'Overwatch' heroes receive big changes with Sombra release
Along with the arrival of Sombra in Overwatch, several heroes received some potentially game-changing tweaks in Tuesday's patch.
Blizzard released the patch notes shortly after the update went live, detailing the release of Sombra, the new Arcade mode and Arcade-only map Ecopoint: Antarctica, minor bug fixes and changes to hero balancing. The patch is live for players in all regions and on all platforms.
Outside of the new features, little tweaks and hero changes, the only notable change is leveling speed. Experience required to reach levels 14-100 have been reduced slightly, and after 100, it's a constant 20,000 XP. This means levels 101-123 won't move just as quickly as levels 1-23 like before.
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As for the hero changes, all heroes' ultimate abilities cost 25 percent more and dealing damage to non-player objects like Torbjörn and Symmetra's turrets will not charge ultimates. Ultimates will be less frequent now, shifting the focus from ultimate-filled team fights to more standard skirmishes over objectives.
Along with that big shift, 10 heroes have received individual changes to help balance the game.
Ana
Nano Boost no longer increases movement speed
Since Ana's introduction into Overwatch in July, she has been a must-have healer for teams using the popular two-healer team comp, partially because of her ability to put enemies to sleep, but mostly because of her ultimate Nano Boost. By taking away the speed boost, Nano Boost will be applicable to more heroes (instead of the typical Genji, Reinhardt and Reaper picks) and also more easy to counter.
D.Va
Call Mech ultimate cost decreased by 20 percent
Mech health increased to 200 (formerly 100). Armor remains at 400
Movement speed while firing increased by 25 percent
Because D.Va is so vulnerable without her mech, her ultimate ability Call Mech had its cost reduced to make up for the across-the-board ultimate cost increase. Additionally, D.Va has received a health buff and small movement speed increase while firing her guns, making her more agile and effective in big team fights and more formidable in 1v1 situations. She should feel a little bit less like a damage sponge and more of a helpful hero on both offense and defense.
Lúcio
Amp It Up healing per second decreased by 10 percent
It was only a matter of time before Lúcio was nerfed a bit. Lúcio's area-of-effect heal has made him a must-pick hero for almost every team, and his other damage and support abilities are just a little too good when paired with such effective healing. This nerf should make him pop up a little less often compared to other healers.
Mei
Blizzard ultimate cost increased by 15 percent
Mei's ultimate ability Blizzard has been a bit overpowered since it was buffed with a larger radius, completely turning the tide in her team's favor when deployed in close-range team fights. With an increased cost on top of the 25 percent increase on every hero, the decreased frequency of Blizzard should balance it out.
Mercy
Passive health regeneration now activates when Mercy avoids taking damage for 1 second (formerly 3 seconds)
Mercy is a great healer hero as long as she can stay alive. While her Guardian Angel ability allows her to escape danger by moving toward a nearby ally, her lack of health makes her too squishy against enemy attacks, easily kill-able after a short chase. Her health regeneration wasn't fast enough, so with a faster activation she should be less likely to die when running away from action.
Pharah
Rocket Launcher minimum explosion damage increased by 13 percent and minimum explosion knockback decreased to 0 percent
Jump Jets lift increased by 35 percent
Pharah no longer needs to touch the ground once she lifts off with Jump Jets, which sends her high enough into the air that her Hover ability can keep her aloft long enough for the Jump Jets cooldown to finish. Along with better vertical movement, Pharah's Rocket Launcher will do more damage to nearby targets, making it a more effective attack against fast-moving targets and groups of enemies. It does lose its minimum knockback though, so it's slightly less disruptive.
Soldier: 76
Pulse Rifle bullet damage increased from 17 to 20 and maximum bullet spread increased from 2.2 to 2.4
Soldier: 76 has received a crazy amount of tiny tweaks to his Pulse Rifle, and is still mostly unpicked at higher levels of competitive Overwatch. With this decent damage increase, Soldier: 76 may be a better pick for DPS players looking to help out from a medium range. The spread increase is small but will keep Soldier a bit closer to the action.
Torbjörn
Scrap is now automatically generated over time and the amount of scrap collected from fallen enemies decreased by 40 percent
Forge Hammer swing speed increased by 25 percent and damage decreased by 27 percent
Torbjörn has been pretty much absent at high levels of Overwatch play since the beginning -- his low maneuverability keeps him in back line and Armor Pack output was not a big enough offset to make him a viable pick against skilled players. By automatically generating scrap for Armor Packs, Torbjörn can stay back and easily throw his teammates armor boosts without needing to collect scrap from the middle of fights. His Forge Hammer speed increase will allow him to upgrade turrets faster too, which may make him a more valuable asset on defensive teams.
Widowmaker
Venom Mine explosion no longer damages the player who placed the mine
Widow's Kiss charge rate increased by 20 percent
Widowmaker hasn't been a high priority pick because her ability to snipe takes too long to charge and her regular automatic rifle doesn't do enough damage to be used as an alternative. By decreasing the charge of Widow's Kiss, Widowmaker will be able to do more damage faster and be able to move more instead of standing still to charge up her snipe. Also anything that damages yourself is annoying, so it's nice to see that Widowmaker is impervious to her Venom Mine and won't have to careful to avoid it when setting it up to stop flanks.
Zarya
Particle Barrier power gain decreased by 20 percent
Projected Barrier power gain decreased by 20 percent
Zarya players will have to be a little more choosey about when they throw up barriers, because the damage increase they receive from blocking incoming damage isn't as good as it used to be. Reaching maximum damage as Zarya will take a little bit longer and require a bit more strategy, making her a bit less of a mandatory tank pick in team compositions.
All of these changes will take a little bit of time to get used to, especially with the added difficulty of adapting to Sombra and the new Arcade game styles.
Topics Blizzard Entertainment Esports Gaming
