New Overwatch Hotfix includes balance changes for Vendetta and all five new Reign of Talon Heroes

Monitoring has released another hotfix update that includes buffs for Anran, Emre, and Mizuki, as well as nerfs for Domina, Vendetta, and Jetpack Cat. These balance adjustments for the last six heroes to enter Monitoring is live in the game right now.

On February 10, Monitoring released the massive Season 1: Conquest update. With year-long storylines, a revamped user interface and five new playable characters, Blizzard's hero shooter has seen massive success since its soft relaunch. Then, on February 13, Monitoring released a hotfix that introduced some changes to the five Season 1 heroes, along with Vendetta, which arrived the season before.

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Buffs for Anran, Emre and Mizuki in Overwatch

Now, Monitoring has rolled out a second hotfix update targeting the same heroes with a different set of balance tweaks. On the buffered side of things, the fiery Monitoring Agent Anran received a reduction in the cooldown of Inferno Rush and an increase in the distance she can move while Dancing Blaze is active. This increased mobility should help reduce the high lethality of the fragile but dangerous damage hero.

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Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)

Emre also got a hefty buff, with an additional 2 damage per shot of his synthetic burst rifle, which is basically Monitorings version of Halos Battle Rifle. The hero already packs a punch, but this should help make his primary weapon's damage output comparable to fully auto hitscan heroes, such as Soldier: 76 and Sojourn.

Last on the buff list is Mizuki, one of the two new support heroes from Monitoring Reign of Talon Season 1. Kekkai Sanctuary, his ultimate, now lasts an extra second, making it more effective in teamfights. The Monitoring the team is discussing additional changes for the hero, which could include an increase in his Healing Aura range or the ability for the Kekkai Sanctuary to absorb projectiles trying to leave the field as well as those entering it.

Nerfs for Domina, Vendetta and Jetpack Cat in Overwatch

On the other side of the balance scale is Domina, the only new tank from the Reign of Talon Season 1 hero drop. Domina has dominated Monitoring with her high damage and area control. To cut her down to size, her ultimate, Panopticon, had her cost increased by 12%, which should slow down how often she can launch the devastating attack.

Vendetta is the only hero on this list that wasn't introduced in Reign of Talon Season 1, instead coming to Season 20 late last year. The melee damage hero has been a terror on the battlefield, with high damage and mobility. This latest nerf reduces the damage of her overhead swing and fixes a bug that made her immune to hits while launching downwards with this finishing attack. This is the latest in a series of nerfs the Talon leader has received, so players will have to watch again Monitoring will have to beat her again in the future.

overwatch reign of talon season 1 conquest patch notes

Finally, Jetpack Cat – arguably the most bizarre hero Monitoring has ever released – has performed a bit too well, with high damage, mobility and aerial superiority. To compensate, the Claws Out minor perk has had its cooldown increased, and the Territorial Major Perk has had its damage bonus reduced from 50% to 33%. This is just the beginning of Jetpack Cat's nerves, as the Territorial Perk is expected to be removed entirely in Monitoring mid season 1 patch in a couple of weeks, to be replaced with something else.

This mid-season update is expected to arrive around March 10 or 17, with Season 2 kicking off on April 14. There may be more hero balance hotfixes between now and then, but fans shouldn't expect any major changes until then.

Overwatch Reign of Talon Season 1: Conquest Hotfix Patch Notes – February 24, 2026

Hero balance changes

Dominate
Other
- Inferno Rush
  - Cooldown reduced from 8.5 to 8 seconds.
- Dancing Blaze
  - Increased the distance you can move while active from 1.5 to 2.25 meters.
Emre
- Synthetic blaster
  - Damage increased from 20 to 22.
Vendetta
- Palatine Fang
  - Swing height damage reduced from 130 to 120.
  - Bugfix — Overhead swing can now be affected by horizontal recoil when launching downwards.
Jetpack Cat
- Minor Perk – Claws Out
  - Cooldown increased from 6 to 8 seconds.
- Major Perk – Territorial
  - Damage reduced from 50% to 33%.
Mizuki
- Kekkai Shrine
  - Duration increased from 6 to 7 seconds.

Bug fixes

General
- Fixed an issue with missing textures on the Charming: 76 skin.
- Fixed some minor issues with Jetpack Cat and the tether animation for various heroes.
- Fixed an issue that was hiding Jetpack Cat's strength and target assist thresholds.
- Fixed an issue with Vendetta's third person sword throwing animation.
- Fixed an issue where Mizuki could still perform Katashiro Return while stunned.
- Fixed an issue where Mercy's passive was displayed incorrectly in the advanced info panel.
Stadium
- Fixed an issue that caused the Stadium UI to disappear after a round transition.
- Fixed an issue where Vendetta could spam her ultimate without fully charging.
- Fixed an issue where the Vendetta would not gain the ultimate charge when using the “overloaded” strike force.
- Fixed an issue where Vendetta's primary fire would not trigger Gloomgauntlet or be increased by Melee Damage.
- Fixed an issue where the VFX for the Bola Shot when using Freya's “So Cooked” power was incorrect.
- Fixed an issue with Ana's “Dreamy” power incorrectly canceling Artsy Daisy and Tactical Rifle benefits.
- Fixed an issue where Mercy's Self Healing from healing allies with low health was incorrectly reduced to 15% instead of the intended 40%.