Overwatch's Season 5 midseason update is out, and it's a busy one. Blizzard's midseason post sets up the end of the Reign of Talon story, a crossover called Overwatch x EVE Protocol, Roadhog's first Mythic skin and five weeks of events. Destructoid's write-up of the patch adds a long list of hero balance changes.
Taking Reign: the Rialto finale
The centrepiece is Taking Reign, which Blizzard says runs from 3 November to 7 December. It's where the Rialto story wraps up, with Doomfist and Overwatch heading to Rialto.
The event has 24 reward tiers. Blizzard says the free pass includes an Epic Sigma skin recolour, while upgrading the Event Pass for 1,000 Overwatch Coins unlocks Legendary Resurgence Doomfist and Vendetta's Heroic Weapon.
EVE Protocol and a Mythic Roadhog
The crossover, which Blizzard calls Overwatch x EVE Protocol and Destructoid describes as a Stellar Blade collab, runs from 3 to 17 November, according to Blizzard. The cast:
- Widowmaker as EVE
- D.Va as Lily, an Ultra skin, with her mech based on the Providence final boss
- Freja as Raven
- Vendetta as Tachy
- Soldier: 76 as Adam
Destructoid adds that the D.Va skin comes with custom kill effects and a unique "Hello" emote.
Roadhog also gets Mythic Necrotic Knight, which Destructoid notes is his first Mythic skin. Blizzard lists four customisation levels: the base form, helmet options inspired by a skull, a knight and a plague doctor, extra colour palettes, and ethereal effects.
The event calendar
If you're planning your grind, here are Blizzard's dates:
- Excavation Initiative (3 November to 7 December): three digs a week earn a Loot Box, with more Loot Boxes, Epic Loot Boxes and a Legendary Loot Box for players who keep digging.
- Junkrat's Loot Hunt (20 to 23 November): finish five games per challenge, up to nine times, with no daily reset and double XP throughout.
- Drives (3 to 7 December): Competitive Drives offer up to 3,000 Competitive Points and a Signature; Quick Play Drives offer up to 3,000 Legacy Weapon Points.
- OWCS World Finals Cheer Rally (3 to 7 December): tied to the World Finals, which Blizzard says run from 2 to 6 December in Guangzhou with twelve teams.
Balance changes, per Destructoid
Blizzard's midseason post doesn't cover balance, so this part comes from Destructoid's summary of the patch notes. The changes it lists include:
- Junker Queen: base health up from 375 to 425, and Carnage's cooldown cut from 9 to 7 seconds.
- Mauga: base armour up from 125 to 150.
- Reaper: base health up from 275 to 300.
- Genji: Deflect shortened from 2 to 1.5 seconds.
- Ana: Biotic Grenade's explosion damage down from 90 to 60.
- Jetpack Cat: base health down from 225 to 200.
Destructoid also reports tweaks to D.Va, Ramattra, Winston, Anran, Echo, Emre, Hanzo, Shion, Vendetta, Baptiste, Brigitte, Doctrine, Illari and Sombra. It says Blizzard has updated its Gameplay Sabotage Detection tools, and that the game will now thank players who report disruptive behaviour.
Jax's take: The Genji and Ana changes are the ones to watch. A shorter Deflect and a softer Biotic Grenade both touch abilities that decide a lot of fights, so lobbies could feel a bit different this week. And if you only care about the free stuff, the Excavation digs are the easy win: three a week for a Loot Box.
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