Blizzard’s hero-shooter Overwatch is constantly being updated, with the company making changes to heroes and adding new content on a regular basis. Since updates can severely impact the balance of the game, Blizzard often tests them in the PTR. Not all of the PTR updates make it into the full game, but many of them do, and so the Overwatch PTR patch notes can often give players a good idea of what to expect from the main game in the near future.
The latest Overwatch PTR patch notes reveal that Blizzard is toying with the idea of tweaking 13 of the game’s heroes. This includes changes to the game’s tanks, with a D.Va buff potentially giving her a quicker regeneration rate and lowering the delay for her regeneration to begin in regards to her Defense Matrix. Roadhog’s Scrap Gun may be getting its ammunition increased from five rounds to six, and Winston’s Barrier Projector is getting its duration increased to nine seconds with 700 health instead of 600. Sigma and Orisa, meanwhile, both have potential nerfs coming their way, with Orisa’s Protective Barrier cooldown increased from nine seconds to 10.
The Sigma nerfs are a bit more substantial. Blizzard is nerfing Sigma’s Kinetic Grasp so that it no longer blocks Roadhog’s Chain Hook and Brigitte’s Whip Shot. Sigma’s Gravitic Flux will have its high gravity duration lowered from 1.2 seconds to 0.9 seconds, and his Experimental Barrier ability is getting some changes as well. This will include the regeneration rate being reduced from 175 to 150 per second and a 1 second cooldown after recalling the barrier. On the bright side for Sigma players, the 0.2 second cast time for the ability is being removed.
Besides tanks, Blizzard is experimenting with changing other Overwatch heroes in the PTR. Baptiste’s Immortality Field’s health is being decreased from 250 to 200, and Lucio’s Crossfade speed boost is being creased from 20% to 25%. Lucio’s Amp It Up speed boost is being increased from 50% to 60%, and Lucio’s Wall Ride speed buff is being decreased from 40% to 30%. Mercy’s extra beams when in Valkyrie will now ignore enemy barriers, and Moira’s Biotic Grasp will self-heal at 20 health per second instead of 30.
Blizzard is making changes to Damage characters as well, and all of those changes can be found in the full Overwatch PTR patch notes, which we’ve attached below.
HERO UPDATES
D.Va
Defense Matrix
- Regeneration rate increased from 12.5% to 16% per second Delay before regeneration begins lowered from 1 second to 0.75 seconds
Orisa
Protective Barrier
- Cooldown increased from 9 to 10 seconds
Roadhog
Scrap Gun
- Ammunition increased from 5 to 6.
Sigma
Kinetic Grasp
- No longer blocks Chain Hook and Whip Shot
Gravitic Flux
- High gravity effect duration reduced from 1.2 to 0.9 seconds
Experimental Barrier
- Regeneration rate reduced from 175 to 150 per second Now has a 1 second cooldown after recalling the barrier Initial 0.2 second cast time removed
Winston
Barrier Projector
- Duration increased from 6 to 9 seconds Health increased from 600 to 700
Baptiste
Immortality Field
- Health decreased from 250 to 200
Lucio
Crossfade
- Speed boost’s effect increased from 20% to 25%
Amp It Up
- Speed boost’s amplification increased from 50% to 60%
Wall Ride
- Speed buff reduced from 40% to 30%
Mercy
Valkyrie
- The extra beams created by Valkyrie now ignore enemy barriers
Moira
Biotic Grasp
- Self-healing reduced from 30 to 20 health per second
Doomfist
Rocket Punch
- Time to reach max charge increased from 1 to 1.4 seconds
The Best Defense…
- Shield health gained per hit reduced from 35 to 30
Sombra
Translocator
- Cooldown increased from 4 to 6 seconds Cooldown now begins immediately upon deploying the beacon or if it is killed by an enemy
Symmetra
Photon Barrier
- Duration reduced from 15 to 12 seconds Health reduced from 5000 to 4000
Sentry Turret
- Damage per second reduced from 50 to 40
Photon Projector
- Players impacted by the primary fire beam should now hear a louder impact sound
Tracer
Pulse Pistols
- Damage falloff now starts at 13 meters, up from 10 meters
BUG FIXES
General
- Fixed a player profile issue preventing hero win percentages from being displayed for competitive arcade mode seasons
Heroes
Brigitte
Fixed a bug with Brigitte’s Rally checking line of sight from her feet instead of from her head Fixed a bug with Inspire’s position being affected by the player’s aim pitch
Fixed a bug that allowed Doomfist to use Meteor Strike before taking impact damage from Sigma’s Gravitic Flux
Fixed a bug that allowed Sigma’s Gravitic Flux to ignore line of sight through some ceilings
Fixed a bug with EMP’s position being affected by player’s aim pitch
Fixed a bug that caused Winston’s Barrier Projector to not consistently play its destroyed visual effects
Overwatch is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Switch version coming on October 15.
Source: Blizzard
