ability index 5
change timeline 11 patches
- Damage increased from 50 to 60.
- Damage reduced from 110 to 100.
- Swing speed increased by 15%.
Developer Comments: Swift Strike's damage is being increased to strengthen Genji's ability to secure eliminations through his core combos. Dragonblade's changes are intended to avoid damage boost breakpoints created by the Swift Strike increase while improving its overall effectiveness.
Laceration - Power
- Cooldown reduction per target increased to 2.5s (Up from 2s).
- Ultimate cost reduced by 6%.
Dragon's Thirst – Minor Perk
- Moved to base kit.
Swift Backcap – Minor Perk
- New - Genji progresses objectives faster.
- Deflected damage increases with distance to victim.
- Deflect final blows grant Genji a 15% damage boost for 5 seconds.
- Can now be cancelled.
- Cancelling Dragonblade early sends out a large energy projectile and refunds Genji's cooldowns.
Dragonblade is often used to bait out supportive ultimates such as Sound Barrier or Rally. Allowing Genji to cancel Dragonblade provides the player far more authority over the kit as a whole. These changes also play into Genji’s strength as an anti-Double Hitscan pick with his increased deflect damage at range.
Iaido Strike
- Damage increased to 75% (Up from 50%).
Dragon Strike
- Bonus Damage reduced to 100% (Down from 120%).
- Wind up is now 50% faster.
- Meditation – Major Perk
- Healing increased from 35 to 50 per second.
- Cooldown reduced from 10 to 8 seconds.
Lowering Genji’s deflect cooldown improves engagement frequency while also compounding the increased value of the Meditation perk.
Cybernetic Speed - Power
- Attack Speed per stack increased to 3% (Up from 2%).
Deflect-O-Bot - Power
- Reworked from "+200% Deflected Projectile Speed. During the first 2s of [Deflect], automatically deflect projectiles towards enemies" to "+200% Deflected Projectile Speed. Automatically deflect projectiles towards enemies. During the first 0.3s of Deflect, deflected hits will deal 50% bonus critical damage".
Dragon's Breath - Power
- Added "deals 25% increased dmg to Airborne enemies."
- Dragonblade Scaling increased to 100% (Up from 50%).
Forged Under Fire - Power
- Deflect healing reduced to 100% (Down from 125%).
Iaido Strike - Power
- Dragonblade Swing now has 50% reduced effectiveness.
Hanamura Healing - Power
- Overhealth scaling reduced to 25% (Down from 35%).
Laceration - Power
- Added "For each enemy [Swift Strike] damages beyond the initial target, reduce [Swift Strike] cooldown by 2s."
- Bleed Damage reduced to 30% (Down from 35%).
Spirit of Sojiro - Power
- Reworked from "When [Deflect] stops incoming damage, reduce the cooldown of [Swift Strike] by 1s, up to 5s" to "+1s [Deflect] Duration. Deflect now deflects attacks from both sides".
Wyrm's Maw - Power
- Reworked from "Targets hit by your [Shurikens] take 10% more damage from [Swift Strike] for 4s, stacking up to 5 times" to "After dealing [Shuriken] Damage, your next [Swift Strike] gains 10% Damage and 5% Range, stacking up to 5 times".
Ambusher Optics - Epic Hero Ability Item
- Cost reduced to 9500 (Down from 11000).
Traversal Kinetics - Rare Hero Ability Item
- Cost reduced to 4500 (Down from 5000).
- Weapon Power reduced to 5% (Down from 10%).
- Ability Power reduced to 5% (Down from 10%).
Deflecting Dash - Epic Hero Ability Item
- Removed.
Dragon Strike - Epic Hero Ability Item
- New
- 25 Armor
- 10% Ability Lifesteal
- "[Dragonblade]'s first swing is a wide [Swift Strike] that deals 100% bonus critical damage."
These changes are aimed at improving the viability and number of options for Swift Strike oriented builds as well as giving Genji a more potent anti air solution.
- Moved from his Ultimate to his weapon.
- Damage reduced from 110 to 65.
- Moved from his weapon to his Ultimate.
- Shuriken projectile speed tripled.
- Primary fire now continues firing when held down.
- Secondary fire now fires 9 projectiles at a faster rate and in a wider arc.
- Ultimate duration increased to 8 seconds
- New ability.
- When activated, Genji's Dragonblade will fire large energy projectiles with each slash for a short duration.
- Only usable with Dragonblade equipped.
- Has an 8-second cooldown.
Genji has been reworked to be our third-ever first-ever melee DPS.
Deflect-o-bot - Power
- Deflected projectile speed bonus increased from +50% to +200%
- Auto-targeting duration increased from 1.5s to 2s
Sacred Shuriken - Power
- Added: +50% Primary fire projectile speed
Genji’s deflect-focused playstyle wasn’t quite delivering on the fantasy of turning enemy fire back into real pressure. These updates lean harder into that identity by making deflected projectiles significantly faster and extending the window where Genji can safely play around Deflect (Watch out Pharah!). Sacred Shuriken further supports this direction by speeding up his primary fire, helping Genji feel more fluid and threatening when weaving between aggression and defense. The goal is to reward sharp timing and positioning, and to make successful deflect moments feel decisive without pushing Genji into pure burst territory.
Shuriken
- Ammo increased from 24 to 30.
Genji’s ammo allows more consistent pressure in fights and secure kills without needing to reload as often.
Forged Under Fire - Power
- Healing increased to 125% (Up from 60%).
Hanamura Healing - Power
- Damage increased to 35% (Up from 25%).
- Overhealth duration is now infinite (Up from 5s).
Spiked Grip - Rare Weapon Hero Item
- Ammo restore increased to 35% (Up from 20%).
- Added: +10% Attack Speed
- Cost increased to 4000 (Up from 3750).
Swift-Loader - Epic Weapon Hero Item
- Redesigned to: Using [Swift Strike] restores 20% ammo and gives 20% Attack Speed for 2.5s.
- Cost increased to 12000 (Up from 10000).
Traversal Kinetics - Rare Ability Hero Item
- Added:+10% Weapon Power, +10% Ability Power
- Cost increased to 5000 (Up from 3750).
Clean Sweep - Epic Ability Hero Item
- Cost decreased to 9000 (Down from 10000).
Deflecting Dash - Epic Ability Hero Item
- Cost decreased to 9000 (Down from 10000).
Equilibrium Gear - Rare Survival Hero Item
- Added: +5% Cooldown Reduction.
Sparrowhawk Feather - Rare Survival Hero Item
- Added: [Swift Strike] resets additional jumps.
- Cost decreased to 3750 (Down from 4000).
Slicy Coolant - Epic Survival Hero Item
- Added: Deflect now deflects attacks from both sides.
- Cost increased to 11000 (Up from 10000).
These changes broaden Genji’s build diversity and reinforce his identity as a highly mobile, high-skill-cap assassin. Powers like Forged Under Fire and Hanamura Healing received significant stat increases to enhance survivability and reward aggressive play. Weapon items such as Spiked Grip and Swift-Loader now offer more meaningful tempo boosts, improving Genji’s ability to chain engagements fluidly. Ability and survival items have been tuned to strengthen mobility, cooldown management, and defensive expression. Overall, this update aims to make more of Genji’s item paths viable and exciting without pushing his burst lethality beyond intended limits.