Another Overwatch PTR patch was just released, which means Blizzard has implemented adjustments to some of its heroes. While the latest patch doesn’t do anything game-changing, it doles out more nerfs than buffs this time around.

Whenever a new patch comes to the Overwatch PTR, players are quick to see if their favorite heroes are going under the knife, so to speak. Sometimes heroes come out significantly different than before, and often those changes make their way to the live game, such as the game’s latest patch that nerfed Hanzo and Reaper. This time in the PTR, there are tweaks being applied to Widowmaker, Brigette, Wrecking Ball, and Symmetra.

The PTR patch is very hero heavy, with only one bug fix for the game that deals with sound occlusion, which should fix the current audio issues that have players reasonably upset. Outside of that, there are three nerfs and one buff for heroes. Players can now take back control faster after a Piledriver from Wrecking Ball, which originally had them helpless in the air for a full second, making the ability slightly less impactful (no pun intended). The time it takes for Widowmaker to fully charge her rifle for a more deadly shot has been increased.

Brigette received adjustments to her Repair Pack ability, with the armor over-heal reduced and the HPS decreased. Symmetra, on the other hand, received the only buff, with her Photon Projector having its damage increased by a decent amount.

Hero Updates

Wrecking Ball

Piledriver

  • Affected players’ loss of air control reduced from 1 second to 0.5 seconds

Brigitte

Repair Pack

  • Armor over-heal reduced from 75 armor to 50 armor HPS decreased from 60 to 55

Symmetra

Photon Projector (Secondary Fire)

  • Damage increased from 120 to 140

Widowmaker

Widow’s Kiss

  • Full charge time for scoped shots increased from 0.83 sec to 1 sec

Hero changes are standard for Overwatch, but there is a more significant one being implemented in the near future. Not long ago, a reliable source suggested that hero bans were coming to the game. This is something that already exists in games like League of Legends and Dota 2, and it allows teams to vote to remove a character from a match. The character they choose may be deemed too overpowered or unpopular.

It turns out, the rumor was true, and in late January Blizzard announced it is moving forward with a new feature called Hero Pools. This system will temporarily ban certain heroes week-to-week, making them unavailable to play. Hero Pools will be limited to competitive matches and will be available for the first time during the twenty-first competitive season, which will hit live servers on March 5. It is currently being tested in the game’s PTR.

When discussing what else could use a sprucing up on Overwatch, there are a lot of players in agreement: the Role Queue System needs a change. The current 2-2-2 set-up is a step in the right direction, but it has caused some problems, mainly in the realm of wait times. Anyone who wants to play DPS will have to queue significantly longer than those wanting to play a tank or support. When playing with friends of different ranks, the wait times are even worse. Blizzard has acknowledged the system isn’t working flawlessly but hasn’t begun testing any changes yet.

Overwatch is out now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

Source: Blizzard