by theygamesAfter months of teasing from the Overwatch 2 team, we now know the full details of Brigitte’s ult rework as part of the balance changes to Overwatch 2 season 4. While she’s always had her fans, Brigitte has often been regarded as one of the worst picks for support heroes in Blizzard’s free PC game, and she’s struggled to hold her own in our Overwatch 2 tier list, especially with the rise of high-performing mobile supports like Kiriko.
Thankfully, Blizzard is well aware of her shortcomings and has made a number of tweaks to her kit as part of their ongoing focus on supports since the sequel’s launch. More recently, Overwatch 2 season 3’s balance patch added some self-sustain to her Repair Pack and a 10% reduction to her ultimate cost to tide her over, but this ult rework is the cherry on top of a very promising, sturdy cake.
So, let’s do a quick recap. Prior to the changes, Brigitte’s Rally ultimate granted her a movement speed buff and applied Overhealth to both her and nearby allies over time, delivering a maximum of 100 Overhealth on top of her existing 150 Health and 50 Armor. These effects remain in place for the most part, with the crucial difference that the Overhealth applied to Brigitte is now Armor. That Armor is also applied in one fell swoop, rather than the incremental application of Overhealth that she relied upon previously, making Brigitte immensely more robust in clutch moments.
One of Brigitte’s most egregious nerfs is the removal of her Shield Bash’s stun. This decision can be traced back to the many Overwatch 2 changes implemented to reduce crowd control effects. Some heroes, like Cassidy, have adapted to the changes made to their kit, but it left our plucky squire bereft of breathing room. Well, Brigitte mains rejoice: the stun effect on Shield Bash has made a return as part of Brigitte’s ult rework.
Finally, Brigitte’s Barrier Shield increases in size for the duration of her ult, switching from a vertical to a horizontal rectangle that bears a strong resemblance to Reinhardt’s own shield. It has also received a boost from 300 to a whopping 750, making it more viable to maintain a line of defence with Brigitte on Overwatch 2 maps.
It’s no question that this ult rework will light a fire in the hearts of Brigitte fans, but the changes to her kit are tempered enough to leave her well-rounded rather than flagrantly overpowered. Rally’s ten-second duration remains in place, so unless you’ve got lightning-fast fingers, you’ll probably only get to employ the stun from Shield Bash once per ult the vast majority of the time.
If you’re a Brigitte main looking to dip your toes back into the FPS game for the latest season, be sure to take a look at our Lifeweaver abilities overview before you encounter him in a match. We’ve also got the latest details on all the changes coming to Overwatch 2 ranks as part of Blizzard’s ongoing efforts to balance matchmaking, as well as the latest news on the Overwatch 2 PvE release date.