We’re celebrating the 2019 Lunar New Year with a festive Capture the Flag version of the Busan map, Season 2 of Competitive Capture the Flag, and a load of loot! Unlock new seasonal items, including legendary skins for Huang Zhong Hanzo, Lü Bu Reaper, Guan Yu Reinhardt, Zhang Fei Torbjörn, Hong Gildong Tracer, and Zhuge Liang Zenyatta.
To learn more about Overwatch Lunar New Year, click here.
HERO UPDATES
General
Developer Comments: Before this change, armor reduced all incoming damage by up to 5, maxing at half of the normal amount. This change reduces the damage reduction to 3, while still capping at half. This change will be most noticeable for heroes who fire quickly or in bursts, such as shotguns, and do more than 6 damage per shot. For example, Soldier: 76’s Heavy Pulse Rifle will now do 16 damage per shot to armored opponents, up from 14 (an increase close to 15%).
Armor was a bit too strong overall, especially when heroes were being healed quickly and often. This change will help more heroes fight against higher-armored enemies.
Damage reduction from armor reduced from -5 to -3
Brigitte
Developer Comments: Sometimes Rally could cause a snowballing effect, making it too difficult to deal with the increased health of Brigitte’s allies before she built up another one. This change limits how long Rally’s effect lasts after its initial cast, to make it a bit more manageable in those situations.
Rally
Now has a maximum duration of 30 seconds
D.Va
Developer Comments: This change allows D.Va’s enemies to play around her Defense Matrix by increasing its downtime between uses.
Defense Matrix
Cooldown increased from 1 second to 2 seconds
Reaper
Developer Comments Reaper’s passive enables him to play aggressively when near enemies. This change allows him to keep the pressure up while he’s dishing damage to his enemies. The added life steal is particularly effective against tanks, as they tend to do less damage than other heroes, and also take more damage from his Hellfire Shotguns due to their larger hit volumes.
The Reaping
Life steal increased from 30% to 50% of damage dealt
BUG FIXES
Heroes
General
[PS4/XB1] Fixed a bug that caused a delay for heroes loading into the victory screen line up if they had a golden weapon equipped
McCree
[PS4/XB1] Fixed a bug that caused McCree's model to distort if he used Combat Roll to the right with the Sherlock skin equipped
Tracer
Fixed a bug that caused Tracer’s Pulse Bomb to detonate on the wrong side of Orisa’s Protective Barrier when it was placed on the front
Wrecking Ball
Fixed a bug that prevented Wrecking Ball’s proximity mines from being disabled by Sombra’s EMP
[PS4/XB1] Fixed a bug that caused Wrecking Ball's golden weapon to display incorrectly when using certain skins
Competitive Play
Competitive Play
Fixed a bug in Competitive Play that prevented the team color on the payload progress bar from switching after a round transition
Maps
Nepal
Fixed a bug that allowed players to capture or contest the point from its exterior on Nepal’s Shrine stage
Overwatch Patch Notes – January 9, 2019
A new patch is now live on PC. Read below to learn more about the latest changes.
To share your feedback, please post in the General Discussion forum
For a list of known issues, visit our Bug Report forum.
For troubleshooting assistance, visit our Technical Support forum.
BUG FIXES
General
Fixed a bug that prevented special event music for Ana’s Bastet Challenge from playing in the main menu
Overwatch Patch Notes – January 8, 2019
A new patch is now live on PC. Read below to learn more about the latest changes.
To share your feedback, please post in the General Discussion forum
For a list of known issues, visit our Bug Report forum.
For troubleshooting assistance, visit our Technical Support forum.
BUG FIXES
General
Fixed a bug that prevented the title text for Ana’s Bastet Challenge from displaying
Heroes
McCree
Fixed a bug that caused McCree’s model to distort if he used Combat Roll to the right with the Sherlock skin equipped
January 8, 2019
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Ana’s Bastet Challenge
We’re bringing Ana's journey in the short story “Bastet” to Overwatch with some special, unlockable in-game content. Wins in Quick Play, Competitive Play, or Arcade will all earn you a limited-time player icon, victory pose, and a new epic skin: BASTET ANA!
Tune in to participating Twitch broadcasters while they’re playing Overwatch anytime through January 21 to earn five Ana's Bastet Challenge sprays!
To learn more about Ana’s Bastet Challenge, click here.
Overwatch League 2019 Season Skins
Team uniforms come to life as in-game skins! Skin are now ready to equip in-game for the eight new Overwatch League 2019 teams: Atlanta Reign, Chengdu Hunters, Guangzhou Charge, Hangzhou Spark, Paris Eternal, Toronto Defiant, Vancouver Titans, and Washington Justice. Represent your favorite team (or teams) in-game with skins for every hero.
Status effect icons now display on the afflicted heroes’ portraits
An option to toggle an over-the-shoulder spectator camera is now available. This feature can be found under Options > Gameplay > Use Simple 3P Spectator Camera
An option to mute voice lines while spectating is now available. This feature can be found under Options > Gameplay > Enable Voice Lines While Spectating
Developer Comments: These quality of life changes mirror some of the functionality available to professional broadcasters. By bringing these features in-game, we aim to provide players with a seamless spectator experience between streamed professional play and in-game matches with their peers.
USER INTERFACE UPDATES
Kill Feed
The kill feed will now display when D.Va's Defense Matrix successfully absorbs a projectile (e.g. Zarya's Graviton Surge and Hanzo's Dragonstrike)
Kill feed text and icons for eliminating non-player destructible now display 50% smaller (e.g. D.Va's Mech, Junkrat's RIP-Tire, Torbjörn’s turret, and Orisa's Supercharger)
Added a new kill feed icon for Quick Melee eliminations
The kill feed no longer displays when a player destroys Symmetra's teleporter
BUG FIXES
Heroes
Ashe
Fixed a bug that caused Ashe’s scoped view to stutter when playing with a high framerate
Brigitte
Fixed a bug that caused Brigitte to pivot when exiting third-person view after lowering her Barrier Shield
Reinhardt
Fixed a bug that caused Reinhardt’s Earthshatter to not be visible to other players if he used it while recovering from a stun
Fixed a bug that caused Reinhardt to pivot when exiting third-person view after lowering his Barrier Field
Torbjörn
Fixed a bug that caused Torbjörn’s turret to be built at an extreme angle if it landed on the edge of an object
Winston
Fixed a bug that prevented Winston from dealing damage when landing at the maximum range of Jump Pack
Arcade
Fixed a bug that prevented players’ Competitive Points deduction from visually updating after purchasing a golden weapon
Maps
Blizzard World
Fixed a bug that allowed players to stand on the chimney above the attacker’s initial spawn room
Busan
Fixed a bug that prevented the blast shields from moving in MEKA Base while in a skirmish match
Hollywood
Fixed a bug that caused the railing above the first objective to block projectiles after being destroyed
King's Row
Fixed a bug that allowed players to stand on top of the sign for Moriarty’s Fine Books behind the first objective
DECEMBER 11, 2018
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
New Seasonal Event: Winter Wonderland 2018
‘Tis the season to get merry!
Overwatch is getting into the holiday spirit for the next three weeks! Expand your collection and enjoy two winter brawls: Yeti Hunter and Mei’s Snowball Offensive. Visit Blizzard World to watch the snow fall, admire its twinkling nighttime lights, and savor the sight of confectionary-inspired décor.
Of course, we have new presents for you to unwrap from our Winter Loot Boxes! Unlock new seasonal items—including legendary skins like Krampus Junkrat, Sugar Plum Fairy Mercy, Figure Skater Symmetra, and more.
Developer Comments: Since launch, we’ve supported Dolby Atmos for players who use headphones, and we’re now expanding this support to include the Windows 10 implementation for spatial audio. Spatial audio is configured in the Windows 10 sound settings and will take priority over the settings in the game client. This will allow for more options, including settings for Windows Sonic Headphones, Dolby Atmos for Headphones, and Dolby Atmos for Home Theater.
[PC] An option to use Windows Spatial Audio is now available. This feature can be found in the Windows Start Menu under Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound > Speaker Device > Spatial Sound
Ashe
Developer Comments Our final technical audit on Ashe’s character package allowed us to implement a feature we talked about several times during Bob’s production. Making him part of Ashe’s golden weapon is a great way to celebrate our favorite Big Omnic Butler and let players show off their hard-earned Competitive Points each time they summon him onto the battlefield.
B.O.B.
Bob will now have a golden tint when Ashe equips her golden weapon
Bastion
Developer Comments: Bastion could use a little bit of an offensive boost to balance out how vulnerable Configuration: Recon’s bulky size and Sentry’s stationary nature make it. As a reward for surviving in spite of these weaknesses, we gave Bastion a lower spread in Sentry mode to make it more effective at farther ranges than it was previously.
Configuration: Recon
Ammo increased from 25 to 35
Configuration: Sentry
Weapon spread decreased by up to 33% while firing
Brigitte
Developer Comments: Brigitte’s Shield Bash is a strong ability that often feels difficult to counter. This change will offer new options for counter play, enabling shield tanks to better protect themselves and their teammates. Reducing its damage reduces her total stun combo damage potential while still allowing Whip Shot and her basic melee attacks to retain their full strength. Brigitte is a tank/healer hybrid, and lately we’ve been reducing her effectiveness by lowering the power of her non-healing functionality. We want to make sure she is still a viable pick, so we’re increasing the uptime of her Inspire passive ability to help improve her overall healing output.
Shield Bash
No longer can travel or stun targets through barriers
Damage reduced from 50 to 5
Inspire
Cooldown reduced from 1.5 seconds to 1 second
Duration increased from 5 seconds to 6 seconds
Total healing increased from 80 to 100
Doomfist
Developer Comments Doomfist’s high mobility allows him to engage and disengage from extremely long range. Decreasing the range of the targeted aerial version of Seismic Slam requires him to get closer before engaging an enemy and makes it slightly harder for him to escape from combat. The loss of air control on Rising Uppercut was a frustrating mechanic for players, but it allowed Doomfist to set up combos. We’ve found a decent middle ground by limiting the amount of time Doomfist has to line up his next move. The Meteor Strike changes will make it harder to secure easy eliminations on heroes without mobility abilities, such as Zenyatta or Ana, while still preserving its maximum potential damage when aimed well or when combined with other abilities such as Graviton Surge or Sleep Dart.
Rising Uppercut
Loss of air control duration lowered from 3 seconds to 0.6 seconds
Seismic Slam
Maximum range reduced from 20 meters to 15 meters
Targets no longer lose air control while being pulled in
Meteor Strike
Inner ring damage radius increased from 1.5 meters to 2.0 meters
Outer ring maximum damage decreased from 300 to 200
McCree
Developer Comments McCree’s Fan the Hammer wasn’t as reliable against higher health heroes as it should be. Increasing its damage will make it more potent in close-range engagements where it is intended to be most effective.
Peacekeeper
Alternate fire damage increased from 45 to 55
Soldier: 76
Developer Comments The intent of Tactical Visor is to make Soldier: 76 unable to miss during its duration. However, Helix Rockets have travel time, so if they were fired directly at an enemy after locking on they would often miss a moving target at further ranges. This change allows players to freely aim Helix Rockets while still auto-aiming his primary fire.
Tactical Visor
No longer makes Helix Rockets lock onto enemies
Torbjörn
Developer Comments While the Molten Core damage pools were intended to provide players with tools for area denial, they weren’t proving threatening enough to deter enemies for a significant amount of time because their damage was too low.
Molten Core
Damage increased from 130 to 160 per second
BUG FIXES
A.I.
Fixed a bug that caused the Torbjörn bot to use some of his ultimate while attempting to repair his turret
Deathmatch
Fixed a bug that caused Athena’s voice lines to overlap if the match was a draw
Heroes
General
Fixed a bug that prevented a landing exertion visual effect from playing when a hero impacted a slippery surface before landing
Fixed an issue that caused enemy players to appear to have jittery movement at framerates over 100
Fixed issues that could cause the client to miscalculate projectiles
Ashe
Fixed a bug that caused Ashe’s Dynamite to create a second small explosion visual effect a few moments after the first explosion
Fixed a bug that prevented Ashe’s Dynamite from playing its fire visual effects on enemy abilities (e.g. Junkrat’s Steel Trap or Mei’s Ice Wall)
Fixed a bug that prevented Ashe’s Dynamite from exploding if it fell into small gaps
Fixed a bug that caused Ashe’s scoped view to stutter on a high refresh rate monitor with a high framerate
Fixed a bug that prevented spectators from seeing enemy outline’s through Ashe’s scope
Fixed a bug that caused Ashe to see Zarya’s Project Barrier visual effects when Bob was the ability’s target
Fixed a bug that caused Bob to slip off Mei’s Ice Wall
Fixed a bug that allowed Bob to push Bastion in Sentry mode when hit by his charge
Fixed a bug that prevented a charging Bob from opening the airlock doors on Horizon: Lunar Colony
Fixed a bug that caused Bob elbow to briefly disappear when waving
Fixed a bug that caused Bob to continuously charge into a small piece of collision instead of stopping
Fixed a bug that prevented Ashe’s Coach Gun from displacing breakables on maps
Bastion
Fixed a bug that caused Bastion’s Tank mode treads to continue moving while stunned
Fixed a bug that caused Bastion’s colored outline to include squares floating above him while in Configuration: Tank
Brigitte
Fixed a bug that allowed Brigitte to travel through a Mei using Cryo-freeze when using Shield Bash
D.Va
Fixed a bug with the Lying Around highlight intro that caused Cruiser D.Va’s hair to clip into the mech
McCree
Fixed a bug that caused McCree’s Deadeye animation and sound effects to play twice if it was canceled quickly
Mercy
Fixed a bug that allowed Mercy to gain ultimate charge by damage boosting a Pharah as she damages herself
Moira
Fixed a bug that allowed Moira’s Biotic Orbs to go through or get stuck in walls and other collision
Reinhardt
Fixed a bug that prevented Reinhardt’s Earthshatter from traveling over certain terrain
Sombra
Fixed a bug that caused Sombra to hear the detected sound effect when entering stealth or teleporting
Symmetra
Fixed a bug that caused additional sound effects to play while viewing Symmetra’s Creation victory pose in the Hero Gallery
Fixed a bug with Symmetra’s teleporter where it would play its self-destruct sound effects when viewed in the Hero Gallery
Fixed a bug that allowed Symmetra to teleport her turrets under terrain
Torbjörn
Fixed a bug that caused Torbjörn’s turret to be built at an extreme angle if it landed on the edge of an object
Widowmaker
Fixed a bug that allowed Widowmaker’s Venom Mine to reveal enemy barriers through walls
Wrecking Ball
Fixed a bug that caused Wrecking Ball to briefly hit maximum speed before returning to normal speed when he used his Grappling Claw at maximum distance
Hero Gallery
General
Fixed a bug that prevented players’ Competitive Points deduction from visually updating after purchasing a golden weapon
Fixed a bug that caused heroes to display a t-pose briefly when viewing Highlight Intros with the UI disabled
Maps
Control
Fixed a bug that caused the hero select countdown timer to remain at 29 seconds
Dorado
Fixed a bug that gave unintended access to certain ledges
Hollywood
Fixed a bug that caused the ground beneath the western soundstage's gates to be slippery while the gates were open
Temple of Anubis
Fixed a bug that prevented players from standing on the staircase ledge near the first point
Fixed a bug that allowed Sombra to reach unintended locations
Mystery Heroes
Fixed a bug that prevented the Mystery Heroes ruleset from being used while in a Mystery Heroes skirmish
Spectating
Fixed a bug that caused the kill feed to overlap with other UI elements while spectating players
UI
Colorblind Options
Fixed a bug that caused a player’s UI to appear as the enemy color during FFA Deathmatch games
Fixed a bug that prevented colorblind set team colors from appearing on the tab and victory screens
Fixed a bug that prevented player name plates from appearing in the hero select screen
Fixed a bug that prevented the end of round score screen from properly displaying team colors
Fixed a bug that prevented enemy Torbjörn’s turret health bar from displaying its team color
NOVEMBER 13, 2018
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
New Hero: Ashe (Damage):
Ashe’s arsenal of weapons makes her a versatile offensive hero, capable of setting up the perfect situation to shoot down dangerous enemies from range or deal high area-of-effect burst damage to groups of heroes.
Her primary weapon is the Viper, a lever-action rifle with two firing modes: semi-automatic and aim down sights. In semi-automatic mode, the Viper shoots rapidly with a high spread. Aiming down the sights lets Ashe line up precise shots, increasing damage at the expense of speed.
She can turn any situation into her favor with her Coach Gun a short-range, high-impact sidearm that deals big damage and clears the way by knocking back nearby enemies. It can also be used to knock herself back for added mobility, either to reposition herself for a clear shot, or to escape pursuing enemies.
Ashe’s Dynamite ability is a thrown explosive that detonates after a delay. It deals damage in a wide radius and sets enemies on fire for additional damage over time. She can also shoot the dynamite to detonate it early, allowing her to damage unsuspecting enemies.
Her ultimate ability, B.O.B., sends Ashe’s loyal omnic companion rushing into the fray, shoving aside the frontline to rough up targets in the backline.
As with all new heroes, please note that Ashe's release in Competitive Play will be delayed by two weeks.
HERO UPDATES
General
Made jump height consistent across hero roster
Mercy
Developer Comments Mercy's ultimate was charging a bit too slowly after her base healing was reduced in a previous update. These changes should restore some of her ultimate’s strength and let it build up more quickly.
Valkyrie
Ultimate cost reduced 15%
Healing per second increased from 50 to 60
Reaper
Developer Comments: Reaper's specialty is fighting at a very close range. The more consistent spread pattern and increase in healing from his passive ability will make him more capable of standing toe-to-toe with his enemies.
Hellfire Shotguns
Spread randomization reduced by 50%
Spread pattern adjusted
The Reaping
Life steal increased from 20% to 30% of damage dealt
Roadhog
Developer Comments: Roadhog is receiving several large changes to make his abilities more consistent. His Chain Hook had issues with breaking when enemy targets jumped or fell behind environment collision. It will now slow them down in the air more when the hook lands, and wait less time before it starts reeling them in. Since Chain Hook’s cooldown now begins immediately upon use, so it no longer varies based on Roadhog’s distance to the hook target. We’ve also moved some of the projectiles closer to the center of the spread pattern on his Scrap Gun, which gives him a more consistent damage output for its primary and alternate fire. Previously, there was a long-standing bug that caused close-range targets to fly much further than expected. After this bug was fixed, we still wanted to keep some of the knockback burst it provided, so we’ve increased the overall velocity cap to maintain some of that functionality.
Chain Hook
Decreased the delay before pulling a hooked target from 0.5 seconds to 0.3 seconds
Now greatly reduces the target’s momentum upon being hooked
Cooldown now begins immediately, instead of after the target has been pulled
Scrap Gun
Spread pattern adjusted for both primary and secondary fire
Spread randomization reduced by 50%
Whole Hog
Knockback maximum velocity increased by 25% (from 8 to 10 meters per second)
Horizontal recoil decreased slightly
Symmetra
Developer Comments It's still difficult to use Symmetra's Photon Projector beam effectively, even after its range was increased. By speeding up the primary fire charge rate, it takes less time to ramp up to its full damage potential and will be a stronger option when she’s presented with targets to charge up on.
Photon Projector
Primary fire beam charges up 20% faster
MAP UPDATES
General
Reduced the setup timer for Assault, Escort, and Assault/Escort maps from 1 minute to 45 seconds
Assemble Your Team timer increased from 10 to 25 seconds in the second round on Assault, Assault/Escort, and Escort maps
USER INTERFACE UPDATES
General
Removed the “Unlock All” option in the Hero Gallery
BUG FIXES
A.I.
Fixed a bug that caused Mei bots to attempt landing headshots on Wrecking Ball while he was immune to them in Roll mode
Fixed a bug that caused bots to get stuck near Point A on Eichenwalde
Heroes
Brigitte
Fixed a bug that prevented Brigitte’s Whip Shot from going on cooldown if it was interrupted before the chain retracted
Doomfist
Fixed a bug that prevented victims of Doomfist’s Rocket Punch from ragdolling if they were eliminated by it
Fixed a bug that prevented Doomfist’s Rising Uppercut from damaging enemies
Fixed a bug that prevented Doomist’s Seismic Slam from dealing damage if he hit by a knockback ability the moment he landed
Junkrat
Fixed a bug that caused Junkrat to return to his idle animation if he was stunned while using RIP-Tire
Lúcio
Fixed a bug that caused some allied heroes to say their “under attack” voice lines when receiving a friendly Sound Barrier
Orisa
Fixed bug that prevented Orisa’s Fortify from canceling Doomfist’s Rising Uppercut air control effects
Reinhardt
Fixed a bug that allowed Reinhardt’s Earthshatter to hit Brigitte when she blocked it with her Barrier Shield if she was strafing during high latency periods
Roadhog
Fixed a bug that prevented Chain Hook from going on cooldown if it was interrupted before the chain retracted
Fixed a bug that prevented Chain Hook from destroying breakable objects when pulling the target backward
Fixed a bug that caused Roadhog’s Whole Hog visual effects to cover a wider area than the spread of projectiles
Symmetra
Fixed a bug that prevented Symmetra to charge up her primary weapon on enemy ice walls
Torbjörn
Fixed a bug that prevented Santaclad Torbjörn’s ultimate voice lines from playing when activating Molten Core
Fixed a visual issue that prevented Molten Core’s magma globules from appearing in the correct place with his Barbarossa or Blackbeard skins equipped
Fixed an animation issue that caused Torbjörn’s claw arm to suddenly appear when Overload and Molten Core were used in quick succession
Tracer
Fixed an issue that caused Tracer to accelerate slightly slower and decelerate slightly faster than other heroes
Wrecking Ball
Fixed a bug that prevented Wrecking Ball voice lines from playing when previewed after opening a Loot Box
Zarya
Fixed a bug that allowed heroes to charge through a Graviton Surge without getting trapped
Hero Gallery
General
Fixed an issue that caused some heroes legs to twitch when viewed in the Hero Gallery
Fixed a bug that prevented players from rotating heroes in the Hero Gallery while the UI was hidden
Social
Fixed a bug that allowed players to hear the voice lines of heroes controlled by players they muted
Maps
Fixed a bug that prevented the payload from healing attackers if they were damaged while pushing it on Assault/Escort and Escort maps
Fixed a lighting issue that caused a skyscraper in Hollywood’s skyline to appear pitch black
OCTOBER 9, 2018
Hey everyone!
We wanted to share a little bit about the big changes coming to everyone’s favorite weapons designer in this patch. So, we’ve gone and completely reforged Torbjörn with the aim of improving his playstyle and making him more adaptable to the needs of his team.
When we redesign a hero, we define the gameplay problems we’re aiming to solve, how our solutions can fit within the hero’s constraints, and what existing elements are core to the hero’s identity that we should definitely keep as part of their kit. In Torbjörn’s case, we identified his automated turret as one of those key elements. First, instead of having to stand next to a turret to build it, Torbjörn can now throw the turret out, so he can more effectively contest points and set up flanks on the fly. We’ve also given him a self-buff, Overload, which grants Torbjörn 150 armor and a 30% increase to his attack, movement, and reload speeds, so he can spend less time building and more time shooting. Last but certainly not least, we’ve given his ultimate ability Molten Core a complete overhaul.
We explored eight different iterations of Molten Core before we landed on the current design and moved it onto the next stage of production—giving it proper art, animations, and visual effects. The new Molten Core almost didn’t make it due to technical performance concerns, but fortunately, our artists and engineers came up with some clever solutions.
Molten Core now allows Torbjörn to spray pools of magma on the ground that do a ton of sustained damage (plus bonus damage to armor), but its true strength is denying the enemy team the ability to move through key locations or closing out a game in overtime by restricting the space around the objective.
Be sure to try out the new Torbjörn and the other updated heroes this patch and let us know what you think!
—Joshua Noh, Associate Game Designer
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
New Seasonal Event: Halloween Terror 2018
The fright for the future returns!
We’re celebrating the scariest time of the year with a seasonal event: Overwatch Halloween Terror! Expand your collection of spooky seasonal items and relive the chilling tale of Junkenstein's Revenge in our PvE brawl. This year we’ve added two new heroes to the fray: Brigitte and Tracer!
In addition to playing the limited-time brawl, you'll also be able to unlock new seasonal items—including six new legendary skins like Banshee Moira, Jack-o’-lantern Wrecking Ball, and Enchanted Armor Pharah—alongside our growing collection of bone-chilling gear from previous years.
Customize how team colors are displayed in your user interface (e.g. nameplates, HUD, health bars, and hero outlines) with a set of nine different colorblind-friendly colors to choose from. You can also colorize enemy and friendly UI separately. 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!
GENERAL UPDATES
General
Updated the audio mix to add more clarity and dynamic range for all sounds in the game
Developer Comments: Developer Comments: We’ve added more heroes and features to the game, so the audio mix has become more complex, which required us to rebalance sounds across the game. In this update, we extended the range of third-person weapon sounds, increased the range of first-person weapon impacts in the world, and generally balanced third-person footsteps and ability sounds.
HERO UPDATES
General
Updated visuals for all shields and barriers to increase readability
Enemies’ health bars will now become visible to players if an entity they create deals damage to an enemy
Brigitte
Developer Comments The health of Brigitte’s barrier was extremely difficult for most heroes to deal with, especially as she closes the distance to her targets. This change still provides Brigitte with substantial survivability but should also be more rewarding for opponents who pressure her.
Barrier Shield
Shield health reduced from 600 to 500
Doomfist
Developer Comments Doomfist is all about getting up close and personal with his enemies, but his Hand Cannon's spread was tight enough to do surprising amounts of damage at longer ranges, especially against bigger targets. This change brings his weapon in line with other shotgun-style weapons by making its damage fall off beyond 15 meters.
Hand Cannon
Damage falloff now starts at 15 meters
McCree
Developer Comments: Previously, McCree’s Combat Roll cooldown felt too restrictive, which sometimes prohibited players from using it. The new, faster cooldown allows for more flexibility when choosing between using it for mobility or an instant reload.
Combat Roll
Cooldown reduced from 8 to 6 seconds
Pharah
Developer Comments: We wanted to increase how responsive Pharah’s Rocket Launcher felt, because a full second of recovery between shots made it feel sluggish. To balance out the improved recovery time, we shifted some 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 it made it very difficult to aim at Pharah with rockets coming 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.
Concussive Blast
Cooldown reduced from 12 to 9 seconds
Rocket Launcher
Attack speed increased
Lowered recovery time between shots from 0.9 to 0.75 seconds
Damage redistributed between explosion and impact
Explosion damage reduced from 80 to 65
Impact damage increased from 40 to 55
Explosion knock back reduced by 20%
Self-knockback amount increased by 25%
Mei
General
Updated visual effects for all abilities
Orisa
Developer Comments Orisa spends a significant amount of time firing her Fusion Driver from a relatively stationary location. The weapon's spread value caused it to feel too random when leading targets at a distance, considering 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 when hitting targets at longer ranges.
Fusion Driver
Maximum spread reduced by 20%
Soldier: 76
Developer Comments Soldier: 76’s damage output was a bit low, but not too far off from where we felt it should be. Making it take a few more shots to reach max spread smooths out the weapon spread curve and should make his damage more consistent.
Heavy Pulse Rifle
Number of shots until reaching maximum spread increased from 6 to 9
Torbjörn
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 because of their feast or famine nature. To make him 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.
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
Turret is 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
Can now be destroyed using the Interact input
Completes self-building once deployed, even if Torbjörn is eliminated
New Ability: Overload
Replaces Armor Pack
Lasts for 5 seconds
Cooldown is 12 seconds
Temporarily grants 150 armor
Increases attack, movement, and reload speeds 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
Globules bounce off walls and ceilings until they hit the ground
Base damage is 130
Damage increases from 130 to 190 against enemies who have armor
Heroes who can grant armor to their allies: Brigitte
Please note that Torbjörn will be unavailable in Competitive Play for two weeks.
MAP UPDATES
General
Reduced the setup timer for Assault, Escort, and Assault/Escort maps from 1 minute to 45 seconds
Assemble Your Team timer increased from 10 to 25 seconds in the second round on Assault, Assault/Escort, and Escort maps
USER INTERFACE UPDATES
General
A slider to change Player Outline Strength has been added under Options > Gameplay
BUG FIXES
Heroes
Bastion
Fixed a bug that caused the roll bar on Bastion’s Dune Buggy skin to obscure its view when backing up or firing in Tank configuration
D.Va
Fixed a bug that prevented some glowing effects from appearing on D.Va’s Nano Cola skin
Fixed a bug that prevented D.Va from fully appearing when viewing her MEKA Activated highlight intro in the Hero Gallery
Hanzo
Fixed a bug that caused Hanzo’s Storm Bow reticle to be visible while emoting
Mei
Fixed a bug that prevented Mei’s Blizzard from freezing enemies when cast in areas with low ceilings
Reinhardt
Fixed a bug that caused the player’s reticle to pitch up after using Earthshatter
Fixed a bug that caused Reinhardt’s Earthshatter animations to play if used while he was juggled in the air by knockback abilities
Fixed a bug that caused Reinhardt’s Rocket Hammer to knock enemies back further than intended
Fixed a bug that sometimes caused Reinhardt’s Charge to knock back the target rather than pinning them
Fixed a bug that would let Reinhardt immediately pin an enemy after a knock back close to a wall
Fixed a bug that allowed area affect abilities to hit Reinhardt’s Barrier Field from further than intended (e.g. Reinhardt’s Rocket Hammer and Junkrat’s Concussion Mines)
Sombra
Fixed an issue that caused Sombra to change the direction she was facing when using her Translocator to teleport
Fixed a bug that sometimes allowed Sombra’s Translocator to reach unintended places
Fixed a bug that prevented some abilities from being able to destroy Sombra’s Translocator if it was placed in certain locations
Symmetra
Fixed a bug that caused Symmetra to have a chance of playing inaccurate voice lines when placing turrets
Fixed a bug that caused Symmetra’s alternate fire to appear to detonate after missing a target
Torbjörn
Fixed a bug that prevented Torbjörn’s medal from appearing in his Medal victory pose
Zarya
Fixed a bug that caused Zarya’s Particle Cannon reticle to be visible while emoting
Maps
Busan
Fixed a bug that allowed players to stand on some prohibited rooftops in Downtown
Fixed a bug that prevented sprays from displaying on glass windows in MEKA Base
Volskaya Industries
Fixed a bug that prevented players from receiving capture credit if they dropped onto the point from one of the moving platforms
Game Browser and Custom Games
Deathmatch
Fixed a bug that prevented the “your team has lost” or “your team has taken the lead” voice lines from playing when the score swap happens due to self-inflicted deaths
VS AI
Fixed a bug that prevented players from receiving an “unable to join” error message if they attempted to spectate a Player vs AI match when all spectator slots were full
