TL;DR
- Wuyang is the newest hero in Overwatch 2, who uses water to heal his allies and damage his enemies.
- Wuyang will be released on August 26 when season 18 of Overwatch 2 begins.
- There was a trial period for the hero that ended on August 18, which gave players a taste of Wuyang’s abilities.
- First impressions suggest that Wuyang is a complex, hybrid healer who isn’t well-suited to beginners.
Wuyang is the latest hero to be introduced in Overwatch 2. He will make his debut in season 18, which will be released on August 26, 2025.
Wuyang recently had a trial period that ended on August 18, so players had the chance to get to grips with his kit before he goes live. We’re going to be looking more closely at Wuyang as an Overwatch 2 support hero to see how he holds up and how well he fits into the established roster of characters.
Who is Wuyang?
In Overwatch 2 lore, Wuyang is a student from the Water College of Wuxing University. The college focuses on furthering advancements in medicine by using water as a medical tool. Despite Wuyang being a prodigy in water healing, the comic “Against the Tide” shows the struggles that he faces when it comes to managing the expectations of his family.
Wuyang’s parents attended the Fire College of Wuxing University. His sister followed in their footsteps, becoming one of the top pupils there. Wuyang feels conflicted in his role within his family, feeling like a disappointment when he was rejected at the Fire College and accepted into the Water College. His narrative deals with the themes of familial expectations deeply rooted within Chinese culture, drawing inspiration from the real-life experiences of the current Overwatch 2 lead narrative designer, Joshi Zhang.
Wuyang’s abilities
As a support hero, Wuyang’s skills are all about aiding the team and backing them up. He heals, but he also has some great manoeuvrability skills and even some offensive abilities that allow him to defend himself and his team. Check out the table below to see exactly what Wuyang can do.
| Ability type | Ability name | Ability stats | In-game description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon primary fire | Xuanwu Staff | Ammo: 20Ammo consumption: One (uncharged)Two (charged) Bullets per shot: OneDamage: 10 (direct hit bonus, uncharged)20 (splash, uncharged)20 (direct hit bonus, charged)80 (splash, charged)Duration: 0.3 seconds (charge time)2.5 seconds (max control time)Falloff range: 0.8 – 1.3 metres (splash, uncharged)0.8 – 2.7 metres (splash, charged)Projectile radius: 0.42 metresProjectile speed: 25 m/sRate of fire: 3 shotsReload time: 1.5 seconds | Fire a damaging water orb. Hold to control its trajectory and empower its explosion. |
| Weapon ability | Restorative Stream | Duration: Five seconds (LoS timeout, passive)One second (LoS timeout, manual)Two seconds (recharge delay)Energy: 33.3% per second (cost)12.5% per second (recharge)Healing:25 per second (passive)50 per second (bonus manual healing)Max range: 20 metres | Place a passive healing stream on an ally. Hold on the target to manually heal at an improved rate, consuming resource. |
| Regular ability | Guardian Wave | Area of effect: 3-10 degrees wide. 1.8 metres high. Cast time: 0.4 + 0.4 secondsCooldown: 12 secondsDamage: 80-40Duration: Four seconds (healing amplification)Falloff range: 4-17.5 metresHealing: 80Healing modification:+50% receivedKnockback speed:15 m/s (horizontal max)6 m/s (vertical)Max range: 35 metresProjectile speed: 30 m/s | Send a water wave forward that increases the amount of healing received by allies and knocks back enemies. |
| Regular ability | Rushing Torrent | Cooldown: Seven secondsDuration: Four seconds:Max range: 2.6 metres (vertical)Movement speed:15 m/s (initial burst)4 m/s (jump)Movement speed buff: +50% | Ride water to move faster and jump higher. |
| Ultimate ability | Tidal Blast | Area of effect: 7.5 metre radiusCast time:0 + 0.5 seconds (ally)0.8 + 0.6 seconds (self)Damage: 100Duration: 1.5 seconds (knockdown)3.5 seconds (explosion delay)Healing: 250Max range: 35 metresMovement speed buff: +50%Points required to charge: 2,800 | Protect an ally or yourself with water that detonates after a short duration. The explosion knocks down enemies and massively heals the host target. |
| Passive | Role: Support | Reduces the time before passive health regeneration starts from six to three seconds after taking damage. | Begin regenerating health more quickly. |
| Minor perk | Overflow | N/A | Gain 10 ammo and 33% healing resource when Rushing Torrent is activated. |
| Minor perk | Balance | Duration: Two secondsHealing: 25 to 35 per second | When you deal damage with water orbs, increase Restorative Stream’s passive healing by 40% for two seconds. |
| Major perk | Ebb and Flow | Damage: 40Knockback speed: 7.5 m/s (horizontal)3 m/s (vertical) | Guardian Wave rewinds to its starting location. Deals 50% decreased damage while rewinding. |
| Major perk | Falling Rain | Bullets per shot: One to threeDamage:10 to 4 (direct hit bonus, uncharged)20 to 8 (splash, uncharged)30 to 12 (direct hit bonus, charged)70 to 28 (splash, charged)Falloff range: 2.7 metres to 2.0 metres (splash, charged) | Simultaneously control three water orbs that deal 60% decreased damage and have 25% decreased empowered explosion radius. |
Compared to the other supports currently in Overwatch 2, Wuyang is similar to the other hybrid healing and damage heroes, such as Ana or Baptiste. However, his healing isn’t as reliable as these heroes. Wuyang’s staff might look similar to Mercy’s Caduceus Staff, but its healing is limited and needs to be recharged (similar to Moira’s primary healing). However, the staff does offer damage via the water orbs that Wuyang can shoot and control.
Wuyang’s impact on Overwatch 2 gameplay
During the trial period, Wuyang proved himself to be a versatile hero who can make an impact. His combination of damage and healing is tricky to master, as it can be difficult to get to grips with his limited healing output. Those who want to become Wuyang mains will need to learn how to manage this output if they want to play him effectively.
Whilst Wuyang can do a fair amount of healing, he isn’t consistent enough to be the main healer in a team due to limited manual healing and slow stream healing. That being said, when combined with a healer like Mercy, Ana, Kiriko, Baptiste, or Lucio, whose healing is constant and consistent, Wuyang could be a great asset.
Wuyang is definitely a hero designed for mid to high skill players rather than beginners, but he has the potential to make a significant impact on Overwatch 2 gameplay due to his versatility, his hybrid healing and damage output and manoeuvrability.
FAQs
Wuyang is the new support hero in Overwatch 2. He will become playable in the game when season 18 begins.
Wuyang has yet to be released beyond a trial period, so at the time of writing, it is impossible to say whether he will become the best support in Overwatch 2.
Season 17 of Overwatch 2 ends on August 26, 2025.
References
- Wuyang – Overwatch Wiki (Overwatch Fandom)
- Against the Tide – Overwatch 2 (Blizzard)
The post Overwatch 2: Is Wuyang a worthwhile support hero? appeared first on Esports Insider.
