The latest patch of Overwatch is live. However, update 1.14 / 2.18 includes a bit less than fans had hoped for.
Last night (29.08.2017) the Summer Games of Overwatch ended. At the same time, Blizzard took the opportunity to release patch 1.14. This included many of the changes that had been tested on the PTR for weeks – but not all. Highlights include the new game modes Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch as well as buffs for Junkrat and Roadhog. Here are the complete patch notes in detail.
Overwatch: The patch 1.14 / 2.18 patch notes in English
Patch Highlights
New game modes: Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch
Two new game modes have been added to the Arcade: Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch!
In Deathmatch, eight players fight against each other until one player reaches 20 points. Players earn one point when they deal the final blow to an opponent and lose one point if they die from environmental damage (e.g., from falling off a cliff) or self-inflicted damage. Points are counted in a brand new statistic. The first player to reach 20 points wins!
In Team Deathmatch, two teams of four players each compete until one team reaches 30 points. Players earn one point for their team when they deal the final blow to an opponent and lose one point for their team if they die from environmental damage (e.g., from falling off a cliff) or self-inflicted damage. If players are resurrected, the corresponding point for their death is deducted from the opposing team. Points are counted in our usual statistic. The first team to reach 30 points wins!
Both game modes will be played on a selection of our currently available maps:
Hanamura
Moon Colony Horizon
Temple of Anubis
Volskaya Industries
Dorado
Eichenwalde
Hollywood
King’s Row
(TDM only) Schwarzwald
(TDM only) Castillo
(TDM only) Ecopoint: Antarctica
(TDM only) Necropolis
New Deathmatch map: Château Guillard
Château Guillard is located near Annecy in southeastern France. For centuries, it was the estate of the influential Guillard family until it fell into disrepair in the decades following the Revolution, as the family lost its prominence. Recently, the Château has a new owner: the Talon agent Widowmaker, who has returned to the seat of her ancestors. Overview
A number of changes to the data format have been implemented.
Hero Updates
Junkrat
Remote Mine
Junkrat can now hold two mines.
RIP-Tire
The tire’s movement speed has been increased by 30%.
There is no longer a time limit when climbing walls with the tire.
Orisa
Fusion Cannon
The projectile speed has been increased by 20%.
Protective Barrier
The barrier has been enlarged by 20%.
The shape of the barrier has been changed to provide better protection against enemies underneath it.
Roadhog
Take a Breather
Can now be used while moving.
The damage taken during healing has been reduced by 50%.
Widowmaker
Grappling Hook
The cooldown has been reduced from 12 to 8 seconds.
Venom Mine
Affected targets can now be seen through walls (only by Widowmaker).
Ranked Matches
Overview
The duration of the seasons for ranked matches has been reduced to 2 months (previously 3).
On control maps, the winning team is now determined by the “Best of Three” principle (previously Best of Five).
Due to the shorter seasons, less ranked points are now awarded at the end of each season.
In ranked matches, more ranked points are now awarded for wins or ties.
15 ranked points for a win (previously 10).
5 ranked points for a tie (previously 3).
The regular decay of skill rating has been reduced.
Until now, inactive players (in diamond rank and higher) lost 50 skill rating per day. This decay has been reduced to 25 skill rating per day.
If you play a match, the time until the decay kicks in increases to 36 hours (previously 24 hours). The maximum number of days remains at 7. Players in diamond rank or lower can now lose their spot in those ranks if their skill rating falls below the lower limit. However, they still receive their rewards at the end of the season based on the highest skill rating rank achieved.
A player’s skill rating will no longer be temporarily reduced at the start of a season (after placement matches).
Changes to skill rating made after each ranked match have been adjusted to address certain irregularities, especially with certain heroes.
Gameplay
The respawn times of defenders will now slowly increase earlier in the fight if attackers have more players on the objective.
User Interface
In the crosshair options (under Controls > Options > Crosshair) a “Outline Transparency” option has been added, allowing players to adjust the transparency of the crosshair’s black outline.
Fixed Bugs
Overview
A bug has been fixed that caused the progress bar for capturing objectives to sometimes exceed the second progress marker before it activated.
Heroes
A bug has been fixed that caused the black screen that appears after D.Va’s ejection to appear again after she exited her mech.
A bug has been fixed that caused D.Va’s Lightgun to have the wrong texture when the Junker skin was equipped.
A bug has been fixed that caused D.Va’s hair to stand up vertically on the hero selection screen when her Rockabilly skin was equipped.
A bug has been fixed that caused the lights on Doomfist’s hand to incorrectly display full ammunition when his “Hello” emote was used.
A bug has been fixed that caused the circle showing the range of Doomfist’s Meteor Strike not to be visible to all players.
A bug has been fixed that caused Doomfist’s Meteor Strike to be unable to reach certain elevated places.
A bug has been fixed that caused Doomfist’s Rocket Punch to not hit opposing players who were walking up an incline.
A bug has been fixed that prevented Orisa’s achievement “Overclocked” from being granted despite meeting the requirements.
A bug has been fixed that caused Sombra’s teeth to be visible while her camouflage was active when her Los Muertos skin was equipped.
A bug has been fixed that caused Sombra’s reload animation to play even though it was interrupted.
Maps
A bug has been fixed that allowed players to reach unintended areas on Ecopoint: Antarctica.
A bug has been fixed that allowed players to see beyond the background of the map on Schwarzwald.
A bug has been fixed that allowed players to reach unintended areas on Schwarzwald.
A bug has been fixed that caused the announcer to announce “Arrival in Dorado” even though the journey was to Castillo.
A bug has been fixed that caused some map components (ventilation shafts, pipes, etc.) on Dorado to not be properly connected to the walls.
A bug has been fixed that allowed players to reach unintended areas on Hanamura.
A bug has been fixed that allowed certain projectiles to go through the ground at the last point of Moon Colony Horizon.
A bug has been fixed that caused sprays to not display as intended on the crane of Moon Colony Horizon.
A bug has been fixed that caused pink lighting to appear in some areas of Ilios.
A bug has been fixed that caused AI heroes to get stuck when walking to the fountain objective point on Ilios.
A bug has been fixed that allowed players to reach unintended areas on Ilios.
A bug has been fixed that caused the lighting in Genji’s room on Nepal to be too dark.
A bug has been fixed that allowed players to reach unintended areas on Oasis.
A bug has been fixed that caused Pharah’s Rocket Launcher to not reload when landing on door frames on Oasis.
A bug has been fixed that caused door frames to be invisible in the training area and players could walk through them.
A bug has been fixed that caused some players to get stuck behind a plant near the second point on Route 66.
A bug has been fixed that allowed Doomfist to reach unintended areas on Volskaya Industries.
User Interface
A bug in the Options > Controls menu has been fixed that prevented the asterisk (which normally indicates that changes have been made) from being removed from the hero’s dropdown after controls have been set to default.
A bug has been fixed that caused the Back button to disappear when scrolling through the list of available games in the Game Browser.
User Interface
Fixed a bug in the Options > Controls menu that prevented the asterisk (which normally indicates that changes have been made) from being removed from the hero’s dropdown after controls have been set to default
Fixed a bug causing the Back button to disappear when scrolling through the list of available games in the Game Browser
However, this patch contains no trace of the planned changes to Mercy and D.Va. Blizzard seems to want to continue testing these on the PTR for a longer period of time to gather more opinions and refine them further.
What do you think of the changes? Cool stuff or does the Mercy rework miss a bit of the highlight?
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