One of Overwatch’s most beloved tanks, Winston, is getting more than just a makeover in Overwatch 2. With a new long-range hitscan “rail gun” reportedly in his kit, pros are already loving the direction the devs are taking him.
There have already been a few major reworks that have been revealed for Overwatch 2, ranging from Sombra and Bastion all the way to Brigitte. Just about every hero in the sequel will get some sort of change.
With a switch from 6v6 to 5v5, there were bound to be major changes coming across the board, especially in the Tank role. While several of these Tanks appear to be getting reworks, very little is known about many other than Reinhardt or Zarya.
But now, according to pros, it appears that at least part of Winston’s rework for OW2 has been revealed. At long last, Overwatch’s favorite gorilla looks to be getting some range.
Winston’s new long-range hitscan in Overwatch 2
In a recent episode of the Overwatch and Valorant podcast, Plat Chat, OWL pro player Matthew ‘super’ DeLisi appeared as a guest alongside his fellow pro, Indy ‘SPACE’ Halpern.
In the episode, the two talked through their impressions of Overwatch 2 so far and had some interesting things to say about the Winston reworks that have not yet been publicly shown.
The selected clip beings at 18:00 for mobile users
In the clip, SPACE and Super talk about Winston’s new, long-range, hitscan gun that will accompany his regular Tesla Cannon. Super called this new ability “a rail gun from Quake, basically” while SPACE noted that this will give Winston more of an “outplay and skill potential.”
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Getting into the details of the new “rail gun” more, super noted that he recalled the gun having a 25-meter radius and that it would be a hitscan weapon, not a projectile. This weapon has to be charged, similar to Symmetra’s alternate fire, and can do 50 damage at full charge.
Super has talked some on his stream about these changes already. He noted a combo that players can do on the current build of Winston in OW2 where they leap on an enemy, melee them, and hit a right-click all in quick succession for 130 damage.
Winston changes in Overwatch 2
Other than the adjustments being made to Winston giving him an alternate fire, other cosmetic changes are coming as well.
His armor is getting an upgraded look, he has a new “A-07” jetpack that replaces his previous “A-60” model, and his armor is now adorned with an Overwatch logo where it previously had a Horizon Lunar Colony logo.
A subtle nod to the heroes lore, to be sure.
Otherwise, there isn’t much that has been shown in relation to Winston’s gameplay changes in OW2, outside of what we’ve heard from the pros. But, as more information comes out, we will continue to provide updates to our Overwatch 2 content section, so stay tuned.