Overwatch 2’s Annual April Fools’ Day Mode Is Incredible

Most video game companies use April Fools’ Day to make a social media post about something improbable, like a dating sim spin-off or a product they will never actually put out. Overwatch 2 goes the extra mile and releases an entire game mode that cranks every one of its heroes up to their most chaotic form. The annual tradition has enough exaggerated balance changes to activate a pro player’s fight or flight.

The “Totally Normalwatch” mode is available in the Arcade menu until April 14. There are some incredibly silly changes here, such as Hanzo being able to ride Orisa into battle, Ashe’s robot bodyguard B.O.B. giving up his usual gatling gun to chase enemies around the map, and Moira having all her healing output changed to damage dealing. But that’s only scratching the surface of every change made to all 42 heroes.

In previous years, some of the funniest changes have included gags like making Mauga, a tank who usually towers over most Overwatch 2 heroes, only a foot tall, or giving every hero a new humorous voice line when they used their Ultimate abilities. Interestingly enough, looking back at old April Fools’ patch notes reveals that some of the balance changes made as a joke found their way into the main game through the new Perks system that modifies different abilities throughout the match. So, it’s possible that some of this year’s changes may show up in the actual game down the line as well.

The full patch notes are as follows:

D.Va

Developer Comments: The Meka Squad are having a rough time against the Gwishin Omnics. So, they are experimenting with new designs to save on materials and rations.

• Mech Size reduced by 50%.
• Mech Base Health reduced from 375 to 25.
• Mech Armor Health is unchanged.
• Pilot D.Va size reduced by 50%.
• Pilot Base Health reduced from 175 to 25.

Fusion Cannon

Rate of fire increased by 100%.

Light Gun

• Rate of Fire increased by 100%.
• Reload Speed increased by 25%.
• Damage reduced by 25%.

Self-Destruct

• Press Interact during Self-Destruct to freeze mech in place.

Doomfist

Developer Comment: Doomfist decided the best way to win is by punching the opponents… a lot.

Hand Cannon

• Removed from Primary Fire.

Quick Melee

• Replaces Hand Cannon as the Primary Fire.
• Melee speed increased by 50%.
• Melee damage increased by 50%.
• Doomfist now lunges toward nearby enemies when he melees.

Rocket Punch

• Melee damage now builds Rocket Punch Charge meter.
• Charge meter no longer decays.
• Charge time reduced by 50%.

Seismic Slam

• Cooldown decreased by 1 second.

Hazard

Developer Comments: Hazard got tired of rooting people in place, so he thought he’d try knocking them around instead.

Jagged Wall

• Jagged Wall Knockback increased by 400%.
• Jagged Wall Cooldown decreased from 12 to 8 seconds.

Junker Queen

Developer Comments: Everyone got tired of Junker Queen shouting at them and started to ignore her. So, she has gotten selfish and is hoarding her Commanding Shout buffs for herself. She always wants to directly confront anyone who gets hit by Gracie .

Jagged Blade

• Can no longer be recalled with Secondary Fire.
• Junker Queen flies towards Gracie while Secondary Fire is held.

Commanding Shout

• No longer affects allies.
• Overhealth increased by 50%.
• Bonus Move Speed increased from 30% to 60%.

Mauga

Developer Comments: Gunny and Cha-Cha will now lift up their Papa, and whoever is tethered to him.

• While airborne and firing both Chainguns at the same time, Mauga is pushed backwards in the direction he is aiming.

Incendiary Chaingun

• Ammo reduced from 300 to 150.
• Reload Speed increased by 15%.

Volatile Chaingun

• Ammo reduced from 300 to 150.
• Reload Speed increased by 15%.

Overrun

• Can now be used during Cage Fight.

Cage Fight

• Tether is now centered on Mauga and follows him.
• Grants Mauga infinite ammo for the duration.

Orisa

Developer Comments: “I see you glancing at me. You wish to ride me into battle?”

• Hanzo can press Interact while near Orisa to ride her into battle, giving Orisa extra movement speed.

Javelin Spin

• Javelin Spin now pulls enemies towards Orisa.

Ramattra

Developer Comments: Ramattra has elevated the discourse of battle, along with his opponents.

Ravenous Vortex

• Now reverses the gravity of all enemies inside.

Reinhardt

Developer Comments: Reinhardt recently saw some street racing anime and has become so obsessed with it that he has learned to drift.

Charge

• Cooldown reduced from 7 to 3.5 seconds.
• Turn speed increased by 150%.
• Charge lasts until you collide with a wall.

Roadhog

Developer Comments: We’ve been seen everyone’s feedback about Chain Hook being so inconsistent over the years, so we hope that throwing three of them at once makes it more reliably lethal.

Chain Hook

• Now throws 3 Hooks at once.

Sigma

Developer Comments: Sigma’s realized he was not abiding by Newton’s third law of motion, so he figures by deflecting the projectiles he blocks with Kinetic Grasp would make him a more psychics law abiding citizen.

Kinetic Grasp

• Deflects projectiles instead of absorbing them.
• Sigma gains free flight during Kinetic Grasp.

Winston

Developer Comment: “Winston Slam!”

Jump Pack

• Press Crouch to do a body slam and deal more damage while coming down during Jump Pack.

Wrecking Ball

Developer Comment: Hammond has decided to try imitating tumbleweeds and snowballs.

• Size reduced by 50%.
• Wrecking Ball gains Overhealth based on his size.

Roll

• Damaging enemies during Roll increases Wrecking Ball’s size.

Piledriver

• Area of effect increases based on Wrecking Ball’s size.

Zarya

Developer Comment: Zarya’s enemies have always feared her skills in battle, but now they will run in fear of her reflection too.

Particle Cannon

• Primary Fire now ricochets off of enemy heroes and the environment.

Ashe

Developer Comments: Bob’s arm cannons are in the shop, but he’s much more eager to jump into the fray.

Coach Gun

• Increased knockback on enemy heroes and briefly reduces their air control.

B.O.B.

• B.O.B. no longer shoots.
• B.O.B. now repeatedly dashes towards the nearest enemy hero and attempts to knock them into the air.
• Ultimate Cost reduced by 70%.

Bastion

Developer Comments: Bastion made a new friend that happens to be grenade-sized.

A-36 Tactical Grenade

• Now spawns an explosive training bot.

Configuration Artillery

• Impacts spawns explosive training bots.

Cassidy

Developer Comments: Cassidy recently borrowed Hanzo’s scatter arrow and figured out how to make new ammunition out of the tech.

Peacekeeper

• Primary and Secondary Fire both ricochet three times. Ricocheted bullets deal increased damage.

Echo

Developer Comments: Echo is testing new updates in flight technology, but it seems her other abilities were affected.

Tri-Shot

• Now fires Sticky Bombs.
• Damage reduced from 25 to 14.

Sticky Bombs

• Now fires a volley of Tri-Shot projectiles.
• Damage increased from 17 to 20.

Flight

• Flight is now always active.
• Activating Flight now causes Echo to dash a short distance.

Focusing Beam

• Now does extra damage to enemies above half health.

Genji

Developer Comments: Genji can once again spam that annoying emote to heal himself, though there might be negative consequences this time.

• Genji once again can occasionally heal himself when requesting healing.
• Don’t abuse this. You’ve been warned.

Hanzo

Developer Comments: It’s not a preposterous thought. Hanzo is making a longtime dream come true.

Storm Bow

• Fully-charged arrows ricochet twice.

Storm Arrow

• Each arrow ricochets up to 5 times.

Wall Climb

• While wall climbing, press Reload to attach yourself to the wall.

Samurai Kishu

• New Passive
• Press Interact while near Orisa to ride her into battle.
• While riding, gain 25% damage reduction.
• While riding, Orisa controls Hanzo’s movement.
• While riding, feel 20% cooler.

Junkrat

Developer Comments: Junkrat loves explosions so much he decided to become one.

Concussive Mine

• Can now place up to 5 mines at once.
• Maximum damage reduced by 50%.
• Max charges increased to 5.
• Cooldown reduced to 4 seconds.

RIP-Tire

• Junkrat becomes invisible and untargetable while using Riptire.
• Junkrat teleports to Riptire when it explodes.
• Junkrat dies if the Riptire is destroyed.

Mei

Developer Comments: The cold doesn’t bother Mei anymore, but it may bother Mei’s enemies.

Cyro-Freeze

• Now creates a miniature Blizzard.
• Mei can now move during Cryo-Freeze.

Moira

Developer Comments: Fixed a bug where Moira was classified as a Support Hero and removed any unintended healing. Thank you for your patience as we resolved this seven-year-old issue that has prevented Moira mains from reaching their ultimate damage potential.

• Moved to Damage role.
• Now has Damage role passive.
• No longer has the Support role passive.

Biotic Grasp

• Primary fire no longer heals and instead deals damage.

Biotic Orb

Coalescence

Pharah

Developer Comment: Pharah now takes her enemies on a magic rocket ride.

Rocket Launcher

• Direct hits deal increased damage to airborne enemies.

Jet Dash

• Pull nearby enemies along with Pharah.

Jump Jet

• Pulls nearby enemies along with Pharah.

Reaper

Developer Comment: Talon got tired of all of the shotguns Reaper was wasting and cut him off their weapon budget until he learns to be more resourceful.

Hellfire Shotguns

• Reaper can no longer reload and drops his shotguns on the ground when empty.
• Dropped shotguns must be picked up to restore ammo.
• Movement Speed increased by 25% when out of ammo.
• Picking up shotguns increases attack speed for a short duration.
• Note: It’s hard to melee enemies without your shotguns.

Sojourn

Developer Comment: Railgun can now be overcharged to deal more damage. WARNING: Okoton Kelvin-87 Railgun’s recoil dampeners not certified for high energy payloads.

Raingun

• Max charge is now 300%.
• Railgun Secondary Fire deals increased damage at above 100% charge.
• Railgun Secondary Fire knocks back Sojourn if fired at above 100% charge.

Soldier: 76

Developer Comment: Soldier: 76 being the stubborn old soldier that he is says he doesn’t need any help and can still outrun anyone on the battlefield.

• Soldier 76 can no longer see allied or enemy health bars. Including his own.
• Passive healing starts faster and heals much faster.

Sprint

• Running speed increased by 100%.

Sombra

Developer Comment: Sombra is exploiting a memory leak, and the only way to shut her down is to press Alt+F4.

Hack

• Hacking enemies grants a stacking buff (with a maximum of 10) of movement speed and magazine size.
• Stacks are lost on death.

Symmetra

Developer Comments: Symmetra is trying out the latest Vishkar fashions on her allies: turrets! She also traded in her gun for a new tankbuster gun that is overcharged.

Photon Projector

• Primary Fire now does damage based on target’s maximum health.
• Secondary Fire charge time reduced.

Sentry Turret

• Turret health Increased by 50%.
• Cooldown reduced by 40%.
• Projectile speed increased by 100%.
• Can now stick to allies.

Torbjörn

Developer Comments: Torbjörn’s turret just needs some hammering to reach maximum potential.

Deploy Turret

• Turret can be Overhealed by Forge Hammer.
• When Overhealed, Turret gains increased size, damage, and health.

Tracer

Developer Comments: Reinhardt taught Tracer how to charge very short distances, if she stays low enough.

Blink

• Blinking while crouching collides with enemies.
• Colliding with enemies deals damage and knocks them back.

Venture

Developer Comments: Venture got tired of working underground. We hope you dig these changes.

Burrow

• Can now fly while burrowed.
• Emerge can be charged longer for a stronger effect.

Widowmaker

Developer Comments: Widowmaker has learned how to catch her prey in her webbing.

Grappling Hook

• Can now hit enemy heroes, dealing damage and granting Widowmaker Overhealth.

Quick Melee

• First successful melee attack after hitting a hero with Grappling Hook deals extra damage.

Ana

Developer Comment: We’ve heard feedback from Ana players that their teammates ignore them when they call out that they are reloading and go and feed into the enemies anyways. We’re hoping this change makes for good practice for them to start paying more attention to their Support teammates.

Biotic Rifle

• Magazine size reduced from 15 to 1. • Reload speed increased by 25%. • Damage and healing increased from 75 to 150.

Baptiste

Developer Comment: Baptiste discovered some of those old retro platformer video games and now it’s all he ever wants to do.

Exo Boots

• Press Crouch while airborne to stomp on enemies.

Brigitte

Developer Comments: Mace to the face was working so well, so Brigitte thought she’d try her shield too.

Shield Bash

Shield Throw

• New Ability.
• Shield Throw will toss Brigitte’s Shield which stuns and bounces between enemies.

Rally

• During Rally, Shield Throw can hit more enemies.

Illari

Developer Comment: Illari got tired of allies being out of healing range, she altered her rifle accordingly.

Solar Rifle

• Primary Fire now heals allies and does not deal damage.
• Secondary Fire now damages enemies and does not heal allies.
• Secondary Fire range increased by 50%.

Juno

Developer Comment: We fixed a bug where allies and enemies were not getting welcomed into orbit as indicated by her Ultimate voice line.

Quick Melee

Oribital Ray

• Reverses gravity on all allies and enemies inside.

Kiriko

Developer Comment: Kiriko took some swiftness out of her step and put it into attack speed. What could go wrong?

Swift Step

• Swift Step now grants Kiriko overhealth and increased attack speed, but she can no longer choose her target.

Lifeweaver

Developer Comment: Be careful, as you don’t not want Lifeweaver to be a thorn in your side.

Thorn Volley

• Projectiles now home in on enemies.
• Projectiles per shot reduced from 2 to 1.
• Rate of fire reduced by 35%.
• Projectile speed reduced by 70%.
• When enough projectiles hit an enemy, they explode for 160 damage.

Lúcio

Developer Comments: “Can’t stop, won’t stop.”

Wall Ride

• Lúcio gains increasing Move, Reload, and Attack Speed while wall-riding.
• Buffs from Wall Ride persists for several seconds after touching the ground.

Mercy

Developer Comment: Mercy’s new pistol is just like a loot box… you’ll never know what you’ll get.

Caduceus Blaster

• Now fire random projectiles.

Zenyatta

Developer Comment: “We are all one within the many, googly irises.”

Orb of Destruction

• Now fires sticky googly eyes instead of orbs.
• Damage reduced by 25%.

• Attack Speed increased by 50%.