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A future update in Season 9 of Overwatch 2 will implement passive healing for more heroes in the game, a change many fans see as a move further away from the notions of playing as a team and optimal character composition for covering healing and buffs. This will be just one tweak in a "massive set of gameplay and balance changes" for the ninth season of the game, with Tank and Damage class heroes benefitting from the update.

This big change is being made to lessen the "reliance on teammates," according to director Aaron Keller. "In Overwatch, there is a constant tug of war between the power of a team and the power of an individual hero or player. A change like this shifts that balance a bit. This is something that we are constantly evaluating. We still want Overwatch to be defined by team strategy and mechanics, but we feel this can be pulled back a bit now and possibly more in the future."

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As the game was originally designed around team play and covering for your friends' in-game weaknesses by selecting an optimal hero, the update hasn't gone down well with all Overwatch 2 users. This may signal Blizzard's "new direction" for Overwatch 2 is about catering for players without a constant group of friends to play with, as the competitive Overwatch League was shut down late last year.

Once the change is made, it sounds like characters will regenerate health ala Call of Duty outside of combat, meaning they won't need to find a healer like Mercy or Lucio to get back in shape — though these heroes will probably still be able to heal them much faster than the passive feature coming soon. In a Resetera thread discussing the move, it's debated what support characters will receive to still make them viable picks. More details are expected to follow as season nine of Overwatch 2 is set to begin next month.

What do you think of this update? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

[source gamesradar.com]