The highly anticipated Season 18 of Overwatch 2 is poised to launch on Tuesday, August 26 at 11 am PT, aligning precisely with the conclusion of Season 17. Ahead of the full rollout, Blizzard is offering a brief trial window for the competitive shooter’s newest support hero, Wuyang, from August 14 to 18—a smart soft launch that gives players hands-on time to test his abilities.
Wuyang brings a compelling water-based healing and utility kit to the roster. His primary attack, Xuanwu Staff, launches water orbs that can be curve-steered and charged for extra impact. The Restorative Stream secondary continuously heals an ally, with an option to enhance the rate via an aimed hold. His Guardian Wave ability pushes enemies back while boosting healing, Rushing Torrent grants movement speed and vertical lift, and his ultimate, Tidal Blast, creates a protective healing sphere that bursts to heal and knock down foes. Wuyang also passively accelerates health regeneration when out of combat.
Come Season 18, he’ll also come with a set of unique perks. Minor perks include Overflow, which grants ammo and healing resource when using Rushing Torrent, and Balance, which enhances healing after dealing damage with water orbs. Major perks offer choice-driven playstyles: Ebb and Flow lets Guardian Wave rewind to its origin (though with reduced damage), while Falling Rain enables control of three water orbs at once, with lower damage and radius.
Season 18 will deliver more than just Wuyang. Players can expect the usual slate of updates, including a new battle pass, bundles, events, and a mythic skin—Ultraviolet Sentinel for Sojourn, which changes both visuals and ability effects
Meanwhile, Overwatch 2’s Stadium mode gains significant updates, such as additional heroes in draft pools, a Payload Race mode on new maps (Thames District and Powder Key Mine), improved ranking rewards, and crossplay-enabled unranked matches.
