DPS heroes rule Overwatch 2 now, but Blizzard isn't ready to nerf their controversial new ability quite yet

Play a single match of Overwatch 2's newest season and you'll know immediately just how powerful DPS are now. Their new role passive reduces the healing their targets receive, which has had a huge impact on how a typical Overwatch team fight plays out. Support and tanks get shredded and the game's meta has started to bend in favor of the fastest heroes, like Lucio and Winston.

In the next patch, coming tomorrow, Blizzard won't be nerfing the DPS role passive, which reduces healing on targets by 20% for two seconds, despite how contentious it is in the community. «I think we need more time for players to really adjust and feel it out, and understand how to play with it and how to play around it,» lead hero designer Alec Dawson said on a stream with Overwatch streamer ML7 today.

Dawson described the new passive as a way to give DPS heroes a more distinct identity than they previously had. In past seasons, supports were the most popular role, especially in Overwatch's highest competitive ranks. But now, DPS have taken over and Dawson says the team isn't ready to change it before tweaking the current overperformers. "[DPS] are the instigators for getting kills, getting eliminations. That's where we want to position them, and I think that's been really successful."

Your ability to see whether or not you're affected by the DPS passive is at the top of the list for upcoming changes though, Dawson says. It didn't take long for players to realize a UI icon for the DPS passive showed up in a recent promotional video for the season but didn't make it to release. Without it, it's hard to know when to take cover or not, especially for tanks as they push forward in the frontline.  

Dawson says the team is going to start by looking at «subtle» ways to show it to players when they're hit by it, but said visual indicators you can see on your teammates as a healer are a lower priority. «We tested with some things like that, with it in your [third-person perspective], and it started