Overwatch devs delay major Experimental change patch with wild hero buffs
Overwatch’s next major balance update is being delayed a bit and may not go to the live version of the game without some changes.
TheMarch 4 Experimental modefeatured plenty of significant buffs to a number of the game’s heroes and a nerf to the off-tank Zarya.
In total, five heroes were buffed and while some of these changes, such as Genji’s Shuriken damage and Pharah’s hoverjets improvements seemed to be well-received by the community, others may be a bit controversial.
For instance, Reaper’s shotgun damage increase may make the Talon DPS a bit too much of a threat at lower ranks and Mei’s Cryo-Freeze healing could make her too tanky.
As such, on March 8, Overwatch Community Manager Josh Nashrevealedthat the Experimental changes won’t be pushed through with the PachiMarchi event on March 9.
“The team is reviewing feedback and performance – Once the changes are finalized, we’ll look to get a balance patch out before too long,” he wrote.
However, he went on to add that this doesn’t mean that some of the changes won’t eventually be added, but they won’t be going through tomorrow.
Set up for a sizzlin’ cephalopod showdown.
The#PachiMarchiChallenge begins March 9!pic.twitter.com/uZQKsXbfRi
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch)August 13, 2025
With most Overwatch patches, there is normally a lot of thoughts from community members, especially when certain heroes see their powers increased. Sigma, for instance, is a tricky one because his barrier buff is a direct contradiction of a previous nerf he received.
It’s going to be interesting to see what changes – if any – are made that differentiate the eventual balance patch from the experimental one.
Overwatch 2’s mid-season 15 patch failed to nerf the most broken heroes
Overwatch 2 players can’t believe these OP Damage heroes got another buff
Overwatch 2 mid-Season 15 update patch notes
Furthermore, Josh Nash also revealed that the true next Competitive season will begin on March 9 following somehiccups with it starting last week.
“Competitive Season 27 is on track to begin as the patch rolls out (and event begins) tomorrow,” he wrote in response to questions from players.
Even without a new balance update, Overwatch fans should have a lot to look forward to on March 9 when the PachiMarchi event and new competitive season hits the live server.
