In a recent interview, Overwatch associate game director Alec Dawson confirmed that new hero Jetpack Cat is going to be receiving some substantial nerfs in the coming weeks. The next round of Overwatch nerfs will be focused around two specific Jetpack Cat perks, ones that arguably make her more of a threat than some DPS heroes.
Jetpack Cat can trace its origins all the way back to the original Overwatch‘s development phase. During hero concept creation, Blizzard sketched out an assortment of animal-themed designs, one of which was a cat strapped to a set of wings. This hero design was scrapped because Blizzard believed it was too outlandish for the hero shooter, but the character lived on in the memories of fans, and was colloquially given the title ‘Jetpack Cat.’ Flash forward to Overwatch‘s big rebrand and the start of its Reign of Talon story arc that launched on February 10, and Jetpack Cat finally joined the roster, almost a decade after its concept art was first revealed.
Overwatch Prestige Passes, Explained
Due to inconvenient server issues, Overwatch players have been compensated with hefty rewards.
Overwatch’s Jetpack Cat Is Getting Nerfed Very Soon
- ‘Claws Out’ and ‘Territorial’ perks are being nerfed
- ‘Territorial’ will be removed and replaced by a new perk during the Overwatch Season 1 mid-season update
In a recent interview with Twitch streamer Deemzies, Overwatch associate game director Alec Dawson addressed Jetpack Cat’s unintentional lethality. Dawson confirmed that the most-picked perks for Jetpack Cat are the ‘Claws Out’ minor perk and the ‘Territorial’ major perk. Claws Out transforms Jetpack Cat’s quick melee into a powerful strike that wounds enemies for 40 damage and slows their movement by 30% for one second. Territorial gives Jetpack Cat’s ‘Purr’ power an aggressive twist, granting the healing aura the ability to damage enemies caught in its radius.
With these perks equipped, Jetpack Cat becomes a real menace. Jetpack Cat players can quickly dash toward a lone enemy using the hero’s ‘Frenetic Flight’ boost, claw them to deal 40 damage and slow their retaliation, and hit their Purr ability to simultaneously deal a ton of damage while also healing themselves. If used effectively, these perks essentially ensure that Jetpack Cat can survive any 1v1, even against some of Overwatch‘s deadliest Tanks.
Dawson confirmed that both Claws Out and Territorial will be nerfed via a hotfix that’s coming this week. It’s unclear what this nerf will look like, but one possibility is that it will reduce the amount of damage that Territorial and Claws Out deal. However, this hotfix is only the beginning for Jetpack Cat’s incoming nerfs. In Overwatch Season 1’s mid-season update, Blizzard plans to remove Jetpack Cat’s Territorial perk altogether and replace it with a new one. There are no official details on what this new Jetpack Cat perk could be, but it will likely be much less aggressive.
Since Jetpack Cat’s debut earlier this month, she’s become one of the most infamous heroes on Overwatch‘s roster. In competitive matches, Jetpack Cat often finds herself on the immediate ban list. Along with these perks turning her into a serious threat, Jetpack Cat has gained a reputation for being a bit of a “troll” character due to her Ultimate ability that allows her to pick up an enemy and drag them off the map.
In spite of some potentially unbalanced new heroes, Overwatch‘s recent rebrand seems to have successfully breathed new life into the aging hero shooter. Overwatch began 2026 with a concurrent Steam player count of 40,000, according to SteamDB. Upon Reign of Talon Season 1’s launch on February 10, Overwatch reached a player count of 165,651, an all-time peak since Overwatch 2‘s initial launch in August 2023. As of February 22, Overwatch holds a 24-hour peak player count of 126,640.
- Released
-
August 10, 2023
- ESRB
-
Teen / Violence, Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)
