Big changes are coming in the next Overwatch season, and one of the most important updates affects every hero in the game. Blizzard is reworking passives across all roles, introducing global passives and new sub-role passives that change how tanks, damage heroes, and supports play in real matches.
These updates are not just small tweaks—they directly affect survivability, cooldowns, healing, and overall tempo. Below is a full and clean breakdown of all new passives, explained in a way that’s easy to understand and useful for ranked or casual play.
Global Passives Applied to All Heroes
Every hero in Overwatch now shares two universal passives:
Passive Health Regeneration
All heroes automatically regenerate HP after not taking damage for a short time. This applies to every role, making sustain more consistent across the board.
Healing Reduction When Dealing Damage
Any hero who deals damage will reduce the healing received by their target.
- Standard value: 30% healing reduction
- Tank-specific value: 15% healing reduction
This used to be exclusive to damage heroes, but now tanks and supports also apply healing reduction when dealing damage, making fights more decisive.
Tank Sub-Role Passives
Tanks are now split into multiple sub-roles instead of sharing one generic passive.
Initiator Tanks
Applies to mobile or airborne tanks.
Effect:
- Staying airborne heals 75 HP over 1 second
Heroes:
- D.Va
- Doomfist
- Winston
- Wrecking Ball
This rewards aggressive dives and vertical movement.
Bruiser Tanks
Designed for frontline brawlers.
Effects:
- Take 25% less headshot damage
- Gain movement speed when at critical HP
Heroes:
- Orisa
- Mauga
- Roadhog
- Zarya
These tanks become harder to burst down and more dangerous when low.
Stalwart Tanks
Focused on stability and crowd control resistance.
Effects:
- 40% knockback resistance
- 40% slow resistance
This makes them much harder to displace or control in fights.
Damage Role Sub-Role Passives
Damage heroes are now divided into four unique playstyles.
Specialist
Rewards fast eliminations.
Effect:
- Eliminations briefly increase reload speed
Heroes:
- Bastion
- Cassidy
- Junkrat
- Mei
- Soldier: 76
- Symmetra
- Torbjörn
Great for heroes with high fire rates or explosive damage.
Recon
Helps track and finish weakened enemies.
Effect:
- Damaging enemies below 50% HP reveals them through walls for 5 seconds
Heroes:
- Echo
- Pharah
- Sombra
- Freya
Perfect for cleanup and coordinated team fights.
Flanker
Enhances survivability when playing alone.
Effect:
- Health packs restore 75 extra HP
This makes small health packs much stronger and safer to rely on.
Heroes include:
- Venture
- Tracer
- Vendeta
- Reaper
- Genji
- Anran
Sharpshooter
Rewards accurate aim.
Effect:
- Critical hits reduce movement ability cooldowns
- Cooldown reduction scales with damage dealt
Heroes include:
- Ashe
- Cassidy
- Hanzo
- Sojourn
- Widowmaker
Landing headshots now directly fuels mobility, enabling aggressive repositioning.
Support Sub-Role Passives
Supports receive three distinct sub-role passives that heavily affect ult economy and survivability.
Tactician
Encourages smart ultimate timing.
Effect:
- Excess ultimate charge carries over after using an ultimate
Heroes:
- Ana
- Baptiste
- Juno
- Lúcio
- Zenyatta
Holding ultimates is now less punishing.
Medic
Improves sustain during healing.
Effect:
- Healing allies with weapons also heals yourself
- 25% of healing done is returned as self-healing
Especially strong on Mercy and Moira.
Survivor
Helps supports escape danger.
Effect:
- Using a movement ability instantly triggers passive health regeneration for 0.25 seconds
This activates only on true movement abilities, not jumps or passive movement.
Why These Passive Changes Matter
This update reshapes Overwatch’s core gameplay. Heroes are now more clearly defined by playstyle, and mechanical skill is rewarded more consistently. Tanks gain better identity, damage heroes gain stronger role clarity, and supports gain more survivability without becoming unkillable. Understanding these new passives early gives you a major advantage going into the new season.
The new sub-role passive system is one of the most impactful Overwatch updates in recent seasons. Whether you play tank, damage, or support, adapting to these changes will be key to climbing ranks and winning fights. Learning how your hero’s new passive works—and how to abuse it—will matter more than ever in the upcoming season.