A disorienting Overwatch 2 Hanzo bow recoil bug has made the archer very difficult to play after the Season 2 update. After Hanzo makes a charged arrow shot, his elbow and hand now move up suddenly, covering the center aiming reticle for a short period of time. Now, there’s a chance that this nerf is intentional (in which case, it would be a feature), but the response to the change has been so negative that many fans assume that it is a bug. There’s also no mention of this added recoil in the Season 2 patch notes.
Fans want the Hanzo bow recoil removed immediately
A user on the official Overwatch Reddit has posted a quick eight-second video of the issue (shown above). The left side shows the sudden Hanzo bow recoil due to the Season 2 patch, compared to how it was before on the right side. Players reacting in the comments hope that this is just a bug, but even if it’s not, the movement is quite distracting since it gets in the way of the crosshair.
Beyond that, numerous users (like here and here) have gone to the official Overwatch 2 forums to report the problem. One player reports that this jerky animation occurs mainly after charging a Sonic Arrow, though it can also happen with Storm Arrows too. The overwhelming response might lead Blizzard to consider removing Hanzo from the game temporarily or doing a hotfix to correct the issue.
For more guides on Overwatch 2, here is a fix for the Season 2 battle pass if it’s not working for you, and an explanation for why your Season 2 rank might have been reset.