After a lot of testing on the PTR, the latest Overwatch patch has finally been bought to live servers, and its full of new changes set to shake-up the game. Here's a quick rundown.
Symmetra
Symmetra has received a full rework this patch, helping to transition her from a support hero to a damage dealing hero with a number of interesting abilities to utilize.
Photon Projector
Symmetra's Photon Projector has received changes to both its primary and secondary fire, making it more dangerous to face, but more difficult to use.
The lock-on primary fire has been replaced with a beam akin to Zarya's that requires some tracking ability to be fully utilize. It's now also possible to hit enemies up to 10 metres away, increased from seven metres.
The gun's damage has also seen an increase, though it also comes with a slight nerf. Symmetra's gun has three potential damage levels, which were originally 30/60/120 DSP. That was increased to 60/120/180 DSP, but it now takes two seconds to go up a damage level, increased from one second before the patch.
Her secondary fire has also been buffed, becoming significantly faster, both when charging up and as it moves. It also no longer pierces targets, instead exploding on impact, proving up to 60 impact damage to anyone hit and up to 60 explosive damage to anything in the surrounding area.
Sentry Turrets
Her sentry turrets have been changed to be a lot more impactful ingame. They're now projectiles that can be placed on any surface in sight, regardless of distance. The turrets also have increased damage and an increased slowing effect.
However, the number of turrets has been dropped to three, and they can be shot down mid-air, or while deploying once they've hit a surface. The biggest threat to these turrets is usually enemy turrets, that can easily destroy travelling or deploying turrets, making destroying them the only viable way to deploy your turrets in the same area.
Teleporter
The teleporter has been changed to a normal ability, much like with Mercy's Ressurect. It can now be placed anywhere with 25 metres of Symmetra, with the entrance appearing directly in front of her. Once placed, it will last 10 seconds, and can be used as many times as needed. It can also now teleport more than just heroes, with objects that can be teleported including:
- D.Va's self destruct
- Junkrat's Rip-Tire
- A Rocket Barraging Pharah
- Torb's Turret
- Sentry Mode Bastion
However, there have been some nerfs to the ability. The health of the teleporter has been lowered to 300, making it easier to destroy. Also, you now need to press a button to use the teleporter (the default being F) rather then simply passing through it.
New Ultimate - Photon Barrier
Her ultimate is now a giant 5000 HP shield, that spans across the entire map. During its 15 second duration, it will block any enemy fire, including pesky ultimates like Roadhog's Whole Hog. However, its important to remember that enemy players can still pass through it, so keep that in mind when deploying it.
Doomfist
Doomfist has received two buffs that increase his survivability and speed. His passive ability, The Best Defence, now grants him 35 shield when he hits someone with one of his normal abilities, an increase of five points.
His ultimate has also been buffed, with its speed increased from 150% to 200%, increasing his range and allowing him to more easily catch fleeing enemies.
McCree
This patch has made McCree's Deadeye ultimate even more terrifying by increasing its range from 70 metres to 200 metres. According to the developers, the reason behind this change was due to the limited use of the ultimate ingame.
“While McCree’s Deadeye rarely came into play at 70 meters, we are increasing the range so it cannot be a limiting factor during normal gameplay.”
Orisa
Orisa has had a small change made to her Supercharger ultimate, allowing her to generate the ultimate 15% faster. Now it easier then ever to unleash the mighty drum of damage boosting on the enemy team.
Horizon Lunar Colony
Like Symmetra, Horizon Lunar Colony has received a rework to help improve the experience of attackers and defenders alike. These changes include swapping the positions of the large and small healthpacks in the Hydroponics Room, and changing the position of the defenders spawn room exits on Point B.
Social Changes
This patch's social changes have focused on helping people group up and on rewarding teamwork and positive behaviour.
The Find A Group feature is the first new social addition, and it makes it easier than ever to find a group to play with. Accessible from the main menu, the feature enables players to create or join groups that suit them. Groups are very also customisable, allowing group leaders to ensure their group is how they want it. For example, you can create a group where everyone needs to play support, and will only have access to support roles.
Endorsements are the second new social change, and it focuses on a rewarding positive behaviour. At the end of every match, you'll be able to select three people from either team to endorse in one of three categories: Sportmanship, Good Teammate or Shot Caller. WHile you can grant any of the three to your team, you can only give Sportsmanship to players on the enemy team.
Each endorsement you receive will help you reach new endorsement levels, which will provide you will extra rewards like lootcrates. However, you can lose endorsements for negative behaviour like getting suspended.
Other Changes
This patch has come with a heap of other changes including a bunch bug fixes and the removal of the defense role, with the full patch notes and all developer comments found here.
