Having been implemented on the Public Test Region (PTR) on February 6, the latest Overwatch update has now made its way to the Live servers with a few new adjustments and console-exclusive changes.
Pushed out on Feb 12, a new Overwatch patch has hit the servers with a sweeping set of balance adjustments and unique changes for console players.
From steep nerfs to various buffs, a number of characters have been impacted in order to shake up the meta ahead of the upcoming Hero Pools feature.
The controversial support hero that spawned the GOATS meta, Brigitte has been met with a series of additional nerfs. Not only has her maximum over-heal been reduced from 75 armor to 50 armor, but the healing per-second output of the Repair Pack ability has also been lowered from 60HP to 55HP.
Detailing the motivations behind this change, Blizzard explained how the latest update is an attempt to align the Support hero with “other healers.”
In regard to Tank heroes, Wrecking Ball was the sole target of adjustments, as the developers opted to buff the characters ever so slightly. Players will now be able to regain control of Hammond much quicker after using the Piledriver ability.
Two Damage-based heroes were met with changes in the new patch, as Symmetra and Widowmaker were buffed and nerfed respectively.
The Indian hero will now be dealing more damage with the secondary fire of her Photon Projector, up from 120 to 140 damage. Meanwhile, snipers will have to hold their breath even longer to land critical shots with Widowmaker, as the charge time for scoped shots has been upped from 0.83 seconds to 1 second.
Unique from the original PTR patch, a new set of console-exclusive tweaks have been made to various heroes. Impacting only Xbox, PS4, and Nintendo Switch users, these changes will not be making their way to the PC version.
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Notably, Ana’s Biotic Rifle has been buffed slightly with an increased projectile size, while Symmetra’s Sentry Turrets have been nerfed from 43 DPS to 30 DPS.
This is the first set on console-only changes in quite some time, and is perhaps an indication of further console-exclusive tweaking to come with the implementation of the new Experimental Card feature in the near future.
Here are the full February 12 patch notes:
Hero Updates:
- Brigitte
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- Repair Pack
- Armor over-heal reduced from 75 armor to 50 armor
- HPS decreased from 60 to 55
Developer Comment: On top of the high utility Brigitte brings to her team, she also dishes out a ton of healing and armor. We’re reducing some of this healing and armor to help keep her in line with the other healers.
- Symmetra
-
- Photon Projector (Secondary Fire)
- Damage increased from 120 to 140
Developer Comment: Increasing Photon Projectors max damage allows Symmetra to play more effectively at a safer range when necessary.
- Widowmaker
-
- Widow’s Kiss
- Full charge time for scoped shots increased from 0.83 sec to 1 sec
Developer Comment: Widowmaker has become stronger over time following changes to other heroes, such as power reductions to barriers. This change is intended to slow down her shots, reducing her overall DPS.
- Wrecking Ball
-
- Piledriver
- Affected players’ loss of air control reduced from 1 second to 0.5 seconds
Developer Comment: This change allows Wrecking Ball’s enemies to regain control of their movement more quickly to try and avoid attacks, making Piledriver combos a bit less deadly.
Console-Only Changes:
- Ana
- Biotic Rifle
- Allied projectile size increased from 0.3 to 0.4
- Symmetra
- Sentry Turret
- Turret DPS reduced from 34 to 30
