Overwatch 2 devs discuss buffing Mei’s primary fire to debuff opponents

Alec Dawson, Overwatch 2’s Lead Hero Designer has shared new details about plans to change Mei’s kit in a future patch.

Mei is perhaps one of the most passionately discussed heroes in Overwatch 2. With the ability to freeze enemies gone from the previous iteration of Overwatch, Mei was left with a kit that many state “feels incomplete.”

BroYouWack, Overwatch content creator and streamer, interviewed Hero Designer Alec Dawson who confirmed that the team is looking into changing Mei, possibly buffing her in the process.

Alec specifically said that some of the slow buildup mechanics from her old primary fire might be making it back into the game, but at the same time, Dawson promises “she won’t completely freeze” like she used to, which was a point of contention for many players.

Overwatch 2’s Alec Dawson teases Mei’s primary fire changes

From what Dawson said, the potential changes coming to Mei are not that drastic.

“For Mei in particular we are working on some changes,” said Alec. “There might be sort of that slow build-up coming back into her kit. She won’t completely freeze but maybe she adds a debuff to someone and they are slowed for a certain amount of time.”

Dawson didn’t elaborate on other changes that might be coming to Mei in upcoming patches but it seems like the developers will not go back on their decision to remove freezing opponents.

The community reaction to Overwatch Cavalry’s announcement of this over Twitter has seen mixed reactions. In support of the buffs or potential changes are people who argue that Mei needs that ‘special something’ in her kit.

“Mei’s kit feels incomplete. I’d love to see her shift to be a support in the future. It matches her lore,” argues one Player.

“Make Mei be able to put out fires on burning allies, it makes me feel helpful,” suggests another.

But some claim Mei is in a good enough spot already and might become overpowered.

“She is literally the best DPS in the game aside from Cassidy and Tracer she doesn’t need any more buffs if anything [she needs] a slight nerf,” comments one user.

It’s not known when the changes will come to the live server, but it’s already splitting the player base. Season 4 will likely begin in April, thus we can expect some big changes coming to the 5v5 hero shooter.