-season patch which will include changes to Tobjorn, Symmetra, and a nerf to Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord ability.

Overwatch 2 devs tease upcoming balance patch

The blog post began by discussing the previous updates made to Heroes like Cassidy, Mei, and Lifeweaver, then quickly moved on to what’s coming next.

According to the post, the mid-season patch is aiming to shift power from Torbjorn and Symmetra’s turrets and focus it “into the rest of their kit.” As both Heroes rely heavily on placing turrets to deal damage, it sounds like the team wants to focus on making these characters more than just their turrets.

However, the biggest adjustment for many fans is likely the news that there will be a “slight adjustment” to weaken Zenyatta’s Disord Orb ability.

For the past few months, OW2 players have called on Blizzard to nerf Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord with many calling the ability frustrating to play against.

While it doesn’t sound as though the team is looking to nerf Zen’s Discord Orb into the ground, it’s clear they’re aware of the community frustration surrounding the ability and are looking to adjust it.

Additionally, it seems Sojourn’s Railgun will be getting control tweaks and Reinhardt and Orisa will have their “frontline capability” increased. For now, fans will just have to wait for the mid-season patch notes to see the specific details of these upcoming changes.