A new patch is now live on Windows 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.
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Summer Games 2019
The Summer Games are back! Hone your competitive edge with Season 3 of Copa Lúcioball, and beat the heat with legendary skins like Surf ‘n’ Splash Torbjörn, Wave Hanzo, and Kendoka Genji. Unlock these and more, along with seasonal items from previous years!
New Feature: Subtitles
Choose between 3 additive levels of subtitling: Critical Gameplay, Critical Gameplay + Conversations, and Everything. This new feature was created to improve the gameplay experience for players that are deaf or hard of hearing, and also for players who enjoy reading closed captions.
WORKSHOP UPDATES
General
Added the ability for scripters to measure the server performance of the current game instance.
Three new values make this possible:
Server Load - Provides a percentage representing the CPU load of the current game instance.
Server Load Average - Provides a percentage representing the average CPU load of the current game instance over the last two seconds.
Server Load Peak - Provides a percentage representing the highest CPU load of the current game instance over the last two seconds.
As these numbers approach or exceed 100, it becomes increasingly likely that the game instance will be shut down because it is consuming too many resources.
A new preset example displays these values as HUD text in the upper-left corner of the screen. The rule in the preset can be copied into other scripts to help identify performance problem areas.
When a game instance shuts down due to excessive Workshop script load, a new error message is displayed in the chat window (instead of the “unexpected error” message).
Additional strings added.
BUG FIXES
General
Fixed a bug that could cause players who have selected a hero during the Hero Select Phase to have their hero deselected when the Setup Phase begins.
In spectator mode, health and armor types are now properly displayed in the order they are consumed when taking damage.
Color blind - Fixed a bug that caused incorrect default colors to be applied to the objective UI depending on when you attack or defend while having only 1 color blind color set.
Orisa's Supercharger, Baptiste's Immortality Field, and Ashe's own Dynamite are now valid targets for aim assist.
Workshop
Fixed a bug that caused "Set Invisible" to function incorrectly for Reinhardt when using secondary fire while viewing in third person.
Custom Game: Fixed a bug that could cause AI bots to become stuck on their way to the capture point on the Oasis: University map.
Fixed the “Disable Built-In Game Mode Respawning” and “Set Respawn Max Time” actions.
Custom Game: Fixed a bug where Widowmaker's Venom Mine damage wasn't affected by custom game damage scalars.
Fixed a bug that caused controllers to lose focus when deleting a rule, action, or condition that is not displayed on screen.
Fixed a bug that caused an "Invalid Options" error message after importing some older workshop share codes.
Disabling certain actions no longer cause an infinite loop.
Replays
Fixed a bug that caused the FOV button to not function when watching a replay.
Fixed a bug that caused player outlines to disappear when skipping or scrubbing while following a player in first person or third person.
Fixed a bug that caused hero effects to remain on screen when skipping ahead while paused.
Maps
Hanamura
Fixed a bug that allowed certain heroes to become stuck in the roof outside of Point B.
Fixed a bug that allowed some heroes to float between building rooftops near the Point A choke.
Havana (PvP)
Fixed a bug that allowed a defender to enter the attacker's spawn room (left exit, 2nd attack spawn room).
Numbani
Updated lighting for highlight intros.
Heroes
Baptiste
Fixed a bug where Baptiste's Amplification Matrix was not boosting healing effects.
Doomfist
Fixed a bug where Seismic Slam could fail to register.
D.Va
Fixed a bug where D.Va's Defense Matrix would fail to absorb projectiles around a corner in certain circumstances.
Baptiste
Fixed a visual inconsistency with Baptiste's head with his Spec Ops skin equipped.
Hanzo
Fixed a bug that could cause a dead Hanzo's bow to appear floating above the ground, when that Hanzo had his Kabuki skin equipped.
Roadhog
Fixed a bug where Roadhog's chain would sometimes not render in first person.
Moira
Fixed a bug where Moira's Coalescence would sometimes not render in first person.
Fixed a bug where Moira was still briefly visible after using Fade.
Sombra
Fixed a bug where Sombra's Translocator would be on cooldown after respawning.
Fixed a bug where an enemy could sometimes use an ability if Sombra hacked them while they were already hacked via EMP.
Torbjörn
Fixed a bug that made it possible to use Torbjörn's Molten Core and hammer at the same time.
Winston
Fixed a bug that caused Winston's nameplate and health bar to be covered by his body when he used Primal Rage.
Wrecking Ball
Fixed a bug that allowed Wrecking Ball's mines to be destroyed by an enemy Wrecking Ball rolling through them without taking damage.
Zenyatta
Fixed a bug that caused Zenyatta's in-game and highlights portrait to not display his Zen-Nakji skin.
Overwatch Retail Patch Notes – July 2, 2019
A new patch is now live on Windows 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
Workshop: Fixed the “Disable Built-In Game Mode Respawning” and “Set Respawn Max Time” actions.
Replays: Added Replay keybinding options
Heroes
Baptiste
Fixed a bug where Baptiste's Amplification Matrix was not boosting healing effects.
Overwatch Retail Patch Notes – June 18, 2019
A new patch is now live on Windows 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.
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Baptiste's Reunion Challenge
We’re bringing Baptiste's journey in the short story “What You Left Behind” to Overwatch with some special, unlockable in-game content. Wins in Quick Play, Competitive Play, or Arcade will all earn you themed sprays, a player icon, and a new epic skin – MEDIC BAPTISTE!
Tune in to participating Twitch broadcasters while they’re playing Overwatch anytime through July 2 to earn six Baptiste's Reunion Challenge sprays!
To learn more about Baptiste's Reunion Challenge, click here.
New Feature: Replays
Experience your past Overwatch games from a whole new perspective with Replays. Replays allows you to watch your ten most recent matches from any vantage point. Whether you want a first-person, third-person, or bird's-eye view, you can see it all with this tool. Hone your strategies by slowing down or speeding up the game to see exactly how a critical moment played out, get a better view of the action from above, or even turn off the UI completely.
Ultimate duration increased from 8 seconds to 10 seconds.
Developer Comments: Given the dual nature of Baptiste’s weapon, he ends up having to reload often. We’re increasing the amount of ammo he has to work with so he can get more firing time while healing. Similarly, increasing the duration of Amplification Matrix will allow allies more time to get into position to make use of it.
D.Va
Defense Matrix
Reduced length of Defense Matrix from 15 meters to 10 meters.
Developer Comments: Defense Matrix is a very powerful defensive ability and can often feel oppressive from far away. Reducing the range on it will require D.Va to position herself more carefully to take advantage of its effects.
McCree
Peacekeeper
Primary fire recovery reduced from 0.5 seconds to 0.42 seconds.
Developer Comments: On average, McCree’s damage output wasn’t quite making up for the relatively low mobility or utility in his kit. Reducing his weapon’s recovery time improves the potential damage output without affecting the number of successful shots to kill an enemy.
Orisa
Protective Barrier
Barrier can be deployed without interrupting reload.
Developer Comments: Orisa has one of the longest weapon reloads and interrupting it to deploy a new barrier felt too disruptive to her gameplay. This change allows her to reload as needed while still being able to protect herself and her team.
Symmetra
Teleporter
Teleporter interact range increased from 1 meter to 1.5 meters.
Developer Comments: This is primarily a quality of life improvement as it was possible to create a teleporter that Symmetra was unable to interact with unless she moved toward it.
Torbjörn
Rivet Gun
Secondary Fire damage per pellet reduced from 12.5 to 10.5 (105 dmg total per shot).
Developer Comments: The combined damage output of Torbjörn’s secondary fire with his Overload ability was too high given his recently increased survivability.
GAME MODE UPDATES
Assault
Time awarded for capturing Point A on all Assault maps has been reduced from 4 minutes to 3 minutes.
Upon losing Point A, any defenders that are dead, or that die shortly thereafter, will have a maximum respawn of 3.5 seconds.
Developer Comments: Assault match lengths are averaging higher than we're happy with, particularly in Competitive where there are multiple rounds. We're also concerned with how often Offense fully captures Point A and Point B. Reducing the round time from 8 to 7 minutes should address both these concerns, as less overall time rewards better Defense.
Additionally, sometimes Defenders fight late with good intentions at Point A and end up staggered from their team when A falls, leaving their team with uneven footing to defend a rush to B. In these situations, temporarily lowering the respawn time to get those Defenders back with their team should be a better match experience and doesn't punish players so harshly for wanting to defend Point A.
WORKSHOP UPDATES
General
Visual update applied
Check boxes added to support operations on multiple conditions/actions/rules.
You can now disable conditions/actions/rules without deleting them.
(PC) When copying conditions/actions/rules, the contents will also be copied to your clipboard in a text format.
(PC) When pasting conditions/actions/rules, the editor will use the text from your clipboard.
Increased maximum number of effects from 64 -> 128.
Added ‘Modify Global Variable At Index’.
Added ‘Modify Player Variable At Index’.
BUG FIXES
General
Communication Wheel: “Acknowledge” pings triggered through the Communication Wheel can now target objectives.
Fixed a bug where explosions could play in the wrong position if a mispredicted impact happened on the client.
Fixed an issue where some UI effects weren't being properly colored when color blind settings are set on console.
Tutorial: Weapon UI is now hidden until your weapon is available.
Havana PvP – Fixed a bug that could cause the payload to get stuck leaving the Distillery checkpoint.
Fixed a bug that could cause the Play of the Game animation to be cut off before it ends.
Fixed a bug that could limit the number of effects displayed on screen at the same time.
Workshop
Custom Game: Fixed a bug where AI Soldier: 76 wouldn’t fire his Helix Rocket at the same target twice.
Custom Game: Fixed an issue where ‘Nearest Walkable Position’ would use a location in a spawn room instead of the specified location when the spawn room doors were closed.
Custom Game: Fixed a bug that could cause AI Soldier: 76 to be unable to use Biotic Field.
Custom Game: Fixed a bug where disabling primary fire doesn't disable it for transform effects like Hanzo's Storm Arrows, Genji's Dragonblade, Soldier: 76's Tactical Visor, Torbjörn's Molten Core, Bastion's Configuration: Tank, and Winston's Primal Rage.
Fixed a bug that prevented Sombra and D.Va from using their Ultimate abilities when using the ‘Set Ultimate Charge’ action to grant 100% Ultimate charge.
Fixed a bug that prevented players from focusing on the Rule checkbox when using a controller.
Fixed a bug that prevented the "Stop holding button" from clearing the action when using a wait before the action.
Fixed a bug that caused players to always be returned to the Custom Game Browser when backing out of any game, if the player had been to the Custom Game Browser previously.
Fixed a bug that forced Console Players to press the button twice when attempting to enter a numerical value when using a controller. Console Players are now able to bring up the virtual keyboard for manual numerical entry via one button press when using controller.
Fixed a bug that could cause variable values displayed in the Inspector to fail to update after making changes and restarting the match.
Heroes
Ana
Anti-Heal will be cleared when Sombra uses her translocator to teleport.
Baptiste
Fixed a bug that caused Ana's shot sound effects to be played on Baptiste when his Immortality Field is hit by her Primary Fire.
Brigitte
Enemy barriers now block line-of-sight for Brigitte's Rally.
Fixed a bug where armor damage mitigation was too effective when multiple instances of armor were stacked on top of each other.
Doomfist
Fixed a bug that allowed Doomfist to access out-of-bounds areas of the the Havana map during his ultimate.
Fixed an issue where Doomfist's Rocket Punch would sometimes impact stairs.
Fixed issue where Doomfist's Seismic Slam was not showing its electricity effect on affected entities.
Fixed a bug that could result in Seismic Slam not hitting targets when it should.
Genji
Fixed a bug that prevented Genji’s damage boost from being applied to deflected projectiles.
Hanzo
Fixed a bug that caused Hanzo's targeting reticle to appear on kill cam for players killed by his Dragonstrike Ultimate.
Fixed a bug that caused Hanzo's hands to clip into his legs during the Meditate emote on several skins (Cyberninja, Lone Wolf, Scion, Young Master).
Lucio
Fixed a bug that prevented portions of Lucio's 2019 Pacific All-Stars skin from being visible in highlight and in-game portraits.
Orisa
Fixed a bug that caused Supercharger to self-destruct when placed in certain locations.
Roadhog
Fixed a bug that allowed Roadhog's hook to function when he was hacked by Sombra.
Sombra
Translocator will now escape slippery surfaces more easily and not be able to be stuck to them.
Fixed an issue where a material effect on Sombra’s hair would cause it to cast a shadow while invisible.
Symmetra
Resolved an issue where Enemy and Friendly UI color options were incorrectly being applied to Symmetra’s Photon Barrier.
Torbjörn
Fixed a bug that prevented some of Torbjörn's visual effects from being applied when he used Overload with certain skins equipped.
Fixed a bug that caused Torbjörn's turret to sometimes destroy itself.
Overwatch Retail Patch Notes – June 3, 2019
A new patch is now live on Windows PC, PS4, and Xbox. 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 an issue with Deathmatch games that caused matches to be canceled when there were fewer than 7 players remaining. Deathmatch games will now be canceled when there are fewer than 4 players remaining.
Quickplay leaver penalty now working as intended for Deathmatch modes.
Fixed a bug that caused voice lines to stop playing in the Hero Gallery after playing 128 of them.
Localization
Added remaining Japanese translations for Anniversary unlocks and Workshop content.
Heroes
D.Va
Changed the decal on the Academy D.Va skin from "판결자" to "가디언".
Torbjorn
Fixed a bug that allowed Torbjorn’s turret to shoot through walls in certain locations.
Ashe
Fixed a bug where Ashe wasn't gaining ultimate charge while B.O.B. existed.
Brigitte
Changed Brigitte’s “Take a hike” Anniversary voice line to “Get out of here”.
Roadhog
Changed Roadhog’s “You’re a talker. I don’t like talkers.” Anniversary voice line to “I’m beached as, bro.”
MAY 21, 2019
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
New Seasonal Event: Overwatch Anniversary 2019
Celebrate Overwatch’s third anniversary with brand new items, including Legendary and Epic skins like Riot Police Brigitte, Academy D.Va, Carbon Fiber Doomfist, Honeydew Mei, Orbital Pharah, Gargoyle Winston, and many more! Did you miss any Overwatch festivities over the previous years? Don’t worry—you’ll be able to unlock items from past events using credits (or by opening Loot Boxes!) Relive the thrill of previous seasonal brawls in the Arcade, with a brawl of the day rotating throughout the Anniversary celebration. Thank you so much for playing Overwatch with us over the past three years! Your continued support and enthusiasm help drive us to keep creating. We look forward to celebrating with you in-game!
Workshop
We’re excited to share a new in-game feature called the Workshop! The Workshop greatly expands the game customization features available in the Game Browser by providing a simplified game scripting system. Enhance the Overwatch game modes you know and love with new game rules, new victory conditions, adjustments to the hero movement and abilities, and much more. Once you’ve designed an awesome new game mode, create a code to share it with your friends or the whole community*! To get started using the Workshop, see our Workshop blog post. We’re excited to see what you come up with! (* Codes created in China cannot be shared with the rest of the world. Codes created outside of China can’t be used by players in China.) Note that Workshop is a complex feature that we’re still iterating on, so we may need to adjust or turn it off as we work to improve it. Please post any questions or issues in the Workshop forum.
HERO UPDATES
Baptiste
Immortality Field
If it lands on a moving platform, it will move along with the platform
Wrecking Ball
Minefield
If a mine lands on a moving platform, it will move along with the platform
GENERAL UPDATES
Plays of the Game
Improved the kill cameras during the Play of the Game replay to better match what happened in-game
BUG FIXES
General
Fixed a bug that could cause Play of the Game replays to be jittery when played at framerates higher than 60
Made stability improvements
Heroes
Baptiste
Fixed a bug where Immortality Field would become stuck under some objects
Fixed a bug where Immortality Field would behave oddly when placed on a moving platform
Fixed a bug where a healing grenade would appear in his Biotic Launcher when it is out of ammo
Fixed a bug where the healing grenades from the Biotic Launcher wouldn’t hit teammates when deflected by Genji’s Deflect
D.Va
Fixed a bug where D.Va’s speed when using Boosters decreased dramatically when flying over some platforms
Doomfist
Fixed an issue where Seismic Slam would sometimes not damage people when it should have
Genji
Fixed a bug where Genji couldn’t climb up certain pillars on the Havana map
Hanzo
Fixed a bug where Hanzo couldn’t climb up certain pillars on the Havana map
Junkrat
Fixed a bug where Junkrat would slide off a moving platform when using his ultimate
Moira
Fixed a bug with Moira’s Scientist skin where her lab coat would clip into itself while using the Erlenmeyer victory pose
Orisa
Fixed a bug where damage boosting from a teammate’s ability (such as Baptiste’s Amplification Matrix) would count towards Orisa’s damage amplified statistic when using Supercharger
Wrecking Ball
Fixed a bug where Wrecking Ball could use Piledriver without regard to its ability cooldown in some circumstances
KNOWN ISSUES
Overwatch Anniversary
Workshop
Fixed a bug that could cause Play of the Game replays to be jittery when played at framerates higher than 60
Made stability improvements
Some event rewards (Skins, Icons, etc.) aren’t translated into Japanese. We’re working on finishing up these translations. We’ll add these translations in an upcoming release.
The in-game link to the Workshop Forum will currently send you to the English, Chinese, or Korean forum, depending on your region. This will be fixed in an upcoming release.
Workshop isn’t completely translated into Japanese. We’re working on finishing up the translations. We’ll add these translations in an upcoming release.
MAY 7, 2019
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
New Map: Havana
Havana, a vibrant, historic port city where the winds of change blow strong, is home to Overwatch’s newest Escort map!
Begin your trip at the Taller de Sebastián, where the classic cars that line Havana’s bustling streets stop for refueling and repair. Escort a truck of rum barrels on the sun-drenched cobblestone roads, fighting off those who try to stop you. As you make your way, duck into a colorful building to escape enemy fire and savor the impressive flavors of Havana at La Cocina de Miranda or Café del Sol. Battle your opponents through the alleys until you reach the Don Rumbotico rum distillery, a once little-known local treasure that has recently earned international acclaim. Finally, guide the jalopy through the distillery to its destination at the Havana Sea Fort, a historical landmark recently purchased by an anonymous financial group and closed to the public.
All-Star Skins
To celebrate the Overwatch League 2019 All-Stars, we’re adding two new Legendary skins— 2019 Atlantic All-Star Mercy and 2019 Pacific All-Star Lúcio! These skins will be available from May 7th to May 22nd.
BUG FIXES
Maps
Havana
Fixed text errors on Taller de Sebastián and several posters
Fixed a bug where players would slide along the bottom of the pillars and the wall corners on the second floor of La Euforia
Fixed an issue where players could become stuck on the Yucca plants
APRIL 16, 2019
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
New Seasonal Event: Overwatch Archives 2019 — Storm Rising
Experience a decisive moment in Overwatch’s history during the Overwatch Archives event! Get ready to travel back in time and visit beautiful Havana, Cuba where Overwatch agents are hot on the trail of the notorious businessman and Talon associate Maximilien. Team up with your friends to capture and interrogate Maximilien—whose knowledge could shape the future of Overwatch. Relive the action of previous Archives events, where you’ll fight off hordes of Talon agents while escaping Rialto and stop an Omnic insurrection in King’s Row. You’ll earn Archives Loot Boxes as you play, unlocking cosmetics from Overwatch’s past, including Legendary skins like Deadlock McCree, Scientist Moira, Talon Baptiste, Socialite Ashe, and many more!
HERO UPDATES
Junkrat
Developer Comments: With this change, we’re looking to slightly increase the range at which Junkrat can land direct hits. The speed of his bombs has increased, but we tuned it so this wouldn’t affect the arc of his projectile. This means that aiming with it will feel the same. The grenades bounce less and explode sooner, which will allow Junkrat to aim them more deliberately. This will reduce the amount of rolling grenade spam when playing against him.
Frag Launcher
Projectile speed increased from 20 to 25
Grenades now bounce less but explode sooner
Reaper
Developer Comments: Shadow Step was originally intended to be purely an out-of-combat mobility tool to traverse the map, since Wraith Form was already a great tool for disengaging. However, this made Shadow Step very situational, so we’re increasing its flexibility to make it a better, less niche ability. This will enable Reaper to use Shadow Step in more offensive situations.
Shadow Step
Can now be used in air
Time to exit Shadow Step reduced from 1.0 second to 0.5 of a second
Reaper is now invisible for the entire time it takes to exit shadow step
Railings and other breakable objects no longer block teleporting
Disabled by Zarya’s Graviton Surge and Junkrat’s Steel Trap
Symmetra
Teleporter
Railings and other breakable objects no longer block teleporter placement and teleporting
USER INTERFACE UPDATES
Hero Gallery
You can now set your Victory Pose choice to random
Social
There is now an option to set your profile so only your current group can view it
BUG FIXES
General
Fixed a bug that caused the player’s view to become jittery while standing on certain objects
Fixed an issue where the camera would be offset slightly when changing rapidly into third person view
Fixed an issue where players were able to shoot through unintended small gaps on the Ilios, Nepal, and Temple of Anubis maps
Fixed a bug where your view would become level with the horizon after using Symmetra’s Teleporter
Heroes
Ana
Fixed an issue with the steam not rising correctly from Ana’s cup in the Tea Time emote
Fixed a bug where Ana didn’t receive audio or visual cues when a hero she boosted landed a shot
Ashe
Fixed a bug where the Orb of Discord sound effect would play when Bob was affected by Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord
Fixed an issue where Bob wouldn’t consistently stop and damage large objects deployed by heroes, like Junkrat’s RIP-Tire or Orisa’s Supercharger, if he encountered them while running
Baptiste
Fixed a bug where Immortality Field wasn’t immediately destroyed when it is hit by the payload
Bastion
Fixed a bug where Bastion would take damage while in Sentry Mode if it was hit into a wall by Doomfist’s Rocket Punch
Doomfist
Fixed a bug where enemies would not collide with walls while being knocked back by Rocket Punch
Fixed a bug where Seismic Slam wouldn’t break objects that should break
Fixed an issue where Rocket Punch would knock back Orisa even if she was using Fortify
Mei
Fixed a bug where Mei could not be healed by other heroes while using Cryo-Freeze
Mercy
Fixed a bug where Mercy didn’t receive audio or visual cues when a hero she boosted landed a shot
Fixed a bug where Mercy didn’t receive defensive assist credit from healing beams when using Valkyrie
Orisa
Fixed a bug where Orisa would take damage while using Fortify if she was hit into a wall by Doomfist’s Rocket Punch
Reinhardt
Fixed a bug where Reinhardt was unable to raise his shield properly while looking upwards if he had opened his shield while looking downwards
Soldier: 76
Fixed a bug where his Heroic victory pose didn’t loop properly
Symmetra
Fixed a bug where Symmetra would gain ultimate charge when her Sentry Turrets were attacking objects deployed by other heroes (Wrecking Ball’s Minefield, Torbjörn’s Deploy Turret, etc.)
Torbjörn
Fixed a bug where Torbjörn would gain ultimate charge when his Deploy Turret was attacking objects deployed by other heroes (Wrecking Ball’s Minefield, Symmetra’s Sentry Turrets, etc.)
Widowmaker
Fixed a bug where Widowmaker’s rifle goes into her head and shoulders while walking and aiming her scope, when wearing the Biathalon skin
Fixed a bug where dying did not cancel Infra-Sight
Maps
Black Forest
Fixed a bug where flying heroes could get stuck on trees and wall climbing heroes could get stuck on birds’ nests
Busan
Fixed a bug where flying heroes could get stuck on trees
Fixed a bug on the Sanctuary map where heroes would bounce when standing on the edge of the first capture point
Castillo
Fixed a bug where Reaper could Shadow Step to unintended places
Dorado
Fixed a bug where the spectator camera started at the incorrect position
Horizon Lunar Colony
Fixed a bug where players could get stuck on top of a worktable
King’s Row
Fixed a bug where Junkrat’s RIP-Tire could get stuck in the grates on the ground in King’s Row
Oasis
Fixed a bug on the University map where a hero that touches the enemy team’s spawn room doors will take significant damage
Numbani
Fixed a bug where D.Va would get stuck behind a desk when using Call Mech
Fixed a bug where ivy on walls was preventing certain abilities from impacting enemies, like Winston’s Tesla Cannon and Doomfist’s Meteor Strike
Rialto
Fixed a bug where players killed on a specific bridge would fall through the bridge
Fixed an issue where players could become stuck between a dolly, the wall, and a counter
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
Fixed a bug where Wrecking Ball would get stuck on ventilation ducts
MARCH 19, 2019
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
New Hero: Baptiste (Support)
Baptiste is battle-hardened combat medic who wields an assortment of experimental devices and weaponry to keep allies alive and eliminate his enemies. Baptiste’s Biotic Launcher fires a three-round-burst that rewards accuracy and recoil control with significant damage output. His alternate fire lobs grenades that heal allies near the point of impact. With Regenerative Burst, Baptiste activates an intense surge that heals himself and nearby allies over time. When danger is near, Baptiste can toss out his Immortality Field to prevent allies from dying. Baptiste moves around the battlefield with Exo Boots, jumping over obstacles and clearing distances that would stop other heroes. Baptiste deploys his Amplification Matrix as his ultimate, which doubles the damage and healing effects of friendly projectiles.
GENERAL UPDATES
Armor
Developer Comments: The damage taken by armor from damage over time effects, such as Widowmaker’s Venom Mine, and beam weapons, like Symmetra’s Photon Projector, varied greatly. Now it will be more consistent and predictable.
Beam-type damage is now reduced by 20% when hitting armor
Mei: Primary Fire
Moira: Alternate Fire, Coalescence
Symmetra: Primary Fire, Sentry Turret
Winston: Primary Fire
Zarya: Primary Fire
Damage over time effects are no longer mitigated by armor
Ana: Primary Fire
Ashe: Dynamite
Hanzo: Dragonstrike
Mei: Blizzard
Moira: Biotic Orb
Widowmaker: Venom Mine
Zarya: Graviton Surge
Damage Boost
Developer Comments: Previously, the effects of damage boosting were only accounted for if the damage-dealing hero was being boosted as they landed a hit. Now, damage is applied to the projectile as it is fired. This means the damage-dealing hero doesn’t need to be boosted when the projectile hits an enemy for the damage boost to be accounted for.
Damage boost is now applied when a projectile is fired rather than when it hits a target
Knockback
Developer Comments: Knockbacks are now less affected by how the enemy was moving when they were hit. Instead of having small or large knockbacks that depend on chance, knockbacks will feel similar regardless of the enemy’s movement leading up to the knockback. Allowing flying heroes, like Mercy when using her Valkyrie ability or D.Va using her Booster ability, to be properly knocked back makes for more fluid, realistic gameplay.
Knockback distance is now more consistent
Heroes that are flying can now be knocked back and slowed
Sound
Developer Comments: With the addition of Baptiste, we wanted to be sure that you can tell when your hits were being buffed or nullified, regardless of what hero you’re playing.
A new sound plays when you land a hit while damage boosted
A new sound plays when you land a hit, but it doesn’t do any damage
HERO UPDATES
Ana
Developer Comments: Giving Nano Boost an instant heal effect enabled players to survive longer and made Ana’s ultimate valuable. However, it was a bit too strong when healing heroes with large health pools.
Nano Boost
Heal reduced from 300 to 250
Doomfist
Developer Comments: Reducing the downtime of Doomfist’s abilities will give him some power back and make his gameplay feel more fluid.
Rising Uppercut
Cooldown reduced from 7 to 6 seconds
Seismic Slam
Cooldown reduced from 7 to 6 seconds
Hanzo
Developer Comments: Because of how dense the environment is on some maps, the Sonic Arrow can feel ineffective in some areas. Increasing Sonic Arrow’s detection radius should make it more effective.
Sonic Arrow
Detection radius increased from 7 to 9 meters
Junkrat
Developer Comments: Junkrat is one of the best barrier and tank busters in the game, and this change will help solidify this role. This doesn’t change the Frag Launcher’s explosive damage, which remains at 80. The total damage for direct impact is now 130, up from 120. Since we increased Frag Launcher’s damage output, Junkrat builds his ultimate too quickly. We’re increasing the cost of his ultimate to balance this change with his increased damage-dealing capabilities.
Frag Launcher
Impact damage increased from 40 to 50
Rip-Tire
Cost increased by 10%
Lúcio
Developer Comments: The knockback on Lúcio's Soundwave is a great tool for pushing enemies into situations that get them killed, so they should be rewarded an offensive assist for doing so. Lúcio’s ability to increase his teammate’s speed was too strong, especially when used on high health/low range heroes. We’re decreasing the overall power of Lúcio's Speed Boost but increasing the speed bonus he gets from using Wall Ride so his mobility isn’t impacted too much.
Amp It Up
Speed Boost’s amplification reduced from 70% to 50%
Cross Fade
Speed Boost’s effect reduced from 30% to 20%
Sonic Amplifier
Soundwave now counts towards Offensive Assists
Wall Rider
Speed buff increased from 20% to 40%
McCree
Developer Comments: After reducing armor’s effectiveness for all heroes, Fan the Hammer doesn’t need to deal quite as much damage. Increasing Deadeye’s damage after being locked on for a bit makes it more effective when attacking high health, static targets (like barriers) and heroes with over 250 health. It will not impact how dangerous this is for heroes under 250 health.
Fan the Hammer
Damage reduced from 55 to 50
Deadeye
Damage per second increased from 275 to 550 after locking onto targets for 1.5 seconds
Mei
Developer Comments: Increasing the damage of Mei’s primary fire should make her Freeze and Icicle move combination more potent. Making the pillars on Mei’s Ice Wall easier to destroy means less waiting for the wall to disappear on its own and more opportunities to counter it.
Endothermic Blaster
Primary fire damage increased from 2.25 to 2.75 (45 to 55 damage per second)
Ice Wall
Health reduced from 500 to 400
Moira
Developer Comments: These minor changes make Moira’s passive healing effect on Biotic Grasp slightly more effective when topping off an ally’s health.
Biotic Grasp
Heal over time duration increased from 3 to 4 seconds
Total healing increased from 50 to 65
Orisa
Developer Comments: As a defensive tank, Orisa can have trouble pushing forward with the team. Allowing Orisa to move faster while firing should make it easier to apply pressure on the enemy team and use her barrier in proactive ways.
Fusion Driver
Movement speed penalty while firing reduced from 50% to 30%
Pharah
Developer Comments: This change sets the Rocket Launcher’s minimum damage to where it was before we rebalanced its direct impact and explosive damage in a recent patch.
Rocket Launcher
Minimum explosion damage increased from 16.25 to 20
Reaper
Developer Comments: A recent change that increased Reaper’s healing while he dealt damage was a bit too strong, sometimes making opponents feel like Reaper was unstoppable.
The Reaping
Healing received from dealing damage reduced from 50% to 40%
Soldier: 76
Developer Comments: This change should potentially allow Soldier: 76 to kill an enemy hero one shot sooner. Reducing the time between when you use Sprint and when you can fire should make the ability more fluid and responsive. Giving Tactical Visor the ability to target Junkrat’s RIP-Tire and Baptiste’s Immortality Field drone is a quality of life improvement, since these are both critical targets.
Pulse Rile
Damage increased from 19 to 20
Sprint
Delay before you can fire the weapon after using Sprint reduced from .5 to .3 seconds
Tactical Visor
Can target RIP-Tire and Immortality Field
Sombra
Developer Comments: The cooldown on Hack often made it feel less effective to target health packs instead of players. This will make both health packs and players viable targets for hacking.
Hack
Cooldown is reduced by half when hacking a health pack
Changed the visual appearance to more clearly indicate when something has been hacked
Symmetra
Developer Comments: This will allow Symmetra to more consistently reach peak damage output from her Photon Projector.
Photon Projector
Primary Fire’s damage ramps up 20% faster
Torbjörn
Developer Comments: Torbjörn’s survivability was a bit low, so we’ve shifted some power from his Overload ability to his base health.
General
Base health increased by 50 armor (250 maximum health)
Overload
Armor gain reduced from 150 to 100
Widowmaker
Developer Comments: Infra-Sight had no counter to its effect, so it now ends when Widowmaker dies. To balance out its higher risk of use, Infra-Sight now reveals enemy health bars to Widowmaker’s team.
Infra-Sight
Reveals enemy health bars
Now canceled on death
Wrecking Ball
Developer Comments: This will make Adaptive Shield a more powerful survival tool, since being forced out of Roll mode left Wrecking Ball more susceptible to fire.
Adaptive Shield
No longer cancels Roll mode
Zarya
Developer Comments: Zarya’s damage greatly increases when at high energy, while also gaining increased beam size and a larger explosion radius. This often allowed Zarya to deal too much damage and made the explosions from the Alternate Fire on her Particle Cannon nearly impossible to avoid. This change will still allow Zarya to deal a lot of damage, but makes it more difficult to actually apply the damage.
Particle Cannon
Alternative Fire’s explosion radius changed to 2 meters, regardless of energy level
Zenyatta
Developer Comments: Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord makes him a nearly irreplaceable support hero on your team. We’re reducing its impact for Zenyatta’s team, but increasing the potency of the Orb of Destruction to compensate for its lesser effect.
Orb of Destruction
Damage increased from 46 to 48
Orb of Discord
Effect reduced from 30% to 25%
BUG FIXES
Callouts
Fixed a bug where the “Need Healing” callout wouldn’t display in chat if the hero you targeted didn’t have healing abilities
Camera
Fixed a bug where, when playing certain heroes, the camera would clip into the hero when looking straight upwards
Career Stats Menu
Fixed a bug where the season labels for Competitive CTF and Competitive 6v6 Elimination didn’t display
General
Fixed a bug where damage boost stat tracking was incorrect in some circumstances
Hero Gallery
Fixed a bug where, if switching between Junkrat Skins, one of the bombs on his vest would spin
Heroes
Ana
Fixed a bug where Ana’s clothes would clip into her hip pouch while doing the Yut Nori emote
Ashe
Fixed a bug that prevented audio feedback from playing to indicate ammo was low on Ashe’s rifle if it had three or fewer bullets
Doomfist
Fixed a bug where Seismic Slam didn’t pull in enemies as intended
D.Va
Fixed a bug that made D.Va very difficult to knock back while she was firing her Fusion Cannons
Genji
Fixed a bug that caused Genji’s Dragonblade to end before the deflect duration was complete
Fixed a bug where Genji would be knocked back unusually far when using Swift Strike to hit Doomfist’s Rocket Punch
Hanzo
Fixed a bug where Hanzo’s leg would visibly move while he was in his Meditate pose
Mercy
Fixed a bug where Mercy’s left knee would bend unnaturally when stunned by McCree’s Flashbang
Orisa
Fixed a bug that made Orisa very difficult to knock back while she was firing her Fusion Driver
Reaper
Fixed a bug where a button on the shoulder of Reaper’s Lu Bu skin appeared to be floating
Reinhardt
Fixed a bug where a piece on Reinhardt’s back displayed incorrectly while using the Guan Yu skin in the Hammer Down highlight intro
Fixed an issue that allowed Reinhardt’s Earthshatter to hit people further off the ground than intended in specific circumstances
Sombra
Fixed a bug where Sombra’s stealth exiting sound effect wouldn’t play if an emote was used to exit stealth mode
Fixed a bug where Sombra couldn’t quick melee while using her Hack ability
Symmetra
Fixed a bug where Symmetra would gain ultimate charge while casting Photon Barrier
Torbjörn
Fixed a bug that prevented Torbjörn from using Molten Core in custom games if Ability 2 was disabled
Widowmaker
Fixed a bug that prevented Widowmaker’s Venom Mine from damaging a hero if they triggered it at the edge of its trigger radius
Maps
Hollywood
Fixed a bug where the winning team’s hero lineup wouldn’t display correctly
Horizon Lunar Colony
Fixed a bug that caused the hanging tires near the first point to rotate a Self Destructing D.Va mech
Paris
Fixed a bug where the sounds coming from the Nous vous surveillons apartment weren’t playing
Overwatch League Skins
Fixed issues with the colors of skins for new Overwatch League teams
JANUARY 24, 2019
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
New Seasonal Event: Lunar New Year 2019
Get ready to ring in the Year of the Pig!
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
