Overwatch Update Hints At Balance Changes
By Alexander Pan 22 September 2016
Blizzard releases a new Overwatch patch to its PTR and a host of general updates and bug fixes are expected, including balance tweaks to Ana, Widowmaker, and Junkrat.
Ever since Overwatch was released to critical and commercial acclaim a few months ago, Blizzard have been consistently refining and improving the game, much to the happiness of its 15 million player (and counting) fanbase. Now that the online multiplayer shooter is well into its second season of Competitive Play, Blizzard have been hard at work on the next batch of changes, and with a new patch having just been released to its Public Test Region, players can soon expect a number of new updates – including balance changes to Ana, Widowmaker, and Junkrat.
According to Blizzard’s Overwatch PTR notes, while there’s no indication that Ana is over or underpowered, her Nano Boost ultimate ability will now cost 20% more and her Bionic Grenade radius has been increased from three to four metres in order to make her more viable. The balance changes also extend to the game’s other sniper Widowmaker, whose Widow’s Kiss scoping-in time will now be reduced from 0.5 to 0.3 seconds in order to acquire targets more quickly.
And finally, the last character to receive balance changes is the explosive-loving Junkrat. While Blizzard have deemed the character to already be very effective, his RIP-Tire ultimate ability was considered to be somewhat underpowered compared to other heroes, thus the new patch will allow the ability to be activated much quicker.
In addition to the character balance changes, several minor user interface updates are also expected, with the most notable change being the inclusion of two aiming modes for controller users – Dual-Zone mode and Exponential Ramp mode. The patch will also feature a series of bug fixes and a number of general updates, the most notable of which are listed here:
- Static cameras are now supported in spectator mode
- Team names can now be edited in custom games
- Raised the volume of Hanzo‘s Dragonstrike voice line while wearing the Okami/Lone Wolf Skin
- Heroes hit by Ana’s Nano Boost have a new voice line that informs other players
- Increased frequency of Reinhardt’s “barrier failing” voice line
- Custom Games can now be paused
While there are a host of notable changes in the upcoming Overwatch patch, perhaps the most interesting aspect of it is its estimated 1.3GB size, making it even larger than the patch featuring the new Eichenwalde map. It could simply be the nature of the new changes and tweaks, but there’s already speculation that the large size is due to the addition of Sombra, Overwatch‘s mysterious new character. Until the patch is officially released onto all platforms, we’ll just have to see what Blizzard have in store for players, Sombra or otherwise.
Overwatch is now available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Source: Blizzard (via GameSpot)
