New Overwatch patch notes bring emergency Sierra buffs as Season 2's fresh face falls flat

We're still in the first week of Overwatch Season 2, but Blizzard has already stepped in to give new hero Sierra a boost. The latest addition to the DPS roster has so far made very little splash in the multiplayer game's ever-growing pond. An explosive ultimate aside, her kit has felt rather impotent, without enough damage behind it to compensate for being projectile shots instead of hitscan. That's seen her win rate get off on completely the wrong foot, and Blizzard has chosen to jump in with some emergency Overwatch patch notes to ensure Sierra is given a fair chance to become a contender.

Based on Blizzard's official Overwatch Hero Statistics tracker, at approximately the time of the hotfix, Sierra was dramatically underperforming her peers. In competitive role queue, she had an almost even 50% win rate at Bronze rank, but that number gradually decreased as you rose up the tiers, plummeting to an awful 38.2% at the peak of Grandmaster and Champion play. Clearly there was a problem: at Master rank and above, she even fell dramatically off the top DPS pick rate spot, despite having the new character buff, and she sits near the bottom of our Overwatch tier list for Season 2.

Blizzard has reacted quickly, with some rather significant buffs to several Sierra abilities. The Helix Rifle and Tracking Shot have both been lifted from seven to nine damage per shot. That's a 28.6% increase, so you can think of her new output as though you're getting the benefit of Zenyatta's Discord Orb at all times by default, when compared to the old version. To compensate for her higher damage, the cost of her ultimate, Trailblazer, has been raised by 30%. It was already one of the few powerful parts of her kit, so caution there feels valid.

Alongside this, Sierra's Anchor Drone has had its health increased from 30 to 80 - a significant buff that will make it harder to instantly delete with high-damage heroes before she's had a chance to do anything with it. The grapple move speed has also been raised from 20 to 22, so she'll get around 10% faster, and the healing applied if you take her Medi-Drone major perk has gone up from 75 to 100, giving Sierra marginally more sustain.

"Sierra has not been as effective as intended since her launch," Blizzard explains. "Her weapon damage is being increased to improve overall output, while the damage increase to Tracking Shot better rewards players for successfully landing it. The Anchor Drone changes improve mobility, responsiveness, and drone survivability, allowing for more aggressive playstyles. Sierra's ultimate cost has also been increased due to its already fast charge rate in combination with her improved damage output."

It's often the case that new heroes come in a little overtuned, but the reverse happening can end up being far more damaging for their long-term reputation. You can chalk some of the struggles up to unfamiliarity with their toolkit, but Sierra is a relatively straightforward character, and this definitely felt more like a case of her coming in a little undercooked. Sierra's win rate at higher ranks has already increased just slightly since this balance hotfix went live, but it'll take a little while to determine whether these new buffs are enough to secure her a regular place in the Season 2 meta.