Overwatch patch notes: PTR changes offer rework of 18 heroes

Overwatch is going through quite a few changes as of late, with a new hero in Baptise joining the fold, and the latest update to hit the PTR bringing with it a host of changes, fixes and tweaks to 18 of the game’s core roster.

That’s a huge change for a game that can so chaotically swing from being balanced, to being a complete mess from competitive season to competitive season.

In just the last week, we’ve now seen 18 heroes received changes by way of an update, so Blizzard is quite obviously ramping up work to get the game in a good position for 2019 onwards. It may also be an effort for one last big push to boost player numbers ahead of an Overwatch sequel, but that’s probably being too ambitious.

The first patch we saw hit the PTR included Baptise, a healer-DPS of sorts that, for better or worse, is set to thrive in what is already a support-heavy meta.

The second patch will see some significant changes to the game, with the likes of Soldier 76 and Pharah getting buffs, along with Junkrat because why not buff a spamming explosive hero?

Interestingly, McCree now appears closer to initial form when the game first came out: a tank buster that, with enough accuracy, can completely shred any of the tanks in the roster.

His Ultimate ability is now enough to terrify anyone (if it wasn’t already): it know causes a maximum of 550 damage, up from a now-seemingly paltry 275.

Thankfully, and to keep the rest of the Overwatch community that doesn’t play as McCree happy, his FTH ability has been nerfed, now down to a mere 50 Damage per shot.

Widowmaker’s Ultimate has seen an interesting change, one I feel can really help boost team tactics and teamwork: it will now also reveal enemy health bars rather than simply their location. What I also like about this is that if she dies with the ability activated, it will also deactivate, whereas previously it would magically stay active even after she was taken out by the enemy team.

Both Sombra and Doomfist has seen cooldowns to their primary abilities, while Lucio’s speed boost appears to have received a complete rework: the team boost has been reduced 10% from what was already pretty slow, while his personal wallriding boost has been increased.

Ana saw a nerf to her Ultimate: it will still boost damage, but immediate health impact is now at 250, down from 300. This should give opposing teams more capacity to take down a boosted enemy.

Reaper’s nerf may cause some outrage: he grabs health compartive to each bout of damage he deals, but this has been decreasing to restoring only 40% health relative to all damage dealth, compared to 50% previously.

Check out the full list of changes below:

Junkrat

• Frag Launcher: Impact damage increased from 40 to 60

Lucio

• Speed Song: Effect lowered from 30% to 20%
• Amp it up: Speed song amped effect reduced from 70% to 50%
• Wall Ride: Passive movement speed gained while wall riding increased from 20% to 40%.

Mccree

• Bonus damage ramp from the previous 1.34 change will now begin after 1.5s, down from 2.5.

Reaper

• Passive: Healing amount reduced from 50% to 40%

Symmetra

• Photon Projector: Primary fire damage ramp speed increased by 20%

Zarya

• Particle Cannon: Alternate fire radius reduced from 2-3 to 1-2 (based on energy level)

Zenyatta

• Orb of Discord: Effect reduced from 30% to 25%
• Orb of Destruction: Damage increased from 46 to 48

I’m not sure exactly when these changes will hit PTR, but we’re hoping tomorrow or Friday.