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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →In Blizzard’s February 25, 2026 live patch notes, the separate Damage Role Passive was removed. Its listed healing-reduction effects became baseline for all heroes, so the update documents no separate role-wide DPS passive. Hero sub-role passives are a different system.
What changed in February 2026?
Blizzard’s February 25, 2026 live patch notes state: “Damage Role Passive — Removed.” The notes say the effects previously granted by that passive became baseline for all heroes:
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- In-combat healing reduction on damage: -30%.
- Reduced effectiveness against Tanks: -15%.
The second figure is a reduction in the effect’s effectiveness against Tanks; it is not an additional 15% healing reduction. The notes establish the change for that update, rather than guaranteeing that later patches left it untouched.
How is that different from a Damage sub-role passive?
Blizzard described a broader revision in which heroes receive categorized passives within their roles, intended to fit their playstyles. A hero’s sub-role passive is not the old, shared Damage Role Passive. For the distinction, see Blizzard’s February 2026 patch notes.
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| Mechanic | Meaning in the February 2026 update |
|---|---|
| Damage Role Passive | Removed; its listed former effects became baseline for all heroes. |
| Damage sub-role passive | A categorized, hero-level mechanic in the revised role-passive system. |
Why do older guides describe a different DPS passive?
The passive changed over time, so older explanations may accurately describe an earlier version but not the February 2026 update. Blizzard’s historical patch notes document these different triggers and effects:
- Launch-era elimination bonus: An elimination granted 25% increased reload and movement speed for 2.5 seconds, according to Blizzard’s 2022 launch-balance material. That material also recounts an earlier ultimate-charge-on-hero-swap version.
- Season 9 healing reduction: The elimination reload-speed bonus was removed, and dealing damage reduced an enemy’s healing received by 20% for 2 seconds, as stated in Blizzard’s Season 9 patch notes.
- July 2024 Tank adjustment: Healing reduction against Tank heroes was halved to 10%. Blizzard said Tanks experienced the effect nearly all the time and relied heavily on incoming healing in its July 2024 notes.
- June 2025 increase: The healing-reduction value increased from 25% to 30% in Blizzard’s June 2025 patch notes.
- February 2026 removal: The separate role passive was removed, and its listed effects became baseline for all heroes.
These are successive versions, not effects to combine into one current DPS passive.
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