Overwatch devs are nerfing Hanzo’s Storm Arrows to stop one-shot kills

It’s not easy being Hanzo. First of all, you’re really upset over the whole “murdered brother” thing, and the fact that he’s back as a cyborg ninja who can take you in a fight isn’t helping matters. “Hanzo main” is basically one of the meanest insults in the game, and your left nipple is always a little chilly. Well, at least the recent Hanzo rework was a success! This is probably the strongest Hanzo has ever been. In fact, he’s a little too strong, so the Overwatch developers are hitting him with a nerf.

Geoff Goodman explained what they’re tweaking and why on the official Blizzard forums.

We’ve been testing some nerfs internally and have decided to make a change for the upcoming patch.

We’re reducing the damage per arrow from 80 to 70, which not only drops them out of one-shot territory for 200 hp heroes (w/ dmg boost), but also drops them out of one-shot range of 150 heroes such as Tracer and D.Va pilot.

The ability will still be very strong overall, but this change should help mitigate the most frustrating element of fighting against it. We’re looking at getting this change up onto the PTR soon.

One shots are always a controversial mechanic in Overwatch, and are part of the reason Hanzo got reworked in the first place—his Scatter Arrow could potentially fire and immediately take out a target. Storm Arrows require a little more finesse, especially with the nerf; he can still dish out major damage, but he’ll have to properly aim and hit all arrows, and his opponents will have time to dodge.

The nerf should be put on the PTR soon, and as always, all balance shifts are subject to change until they hit live servers.