Overwatch PTR Patch Includes Widowmaker, Hanzo Mobility Nerfs

After Blizzard Entertainment outlined changes to Supports coming with Overwatch’s next Public Test Realm update, it released the full patch notes for the same. Available on the official forums courtesy of community manager Tom Powers, there are some other interesting changes to be had in this now-live update. And no, we don’t mean changing the name of Junkrat’s Buccaneer skin to Bilgerat.

Channelled and transformation Ultimates like Pharah’s Barrage, Genji’s Dragonblade, or Zenyatta’s Transcendence will now restore ammo after completion. This eliminates the need to reload after using an Ultimate. Hanzo, who’s been dominating the meta since the introduction of Storm Arrow and Lunge, has had his mobility slightly nerfed. Lunge is now on a 5-second cooldown instead of 4 seconds.

Widowmaker is another sniper facing a mobility nerf. Grappling hook has a cooldown of 10 seconds, up from 8 seconds, which should make punishing badly positioned players that much better. Other changes include Zarya’s energy rate now draining from 2 energy per second to 1.6 energy per second. However, Graviton Surge has had its radius reduced from 8 meters to 6 meters. Check out the patch notes below and let us know what you think.

GENERAL UPDATES

General

• Changed the name of Junkrat’s Buccaneer skin to Bilgerat
• Added under attack voice lines for Zenyatta, Lúcio, and Moria

Looking for Group

• Settings will be saved after changing filters on the Looking for Group browse screen

Hero Gallery

• Added a What’s New option that displays new unlockable content

HERO UPDATES

General

Channelled and transformation ultimate abilities now restore ammunition after completion for some heroes

• Channelled abilities affected: Junkrat’s RIP-Tire, Pharah’s Barrage, Roadhog’s Whole Hog, and Zenyatta’s Transcendence
• Transformation abilities affected: Genji’s Dragonblade, Winston’s Primal Rage

Developer Comments: The change removes the need to immediately reload after a long duration ultimate.

Ana

Nano Boost

• Now also instantly heals the target for 300 health

Developer Comments: This change should give Ana the flexibility to use her ultimate in a wider variety of situations.

Brigitte

Shield Bash

• Cooldown increased from 6 to 7 seconds

Developer Comments: Slightly increasing the cooldown will give Brigitte’s opponents more opportunity to play around her Shield Bash ability.

Doomfist

Rocket Punch

• No longer impacts Symmetra’s teleporter
• Now destroys Symmetra’s sentry turrets without stopping his movement

Developer Comments: These changes are just quality of life improvements for how Doomfist interacts with Symmetra’s placeables.

Hanzo

Lunge

• Cooldown increased from 4 to 5 seconds

Developer Comments: Hanzo’s Lunge ability allows him to be very evasive, the increased cooldown should make him slightly easier to catch.

Moira

Biotic Grasp

• Passive energy regeneration rate increased from 2 per second to 2.4 per second

Developer Comments: This gives Moira a bit more healing to work with in situations with no enemy targets available.

Lúcio

Crossfade

• Aura radius increase from 10 to 12 meters

Sound Barrier

• Temporary shields granted increased from 500 to 750

Developer Comments: Increasing the amount of shield health gained from Lucio’s Sound Barrier should make it more effective against incoming burst damage. The increased aura radius will help keep more allies within his heal and speed range.

Mercy

Caduceus Staff

• Healing beam reduced from 60 healing per second to 50 healing per second

Developer Comments: Mercy’s previous healing output made her nearly impossible to replace in any team composition. Even after these changes, she will still be able to deliver more healing over the course of a match than any other support hero. This change should allow for other healers to be a more viable pick.

Sombra

General

• Reduced the size of Sombra’s head hit volume

Developer Comments: This is mostly a bug fix, as her head hit volume was abnormally large, especially from behind. Previously if you fired at her from behind near her upper spine, you could land a headshot. Now her head volume is much more accurate.

Reinhardt

Barrier Field

• Decorative insignia no longer protrudes from the shield’s surface

Developer Comments: By smoothing out Reinhardt Barrier Field, he will be able to consistently block enemy abilities and projectiles (e.g. Junkrat’s grenades).

Widowmaker

Grappling Hook

• Cooldown increased from 8 seconds to 10 seconds

Developer Comments: The increased cooldown will slightly reduce the frequency that Widowmaker can reposition herself.

Zarya

Energy

• Drain rate reduced from 2 per second to 1.6 per second

Graviton Surge

• Radius reduced from 8 to 6 meters

Developer Comments: With the reduced Energy drain rate, Zarya should be at higher energy on average resulting in more overall damage and quicker ultimate charge times. We’ve also decreased the wide area of Graviton Surge, so players are more able to aid allies without being pulled in as well.

BUG FIXES

Competitive Play

• Fixed a bug that could cause players to lose an endorsement level if they exited before a match completes, but after the return timer for a leaving player has expired

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