In Overwatch, one of the core systems is being overhauled. The movement of the heroes is being changed on a large scale!
In Overwatch, minor changes to gameplay mechanics are part of everyday life. Every now and then, individual abilities are modified, but the developers usually leave the major “core systems” of the game alone. Until now.
In the latest patch on the PTR, the developers are making significant changes. The entire character movement system is being reworked. While most players likely won’t notice a change here, professionals and frequent players will certainly be able to observe some effects.
According to Jeff Kaplan, movement on the ground should be much “more consistent” than before. The problem was that heroes experienced a change in their movement speed on slopes (such as stairs). Additionally, the “strafing”—moving sideways on a slope—caused characters to not move in a straight line, but instead veer slightly forward or backward.
Furthermore, heroes will be better controlled in the air. For example, Winston can make small adjustments during his jetpack jump, but all other heroes who are often in the air (Pharah, Mercy, Junkrat, Doomfist, etc.) will benefit from these changes and be able to steer more accurately.
New movement already bugs some maps
The new system has already led to a first bug on the PTR. The different maps where players start in an “Overwatch landing ship” were no longer playable. Heroes could not leave the landing ship and were magically pushed back into the spawn area.
The fix for this is already in the works and will surely be implemented before the patch goes live.
There is no release date for the next patch yet; however, it is likely to be after the Christmas and holiday period. So at the earliest in the second week of 2018.
Have you seen how Jeff Kaplan called out a banned player in the forum?
