Overwatch 2 Season 18 Could Bring the Biggest Perk Shake-Up Yet ⇒ OverwatchCentral

Season 18 of Overwatch 2 is already looking stacked with a new support hero, Wu Yang, fresh maps, and big event tie-ins — but one of the biggest changes could be coming to perks. competitive coach and content creator Spilo has dropped a massive breakdown on which hero perk sets are working, which ones need help, and which deserve to be scrapped entirely.

Unlike the usual “who’s OP” lists, this was all about perk design — how they shape your playstyle and how balanced they are compared to other heroes’ perks. Spilo graded each set with two main questions in mind:

Playstyle Variety – Do perks actually change how you play, or just make your existing gameplay stronger?
Power Parity – Are perks balanced in strength both across heroes and within the same hero’s set?

Who’s Nailing It

Some heroes are in a great spot for perk design. Bastion, Lucio, Pharah, Winston, and Zarya scored high because their perks encourage swapping playstyles based on map, matchup, or team comp. These aren’t just stat buffs — they open up new strategies and give you genuine choices.

Solid but Needs a Tune-Up

Heroes like Genji, Reaper, and Brig have good perk variety overall, but one or two lackluster options bring the set down. A few adjustments could make these heroes feel even better in modes where perks are active.

Perks That Need a Full Rework

Cassidy, Hanzo, Torbjörn, Tracer, and Junker Queen landed in the “major overhaul” zone. These heroes either have perks that barely affect gameplay or “must-pick” options that overshadow every alternative, which kills variety.

The Worst of the Worst

Topping Spilo’s “dumpster fire” category is Mei. Her perks either introduce oppressive crowd control without meaningful trade-offs or do next to nothing to change her gameplay. In short — they’re frustrating for enemies and boring for Mei players.

Balance Outliers

Alongside design grading, Spilo also called out perk sets that are too strong or too weak overall:

Overtuned Perks – Kiriko, Ramattra, Lifeweaver, Tracer, Roadhog, Symmetra, Freya
These heroes get huge value from one or two perks that dominate their kit, making the rest feel irrelevant.

Undertuned Perks – Mercy, Echo, Zenyatta, Ashe
These perk sets simply don’t keep up with the rest of the cast in terms of impact.

Why This Matters for Season 18

Blizzard has already teased a major perk shake-up for Season 18. If they follow through, expect to see:

Unused perks replaced or reworked for more interesting gameplay
Overtuned perks toned down so heroes aren’t completely perk-dependent
Better balance between major and minor perk value

Spilo even suggested having an Overwatch developer appear on-stream during Season 18’s launch to explain the thinking behind every single perk change.

Season 18 could be the best opportunity yet to fix long-standing perk issues and make sure every hero gets meaningful, fun choices — without constant full hero reworks.

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Source: Spilo