The latest Overwatch update brings with it a host of new changes, nerfs, and buffs, with the ever-changing Roadhog seeing a slight boost alongside his tank cohort in Orisa.
There’s a host of changes to DPS heroes, too: Ashe is perhaps the most significantly impacted here, with her explosion damage from her dynamite ability dropping to 50 from 75, a rather significant drop in rolling damage.
The goal here is obviously to encourage Ashe players to be more tactical with their placement and throwing, and to use it as more of a finishing or starting move, combined with accurate fire from her primary.
On the Support front, Baptiste sees his Amplification Matrix Ultimate get a slight charge boost, with a 15% faster charging. Baptiste recently saw a slight nerf to his healing capabilities, so it’s clear that Blizzard is working to balance things out for the Support-Damage hybrid.
Back to DPS, and McCree has seen some interesting changes, too. His Flash Bang stun has received a buff, up to 0.8 seconds from 0.7 seconds.
The big changes here probably come by way of Roadhog and Orisa, two tanks that have both been in and out of the meta for some time now.
Roadhog’s Hook has been buffed, allowing him to bring enemies slightly closer to him, which should improve his hook-shot effectiveness against more mobile, smaller heroes.
For Orisa, her primary fire speed has seen a buff, as has her base armor, up to 250 from 200. The recent shield nerfs hurt Orisa’s placement in the meta but it appears Blizzard is keen to get her back into the fold.
Check out the full patch notes below.
HERO UPDATES
Ashe
Dynamite
- Explosion damage reduced from 75 to 50
Developer Comments: Ashe is still a bit too powerful, but we’d like to keep her rifle feeling impactful so we’re taking some power out of her Dynamite ability.
Baptiste
Amplification Matrix
- Ultimate cost decreased 15%
Developer Comments: Baptiste generates a majority of his ultimate charge through area-of-effect healing. As we reduced area healing values recently, we’re also scaling down the cost of his ultimate.
McCree
Combat Roll
- Distance increased 20%
Flashbang
- Stun duration increased from 0.7 to 0.8 seconds
Developer Comments: After scaling down the damage output of McCree’s primary fire, we’re looking to give back a bit of power through improvements to his abilities.
Orisa
General
- Base armor increased from 200 to 250
Fusion Driver
- Projectile speed increased from 90 to 120
Developer Comments: Increased projectile speed will help Orisa’s weapon feel more responsive, reducing the need to lead targets. We found that recent adjustments to Orisa’s abilities were more impactful than we originally anticipated and have increased her armor to compensate.
Roadhog
Chain Hook
- Now pulls targets 0.5 meters closer (3.5 meters down to 3.0 meters)
Developer Comments: After the last round of shotgun improvements, Roadhog’s Chain Hook combo still wasn’t effective against some of the smaller enemy heroes. This change pulls targets closer to melee range for swifter, more reliable combo execution.
