The latest Experimental Overwatch patch which saw Junkrat and Cole Cassidy receive some major buffs will not go through as originally tested, as the developers believe they’re now “too strong.”
The October 21 Overwatch update received a lot of criticism from fans who pushed back against changes to Cole Cassidy (formerly Jesse McCree), Junkrat and Torbjorn.
Many saw Cassidy’s new ability to roll in the air as being a bit too strong and Junkrat’s damage changes allowed for him to one-shot Tracer players at close range. Meanwhile, Torbjorn was thought to be already strong as is and his damage buffs weren’t warranted.
It seems like all that complaining on forums, Reddit and social media has paid off, however, as the developers are backing down following feedback from players.
Overwatch devs pull ‘overpowered’ Junkrat and Cassidy buffs
On the official forums, Andy B explained that the devs will be making additional changes to the patch in a future update for further testing.
“Feedback from Tank players has been highly critical of this Experimental Card. General sentiment is that the increase in damage for Torb, Cassidy, and especially Junkrat are highly detrimental to their play experience,” he noted.
Andy also said that experienced Junkrat players felt they “significantly lowered his skill ceiling” and thereby made him less rewarding to play.
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Additionally, Cassidy’s combat roll felt overpowered as he could escape from attacks such as Wrecking Ball’s Piledriver and Doomfist’s Rising Uppercut.
Even Moira’s Biotic Orb changes are being looked at. Despite mostly positive feedback, the devs noted there is “some minor concern over loss of skill-expression due to the decreased velocity of the Orb speed.”
So, while it looks like a future patch will change up these reworks, Andy still addressed some misconceptions about the purpose of the Experimental card, explaining how the devs will be “looking for opportunities to clarify the purpose of ExC’s with the broader community.”
There is no word yet of when an updated patch will be available for testing, but hopefully, we can get our hands on a new update sometime before the end of October.
