Overwatch 2 Patch Notes Season 7: Balance Changes, New Map

Get ready for spooky season; Overwatch 2 Season 7 launches today on October 10! Aptly titled Rise of Darkness, Blizzard Entertainment is going all-out with the scares with the re-launch of Halloween Terror game modes and their collaboration with Diablo 4.

Players have been shown teasers for weeks on what they can expect from the new season, including a new control map, Sombra's rework, and all the skins on offer, including a Mythic Hanzo skin. Overwatch 2 Season 7 will be a meta-shifter, as plenty of heroes are getting changes to their damage and stats.

Here's everything we know about Overwatch 2 Season 7, including its release date, all balance changes, the new map, and more!

Overwatch 2 Season 7: Release Date

The new Overwatch 2 season 7, Rise of Darkness, will go live on October 10. All the exact release times are below.

• 10 AM PT
• 6 PM BST
• 7 PM CET
• 2 PM ET

As the new patch notes become live, Overwatch 2 will be disabled to allow the changes to take effect. Players will have to install the updates for Overwatch 2 from the Battle.net launcher.

Overwatch 2 Season 7: Sombra's Rework

While other heroes on the roster are getting minor tweaks to their abilities and other balance changes, Sombra is getting hit with a full-on overhaul to her kit. Blizzard claims these changes will make her "more engaging to play and increase the active feel in her ability kit" while upholding the Hacker fantasy.

Many players complained that Sombra felt too passive and would disengage from fights, leaving their team in a pickle with 5v4 situations. These new hero changes will make her more impactful and present in all situations.

Following her rework, Sombra has gained a new ability with "Virus," assigned to Ability 1 by default. At the same time, her old passive "Opportunist" has been removed entirely.

Machine Pistol

• Damage increased from 7.5 to 8.
• Minimum spread reduced from 0.5 to 0.
• Max spread shots increased from 3 to 6 shots.
• Reload time reduced from 1.4 seconds to 1.2 seconds.

Hack

• Cast time reduced from 0.75 seconds to 0.65 seconds.
• Stealth is canceled when hacking an enemy hero.
• Cooldown increased to 6 seconds.
• Hack has a reduced cooldown of 3 seconds if Hack is interrupted.
• The “Hacked” warning text only appears while silenced instead of the remainder of the hack debuff.

Stealth

• Stealth is Sombra's passive ability. Sombra automatically becomes invisible after 3.5 seconds while not shooting, using a damaging ability, or taking damage.
• Stealth movement speed bonus reduced from 60% to 45%.
• Fade Out duration into Stealth reduced from 0.375 seconds to 0.25 seconds.
• Fade In duration from Stealth reduced from 0.5 seconds to 0.375 seconds.

Virus

• New ability: Fires a projectile that damages an enemy over time. Damage is dealt faster on Hacked enemies.
• Impact Damage: 10 (20 on hacked targets).
• Damage over time: 100 over 4 seconds (100 over 2 seconds on hacked target).

Translocator

• No longer manually re-activated. Translocator automatically teleports Sombra 0.25 seconds after being thrown.
• Reduces the Stealth passive cooldown after teleporting.
• Projectile speed increased from 25 to 72.
• Cooldown reduced from 6 seconds to 5 seconds. Cooldown begins after Sombra teleports to the location of the Translocator.

EMP

• Ultimate charge cost increased by 15%.
• Health percent damage decreased from 40% to 30%.

Overwatch 2 Season 7: Hero Changes

Tank

Orisa

Fortify

• Damage reduction decreased from 50% to 45%.

Ramattra

Nemesis Form

• Cooldown decreased from 8 seconds to 7 seconds.

Wrecking Ball

Quad Cannons

• Number of shots to reach maximum spread increased from 20 to 30.

Zarya

Projected Barrier

• Size decreased by 15%, matching the size of Particle Barrier.
• Health decreased from 225 to 200 matching Particle Barrier.

Damage

Cassidy

Combat Roll

• Damage reduction increased from 50% to 75%.

Mei

Deep Chill

• Passive ability Removed

Endothermic Blaster

• Damage per second increased from 70 to 100.
• Immediately slows enemies by 40% instead of building up over time.

Torbjörn

Rivet Gun

• Primary fire recovery increased from 0.48 seconds to 0.51 seconds.

Overload

• Overhealth bonus decreased from 100 to 75.

Support

Brigitte

Whip Shot

• Damage increased from 70 to 80.

Illari

Solar Rifle

• Secondary fire healing per second decreased from 120 to 105.

Overwatch 2 Season 7: Halloween Event 2023

Overwatch 2 developers are getting into the spirit of spooky season as Overwatch 2 transforms into a haunted battleground! Ghouls, pumpkins, and fog decorate fan-favorite maps like Route 66 and Eichenwalde.

If that's not enough, the annual Halloween Terror event is back with a bang! Overwatch 2 Season 7 sees the return of two classic Arcade modes: Junkenstein's Revenge and Wrath of the Bride. A new limited-time mode also enters the mix: Trials of the Sanctuary. This Diablo 4-themed new game mode sees players take on powerful bosses, including Butcher Roadhog, Azmodan Wrecking Ball, and Lilith Moira.

Season 7, of course, brings a new battle pass for players to open their wallets for! The Season 7 battle pass features legendary skins Azmondan Wrecking Ball, Victorian Doll Echo and Diesel Baron Ramattra. There are also three epic skins, Ghostly Bride Widowmaker, Victorian Ghost Lucio and Crimson Clown Junkrat. The mythic skin for this season on October 10 is Onryō Hanzo with several color variations.

Overwatch 2 Season 7: New Map and Lighting Changes

A new control map, Samoa, is dropping in the Season 7 patch. As players battle for control in a best-of-three series match-up, they will be taken on a journey through Samoa! Overwatch 2 fans feel this map hints at a new hero that could launch in Season 8: Mauga, a long-teased Tank hero.

The first point is a gleaming urban cityscape with vantage points and flat battlegrounds for team fights. The second point is on a tropical beach so Ana can finally get her tropical getaway. The final point is where things get steamy, as it's set inside a volcano, potentially with many environmental kill opportunities.

Overwatch 2 Season 7 also brings tons of new lighting to fan-favorite maps to spice things up. Take a look below at all the new map lighting settings for Overwatch 2 Season 7.

Push

• New Queen Street (Morning)
• Colosseo (Evening)
• Esperança (Morning)

Hybrid

• Blizzard World (Night)
• Eichenwalde (Morning)
• Hollywood (Morning)
• King’s Row (Night)
• Midtown (Night)
• Numbani (Morning)
• Paraíso (Evening)

Escort

• Dorado (Evening)
• Havana (Morning)
• Watchpoint: Gibraltar (Morning)
• Junkertown (Morning)
• Circuit Royal (Morning)
• Rialto (Evening)
• Route 66 (Overcast)
• Shambali Monastery (Night)

Control

• Antarctic Peninsula (Night)
• Busan (Morning)
• Ilios (Evening)
• Lijiang Tower (Dawn)
• Nepal (Morning)
• Oasis (Morning)
• Samoa (Morning)

Flashpoint

• New Junk City (Morning)
• Suravasa (Morning)

Final Thoughts

That's all the information we have on the patch notes for Overwatch 2 Season 7! We can't wait to dive into the Halloween-themed game modes and check out the new battle pass. While no new hero has launched this season, we're sure that Sombra's ability overhaul will make her feel like a brand new hero entirely. Let's see how she hacks the meta coming into season 7!

Want more Overwatch content? Check out our complete hero unlock guide, the ranking system, the best crosshairs, the rarest skins, and how to play crossplay!