Overwatch 2 Adds April Fools’ Mode for a Limited Time

Summary

• Blizzard has released the Totally Normalwatch mode for Overwatch 2, available until April 14.
• The mode introduces absurd hero changes, such as Hanzo being able to ride Orisa into battle.
• The patch also includes several general bug fixes.

Blizzard Entertainment has released the limited-time “Totally Normalwatch” mode for Overwatch 2, available until April 14. This new Overwatch 2 mode marks April Fools’ Day and introduces some chaotic twists to heroes, delivering a fun and frenetic gameplay experience.

Every year, different video game developers celebrate April Fools by releasing limited-time activities featuring exclusive modes and events, usually adding fun or unexpected twists to their games. Recently, PUBG's developer released a new dating sim experience, offering a completely different way for players to interact with the game’s firearms. Overwatch 2, on the other hand, tends to celebrate April Fools by implementing exaggerated balance changes that create a chaotic and hilarious experience for players—and this year is no exception.

Starting April 1 and running until April 14, Overwatch 2 continues its April Fools’ tradition, this time introducing a limited-time mode called Totally Normalwatch, available in the Arcade menu. This new mode brings some ridiculous twists to heroes, like removing Doomfist’s Hand Cannon and allowing him to lunge toward nearby enemies when he melees, with melee speed and damage increased by 50%. Hazard’s Jagged Wall Knockback is increased by 400%, while his cooldown is reduced from 12 to 8 seconds, and Magua can push himself backward if he fires both Chainguns at the same time while airborne.

Other hilarious changes to Overwatch 2’s heroes include Hanzo being able to ride Orisa into battle, granting her extra movement speed, Reinhardt’s speed increasing by 150%, Roadhog being able to throw three Hooks at once, and Ashe’s robot bodyguard B.O.B. Losing his guns entirely—now only capable of chasing enemies to knock them down. These kinds of changes have been applied to all heroes in Totally Normalwatch, and players can already dive into this chaotic limited-time mode.

In addition to the mode, Blizzard is rolling out fixes for some of the game’s bugs. These include a solution for an issue that prevented players from using Perks in the 6v6 Maximum 2 Tanks Open Queue Quick Play and a fix for an issue with Zarya’s kit in Hero Mastery.

In order to give players a fun experience, Blizzard continues updating Overwatch 2, adding new content and balancing the game. The recent March patch introduced necessary tweaks to 11 heroes in 5v5 and 6v6 modes across damage, tank, and support roles. As April Fools’ celebrations continue, players can jump into Totally Normalwatch to play with their favorite heroes—but with a fun twist.

Overwatch 2 Totally Normalwatch Update Patch Notes

Tanks

D.Va

Developer Comments: The Meka Squad are having a rough time against the Gwishin Omnics. So, they are experimenting with new designs to save on materials and rations.

Mech Size reduced by 50%.

Mech Base Health reduced from 375 to 25.

Mech Armor Health is unchanged.

Pilot D.Va size reduced by 50%.

Pilot Base Health reduced from 175 to 25.

Fusion Cannons

Rate of fire increased by 100%.

Damage reduced by 50%.

Light Gun

Rate of Fire increased by 100%.

Reload Speed increased by 25%.

Damage reduced by 25%.

Self-Destruct

Press Interact during Self-Destruct to freeze mech in place.

Doomfist

Developer Comment: Doomfist decided the best way to win is by punching the opponents… a lot.

Hand Cannon

Removed from Primary Fire.

Quick Melee

Replaces Hand Cannon as the Primary Fire.

Melee speed increased by 50%.

Melee damage increased by 50%.

Doomfist now lunges toward nearby enemies when he melees.

Rocket Punch

Melee damage now builds Rocket Punch Charge meter.

Charge meter no longer decays.

Charge time reduced by 50%.

Seismic Slam

Cooldown decreased by 1 second.

Hazard

Developer Comments: Hazard got tired of rooting people in place, so he thought he'd try knocking them around instead.

Jagged Wall

Jagged Wall Knockback increased by 400%.

Jagged Wall Cooldown decreased from 12 to 8 seconds.

Junker Queen

Developer Comments: Everyone got tired of Junker Queen shouting at them and started to ignore her. So, she has gotten selfish and is hoarding her Commanding Shout buffs for herself. She always wants to directly confront anyone who gets hit by Gracie.

Jagged Blade

Can no longer be recalled with Secondary Fire.

Junker Queen flies towards Gracie while Secondary Fire is held.

Commanding Shout

No longer affects allies.

Overhealth increased by 50%.

Bonus Move Speed increased from 30% to 60%.

Mauga

Developer Comments: Gunny and Cha-Cha will now lift up their Papa, and whoever is tethered to him.

While airborne and firing both Chainguns at the same time, Mauga is pushed backwards in the direction he is aiming.

Incendiary Chaingun

Ammo reduced from 300 to 150.

Reload Speed increased by 15%.

Volatile Chaingun

Ammo reduced from 300 to 150.

Reload Speed increased by 15%.

Overrun

Can now be used during Cage Fight.

Cage Fight

Tether is now centered on Mauga and follows him.

Grants Mauga infinite ammo for the duration.

Orisa

Developer Comments: “I see you glancing at me. You wish to ride me into battle?”

Hanzo can press Interact while near Orisa to ride her into battle, giving Orisa extra movement speed.

Javelin Spin

Javelin Spin now pulls enemies towards Orisa.

Ramattra

Developer Comments: Ramattra has elevated the discourse of battle, along with his opponents.

Ravenous Vortex

Now reverses the gravity of all enemies inside.

Reinhardt

Developer Comments: Reinhardt recently saw some street racing anime and has become so obsessed with it that he has learned to drift.

Charge

Cooldown reduced from 7 to 3.5 seconds.

Turn speed increased by 150%.

Charge lasts until you collide with a wall.

Roadhog

Developer Comments: We've been seen everyone's feedback about Chain Hook being so inconsistent over the years, so we hope that throwing three of them at once makes it more reliably lethal.

Chain Hook

Now throws 3 Hooks at once.

Sigma

Developer Comments: Sigma's realized he was not abiding by Newton's third law of motion, so he figures by deflecting the projectiles he blocks with Kinetic Grasp would make him a more psychics law abiding citizen.

Kinetic Grasp

Deflects projectiles instead of absorbing them.

Sigma gains free flight during Kinetic Grasp.

Winston

Developer Comment: "Winston Slam!"

Jump Pack

Press Crouch to do a body slam and deal more damage while coming down during Jump Pack.

Wrecking Ball

Developer Comment: Hammond has decided to try imitating tumbleweeds and snowballs.

Size reduced by 50%.

Wrecking Ball gains Overhealth based on his size.

Roll

Damaging enemies during Roll increases Wrecking Ball's size.

Piledriver

Area of effect increases based on Wrecking Ball's size.

Zarya

Developer Comment: Zarya's enemies have always feared her skills in battle, but now they will run in fear of her reflection too.

Particle Cannon

Primary Fire now ricochets off of enemy heroes and the environment.

Damage

Ashe

Developer Comments: Bob's arm cannons are in the shop, but he's much more eager to jump into the fray.

Coach Gun

Increased knockback on enemy heroes and briefly reduces their air control.

B.O.B.

B.O.B. No longer shoots.

B.O.B. Now repeatedly dashes towards the nearest enemy hero and attempts to knock them into the air.

Ultimate Cost reduced by 70%.

Bastion

Developer Comments: Bastion made a new friend that happens to be grenade-sized.

A-36 Tactical Grenade

Now spawns an explosive training bot.

Configuration Artillery

Impacts spawns explosive training bots.

Cassidy

Developer Comments: Cassidy recently borrowed Hanzo's scatter arrow and figured out how to make new ammunition out of the tech.

Peacekeeper

Primary and Secondary Fire both ricochet three times. Ricocheted bullets deal increased damage.

Echo

Developer Comments: Echo is testing new updates in flight technology, but it seems her other abilities were affected.

Tri-Shot

Now fires Sticky Bombs.

Damage reduced from 25 to 14.

Sticky Bombs

Now fires a volley of Tri-Shot projectiles.

Damage increased from 17 to 20.

Flight

Flight is now always active.

Activating Flight now causes Echo to dash a short distance.

Focusing Beam

Now does extra damage to enemies above half health.

Genji

Developer Comments: Genji can once again spam that annoying emote to heal himself, though there might be negative consequences this time.

Genji once again can occasionally heal himself when requesting healing.

Don't abuse this. You've been warned.

Hanzo

Developer Comments: It’s not a preposterous thought. Hanzo is making a longtime dream come true.

Storm Bow

Fully-charged arrows ricochet twice.

Storm Arrow

Each arrow ricochets up to 5 times.

Wall Climb

While wall climbing, press Reload to attach yourself to the wall.

Samurai Kishu

New Passive

Press Interact while near Orisa to ride her into battle.

While riding, gain 25% damage reduction.

While riding, Orisa controls Hanzo's movement.

While riding, feel 20% cooler.

Junkrat

Developer Comments: Junkrat loves explosions so much he decided to become one.

Concussive Mine

Can now place up to 5 mines at once.

Maximum damage reduced by 50%.

Max charges increased to 5.

Cooldown reduced to 4 seconds.

RIP-Tire

Junkrat becomes invisible and untargetable while using Riptire.

Junkrat teleports to Riptire when it explodes.

Junkrat dies if the Riptire is destroyed.

Mei

Developer Comments: The cold doesn't bother Mei anymore, but it may bother Mei's enemies.

Cyro-Freeze

Now creates a miniature Blizzard.

Mei can now move during Cryo-Freeze.

Moira

Developer Comments: Fixed a bug where Moira was classified as a Support Hero and removed any unintended healing. Thank you for your patience as we resolved this seven-year-old issue that has prevented Moira mains from reaching their ultimate damage potential.

Moved to Damage role.

Now has Damage role passive.

No longer has the Support role passive.

Biotic Grasp

Primary fire no longer heals and instead deals damage.

Biotic Orb

Healing Orb removed.

Coalescence

Now only deals damage.

Pharah

Developer Comment: Pharah now takes her enemies on a magic rocket ride.

Rocket Launcher

Direct hits deal increased damage to airborne enemies.

Jet Dash

Pull nearby enemies along with Pharah.

Jump Jet

Pulls nearby enemies along with Pharah.

Reaper

Developer Comment: Talon got tired of all of the shotguns Reaper was wasting and cut him off their weapon budget until he learns to be more resourceful.

Hellfire Shotguns

Reaper can no longer reload and drops his shotguns on the ground when empty.

Dropped shotguns must be picked up to restore ammo.

Movement Speed increased by 25% when out of ammo.

Picking up shotguns increases attack speed for a short duration.

Note: It's hard to melee enemies without your shotguns.

Sojourn

Developer Comment: Railgun can now be overcharged to deal more damage. WARNING: Okoton Kelvin-87 Railgun's recoil dampeners not certified for high energy payloads.

Raingun

Max charge is now 300%.

Railgun Secondary Fire deals increased damage at above 100% charge.

Railgun Secondary Fire knocks back Sojourn if fired at above 100% charge.

Soldier: 76

Developer Comment: Soldier: 76 being the stubborn old soldier that he is says he doesn't need any help and can still outrun anyone on the battlefield.

Soldier 76 can no longer see allied or enemy health bars. Including his own.

Passive healing starts faster and heals much faster.

Sprint

Running speed increased by 100%.

Sombra

Developer Comment: Sombra is exploiting a memory leak, and the only way to shut her down is to press Alt+F4.

Hack

Hacking enemies grants a stacking buff (with a maximum of 10) of movement speed and magazine size.

Stacks are lost on death.

Symmetra

Developer Comments: Symmetra is trying out the latest Vishkar fashions on her allies: turrets! She also traded in her gun for a new tankbuster gun that is overcharged.

Photon Projector

Primary Fire now does damage based on target's maximum health.

Secondary Fire charge time reduced.

Sentry Turret

Turret health Increased by 50%.

Cooldown reduced by 40%.

Projectile speed increased by 100%.

Can now stick to allies.

Torbjörn

Developer Comments: Torbjörn's turret just needs some hammering to reach maximum potential.

Deploy Turret

Turret can be Overhealed by Forge Hammer.

When Overhealed, Turret gains increased size, damage, and health.

Tracer

Developer Comments: Reinhardt taught Tracer how to charge very short distances, if she stays low enough.

Blink

Blinking while crouching collides with enemies.

Colliding with enemies deals damage and knocks them back.

Venture

Developer Comments: Venture got tired of working underground. We hope you dig these changes.

If Venture is directly impacted by the projectile from Accretion or a similar ability, Venture is not knocked down and instead consumes the rock and heals themselves.

Burrow

Can now fly while burrowed.

Emerge can be charged longer for a stronger effect.

Widowmaker

Developer Comments: Widowmaker has learned how to catch her prey in her webbing.

Grappling Hook

Can now hit enemy heroes, dealing damage and granting Widowmaker Overhealth.

Quick Melee

First successful melee attack after hitting a hero with Grappling Hook deals extra damage.

Support

Ana

Developer Comment: We’ve heard feedback from Ana players that their teammates ignore them when they call out that they are reloading and go and feed into the enemies anyways. We’re hoping this change makes for good practice for them to start paying more attention to their Support teammates.

Biotic Rifle

• Magazine size reduced from 15 to 1. • Reload speed increased by 25%. • Damage and healing increased from 75 to 150.

Baptiste

Developer Comment: Baptiste discovered some of those old retro platformer video games and now it’s all he ever wants to do.

Exo Boots

Press Crouch while airborne to stomp on enemies.

Brigitte

Developer Comments: Mace to the face was working so well, so Brigitte thought she'd try her shield too.

Shield Bash

Removed.

Shield Throw

New Ability.

Shield Throw will toss Brigitte’s Shield which stuns and bounces between enemies.

Rally

During Rally, Shield Throw can hit more enemies.

Illari

Developer Comment: Illari got tired of allies being out of healing range, she altered her rifle accordingly.

Solar Rifle

Primary Fire now heals allies and does not deal damage.

Secondary Fire now damages enemies and does not heal allies.

Secondary Fire range increased by 50%.

Juno

Developer Comment: We fixed a bug where allies and enemies were not getting welcomed into orbit as indicated by her Ultimate voice line.

Quick Melee

Knockback increased.

Oribital Ray

Reverses gravity on all allies and enemies inside.

Kiriko

Developer Comment: Kiriko took some swiftness out of her step and put it into attack speed. What could go wrong?

Swift Step

Swift Step now grants Kiriko overhealth and increased attack speed, but she can no longer choose her target.

Lifeweaver

Developer Comment: Be careful, as you don’t not want Lifeweaver to be a thorn in your side.

Thorn Volley

Projectiles now home in on enemies.

Projectiles per shot reduced from 2 to 1.

Rate of fire reduced by 35%.

Projectile speed reduced by 70%.

When enough projectiles hit an enemy, they explode for 160 damage.

Lúcio

Developer Comments: "Can't stop, won't stop."

Wall Ride

Lúcio gains increasing Move, Reload, and Attack Speed while wall-riding.

Buffs from Wall Ride persists for several seconds after touching the ground.

Mercy

Developer Comment: Mercy’s new pistol is just like a loot box… you’ll never know what you’ll get.

Caduceus Blaster

Now fire random projectiles.

Zenyatta

Developer Comment: "We are all one within the many, googly irises."

Orb of Destruction

Now fires sticky googly eyes instead of orbs.

Damage reduced by 25%.

Attack Speed increased by 50%.

Bug Fixes

General

Fixed an issue preventing users from using Perks in the 6v6 Maximum 2 Tanks Open Queue Quick Play and will now be played for the remainder of Season 16.

Fixed an issue preventing Perks to be selected while Overtime is in progress.

Fixed an issue with Zarya’s kit in hero mastery and have reenabled Zarya's Hero Mastery Courses.