Overwatch devs believe Genji nerfs are “right direction” for DPS hero

As the latest Overwatch experimental card comes to an end, Blizzard has confirmed Genji’s shuriken nerfs are the “right direction” for the younger Shimada brother, and will be shipped to live servers shortly.

Experimental cards are back in Overwatch. Team 4 is looking at changing things up in the FPS title, and they have two heroes in their sights: Moira and Genji.

The former received a rework in the July 23 update, which changed how her Damage Orb and Fade worked. However, the younger Shimada brother received straight nerfs to his damage, after recent buffs “pushed him a bit too far,” according to Overwatch developers.

“We’re pulling back on some of these changes, specifically with a goal of reducing some of his burst potential,” they said when the experimental card went live.

The changes to Genji’s Shurikens ⁠— reducing their damage and increasing the recovery time on right-clicks ⁠— have been well-received by devs and players alike. While it’s obviously harder for the assassin to assassinate his enemies, it’s in a more balanced state than it was following his earlier buffs.

• Read more: How Moira’s Fade buff interacts with other Overwatch abilities

The reception to these changes has convinced Team 4 they are heading in the “right direction.” The next step is shipping the changes on the experimental card to the live game soon.

“Genji’s recent buffs have increased his hero pick rate considerably. We’re excited to see the hero getting more playtime, but some of the changes pushed his power-level a bit too far,” the devs explained in a July 27 recap.

“The tested changes to Shuriken are aimed at re-balancing his burst potential. We believe these changes are the right direction for Genji and we’ll be patching these changes into live game modes soon.”

Blizzard didn’t confirm when exactly players should expect the Genji nerfs to be shipped to live. However, with the Summer Games event just around the corner, and the experimental card just about to wrap up, it should be in the coming days.

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The experimental card closes on July 28 at 11am PT, so you still have around a bit of time to mess around with the Genji and Moira changes.