A new Overwatch update on February 9 added a ton of new features to the Workshop toolkit, allowing creators to experiment with overpowered abilities, stolen Ultimates, and some of the most devastating combinations we’ve seen yet.
Since the Workshop was introduced, we’ve seen some wild creations. Some players have made heroes the size of skyscrapers while other modes have allowed us to play as tiny versions of the iconic characters.
Blizzard has only added more tools for creators ever since. Now, abilities are completely customizable thanks to the Feb 9 update. It was only a matter of time before some truly whacky lobbies were put together.
In the first day alone, we’ve already seen heroes stealing Ultimates, DPS characters acting as Supports, and plenty more to completely defy all logic in Overwatch.
One of the first bizarre functions to come from the new update was stolen Ultimates. Similar to how Echo can copy enemy Ults, the new Workshop allows any hero to steal any Ultimate.
“Mercy can now Primal Rage. We are all doomed,” prominent Workshop creator ‘andygmb1’ shared on Twitter. The clip shows one of the more charming Support heroes breaking out of character and leaping into action with Winston’s Primal Rage effect.
Another combination saw Doomfist completely change his identity. Rather than a stone-cold killer, this version of the hero looks to heal teammates instead.
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doomfist is now a healer, sorry @SamitoFPS https://t.co/azmA5dRRID
— Andy Bohan (@andygmb1) February 10, 2021
Thanks to an amusing combo, his Ultimate now combines with Lucio’s, healing everyone in the vicinity upon slamming back into the ground.
Widowmaker might have one of the most powerful combinations in the new Workshop. A single shot from the sniper can detonate D.Va’s ult. Even if you miss the headshot, this hilarious tool will wipe out foes with ease.
who needs aim when widowmaker's rifle is now both a railgun and dva's nuke?
not me https://t.co/anuMpy6aD1
— Andy Bohan (@andygmb1) February 10, 2021
There are plenty of other ridiculous possibilities thanks to the new Workshop update. It’s only a matter of time before we see some custom lobbies that take full advantage.
In the meantime, you can start experimenting yourself. The new Workshop update is now live on the PTR and you can find the full patch notes below.
General Updates
- Added “Damage FX” options to the advanced Video options menu that will reduce the amount of impact effects seen during gameplay and replays
- Added a “Custom Spectator Options” menu for live spectating that opens when you press the “View Spectator Options Menu” button as a spectator
- Spectator camera bookmarks in live spectating and replay viewing now also save the current “Camera Field of View” (FOV)
- Added “Custom Game Invite Filter” and “Custom Game Invite Requests” settings to the Social options menu to allow players to change and save who they can receive custom game invites from
Workshop Updates
- Added Workshop Extensions
- Spawn Points now returns an array of entities rather than position vectors
- Optimized effect position evaluation
We’re pleased to announce Workshop Extensions, a system which allows users to enable certain enhancements, such as access to new effects and increasing the number of dummy bots. These enhancements can be enabled using Extension Points, which are earned by either disabling player slots, disabling all non-Workshop maps, or a combination of both. This system allows us to add resource-intensive features while giving creators control over when they’re enabled. Check out the New Workshop Extensions section in these and future patch notes!
Spawn Points now returns an array of spawn point entities that have a position and facing direction. If you were already using this Value in places that expected a position, it will work as before. If you want explicitly grab the position and facing direction data, you can use the Position Of and Facing Direction Of Values respectively.
- Beam Effects
- Beam Sounds
- Buff Status Effects
- Debuff Status Effects
- Buff and Debuff Sounds
- Energy Explosion Effects
- Kinetic Explosion Effects
- Explosion Sounds
- Play More Effects
- Spawn More Dummy Bots
- Enable Text Chat
- Disable Text Chat
- Enable Voice Chat
- Disable Voice Chat
- Start Game Mode
- Return to Lobby
- Restart Match
- Move Player to Team
- Remove Player
- Start Forcing Dummy Bot Name
- Stop Forcing Dummy Bot Name
- Damage Over Time Count
- Heal Over Time Count
- Text Count
- Damage Modification Count
- Healing Modification Count
- Assist Count
- Entity Count
- Local Player
- Char In String
- Index Of String Char
- String Split
- String Replace
Bug Fixes
- Fixed a bug that caused specific abilities to persist on targets after a player swaps off the hero that used them
- Fixed a bug that prevented players from using the escape menu to leave a custom game under certain circumstances
- Fixed a bug that would cause heroes to become stuck against some buildings in midair
Blizzard World
- Fixed a bug that allowed Tracer to blink and become stuck behind the two candelabras
Château Gaillard
- Fixed a bug that allowed Wrecking Ball to piledrive from the ground and get stuck on certain bushes and corners
Dorado
- Fixed a bug with a collision location that allowed Wrecking Ball to unintentionally grapple upon it
Hanamura
- Fixed a bug with missing player collision in various locations of the map
- Fixed a bug that caused Reinhardt to hit the door frame when charging out of the second attacker spawn room
- Fixed a bug that allowed Reaper to teleport through a small gap outside of the second capture point
King’s Row
- Fixed a bug that caused Mei’s Blizzard drone to fall through the floor in certain locations
- Fixed a bug that allowed players to travel beneath some collision but not be killed by the death plane
Nepal
- Fixed a bug that allowed players to land on some snow piles on top of buildings
Numbani
- Fixed a bug that caused lighting issues in the back of the second attacker spawn
Doomfist
- Fixed a bug where Doomfist’s Rocket Punch impact animation would incorrectly play twice
- Fixed a bug where Doomfist would incorrectly maintain vertical momentum while entering Meteor Strike
Sombra
- Fixed a bug that caused Sombra’s Translocator beacon to become stuck in a specific section of the Havana map
- Fixed an issue where Continue could jump to the wrong loop in certain cases
- Fixed an issue where Brigitte would continue using Primary Fire after it had been disabled
- Fixed an issue where certain abilities would collide with walls even when environment collision had been disabled
- Fixed an issue where the Workshop Inspector would display incorrect player names
- Fixed an issue where certain buttons were ignored during flight abilities even when they were held down via Workshop
- Fixed an issue where beam effects were not rendering when going straight up
- Fixed an issue where extra D.Va’s could exist in certain scenarios
- Fixed an issue where the Array value would interfere with the correct evaluation of Current Array Element and Current Array Index
- Fixed an issue where Start Facing would not correctly honor Evaluate Once values when mixed with Event Player or other context-dependent values
- Fixed an issue where Spawn Points would sometimes fail to reevaluate correctly
- Fixed an issue where Hero Being Duplicated would fail when Echo duplicated D.Va
- Removed the error sound that plays when attempting to use an ability that has been disabled by Custom Game settings or the Workshop
