An old Brigitte bug is receiving renewed focus inOverwatch 2after the introduction of Kiriko makes it much simpler to exploit.Overwatch 2is a complex game featuring 35 unique characters, each with their own abilities. The interactions between these abilities can result in unexpected results. Such is the case with a certain Brigitte shield bug that, while difficult to trigger and apply successfully inOverwatch 2, has the potential to break the game if used intentionally.
Before explaining the bug, the issue revolves around two specific mechanics. The first isBrigitte’s shield. InOverwatch 2, players can use Brigitte’s shield to block incoming damage. It has a limited health pool and when that’s depleted it breaks, followed by a cooldown before it starts re-building health and can be used again. The second important ability is Kiriko’s ultimate ability, Kitsune Rush, which provides 3x cooldown reduction to all players within its range. These two abilities interact to create the exploitable bug.
RELATED:Overwatch 2 Support Main Gets Bizarre Recommendation from Shop
The bug in question was recently shown in a YouTube video by Not Muda, and it has to do with when Brigitte’s shield breaks. When broken, Brigitte’s shield technically is reduced to just 1 point in its health pool. It can’t go down to zero and instead relies on its cooldown before it can be used again. WhenKiriko uses Kitsune Rush, however, the cooldown to use Brigitte’s shield again is shrunk while the cooldown for it to regain health remains the same. As such, there’s a brief window where the shield can be used at 1 health. That makes the shield invulnerable, permanently at one health, and unable to trigger a shield break since its HP isn’t changing.
This bug has technically been known since 2018, but it’s only become a potentially game-breaking exploit with therelease of Kiriko. While it’s not easy to pull off, an attentive Brigitte player could use Kiriko’s Kitsune Rush to proc the bug and hold up an infinite shield perpetually. The Brigitte could even use abilities while still maintaining the invincible shield since it takes a brief cooldown after putting the shield away before its health starts to regenerate.
There are ways to work around the exploit, of course. Brigitte is still vulnerable to attacks and if she dies, she has to set up the bug again to use it. Using the exploit can also be cumbersome, so the Brigitte is limited while trying to sustain the exploit. Overall, it’s just unlikely to see many Brigitte’s put in the effort to trigger the exploit in general.
While the Brigitte invulnerable shield exploit may not become a frequent sight inOverwatch 2, it may be just common enough for Blizzard to want to fix it. An invulnerable shield could be the difference in competitive matches, somethingBlizzardmay want to avoid entirely. Alternatively, Blizzard may think it’s hard enough to trigger that no one will use it and either ignore the bug or quietly patch it down the line. Either way, it’s worth being somewhat warier of Brigittes inOverwatch 2for the foreseeable future.
Overwatch 2is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
