Week 2 of the Overwatch 2 Anniversary 2024 event introduces the return of the fan-favorite Balanced Overwatch mode from April Fools’ Day. Players can experience wacky hero changes, such as Tiny Mauga, DPS Mercy, and even turret-sticking Torbjörn.
On top of that, you can unlock the Bounty Hunter Baptiste skin for free by completing in-game challenges.
Full Hero Changes for April Fools’ Day Mode
Here’s a comprehensive list of the changes to each hero in Balanced Overwatch.
Tank Hero Changes
- D.Va
- Boosters: Can move backward and be canceled with crouch, reducing cooldown to 1.5 seconds if canceled early.
- Self Destruct: Knockback increased by 900%.
- Doomfist
- Power Block: Power Block and Meteor Strike now empower quick melee.
- Movement speed modifier increased from .65x to 1.25x.
- Junker Queen
- Jagged Blade: Secondary fire magnetizes Junker Queen to Gracie. Cooldown decreased from 6 to 4 seconds.
- Mauga
- Health reduced from 350 to 25.
- Incendiary Chain Gun: Hitting enemies on fire ignites them.
- Orisa
- Energy Javelin: Ricochets once and explodes when it sticks.
- Ramattra
- Base Armor: Increased from 100 to 225.
- Annihilation: Moved to Ability 1, now no longer pauses while dealing damage. Duration increased from 3 to 5 seconds.
- Nemesis Form: Now his ultimate, granting fully healed health on use, with increased damage and range.
- Reinhardt
- Barrier Field: Reflect projectiles with primary fire. Health decreases by 20% per second while reflecting.
- Roadhog
- Pig Pen: Projectile speed increased from 26 to 80. Damage increased from 0 to 40.
- Sigma
- Accretion: Projectile gravity decreased from 18 to 2. When crashed, deals 50 damage in a 4-meter radius.
- Winston
- Tesla Cannon: Secondary fire chains between enemies.
- Primal Rage: Punches cause lightning to chain between enemies.
- Wrecking Ball
- Sideways movement speed increased by 55%.
- Quad Cannons: Increased damage when moving sideways.
- Zarya
- Particle/Projected Barrier: Increases the size of the bubbled target by 1.75x.
DPS Hero Changes
- Ashe
- New ability, F.R.E.D.: Weapon swap and call in F.R.E.D. to charge for a short duration.
- Bastion
- Configuration: Assault is now default form with 150 ammo and 1.5x critical hit damage.
- Reconfigure: Grants 35% movement speed bonus in Recon and fires shotgun blasts in Sentry.
- Cassidy
- Wanted! Passive: Kill marked enemies to gain health. After 5 kills, gain 1 health per kill.
- Echo
- Focusing Beam: Targets within 8 meters take damage as if below half health.
- Duplicate: Can now duplicate allies, with bonus shield and faster ultimate charge.
- Genji
- Deflect: Critically deflect projectiles with perfect timing.
- Hanzo
- Storm Arrows: Now shoots 5 projectiles per shot, with a ricochet increase to 3. Damage decreased.
- Junkrat
- Frag Launcher: Can detonate projectiles with secondary fire.
- Mei
- New ability, Avalanche Launch: Creates an ice pillar beneath Mei when jumping.
- Pharah
- New ability, Jet Land: Dash downward by pressing crouch in the air.
- Reaper
- Hellfire Shotguns: Secondary fire shoots the other shotgun. Ammo increased from 8 to 16.
- Sojourn
- Disruptor Shot: Pulls enemies in on deployment. Can be deployed early.
- Soldier: 76
- Heavy Pulse Rifle: Can now be used during Sprint, with increased spread.
- Sombra
- Virus: Spreads to nearby enemies if the infected target is killed.
- Symmetra
- Teleporter: Places exit only. Any ally can use it, regardless of location.
- Torbjörn
- Deploy Turret: Turret sticks to walls, ceilings, and allies.
- Tracer
- Recall: Sends you to a random point in time, changing how Pulse Pistols work.
- Widowmaker
- Grappling Hook: Now has 3 charges, with critical hits replenishing one charge.
Support Hero Changes
- Ana
- Sleep Dart: Slept enemies slowly rise and take fall damage when they land.
- Baptiste
- Exo-Boots: Launches forward rather than upward.
- Amplification Matrix: Projectiles shot through it have increased speed by 200%.
- Brigitte
- Scale and armor increased. Shield health increased to 700.
- Rally: Resets Shield Bash cooldown and increases speed bonus.
- Illari
- Captive Sun: After using this ability, Illari gains movement speed and faster rifle charge.
- Kiriko
- Protection Suzu: Grants a 10% boost to damage, healing, and movement speed.
- New passive, Vulpine Agility: Grants Kiriko a second jump.
- Lifeweaver
- Petal Platform: Now raises 20 meters up instead of 8.
- Lúcio
- Sonic Amplifier: Ammo increased from 20 to 30. Recovery time reduced.
- Sound Barrier: Knocks enemies up when hit by sound waves.
- Mercy
- Caduceus Staff: Damage boost removed. Secondary fire now acts as Damage Staff, firing projectiles.
- Moira
- Biotic Grasp: Primary fire now deals damage, and secondary fire heals.
- Zenyatta
- Orb of Destruction: Secondary fire fires faster with decreased charge time and damage.
How to Unlock the Free Baptiste Skin
Complete three challenges between Oct. 1 and Oct. 8 to unlock the Bounty Hunter Baptiste skin. Once obtained, visit the hero gallery, select Baptiste, and equip the new skin!
Conclusion
The 2024 Overwatch 2 Anniversary event is packed with fun changes and exciting rewards, including the free Bounty Hunter Baptiste skin. Don’t miss the chance to experience April Fools’ Day madness with hilarious abilities and complete challenges to earn exclusive rewards!