Overwatch 2 hero disabled over game-breaking exploit

Blizzard has disabled an Overwatch 2 hero after discovering a game-breaking bug.

Blizzard has disabled Mei in Overwatch 2 after a game-breaking exploit was discovered that allowed players to reach unintended locations.

A post on the official Overwatch 2 forums from community manager Craig Simpson revealed that Mei will be disabled and unable to be selected in-game until the game’s next patch, which is currently scheduled for November 15.

“We are temporarily disabling Mei to address a bug with her Ice Wall ability that allowed heroes to reach unintended locations when used with their abilities. We are working to address these issues as quickly as possible and aim to bring Mei back in our next upcoming patch which is set for November 15. Thank you for your understanding and patience.”

Overwatch 2’s Mei. Picture: Activision Blizzard

The exploit involves Mei’s Ice Wall ability, an ability that in normal circumstances would provide a physical barrier on the field of play. Overwatch 2 players typically use Ice Wall to separate players, offering a chance to isolate an opposing player from the rest of their team to dish out damage, or blockade the opposing team altogether for a momentary reprieve from the action.

In this exploit players have been using the ability, which rises from the ground where it’s placed, to push allies into level geometry, allowing them to clip outside of the intended play area and access areas of the map they otherwise wouldn’t be able to reach. A widely-shared video posted by Twitter user stefayylmao1 shows this exploit in action, showing a Kiriko player clipping into an otherwise inaccessible building and taking potshots from a distance. With clips like this, it’s easy to see why the hero was temporarily disabled.

really bro pic.twitter.com/271mOrJkSb

— spookayylmao 👻 (@stefayylmao1) October 22, 2022

Overwatch 2 has been mired in multiple controversies since its launch last month. Its launch was marred by a DDOS attack causing connection issues, Xbox players have experienced wild game-breaking bugs, a custom game mode depicting sexual assault was discovered, and to top it all off, its discounts have been accused of being illegal.

That hasn’t stopped the game from receiving critical acclaim from press, however, with the game currently sitting on a score of 80/100 on review score aggregator Metacritic.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.