September 10 Overwatch patch nerfs Roadhog & updates shotgun consistency

A new Overwatch patch has gone live on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch, finally nerfing Roadhog and bringing in a slew of shotgun changes, as well.

The big loser in the patch is Roadhog, who sees his lethality decreased, with each pellet from his Scrap Gun now doing one less damage.

In total, his gun will now deal a maximum of 150 damage per shot, although that’s not taking into account critical hits from headshots.

While the older version of Roadhog was a bit more forgiving, users will need to pick their shots a bit better going forward if they want to secure frags.

Blizzard Entertainment

The age of Roadhog may be over at last.

That said, the changes to shotguns across the board may make up for the nerfs.

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A big change to shotguns has made it so that the patterns no longer apply a random rotation. This should make them more reliable and remove any of the luck-based aspects of such weaponry.

Finally, Torbjorn is getting some balance changes. His secondary fire recovery has been increased by 0.2 seconds – however, the damage has been increased. Now, it will be doing 12.5 damage, up from 10.5 per projectile.

Blizzard Entertainment

Could we be entering a Torb meta?

Hopefully, these changes are the best for the game and we don’t enter a world where Torbjorn becomes a must-pick in all levels of play.

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We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds.

Full patch notes:

HERO UPDATES

General

• Shotgun patterns no longer apply random rotation. This will affect the following heroes:
  • Ashe
  • Doomfist
  • D.Va
  • Reaper
  • Roadhog
  • Torbjörn

Developer Comments: We’re making weapons that utilize shotgun patterns more reliable by removing the random rotation applied to each shot. Individual pellets within the shot will still have a tiny amount of variance to their firing angle for the sake of the shotgun weapon feel, but this change will provide significantly more control over aiming these weapons.

Roadhog

Scrap Gun

• (General) Projectile damage reduced from 7 to 6 (150 total per shot)

Developer Comments: When combined with the changes to shotgun patterns, we’re looking to keep Roadhog’s Chain Hook combo reliable, but not overly powerful against heroes with higher health pools.

Torbjörn

Rivet Gun

• (Secondary Fire) Recovery increased from 0.6 to 0.8 seconds
• (Secondary Fire) Damage increased from 10.5 to 12.5 per projectile (125 total per shot)

Developer Comments: This change to Torbjörn’s secondary fire is aimed at giving it a stronger role at close range. We’re hoping this change allows each shot to feel more impactful, since it has a larger burst. To keep this change in line, we’ve also reduced the damage-per-second.