The latest patch for Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch is now available on the Public Test Realm servers. If you have the PC version, simply select the PTR option from the Battle.net client and download it. Along with reworking Torbjorn’s abilities and adding a new Ultimate, the PTR update adds some new colourblind options, and changes heroes like Pharah, McCree, and Soldier 76.
In the latest PTR patch, players can change how team colours and hero outlines are represented, using colourblind-friendly colours. It’s even possible to have the enemy and allied UI be separate colours. For hero updates, McCree’s Combat Roll has had its cooldown reduced from 8 to 6 seconds, while Soldier 76’s max spread now takes 9 shots to reach instead of 6.
Pharah has received a number of changes as well. Concussive Blast cooldown has been reduced from 12 to 9 seconds, and the attack speed for Rocket Launcher has been increased, since the recovery between shots has gone from 0.9 to 0.75. The overall distribution of damage has changed – explosions damage is lower, while impact damage is higher – but it emphasizes direct shows more. For the full patch notes, head here.
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Colorblind Options Updates
Customize how team colors are displayed in your UI (e.g. nameplates, HUD, health bars) and hero outlines with a set of nine different colorblind-friendly colors to choose from. You choose to colorize enemy and friendly UI separately as well. These options can be found under Options > Video > Color Blind Options. All changes made will be saved and ready for you to see in the next match you play!
HERO UPDATES
General
Updated visuals for all shields and barriers to increase readability
Brigitte
Barrier Shield
Shield health reduced from 600 to 500
Developer Comments: The health of Brigitte’s barrier was extremely difficult for most heroes to deal with even as she was able to close the distance with her targets. This change still provides Brigitte with substantial survivability but should also be more rewarding for opponents who pressure her.
McCree
Combat Roll
Cooldown reduced from 8 to 6 seconds
Developer Comments: Previously, the cooldown of McCree’s Combat Roll felt too restrictive, which sometimes prohibited players from using it. The new, faster cooldown should allow for more flexibility when choosing between using it for mobility or an instant reload.
Pharah
Concussive Blast
Cooldown reduced from 12 to 9 seconds
Rocket Launcher
- Attack speed increased. Lowered recovery between shots from 0.9 to 0.75
- Damage redistributed between explosion and impact. Explosion damage reduced from 80 to 65. Impact damage increased from 40 to 55
- Explosion knockback reduced by 20%
- Self-knockback range increased by 25%
Developer Comments: We wanted to increase how responsive Pharah’s Rocket Launcher felt. Having almost a full second of recovery between shots made it feel sluggish. To balance out the improved recovery time, we shifted some of the damage from the rocket’s explosion to the direct impact damage. The overall damage potential is now increased when landing direct hits and decreased slightly when only dealing explosive damage. We reduced the amount of knockback each explosion causes, as they made it very difficult to aim at Pharah while rockets came in at a faster pace. The Concussive Blast cooldown reduction should allow the ability to sync up more closely with the Jump Jet cooldown when used for mobility.
Mei
General
Updated visual effects for all abilities
Orisa
Fusion Driver
Maximum spread reduced from 1.5 to 1.2
Developer Comments: Orisa spends a significant amount of time firing her Fusion Driver from a relatively stationary location and the weapon’s spread value caused it to feel too random when leading targets at a distance, taking into account the projectiles’ travel time. We’ve tightened the spread slightly, which should leave her close- and mid-range damage potential largely unchanged, while making it feel better to try to hit targets at longer ranges.
Soldier: 76
Heavy Pulse Rifle
Number of shots until max spread increased from 6 to 9
Developer Comments: Soldier: 76’s damage output was a bit low but not too far off from where we feel it should be. Making it take a few more shots to reach max spread smooths out the weapon spread curve and should help his damage be more consistent.
Torbjörn
General
Reduced the size of Torbjörn’s head hit volume by 10%
Rivet Gun
Primary Fire
- Projectile speed increased from 60 to 70 per second
- Reload time reduced from 2.2 to 2 seconds
- Turret targets enemy hit by primary fire
Alternate Fire
- Recovery lowered from 0.8 to 0.6 seconds
- Damage per shot lowered from 150 to 125
- Reload time reduced from 2.2 to 2 seconds
- Spread randomization readjusted
Forge Hammer
Radius increased to align with Quick Melee
Deploy Turret
- Now a thrown projectile
- Automatically builds over three seconds
- No longer has different levels
- Same damage output as previous level 2 turret
- Maximum health reduced from 300 to 250
- Now incurs a 5-second cooldown when deployed
- Now incurs a 10-second cooldown when destroyed in combat
- No longer able to deploy a new turret if it’s in combat: While the turret is firing; If the turret has taken damage within three seconds
- Now able to destroy turret using the Interact input
- Now will complete self-building once deployed, even if Torbjörn is eliminated
New Ability: Overload
- Replaces Armor Pack
- Lasts for 5 seconds (12-second cooldown)
- Temporarily grants 150 armor
- Increases attack, movement, and reload speed by 30%
New Ultimate: Molten Core
- Switches weapon from Rivet Gun to his claw arm
- Lasts 6 seconds
- Fire up to 10 molten globules that create damage pools where they land for 10 seconds
- Bounces off walls and ceilings until coming into contact with the ground
- Base damage is 130
- Damage increases from 130 to 190 against enemies who have armor
- Heroes affected by armor: Bastion, Brigitte, D.Va, Orisa, Reinhardt, Torbjörn, Winston, Wrecking Ball
- Heroes who can grant armor to their allies: Brigitte
Developer Comments: Torbjörn was initially designed to be a specialized hero, intended to be a strong defensive option due to his armor-generating capabilities and ability to control areas with his turret. However, the scrap collecting and Armor Pack mechanics have proven to cause problematic gameplay issues through their feast or famine nature. In order to make the hero more flexible in a wide variety of situations, we’ve removed the scrap system, made the turret much easier to deploy, replaced the Armor Pack ability with Overload—a powerful self-buff—and transformed Molten Core into a powerful new area denial ultimate ability.
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