On the PTR of Overwatch, a new patch is active. The patch brings already announced changes to healers and adjustments to the snipers Widowmaker and Hanzo. The snipers lead the current meta.
PTR patch nerfs snipers: In the new patch on the Overwatch test server, there are changes to Hanzo and Widowmaker. The movement abilities for both heroes are now nerfed, punishing them harder for taking a bad position.
Another important point in the patch is improved ultimates for many heroes. The patch also includes comprehensive changes to almost all healers in Overwatch. You can now test all changes.
Changes to Snipers, Healers, and Ultimates
The focus of the new PTR update is on the innovations for healers. Mercy and Brigitte are getting nerfs, while almost all other healers are being buffed – this is intended to slightly improve the balance among support characters.
Additionally, there are changes to the ultimate abilities that need to be channeled – such as those of Pharah, Genji, and Zenyatta.
Buffered channeling ultimates: Ultimate abilities that the hero must channel or that transform them now automatically reload weapons when they end. This means Pharah, Genji, and others come out of their ultimates with fully loaded weapons.
Heroes with such ultimates often find themselves in unfavorable situations after they end. With the new update, their chances of survival should be slightly increased, provided they don’t have to reload first.
Snipers become less mobile: Both Widowmaker’s Grappling Hook and Hanzo’s Wall Climb have increased cooldowns.
- Grappling Hook: Now has a cooldown of 10 seconds instead of 8.
- Wall Climb: Now has a cooldown of 5 seconds instead of 4.
Widowmaker and Hanzo are currently at the top of the DPS heroes in the Grandmaster rank on PC. Especially Hanzo has become much stronger after his recent rework. The changes are intended to punish players who position poorly and make snipers generally a bit easier to deal with.
The Overwatch PTR Patch Notes in Detail in English
General
- Junkrat’s Bunker skin has been renamed to Bilgebat.
- Voice lines have been added for Zenyatta, Lúcio, and Moira when they are attacked.
Group Search
- The settings are saved after filters are changed in the “Group Search” screen.
Hero Gallery
- A “What’s New?” option has been introduced to see new content.
Hero Updates
General
- Channeling and transforming ultimates now restore ammunition for some heroes.
- Channeling ultimates: Junkrat’s RIP-Tire, Pharah’s Barrage, Roadhog’s Whole Hog, and Zenyatta’s Transcendence
- Transforming ultimates: Genji’s Dragonblade and Winston’s Primal Rage
Note: You can find the changes to healers in our dedicated article.
Doomfist
- Rocket Punch
- No longer has an effect on Symmetra’s Teleporter.
- Now destroys Symmetra’s turrets without stopping its movement.
Hanzo
- Wall Climb
- Cooldown increased from 4 to 5 seconds.
Sombra
- The volume of the hitbox for Sombra’s head has been reduced.
Reinhardt
- Barrier
- Decorative insignia no longer protrude from the surface of the shield.
Widowmaker
- Grappling Hook
- Cooldown increased from 8 to 10 seconds.
Zarya
- Energy
- Decay rate reduced from 2 to 1.6 per second.
- Graviton Surge
- Radius reduced from 8 to 6 meters.
We have translated the patch notes for you. You can find the complete patch notes in English in the Overwatch forum.
What do you think of the changes? Would you like to see them on the live servers, or would you change something? Let us know in a comment!
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