[Update]: The patch has now gone live, while the Winter Wonderland 2020 event will be arriving on December 15th!
Ever since Sigma and Wrecking Ball became immensely popular, their counterparts Reinhardt and D.Va have ended up in a bit of an awkward spot. This is partly because the meta doesn't favor them right now, and partly because they are simply too squishy to get their job done.
So in order to sort this little problem out, Blizzard recently released an experimental update that directly buffed Reinhardt and D.Va's survivability, on top of buffing the damage Reinhardt's hammer swings do! And just to make sure double shield doesn't become a thing, Blizzard also gave Baptiste a bit of a nerf. Here's what's being changed:
Baptiste
• Immortality Field
- Health decreased from 200 to 150
• Amplification Matrix
- Ultimate cost increased by 15%
To adjust Baptiste's overall power for the recent increased effectiveness of his Biotic Launcher and Amplification Matrix, we're taking some durability out of Immortality Field and increasing the cost of his ultimate once again.
D.Va
• Mech Armor/Health has been redistributed from 200/400 to 300/300
We're increasing the ratio of armor to health that D.Va's mech has to enable it to withstand more damage from shotguns, beams, and weapons with a high rate of fire.
Reinhardt
• Base Armor increased from 200 to 250
• Rocket Hammer
- Damage increased from 75 to 85
The intent of these changes is to slightly bolster Reinhardt's frontline presence once he closes the distance with an enemy. The increased Rocket Hammer damage will reduce the number of swings necessary to eliminate some heroes so we'll be keeping a close eye on the overall impact of this change.
Given how successful these changes were in the testing phase, I think it's safe to say we'll see them in the live version sooner rather than later. With a bit of luck this should get the tank roster into a more balanced state, and consequently, result in a more diverse meta for everyone. And if there are still problems, I have a feeling Blizzard might just nerf Sigma again given how powerful he can be in the hands of veterans.
Whatever the case may be, I'll make sure to let you know once this update goes live. Until then, I wish you the best of luck in ranked!