Should Ana be reworked based on Overwatch 2 Mirrorwatch?

With the arrival of Overwatch 2 Mirrorwatch, players have been treated to an all-new side of their favorite heroes in this game mode. Heroes from the Overwatch faction and the villains from the Talon terrorist group swap allegiances in a reality-bending twist. Among them, the sniper hero Ana is a beloved Support character with some drastic buffs that make her one of the best picks in the roster.

Her kit in Overwatch 2 Mirrorwatch is an all-around upgrade over her existing abilities. With that said, does it make sense for developer Blizzard Entertainment to revitalize Ana with what has been seen as clear upgrades via her Mirrorwatch makeover?

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Ana can benefit from several changes introduced in Overwatch 2 Mirrorwatch

Before we dive into why these changes make sense, a basic overview of Ana's original kit is essential:

• Biotic Rifle: A sniper rifle that heals allies and damages foes. Unscoped shots are projectile, while scoped-in are hitscan. It cannot deal critical damage.
• Biotic Grenade: A grenade that when thrown on allies, heals them and grants increased healing for a small duration; alternatively, throwing it on enemies grants them the anti-heal debuff where their HP is not just lowered but they also cannot be healed for a small period.
• Sleep Dart: A projectile dart that puts an enemy to sleep for a few seconds when hit.
• Nano Boost: Grants 250 health, 50% damage boost, and 50% damage reduction to an ally.

This kit makes her one of the most powerful (albeit very vulnerable) heroes in Overwatch 2. Her kit in the Overwatch 2 Mirrorwatch game mode is largely the same, except for these additions/changes:

• Biotic Rifle: Both modes are now hitscan and the gun can also headshot, dealing critical damage. All other functionalities are the same.
• Biotic Grenade: Grants decreased healing and damage to allies and foes respectively. Anti-heal debuff has been replaced, and foes afflicted by the made will deal reduced damage instead.
• Lunge: This is a new movement ability that allows Ana to double jump in the held direction.
• Nano Boost: Only applies to self. Reduces incoming damage and grants increased healing to allies and reduced healing to foes from the Biotic Rifle.

Among these changes, three stand out:

• Headshots: Ana is truly a deadly sniper in Overwatch 2 Mirrorwatch since she can headshot foes to deal critical damage from afar. Since she is also the only hero in the game without damage falloff; while other heroes like Widowmaker and Ashe deal reduced damage to foes the farther they are from the target, this is a non-issue for Ana. As such, implementing this change in traditional matches would be overkill.
• Mobility: Ana is the least mobile hero in the game - even Zenyatta can kick away foes that get too close. This makes her a sitting duck in tight situations, especially when away from other teams. Implementing the Lunge could help her evade such scenarios where she cannot run away.
• Self-Nano: This has been one of the most requested tweaks to Ana in Overwatch 2, especially since she can Nano Boost herself in Deathmatch mode. If Lunge is making it over is not viable, then this is the least Blizzard Entertainment could do. While this reduces possible synergetic plays with other heroes such as Genji or Ramattra, it makes Ana more self-sustainable - especially since her Ultimate charges up fairly quickly versus other heroes.

Which changes do you want to see translated over to the main game from Overwatch 2 Mirrorwatch? Here is the full roster of changes for all heroes in the game mode. The limited-time event ends on May 14, 2024.