Overwatch 2 Season 4 Sends Heroes To A Galaxy Far, Far Away With An Epic Space Opera Theme

Overwatch 2 Season 4 is shaping up to be quite the showstopper, and it's not solely due to new support hero Lifeweaver's charm and captivatingly-good looks, either. A new blog post has revealed that the upcoming season will see the game's heroes take on intergalactic identities in an epic space opera, in which former friends will be pitted against each other as they are forced to side with either the Watchers or the Infinite Empire.

Starwatch: Galactic Rescue is the name of the limited-time event that gives players the chance to play space hero--or villain. The mode takes place on a reworked Horizon Lunar Colony, where Watchers will be sent to attack the defending Infinite Empire. As for which heroes are on which sides, a glimpse at the upcoming battle pass reveals Space Prince Lucio and Extraterrestrial Winston swear their allegiance to the Watchers, whereas Infinite Ace D.Va and Seer Mercy hail from the Infinite Empire. The event will run from May 9 through May 22.

Fortunately, you won't have to wait quite that long for some of Season 4's other exciting events. The first event of Season 4, which celebrates Lifeweaver's Thai origins as well as Thai New Year, starts now, and will run through April 25. The event features an all-new Arcade mode, B.O.B. and Weave, where heroes will face off in a 3v3 deathmatch. In the mode, all players will get the chance to try out Lifeweaver as they band together and utilize the hero's Life Grip ability to pull their team's B.O.B. around the map.

Following B.O.B. and Weave, the Overwatch 2 team is introducing a new, limited-time Control map designed by fans into the game: Talantis. Created during a livestream in which game director Aaron Keller and art director Dion Rogers used fan feedback to design a new map, the death-pit-filled base serves as the top-secret, but 100% non-canon, underwater layer for Talon. The map features jump pads, giant fish, and plenty of environmental death traps, and will be available for play in the Arcade from April 25 to May 1.

Fans of Battle for Olympus will be delighted to know the game mode is coming back for a limited-time and will be available to play via the Arcade from May 23 through May 29. The new season also brings some pretty substantial changes to a few heroes, the game's overall balance, and the competitive experience.

According to the blog, the team will be making small changes to Sigma, Reinhardt, and Cassidy that focus on "pulling back their lethality a little bit." Additionally--and following negative feedback regarding Mercy's Season 3 updates--the team will be reverting last season's changes, instead giving the support hero "a slight adjustment to how guardian angel works to keep her boosted jump under control." The team is also revamping Brigette's ultimate ability, Rally, in order to make it more powerful and engaging. Upon using her ultimate, Brigitte will gain a fixed amount of recoverable armor while her shield powers up with increased size, health, and the ability to stun.

In terms of changes to Overwatch 2's competitive mode, as of Season 4 players will no longer see a dip in their displayed tier and division, as the team has opted to remove seasonal decay. Additionally--and to help show players how close they are to their opponents--the average skill rating of the match will now be displayed at the start of the game. After the match, players will see their current win and loss record, and when they reach a competitive update, they'll be able to view how close they are to the next division in their skill tier. Lastly, the studio stated it is improving the matchmaking experience for when players are backfilled into an Unranked match by prioritizing that players who enter a match in progress are as close to the skill rating as other players in those matches.

Season 4 also brings with it the new support hero, Lifeweaver. Announced earlier this week, the Thai healer is the game's first openly pansexual character and is the subject to a whole lot of thirst online. Lifeweaver comes with a kit focused on high mobility, similar to Mercy and Kiriko, that allows him to get in and out of tight situations to rescue teammates. Also like everyone's favorite guardian angel and the orb-slinging Zenyatta, Lifeweaver is able to cycle between two primary items: a lotus for healing allies, and a thorn-covered glove to attack enemies with. His ultimate ability, Tree of Life, offers sustained healing and protection for his team.

Season 4 will begin Tuesday, April 11 at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET.