Patch Notes

[Chaosphere]

14/06/2016

The McCree nerf you have all been waiting for!



http://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20745235963


A new patch is now live on Windows PC. Read below to learn more about the latest changes.

To share your feedback, please post in the General Discussion forum.
For a list of known issues, visit our Bug Report forum.
For troubleshooting assistance, visit our Technical Support forum.

Please note that many of these changes will be rolled into a larger patch for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at a later date.

HERO BALANCE CHANGES

McCree
Peacekeeper
Alternate Fire
Recovery time (i.e. the amount of time before McCree starts reloading) decreased from 0.75 seconds to 0.3 seconds
Bullet damage decreased from 70 to 45

Developer Comments: McCree was performing too well against all targets, making him feel like a must-pick in many situations. By reducing the damage of his alternate fire, McCree is now significantly weaker against tanks like Roadhog and Reinhardt, but still maintains his lethality against smaller targets like Tracer and Genji.

Widowmaker
Widow’s Kiss
Alternate Fire (Scoped Shot)
Base damage decreased from 15 to 12
Note: Scoped shot damage multiplier remains unchanged
Headshot damage multiplier increased from 2x to 2.5x
Players must now wait for the unscoping animation to completely finish before scoping

Infra-Sight
Ultimate cost increased by 10%

Developer Comments: In the right hands, Widowmaker can often feel unstoppableâ€"even when just landing body shots instead of critical heads shots. The changes to her alternate fire weaken body shot damage while leaving her headshot damage unchanged. Additionally, we felt her Ultimate ability, Infra-Sight, was coming up a little too frequently, especially considering its impact on the game.

BUG FIXES

General
Improved stability of the High Bandwidth option in Custom Games

Heroes
Fixed a bug that allowed Mercy to gain Ultimate charge whenever damage boosting an ally who was attacking a barrier or Ice Wall
Fixed a bug that allowed Reaper to Shadow Step to unintended locations on certain maps

Maps
Fixed an issue with collision on certain areas of Dorado not blocking line of sight

[Chaosphere]

28/06/16


New Feature: Competitive Play
Overwatch is raising the bar for competitive players, giving them the perfect arena to sharpen their skills and hone their strategies. Introducing Competitive Play.

Competitive Play is designed for players who truly want to put their skills to the test, and offers a more serious experience than our Quick Play or Weekly Brawl! modes. To make sure everyone playing the mode has a solid understanding of the game’s mechanics, maps, and heroes, Competitive Play will be locked until you hit level 25.

Once you reach level 25, the mode will become available under the “Play” button in the main menu. Simply select "Competitive Play" from the submenu, and you’re ready to enter a match. You can join on your own or in a group, and Overwatch’s matchmaking system will automatically find the best game possible for your (or your group's) skill level.



Miscellaneous
When activating Widowmaker's Ultimate ability, Infra-Sight, her voice line will now be audible map-wide
"Weapons" section added to the Hero Gallery
Added McCree as an AI hero in Practice vs. AI, Play vs. AI, and Custom Game modes
Added a variety of a social options to the hero selection and end of match screens
Removed "Avoid This Player" option from the game UI


General
Fixed a bug that would cause players’ weapons to auto-snap straight up or down when the crosshair was aimed between 85 and 90 degrees
Fixed a bug that caused players who backfilled and then completed a game to sometimes receive a loss on their Career Profile and not receive their XP bonus for backfilling
Fixed a bug that would move players toward the source of a knockback rather than away from it
Fixed a bug that allowed players to spam objective-based voice lines
Fixed a bug that caused Hearthstone-themed sprays to ignore localization
Fixed several framerate issues that could occur when cycling through the hero selection menu
Fixed a variety of issues with and made several improvements to ambient lighting
Made some improvements to how AI heroes respond to one another
Made a variety of performance and optimization improvements across the game
Unicode keys for non-English keyboards are now displayed properly in the keybinding interface


Maps
Players can no longer be resurrected in out-of-play areas on Ilios



Heroes
Fixed a bug with the "Junkrat RIP-Tire Killsâ€"Average" lifetime statistic
Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause projectiles to hit Reinhardt instead of his Barrier Field
Note: We fixed this issue in an earlier patch for "High Bandwidth" Custom Games; this fix now applies it to all games
Fixed a bug that allowed Torbjörn to pick up Scrap while dead

[Milli]

Lifted from http://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20745606613


GENERAL

Competitive Play
[PC Only] The duration of Sudden Death has been adjusted across all maps from 1m45s to the following values:
Assault:
Hanamura â€" 1m35s
Temple of Anubis â€" 1m30s
Volskaya Industries â€" 1m35s
Escort:
Dorado â€" 1m30s
Route 66 â€" 1m35s
Watchpoint: Gibraltar â€" 1m35s
Hybrid:
King’s Row â€" 1m30s
Numbani â€" 1m50s
Note: Sudden Death duration is unchanged for Hollywood and remains at 1m45s


BUG FIXES

General
[PC Only] Fixed a bug that prevented Overtime music from playing on Escort and Assault/Escort maps, if the payload was nearing the final checkpoint
[PC Only] Fixed a bug where display settings weren’t always saved after restarting the client
[PC Only] Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the in-game UI to display incorrectly at 4k resolutions
[PC Only] Fixed a bug where sometimes the wrong player level would appear in the Social menu


Maps
[PC Only] Fixed an issue with collision not blocking line of sight on certain areas of Nepal


Heroes
[PC Only] Fixed a bug that caused Mercy’s Caduceus Staff beam to disconnect from its target if the player a) quickly switched between healing and damage beams by holding down both mouse buttons and/or b) was facing away from the target at the time of the switch
[PC Only] Fixed even more bugs that allowed Reaper to Shadow Step to unintended locations on certain maps
[PC Only] Fixed a bug that caused Winston’s melee attack during Primal Rage to inconsistently hit targets in range
[PC Only] Fixed a bug that sometimes caused Zarya’s alternate fire to scale incorrectly with her damage boost modifier


Competitive Play
[PC Only] Fixed a bug that caused the “Top 500” icon to incorrectly display for certain players in various places throughout the game UI
Fixed an issue where if you left and rejoined an in-progress Competitive Play match, the game would still track the match as a loss in your placement match history and when determining the amount of Skill Rating you receive for completing a match even if your team won
Note: You must be present for the conclusion of the match to be eligible for the win. If you leave a match and do not rejoin again before it’s over, it will count as a loss both in placement match history and when calculating your Skill Rating adjustment.
Fixed an issue where you would still receive a Competitive Play “leave” penalty even if you rejoined a match and completed it
Note: If you leave a single Competitive Play match more than 3 times, you will receive a Competitive Play “leave” penalty even if you complete the match


So in essence capturing the point in Sudden Death is going to be harder when attacking. Going to get 2 perhaps 3 good pushes at the point making it even more a disadvantage if attacking.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[Chaosphere]

19/7/16 - New Hero - Ana

PATCH FEATURES

New Hero: Ana (Support)
After being out of the fight for several years, one of Overwatch's founding members is returning. Introducing Anaâ€"a battle-scarred veteran who supports her teammates from a distance using a unique and highly specialized collection of weapons.

Ana’s primary weapon is her Biotic Rifle, which fires long-range darts that can restore the health of her allies or deal ongoing damage to her enemies. Meanwhile, her Biotic Grenade is perfect for a close-quarters clash, simultaneously healing teammates and injuring foes caught in its small area of effect. (Affected allies will also receive a temporary increase to all incoming healing, while affected enemies can’t be healed for a few moments.) And if the battle starts to get out of hand, Ana's sidearm can fire a Sleep Dart, knocking her adversaries unconscious.

Plus, Ana's ultimate ability, Nano Boost, empowers one of her teammates, granting faster movement, increased damage, and resistance to enemy attacks.


GENERAL UPDATES


Gameplay
If a match goes into Overtime for more than 20 seconds, the fuse will now start to "burn down" more quickly
Players now respawn more slowly during Overtime (increased spawn time by 2 seconds)

Competitive Play
Competitive Play matches can now only have one of each hero per team.
For more info, click here.

Miscellaneous
Added Ana as an AI-controlled hero in Practice vs. AI, Play vs. AI, and Custom Game modes
Timing on Zenyatta's Rapid Discord achievement is more lenient
Targeted teammates now respond by saying "I'm with you," when players use the “Group Up” communication
Renamed five sprays to avoid duplicate titles


HERO BALANCE UPDATES


General
Self-healing abilities now charge ultimate abilities. As a result, some heroes’ ultimate costs have been adjusted (see below).

Bastion
Configuration: Tank
Ultimate cost increased by 10%

D.Va
Defense Matrix
Cooldown decreased from 10 seconds to 1 second
A new resource meter has been added. This meter will deplete while Defense Matrix is active and then recharge when it’s not in use.
Defense Matrix takes 10 seconds to reach full charge from empty
At a full charge, Defense Matrix will last for 4 seconds
Defense Matrix will now remain active as long as its assigned hotkey is held
Defense Matrix has been reclassified as an alternate fire and is now bound to RMB (by default)
An option to “Toggle Defense Matrix” has been added under Options > Controls > D.Va
Self-Destruct
Ultimate cost decreased by 15%
Explosion delay reduced from 4 seconds to 3 seconds
Explosion no longer damages D.Va (the player who activates it)

Developer Notes: D.Va isn't being selected as often as our other tanks, and we feel a lot of that stems from the underperformance of her damage absorption abilities. So, we've reconfigured her Defensive Matrix, making it more flexible and giving players the ability to use it more often. We’ve also given Self-Destruct a little more oomph, because it felt slightly underwhelming when compared to many of Overwatch's other ultimate abilities.

Lúcio
Sound Barrier
Ultimate cost increased by 10%

McCree
Peacekeeper
Now maintains full damage at longer distances, but will deal less damage at extreme ranges

Developer Notes: While the game does feel better following the nerf to McCree’s close-range damage in a previous patch, it left him a little too weak. So, we're increasing his effective distance, making his range similar to Soldier: 76’s. This should hopefully give players another option for dealing with pesky long-range damage dealing heroes like Pharah and Hanzo.

Mercy
Caduceus Staff
Damage Boost
Effect will no longer stacks with bonus damage provided by another Mercy
Resurrect
Ultimate charge cost increased by 30%
Movement is no longer prevented during activation
Guardian Angel instantly resets upon use

Developer Notes: Mercy's ultimate is one of the most powerful abilities in the game; however, players would often fly into the fray and die while using it. With this update, Resurrect will now take a bit longer to charge, but Mercy will be a lot safer when activating the ability in the middle of combat.

Roadhog
Whole Hog
Ultimate cost increased by 45%

Soldier: 76
Heavy Pulse Rifle
Spread recovery will begin after a short delay (rather than instantly)
Tactical Visor
Ultimate cost increased by 10%

Zenyatta
Base shields increased by 50 (now 50 Health/150 Shield)
Primary fire weapon damage decreased from 45 to 40
Alternate fire weapon damage increased from 35 to 40
Orb of Discord and Orb of Harmony
Projectile speed has been increased from 30 to 120
Transcendence
Movement speed is now doubled upon activation
Healing amount increased from 200 to 300 health per second

Developer Notes: While Zenyatta has never had the healing abilities of Lúcio or Mercy, he made up for it by dealing more damage. However, his lack of mobility and low health has meant he’s struggled to find a place in many games. To increase his effectiveness, we've made several changes, the biggest of which is an increased shield pool. This will allow him to go head-to-head with more enemies. The Orb of Harmony and Discord changes are also a quality of life change, helping Zenyatta move his orbs around and apply their effects more quickly. And lastly, we’ve increased Transcendence’s healing throughput. This ultimate was designed to be the most effective against sustained, high-damage fire and least effective against short, high-damage bursts (like D.Va’s or Junkrat's ultimates). But, due to the amount of healing it provided, there were times when it was possible for even sustained fire to overcome Transcendence’s output. We’ve made the heal powerful and also allowed Zenyatta to move around more quickly while it’s active.



USER INTERFACE UPDATES


Game Options
Players can now enter numerical values for any option that also has slider (e.g. FoV, volume, sensitivity, etc.)
Players can now hide in-game chat by pressing CTRL-SHIFT-C or by typing "/hidechat" into the chat window

Controls
Mouse sensitivity can now be adjusted out to two decimals

Gameplay
Mid-match tips can now be toggled on or off (this will enable/disable tips that pop up after a player dies)

Social
Friend Request toasts can now be toggled on or off
Friend notifications can now be toggled on or off
Whispers can now be toggled on or off
Video
Added 21:9 aspect ratio support
Players can now enable a real-world clock by toggling the "Display System Clock" setting

Social Features
Certain commendations will now appear less frequently during end-of-round voting (e.g. Zenyatta’s Transcendence Healing and Zarya’s Projected Barriers Applied)


BUG FIXES


General
The Hero Gallery now remembers the last hero you were looking at and will properly highlight that hero whenever returning to the gallery
Reduced the chance for larger projectiles (i.e. Hanzo's arrows, Zenyatta's prayer beads) to hit targets around corners
Fixed a bug that caused the “payload is nearing its final destination” music to continue playing even after the match was over
Fixed a bug that caused the UI to disappear whenever the game was forced into windowed mode by an external application
Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause visual healing effects to appear on the wrong hero whenever multiple players attempted to pick up a Health Pack
Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause different heroes’ victory poses to clip into each other
Fixed several lighting issues with the killcam

Maps
The payload on King’s Row will no longer retreat back inside its starting location if the attacking team fails to push it
Adjusted the Hero Select screen volume for the attacking team on Watchpoint: Gibraltar
Added Spectator camera collision to most maps
Fixed issues with player collision across multiple maps
Fixed issues with ambient lighting and shadows across multiple maps

Heroes
Fixed a bug that was preventing friendly hero dialogue not being audible over long distances as intended
Fixed a bug that caused D.Va to sometimes ignore player collision when summoning her mech
Fixed several bugs where Mei’s Ice Wall would persist in the game world even after the player switched heroes or left the game
Fixed even more bugs that allowed Reaper to Shadow Step to unintended locations
Fixed a bug that sometimes caused Reinhardt’s Barrier Field to get stuck in the “on” position if the player used the “Toggle Barrier” setting
Fixed a bug that sometimes caused Roadhog to accidentally Chain Hook targets standing behind him
Fixed a bug that caused Winston’s Barrier Projector shield to ignore the “Sound Effects Volume” setting

Competitive Play
Fixed a bug that sometimes caused players not to be able to rejoin games

[Chaosphere]

GENERAL UPDATES

Competitive Play
Attacking teams now have 4 minutes to capture the first point on Assault maps (down from 5 minutes)

Miscellaneous
The “You Are Not Prepared” spray and player icon is now available for all players


BUG FIXES

Heroes
The correct hit pip sound will now play whenever one of Ana’s darts impact with a barrier
All of Ana’s in-game sounds now have proper occlusion

User Interface
Fixed a bug that caused “Attack” and “Defend” indicators to not always display on the hero select screen
Fixed a bug that caused the scoreboard (default: Tab) to sometimes display the wrong stats if you switched hero mid-match
Fixed a bug in Competitive Play that caused the numbers on the post-match skill rating bar to not increment correctly

[Chaosphere]

HERO BALANCE UPDATES

Ana
Biotic Rifle
Rate of fire increased by 20%
Magazine size increased from 8 to 10

Developer Comments: While Ana has been very well received, she was showing to be a little bit weaker overall. In addition to helping her feel better to play, these changes should also increase her healing and damage output.

McCree
Peacemaker
Primary Fire
Damage falloff range decreased by 10 meters
Damage falloff amount is unchanged
As a result, even with this change, McCree’s effective range is still higher than it was at launch
Alternate Fire
Rate of fire increased by 15%
Flashbang
Recovery time (i.e. the amount of time before McCree can fire again) decreased from 0.5 seconds to 0.35 seconds

Developer Comments: McCree’s latest range increase helped him quite a bit, but it was a bit too much in the right hands. This change weakens his long range damage somewhat, but still keeps it stronger than it has been in the recent past. The other changes combine to allow him to land more alternate fire shots on targets that he has hit with Flashbang.

BUG FIXES

Heroes
Targets of Ana’s Sleep Dart will no longer instantly recover when damaged (recovery time is now 0.5 seconds)

User Interface
Fixed UI compatibility issues for ATI cards
Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause Lúcio, Mei, and other models to only partially render (or disappear)

[Chaosphere]

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

New Seasonal Event: Summer Games
Crack your knuckles, stretch those hamstrings, and turn up the volumeâ€"the Summer Games are here! From now through August 22, players can earn Summer Games Loot Boxes, collect over 100 seasonal items, and challenge their friends to a futuristic soccer match in our new brawl: Lúcioball!

To learn more about the Summer Games, click here.

GENERAL UPDATES

Competitive Play
Players who leave a competitive match before its conclusion will now have to wait for at least 10 minutes before joining another competitive match
During subsequent rounds on Assault maps (Hanamura, Temple of Anubis, and Volskaya Industries), the amount of time provided for team assembly has been reduced

Miscellaneous
Added Lúcio as an AI hero in Practice vs. AI, Play vs. AI, and Custom Game modes
Several minor, behind-the-scenes improvements have been made to the in-game matchmaker


MAP BALANCE UPDATES
Made several minor adjustments across Watchpoint: Gibraltar to ensure better balance for defending and attacking teams


USER INTERFACE
Made several minor improvements to the way hero selection tips work:
The "No Builder" and "No Sniper Hero" warnings have been removed
"No Support Hero" now reads as "No Healer" (does not apply to Symmetra)
Hero selection tips are no longer displayed during team assembly in a Brawl
Zenyatta's Transcendence speed increase is now noted on the Hero Details screen
Players can now select which type of Loot Box (standard or seasonal) they'd like to open next
[PC Only] Players can now set an FPS cap by selecting "Custom" from the “Limit FPS” dropdown


BUG FIXES

General
Fixed a bug where Widowmaker’s “Noire” skin and the Origins Edition skins would not count towards unlock progress of the “Decked Out” Achievement
Fixed a bug where “The Path Is Closed” Achievement could not be obtained by D.Va while in her mech
[PC Only] Fixed a bug where players were unable to use the “Join Game” option from the social menu on their friends
Fixed a bug that caused Custom Games to ignore the “Return to Lobby” setting when the game mode was set to Competitive
Fixed a bug that sometimes caused the Tutorial to become unplayable after players switched heroes
[PC Only] Fixed a display bug with the mouse cursor for Windows systems using a 16-bit desktop
[PC Only] Removed developer option to disable all shadows via the settings file

Maps
Fixed a bug causing the “old timey” end-of-round music filter on Hollywood to remain active after leaving a match
Fixed a bug that kept the 30-seconds-remaining music from activating correctly on Payload maps.

Heroes
Fixed a bug that was affecting the majority of Ana’s “Most in Game” career statistics
Fixed a bug that caused Ana’s Biotic Grenade to miss an allied Reaper while in Wraith Form
Fixed a bug with that caused Junkrat’s “Jester” and “Fool” skins to incorrectly display during a Highlight Intro
Fixed a bug that kept Soldier: 76’s Ultimate charge meter from displaying progress gained for the Tactical Visor ability in the Tutorial
Fixed a bug that caused the visuals and sound effects on Reinhardt’s Rocket Hammer to malfunction when hitting an enemy
Fixed a bug that caused Widowmaker’s “Widow’s Kiss” spray to be replaced by the “Je Te Vois” spray

Competitive Play
Fixed a bug that kept grouped players from being able to rejoin a match when disconnected
Fixed a bug that caused a player’s Skill Rating to be displayed incorrectly when rejoining a match in progress

A.I.
Fixed an issue hindering Ana from restoring allies to full health
Fixed an issue allowing Reaper to use Wraith Form to escape in situations where he should be stunned

[Chaosphere]

Aug 10

MAP BALANCE UPDATES
Respawn time for defenders has been standardized to 10 seconds on all maps
Payload speed has been slightly reduced on Watchpoint: Gibraltar


BUG FIXES

General
Fixed a bug causing incomplete character models to load on the Hero Selection screen
Fixed a number of bugs causing various crashes and instability issues
Competitive Play
Fixed a bug that prevented user interface elements from displaying in some languages
Fixed a bug that caused the placement matches screen to display when some players would disconnect and rejoin a match

Maps
Estádio das Rãs
Fixed a bug that allowed players to spawn as heroes other than Lúcio
Nepal
Fixed an issue which allowed players to get stuck outside the normal boundaries of the map
Temple of Anubis
Fixed a bug causing a portion of the city wall to display incorrectly on all graphics settings






Aug 16

BUG FIXES:
Fixed a bug that was blocking spectator cameras from passing through some doors and force fields

[Chaosphere]

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Competitive Play Season 2
We've made some big changes to Competitive Play in Season 2. The most noticeable change is the introduction of skill tiers, which we hope will better communicate players' relative skill levels. Competitive Play will put a greater emphasis on skill tiers over specific ratings, and as such, a player's tier will be more prominently displayed throughout the game. We've also switched the skill rating system to a 1-5000 scale to give players more detailed information about how each match affects their specific rating.

Sudden Death is also going away in Season 2. Instead, matches that are tied when the clock runs out end in a drawâ€"though, it should be a rare occurrence. Because of this, we've made some changes to our game modes in Competitive Play to help reduce the chance that a draw can happen.

We've also made a few minor adjustments to leaver penalties, the top 500 system, and the competitive point system. Read on below to learn more!

New Assault/Escort Map: Eichenwalde
The forest has slowly begun overtaking the abandoned village of Eichenwalde, but the scars will never completely fade. During the Omnic Crisis, Eichenwalde was the site of a key battle. General Balderich von Adler took a handful of crusaders to the village in an effort to outflank the omnic army. Balderich's soldiers were able to break down the enemy forces, giving the German military an opportunity to push back, but the Crusaders didn't make it out of the battle. General Balderich finally collapsed in the castle's great hall.


GENERAL UPDATES

General
When activating the "Ultimate Status" communication, Symmetra now reports the number of charges left on her teleporter
When activating the "Needs healing" communication while targeting a teammate, Ana, Lúcio, Mercy, and Zenyatta will now tell allies to group up to receive healing. A marker will also appear above the player's head, allowing teammates to locate the healer more quickly
Added Torbjörn as an AI-controlled hero in Practice vs. AI, Play vs. AI, and Custom Game modes
Sit and laugh emotes are now unlockable for all heroes
New Legendary skins have been added for Reinhardt


Competitive Play
Skill rating is now measured on a 1-5000 scale instead of the former 1-100 scale
Skill Rating Tiers
Players will now be assigned to a tier, depending on their skill rating
Bronze - 1-1499
Silver - 1500-1999
Gold - 2000-2499
Platinum - 2500-2999
Diamond - 3000-3499
Master - 3500-3999
Grandmaster - 4000-5000

In Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond tiers, a player will not drop out of their tier even if their skill rating falls below the cutoff
In Master and Grandmaster tiers, a player whose skill rating falls below the tier's minimum will be moved to a lower tier
Players that have reached the Master and Grandmaster tiers must be within 500 Skill Rating of their groupmates
Players that are Diamond-tier and below must be within 1000 Skill Rating of their groupmates

Skill Rating Decay
Players in Diamond, Master, and Grandmaster tiers that haven't participated in a competitive match for 7 days will lose skill rating
Players with a skill rating above 3000 (Diamond tier or higher) will lose 50 rating points every 24 hours, but their rating will not fall below 3000
Competing in a single match will halt skill rating decay
Players that haven't participated in a competitive match for 7 days will immediately drop out of the top 500

Map Changes
Several refinements have been made to the time bank system for Hanamura, Temple of Anubis, and Volskaya Industries
The time bank system has been added to Dorado, Hollywood, King's Row, Numbani, Route 66, and Watchpoint: Gibraltar
Time granted for taking objectives on Dorado, Hanamura, Hollywood, King's Row, Numbani, Route 66, Temple of Anubis, Volskaya Industries, and Watchpoint: Gibraltar has been reduced from 5 minutes to 4

Competitive Points
Existing competitive points saved from Season 1 will be multiplied by 10
After winning a competitive match, players will now receive 10 competitive points (instead of 1)
Players will now receive 3 competitive points for a draw
The cost of golden weapons has also been multiplied by 10 - from 300 to 3000
A soft cap is being placed on the number of competitive points that can be saved
Players with more than 6000 points at the start of season 2 will no longer accrue points by playing competitive matches
End-of-season rewards will still be granted to players at the soft cap
Instead of going into Sudden Death, tied competitive matches will now result in a draw
Players must now win at least 50 competitive matches to be eligible for a spot in the top 500
Players must now complete more matches to clear their penalty status for leaving a competitive match early


HERO BALANCE UPDATES

General
Ultimates that consume the ultimate meter when activated will now drain the meter more quickly (.25 second instead of 1 second)
Reverted a recent change that reduced the size of heroes' projectiles
Most hero abilities will no longer interrupt quick melee attacks
Ultimate abilities will now interrupt quick melee attacks

Developer Comments: Altering the size of projectiles in flight had too many unintended side effects to keep in the game, at least in its current form. We will continue watching this and make additional changes if necessary. We’re also making quick melee more consistent when interacting with enemy abilities.

D.Va
Defense Matrix
After being activated, Defense Matrix will begin regenerating following a 1-second delay (formerly .5 seconds)

Developer Comments: Defense Matrix was too efficient when tapped repeatedly, instead of being held. Now, the recovery delay matches the ability cooldown.


Hanzo
Hanzo will now experience a 30% decrease in speed while aiming (formerly 40%)
Maximum projectile speed has been increased by 30%
Arrow size has been reduced by 33%

Developer Comments: Hanzo has the potential to deal a lot of damage, but he can feel really inconsistent, even at a medium distance. By increasing the projectile speed, we’re extending his reliable range, making it easier to land shots without having to perfectly predict enemy movement. To compensate for the increased projectile speed, we’ve decreased the size of his arrows, meaning his shots now require a bit more accuracy.


Genji
Double jump no longer resets when wall climbing
Swift Strike
No longer deals damage to traps like Widowmaker's Venom Mine or Junkrat's Steel Trap
No longer bypasses Junkrat's Steel Trap
No longer interrupts quick melee attacks
Dragonblade
Duration of Genji's ultimate has been reduced from 8 seconds to 6 seconds

Developer Comments: Genji was a little too difficult to pin down, and these changes will balance his speed. Swift Strike no longer cancels the recovery time from a quick melee attack, so players will no longer be able to get a free melee attack before using Swift Strike. Lastly, Dragonblade's duration was long enough that it often felt too difficult to reasonably counter.


Lúcio
Amp It Up
The boosting of movement speed has been decreased by 30% (from a 100% increase to a 70% increase)

Developer Comments: Thanks to Lúcio's speed increase, he was almost a must pick in every lineup.


McCree
Deadeye
Now drains over a .25-second period (instead of displaying a 50% reduction on the ultimate meter when activated and 0% when confirmed)

Developer Comments: If players managed to counter or avoid McCree's ultimate, it would often regenerate very quickly since only half of the ultimate charge was spent. Now, this ultimate works like every other ultimate that has a duration.


Mei
Blizzard
Projectile now pierces barriers
Radius has been increased from 8 meters to 10 meters

Developer Comments: Mei has an interesting toolkit, but her ultimate often felt like it was too difficult to use effectively. Consequently, it felt weak compared to many other ultimate abilities. The freeze effect has been piercing barriers for some time now, but the projectile would still be blocked. Now, you can throw it down exactly where you want it, so it’s much easier to utilize the full radius effectively.


Mercy
Caduceus Staff
Healing Beam
Healing-per-second has been increased by 20%
Resurrect
Resurrected allies will be able to maneuver after 2.25 seconds (reduced from 3 seconds)

Developer Comments: Resurrection now allows teammates to jump back into the fight more quickly, which should help Mercy survive after activating her ultimate. Mercy's healing is also getting a boost to solidify her role as a strong, single-target healer.


Roadhog
Chain Hook
If the hooked target isn't in Roadhog's line of sight when retracting the hook, they will be moved back to the position where they were originally hooked

Developer Comments: This change means that hooked targets will be less likely to slide along walls, potentially ending up in an odd place after they've been reeled in.


Soldier: 76
Heavy Pulse Rifle
Bullet spread now happens more quickly when unloading fully-automatic pulse fire
Significantly Increased bullet spread recovery time

Developer Comments: These changes will make burst-firing feel more reliable and increase his effectiveness at longer ranges.


Zenyatta
Orb of Discord
The amount of damage amplified by a target with Orb of Discord has been decreased from 50% to 30%
Orb of Destruction
Damage has been increased from 40 to 46

Developer Comments: Zenyatta is in a far better place since the last update, but the strength of Orb of Discord has turned him into an almost mandatory pick. These changes reduce Orb of Discord's effectiveness, but his damage-dealing potential has been increased. The amount of damage that he delivers should feel largely unaffected by the change.


MAP BALANCE CHANGES

Watchpoint: Gibraltar
Watchpoint: Gibraltar’s first checkpoint has been removed

Developer Comments: The balance changes that were implemented in previous patches have eliminated the need for Watchpoint: Gibraltar to have an extra checkpoint.


USER INTERFACE UPDATES

General
A new "Allied Health Bars" option has been added (Options > Controls)
Contextual menus have been added on the hero selection screen, giving players the ability to report or group up with other players
Matchmaking UI is now purple in the Competitive Play queue
Made several minor adjustments to typography in the Spectator UI


BUG FIXES

General
Fixed a bug that allowed the kill participation metric to go above 100 percent
Fixed a bug in the Custom Game settings preventing the Ability Cooldown modifier from affecting Ana
Fixed a bug causing players to incorrectly see gains in experience points when completing Custom Games
Fixed a bug that caused heroes to die when first spawned in a custom game if Health and Damage modifiers were used simultaneously


AI
Fixed a bug that could cause AI Bastion to become stuck, continuously healing himself in the spawn area
Fixed a bug preventing Torbjörn from placing his turret in viable locations


Heroes
Appropriate sound effects now play when Ana shoots barriers, shields, and armor
Ana’s scope now correctly displays all custom reticle options
Ana’s attacks and abilities now activate the controller’s rumble function
[XB1 Only] Fixed a bug preventing bullet shells from being rendered in Bastion’s “Bullet Rain” highlight intro
D.Va no longer communicates her ultimate status for Self-Destruct while charging her Call Mech ultimate
D.Va’s Boosters are no longer auto-cancelled if activated while her primary fire is active
D.Va’s ultimate charge status is no longer reset to 0% if she falls to her death while piloting a mech
Hanzo's “Spirit Dragon” unlockable voice line now correctly plays when using his Okami and Lone Wolf skins
Fixed various issues with Junkrat's emote and highlight animations
Fixed a bug that kept Junkrat’s ammo from being refilled when he was resurrected
The alternate fire on McCree’s Peacekeeper ability now activates the controller’s rumble function for all six shots
Fixed an issue causing Mei's Ice Wall to push herself to the side when cast at her feet
Fixed a bug preventing Mei's Ice Wall from being destroyed by a moving payload
Fixed a bug that prevented Mei's Ice Wall from appearing at the target location when cast
Fixed a bug allowing Reaper to reach unintended map locations using Shadow Step
Fixed a bug causing Reinhardt's shield to jitter when turning in third person
Fixed an issue that prevented Roadhog's chain from displaying correctly in some situations
Fixed a bug causing Roadhog’s chain to become permanently extended if his target disconnected from the match
Fixed several issues with Symmetra's emotes and highlight intros
The scarf on Tracer's Slipstream skin is no longer stiff in the Hurdle highlight intro
The names of Tracer's Sprinter and Track and Field skins now display correctly
Fixed a bug preventing overtime from being triggered while Zenyatta is using Transcendence


Maps
Fixed an issue preventing Genji and Hanzo from reliably climbing a specific crate on Watchpoint: Gibraltar
Fixed several issues that allowed Reaper to reach unintended locations on Watchpoint: Gibraltar


User Interface
Competitive play leaver messaging no longer overlaps with the PvP HUD at the top of the screen
Fixed a bug causing the end of season banner to pop up while the player is in a match
Fixed a bug preventing the hero list in Custom Game settings from being organized alphabetically
The spectate option now becomes unavailable (the button will be greyed out) when all spectator slots have been filled in a Custom Game lobby
[PC Only] Fixed an issue causing in-game statistics to run off the edge of the screen in 16:10 aspect ratio

[Chaosphere]

GENERAL UPDATES

General
Players should now see fewer Plays of the Game featuring Mercy’s Resurrection ability
Increased payload speed on Eichenwalde


USER INTERFACE UPDATES

General
A new Competitive Tier legend has been added to the Competitive Play info screen
A new Match Complete splash screen has replaced the former Round Complete splash screen in competitive matches


BUG FIXES

General
Fixed a bug which prevented the Triple Kill announcement from being played after a kill streak of 3 or more
Fixed several issues causing some players obtain a skill rating that's higher than their actual rating
Note: A very small number of people were affected by these issues, but those who were affected will have their skill rating adjusted appropriately

Heroes
Fixed a bug causing the wrong arrow to be shown on Hanzo's bow, or disappear entirely (the correct arrow would still be fired)
Fixed a bug preventing Junkrat’s RIP-Tire from receiving credit for kills, achievements, and other stats

Maps
Fixed a bug allowing Reaper to Shadow Step to unintended locations on Hollywood





Waiting for that Mei nerf.

[Chaosphere]

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

New Seasonal Event: Overwatch Halloween Terror

When the shadows grow long and the nights grow cold . . . when witches cackle in the night, and ghosts roam the streets . . . it can mean only one thing: Halloween has arrived in Overwatch! Starting today, Overwatch's regular Loot Boxes have been replaced with limited-edition Halloween Loot Boxes. Each contains at least one of more than 100 Halloween-themed sprays, icons, skins, victory poses, emotes, and highlight intros. And the bravest heroes will test their mettle against a mad scientist's metal minions in Overwatch's first co-op PvE brawl: Junkenstein’s Revenge.

Welcome to Overwatch Halloween Terror!




New Feature: Leaderboards

In-game leaderboards will now show off the top 500 competitive players from each region, and a separate leaderboard will allow players to see how their competitive performance stacks up against their Battle.net friends. Plus, we’re adding leaderboards for the Overwatch Halloween Terror event that’s happening right now!

Note: After downloading the latest patch, players will need to complete at least one Competitive Play match before they’ll appear on the Battle.net friend leaderboards.



GENERAL UPDATES

General
Static cameras are now supported in spectator mode
Team names can now be edited in custom games
Raised the volume of Hanzo's Dragonstrike voice line while wearing the Okami/Lone Wolf Skin
Heroes hit by Ana's Nano Boost have a new voice line that informs other players
Increased frequency of Reinhardt's "barrier failing" voice line
Custom Games can now be paused


Competitive Play
Players who leave or are disconnected from a competitive match can now rejoin anytime while the match is still in progress
Teammates of a disconnected player can now exit a match after 2 minutes have elapsed (formerly 1 minute), and they will not receive a leaver penalty. However, they will receive a loss


Spectating
Camera movement in Spectator Mode has been improved


HERO BALANCE UPDATES

Ana
Nano Boost
Ultimate cost has been increased by 20%
Biotic Grenade
Radius has been increased from 3 to 4 meters

Developer Comments: So far, we haven't seen any indication that Ana is too strong overall, but her ultimate charges a little too fast, especially considering the impact it can have on a match. Also, her Biotic Grenades are getting a small boost to help her hit multiple targets.

Widowmaker
Widow's Kiss
Scoping-in animation time has been reduced from 0.5 to 0.33 seconds

Developer Comments: This change will help Widowmaker acquire new targets more quickly and speed up her reaction time in fast-paced situations.

Junkrat
RIP-Tire
Ability now activates more quickly

Developer Comments: Junkrat can be an extremely effective hero in the right hands, but RIP-Tire often felt underpowered when compared to his counterparts.



USER INTERFACE UPDATES

General
Hero Gallery now signify which items were unlocked during the Overwatch Halloween Terror event
Several minor aesthetic changes have been made to the game’s Main, Social, and Options menus
Removed several stats that were duplicated for certain heroes throughout the career profile
Graphics, typography, and layout have been updated in the Player Profile menu
Controller users can now choose between two aiming modes
Dual-Zone mode (New default): The vast majority of the thumbstick's range moves with reduced sensitivity and relatively high acceleration. However, when the thumbstick crosses to the outer 10% of its range, it will move with high sensitivity and relatively low acceleration. This mode will allow for more precise aiming, while still allowing players to turn around quickly
Exponential Ramp mode (Old default): As the thumbstick moves toward the outside of its range, the sensitivity is ramped up exponentially. The acceleration remains relatively high throughout


Social Features
Certain commendations will now appear less frequently during end-of-round voting, and others will appear more frequently (e.g. Torbjörn's Armor Packs Created will appear less frequently while Offensive Assists will appear more frequently)



BUG FIXES

General
Enemy players that are knocked down no longer lose their red outline
Highlight Intros previewed after opening a loot box now loop
Fixed a bug that prevented custom key bindings from saving after relaunching the game
Fixed a bug that kept players from binding Take Screenshot to other keys
Fixed a bug preventing any non-default sprays from appearing during the Play of the Game
Heroes that appeared on the main menu screen are no longer visible in the background while viewing items in the hero gallery


Maps
Fixed a bug that allowed D.Va to reach unintended locations on several maps when using Self-Destruct
Fixed a bug that allowed players to capture first objective on King’s Row from extremely high above the point
Fixed a bug that allowed the payload to heal players, even when they were negatively affected by Ana’s Biotic Grenade
Fixed a bug preventing the health bars on the Practice Range bots from displaying the effects of Ana’s Biotic Grenade
Fixed a bug preventing sprays from being applied correctly to some surfaces on Eichenwalde
Fixed a lighting issue, causing certain objects to appear darker than intended inside the Eichenwalde castle


Heroes
Smoothed the animation during Ana’s zoom-release transition
Fixed a bug causing Bastion’s bullet shells to eject backwards while in Configuration: Sentry mode
Fixed a bug causing D.Va to be teleported back to a re-spawn point if her Boosters are used inside the team’s dropship
Fixed an issue preventing Hanzo’s Sonic Arrow from appearing when selected
Fixed a bug preventing Junkrat’s statistics from correctly tracking RIP-Tire kills
Fixed a bug that prevented Junkrat’s “Roadkill” achievement from being awarded after obtaining 4 kills with RIP-Tire
Fixed an issue preventing Mercy’s staff from appearing in some highlight intros while wearing the Valkyrie, Sigrún, and Cobalt skins
Fixed a bug causing Tracer’s highlight intros to render at a lower resolution when accessed from the Highlights menu
Fixed a bug that allowed Widowmaker to use her Grappling Hook on basketballs
Symmetra's “Car Wash” achievement now correctly lists the number of beams required (6 instead of 7)
Fixed a time calculation issue that was causing Zenyatta's “Rapid Discord” achievement to be more difficult than intended


Spectating
Spectators are now able to see the Assemble Heroes countdown timer on all maps during a Custom Game
You are no longer able to see your killer’s red outline while spectating your team before respawning

[Chaosphere]

As discovered last night... Sombra is live.






PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

New Hero: Sombra (Offense)

One of the world's most notorious hackers is stepping out of the shadows: Sombra, a mysterious infiltrator who uses information to control those in power.

Sombra is a master manipulator who can hack her enemies, temporarily blocking their abilities. In addition, she can hack health packs and Torbjörn's turret, making them useless to her opponents. She uses her fully automatic Machine Pistol to take out her enemies, getting into position using her Thermoptic Camo, which allows her to become invisible and move more quickly for short periods of time. This gives her the ability to slip past enemy defenses undetected, but she's instantly revealed if she takes damage or attacks an enemy. She also has a Translocator, which can be tossed like a grenade. When it’s activated, Sombra is teleported to its location (even while it’s in flight).

Sombra's ultimate ability, EMP, discharges electromagnetic energy in a wide radius, hacking anyone caught within range and destroying enemy barriers and shields. To learn more about Sombra, click here.



New Feature: The Arcade!

Discover brand new ways to play Overwatch in the Arcade. Choose from a variety of regularly rotating game modes, maps, and rulesets that don't quite fit into Quick Play or Competitive Play. Whether it's 1-on-1 duels, 3-vs-3 skirmishes, our alternating selection of brawls, or special rulesets like “no hero switching,” you should have no problem finding a game that fits your mood. Experience is earned just like any other mode, but you can also earn Arcade-specific rewards, like Loot Boxes!




New Arena Map: Ecopoint: Antarctica

Bundle up for a journey to Ecopoint: Antarctica, the former Overwatch installation where climatologist Mei-Ling Zhou was once stationed. While researching severe weather anomalies in the region, the station was hit by an intense polar storm. Running out of options and low on supplies, the team decided to cryogenically freeze themselves until the storm passed. They believed that it would only be for a few months, but Mei awoke nearly a decade later.

Ecopoint: Antarctica is a compact new Arena map that features multiple new game modes, including a 3-vs-3 battle and 1-on-1 duel. Check it out in the Arcade.




Season 3 of Competitive Play

Competitive Play's second season will end on November 23 at 4PM PDT (November 24 at 0:00 UTC), and the third season will begin on November 30 at 4PM PDT (December 1 at 0:00 UTC). During the week-long off season, you'll still be able to queue for matches using the Competitive Play ruleset, but your skill rating will not be affected and no Competitive Points will be awarded.

We've also made a few adjustments to the skill rating system for season 3. Players will be distributed more broadly across the skill tiers, which means that your season 3 rating will probably be lower than the previous season.

Developer Comment: When season 2 started, we had more players in the Gold and Platinum skill tiers than we originally intended. This meant that skill levels varied widely for players within those tiers, and some players were achieving inappropriately high rankings during their placement matches. These players typically began the season by having their skill rating adjusted downwards after their first few matches. For season 3, skill ratings will be slightly lower after your placement matches, allowing them to increase as the season begins. After you play enough matches, your skill rating changes will return to normal.




GENERAL UPDATES

General
Made a number of data format improvements, which should decrease load times and reduce the game’s storage space requirements
Made several adjustments to the amount of experience needed to level
The amount of experience needed to reach levels 2 through 13 remains unchanged
The amount of experience needed to reach levels 14 through 100 has been slightly reduced
The amount of experience needed to reach levels after 100 is now constant (20,000 XP) and will no longer reset after each promotion


Developer Comments: With the way our experience curve works right now, players move fairly quickly through the first 23 levels of each tier (1-23, 101-123, 201-223, etc.). This is because when a player is promoted after 100 levels, the experience curve resets. While this reset has worked pretty well so far, it’s also encouraged some people to stop playing the game after they’re promotedâ€"hoping to save those first 23 levels for a seasonal event. To help address this, the experience needed for all post-promotion levels (any level after 100) is now consistently 20,000 and will no longer reset. The total experience required to gain 100 levels after a promotion is roughly unchanged, but the total experience required to earn the first 100 levels (before the first promotion) has been slightly reduced.
Quick Play matches are now restricted to one of each hero per team

Developer Comment: We’ve been monitoring your feedback to the 1-hero limit in Competitive Play. Overall, we believe the game is in a better place in terms of balance and stability with the hero limit in place. For this reason, we have decided to add the 1-hero limit to Quick Play. We understand that there are a lot of players who enjoy the ability to play multiples of the same hero, so we have introduced a new mode to the Arcade called “No Limits.” This mode uses Quick Play’s original ruleset, which allows for hero stacking.

Spectating
The number of observer slots in Custom Games has been increased from 6 to 12



HERO BALANCE CHANGES


General
Dealing damage to things other than players (like Torbjörn's turret or Symmetra's teleporter) no longer charges ultimate abilities
Ultimate costs have been increased by 25% for all heroes

Developer Comment: Game-changing ultimate abilities were coming up a bit too frequently. This change helps keep them in check while still allowing them to be powerful.



Ana
Nano Boost
No longer increases move speed

Developer Comment: The increased speed from Ana’s Nano Boost made the ability feel unstoppable and forced Ana players to select targets that could really take advantage of the speed boost. Removing the speed boost means that Ana has a reason to apply Nano Boost to a larger variety of heroes, and enemies can fend off the attack more easily.



D. Va
Call Mech
Ultimate cost has been decreased by 20%
Mech health increased to 200 (formerly 100). Armor remains at 400
Movement speed while firing has been increased by 25%

Developer Comment: We reduced the cost of the Call Mech ultimate ability to compensate for the increased ultimate cost across all heroes (detailed above). D.Va players shouldn’t experience a noticeable change. The rest of these changes help D.Va’s withstand attacks, which will allow her to keep pressuring enemies.



Lúcio
Amp It Up
Healing per second has been decreased by 10%

Developer Comment: Lúcio’s overall healing output has always been on par with (or even higher) than Overwatch’s other healers, and his other benefits made him an almost mandatory pick.



Mei
Blizzard
Ultimate cost has been increased by 15%

Developer Comment: Mei’s ultimate was recently given a much larger radius. Now it’s coming up too frequently, considering the impact it can have.



Mercy
Passive health regeneration now activates when Mercy avoids taking damage for 1 second (formerly 3 seconds)

Developer Comment: This change allows Mercy to survive more easily by evading enemy fire.



Pharah
Rocket Launcher
Minimum explosion damage has been increased by 13%
Minimum explosion knockback has been decreased to 0%
Jump Jets
Lift increased by 35%

Developer Comment: These changes will make the explosions from Pharah’s Rocket Launcher more deadly, so hitting multiple targets should feel better. Her Jump Jets are also getting a boost to increase maneuverability while hovering.



Soldier: 76
Pulse Rifle
Bullet damage increased from 17 to 20
Maximum bullet spread increased from 2.2 to 2.4

Developer Comment: Soldier: 76’s damage felt a little low when compared to similar heroes. This increase affects both his normal fire and his ultimate.



Torbjörn
Scrap is now automatically generated over time
The amount of scrap collected from a fallen enemy has been decreased by 40%
Forge Hammer
Swing speed increased by 25%
Damage decreased by 27%

Developer Comment: Armor Packs have always been a powerful tool in Torbjörn’s arsenal, but it was often difficult to gather enough scrap to give your team a legitimate boost when they needed it. Conversely, if a team held on long enough, the scrap collected from fallen enemies was often able to generate so many armor packs that enemy teams had a difficult time turning the tide. Automatically generating scrap over time helps smooth out these differences and makes Torbjörn more viable. His hammer swing speed was increased to help him construct level 2 turrets more quickly.



Widowmaker
Venom Mine
Explosion no longer damages the player who placed the mine
Widow’s Kiss
Charge rate increased by 20%

Developer Comment: These changes allow Widowmaker to be more flexible and reactive.



Zarya
Particle Barrier
Power gained from barriers decreased by 20%
Projected Barrier
Power gained from barriers decreased by 20%

Developer Comment: Considering her potential damage output, Zarya was starting to feel like a mandatory pick in most situations. Rather than reduce her damage output, this change makes achieving her maximum power and damage output slightly more difficult.




USER INTERFACE UPDATES

General
Loading screen now displays the name of the chosen game mode when playing in the Arcade


BUG FIXES
General
Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented the PC client from closing properly, making the Battle.net application think the game was still running
Fixed a bug preventing players from receiving credit toward the Most Healing Done commendation
Fixed a bug that caused the columns on Recent Players to slightly overlap each other
Fixed a bug preventing the fourth column on the friends list from being displayed properly
Fixed a navigation error that could occur when attempting to adjust video options using a controller
Players will now be removed from the Practice Range if they are AFK


AI
Fixed a bug that caused McCree bots to Combat Roll into the well on Ilios
Fixed a bug that could cause bots to get stuck in a wall near objective B on Temple of Anubis
Fixed a bug that prevented bots from moving through certain locations on Volskaya Industries


Competitive Play
Fixed a bug that could cause overtime to continue indefinitely on Assault maps
Fixed a bug that could cause matches to begin with only 11 connected players


Heroes
Fixed a bug that prevented Ana’s healing stats from showing up in the Career Profile page
Fixed a bug that prevented Ana’s custom crosshairs from displaying while zoomed
Fixed a bug causing irregular placement of the pumpkin on Genji’s “Pumpkin Carving” highlight intro with certain skins
Fixed a bug preventing Mercy’s staff from showing up in the “Guardian Angel” highlight intro with her Cobalt skin equipped
Fixed a bug preventing Reaper’s “R.I.P.” victory pose from animating correctly when the game client isn’t in focus
Fixed a bug that allowed Tracer to use Blink while rewinding with Recall
Fixed a bug preventing some of Tracer’s voice lines from activating with her Punk skin equipped
Fixed a bug preventing Zarya from gripping her gun’s handle in the “Deadlift” highlight Intro
Fixed a bug causing Zarya’s Graviton Surge to eject Reinhardt at high velocity


Maps
Fixed a typo on the bakery blackboard in Eichenwalde
Fixed a bug that allowed certain heroes to stand on unintended pillars on Ilios
Fixed a bug on Lijiang Tower that allowed heroes to reach unintended locations
Fixed a bug allowing Reaper to Shadow Step to unintended locations on Nepal
Fixed a bug that allowed players to contest the payload from a protected area above the gas station on Route 66
Fixed a bug that allowed Pharah to reach unintended locations on Volskaya Industries
Fixed a bug on Watchpoint: Gibraltar that allowed players to reach an unintended location near the final objective


Spectating
Fixed a bug that occasionally produced incorrectly colored health bars when spectating Custom Games
Not Authorized

[Chaosphere]

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS:

New Seasonal Event: Winter Wonderland

Overwatch is getting into the holiday spirit with a brand new seasonal event. For the next three weeks, Hanamura and King’s Row will be decked out in holiday lights, we’re introducing a new collection of holiday-themed cosmetic items, you can challenge your friends to a snowball fight, and our Loot Boxes will be and tied with festive bows.
Grab a mug of hot cocoa and jingle all the way to Overwatch’s Winter Wonderland.
To learn more, click here.




GENERAL UPDATES

General
Added a new “Boop” unlockable voice line for Sombra
Players can now select the 1v1 Mystery Duel and 3v3 Elimination game modes from the Custom Game menu
Added a “Stay as Team” feature, which allows players to remain grouped with their teammates after the match has ended

Josh Engen
Community Manager
27 posts
4 days ago




HERO BALANCE UPDATES

Symmetra

Photon Barrier (New Ability)
Replaces her existing Photon Shield ability
Generates a large energy barrier in front of Symmetra that blocks enemy fire as it travels forward

Shield Generator (New Ultimate Ability Option)
Symmetra's Ultimate ability now offers a choice between Teleporter and a new option: Shield Generator
Shield Generator places a device that grants additional shields to allies within its effective radius (regardless of barriers, walls, or obstacles between them and the Shield Generator)

Photon Projector (Primary Fire)
Range has been increased from 5 meters to 7 meters

Sentry Turret
Turrets that can be carried have been increased from 3 turrets to 6 turrets
Cooldown has been reduced from 12 seconds to 10 seconds

Photon Shield
Replaced with the new Photon Barrier ability

Teleporter
Health has been decreased from 200 to 50
Shields have been increased from 0 to 350

Developer Comments: We wanted to address two main issues with Symmetra. First, on the whole, we felt that she didn’t feel active enough. Second, due to the nature of her Teleporter, she felt weak in certain situations on different maps and game modes.

To address the first point, we replaced her more passive Photon Shield ability with a much more active ability: Photon Barrier. Now, Symmetra can help lead the charge on offense or help shut down a big push on defense by actively blocking damage for your team.

For the second point, we noticed players would often switch off of Symmetra once they found themselves in a situation where her Teleporter wasn’t as useful. For example, when playing her on defense on an Assault map, players often used her to defend the first capture point, then quickly switched to another hero if that point fell. To help her feel more useful in more situations, we've given her an alternative to her Teleporter. The Shield Generator is just as important for the enemy to deal with, but is useful in more situations.

The turret changes allow her to rebuild her turret nests faster. Even if all her turrets are wiped out, it's now easier for players to build them all back up before the next push.

We’re also increasing the range on her Photon Projector to make it easier for her to build up and keep a powerful charge on her target.



Zarya
Particle Barrier/Projected Barrier
Attacks like Reinhardt's Fire Strike or Hanzo's Dragonstrike that deal damage to both the barrier and the hero within the barrier, no longer deal damage to the barrier twice

Developer Comments: This is a bug fix, but we think it's significant enough to warrant a separate note. We've had a long-standing bug that caused "piercing" damage to hit Zarya's barrier twice. Sometimes this benefited Zarya (for example, jumping in front of Reinhardt's Fire Strike was a good way to generate a large amount of energy quickly), and sometimes it really hurt her (Genji’s Dragonblade, for example, would cut through her shield in one swing, instead of two). This change isn’t intended to buff or a nerf to Zarya. We're simply trying get her abilities working as they should, and we’ll keep an eye on how it affects her balance.




BUG FIXES

General
Fixed a bug that allowed more than one player to select the same hero on the Assemble Team screen, but forced one player to reselect after spawning
Fixed a bug that forced players to join Play vs. AI matches when attempting to spectate a friend
Fixed a bug causing a black screen to appear if players switched heroes as the round ended
Fixed a bug that allowed the “H” key to close the Hero Select screen even after that function had been bound to a different key

AI
Bots are no longer able to use abilities or attack enemies after a Control match has ended

Arcade
Fixed a bug that prevented players from correctly receiving experience after joining an in-progress 3v3 match
Fixed a bug preventing BattleTags from being displayed correctly during Highlight Intros and Plays of the Game in 1v1 and 3v3 matches
Fixed a bug causing the respawn timer to remain visible during 3v3 matches

Competitive Play
Fixed a bug that allowed more than one player to select the same hero in rare situations

Heroes
Fixed a bug preventing the nameplate above D.Va’s mech from disappearing while being destroyed, and displaying a “0” instead of the player’s name
Fixed a bug causing the “You” indicator (which typically only appears during killcam footage) to appear when D.Va looks directly at the ground
D.Va’s video tutorial now includes changes made to her Defense Matrix resource mechanics
Fixed a bug causing Genji’s sword to clip through its scabbard
Fixed a bug causing Junkrat’s Steel Trap animation to play when detonating a Concussion Mine
Fixed a bug causing Reinhardt’s hammer to become invisible to some players after using an emote
Fixed a bug that interfered with the accuracy of the alternate fire for Roadhog’s Scrap Gun
Fixed a bug that allowed players' Ultimate ability voice lines to play uninterrupted, even if they were hacked by Sombra during use
Fixed a bug preventing the sound effects from Torbjörn’s hammer from being played when his Ultimate ability was activated
Fixed a bug causing Widowmaker’s Grappling Hook to begin its cooldown after going through Symmetra’s Teleporter


Maps
Fixed a bug that allowed Sombra to reach unintended locations on Watchpoint: Gibraltar
Fixed a bug that prevented Mercy from using Resurrect in rare situations on King’s Row

[Chaosphere]

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS:

New Seasonal Event: Year of the Rooster

Grab your friends, family, and loved ones and get ready to ring in the Year of the Rooster.

Overwatch's Lunar New Year celebrations have begun and, for the next three weeks, we hope this seasonal event brings you happiness, prosperity, and (most importantly) lots of fun! Collect more than 100 seasonal cosmetic items from our special Lunar Loot Boxes, enjoy a festive fireworks display on Lijiang Tower, and get ready to capture the flag in Overwatch's newest brawl.
To learn more, click here.





GENERAL UPDATES

General
The “Stay as Team” button now lights up when anyone on your team clicks it
Players can now join Team Chat from the Hero Select screen
Crouch now has a very small cooldown between uses

Communication Wheel
Players can now equip up to 4 emotes, sprays, and voice lines from within the hero gallery
Voice line and emote submenus can be accessed from within the Communication wheel
Players can now bind individual sprays, emotes, and voice lines to mouse buttons, unique keys, or controller buttons

Kill Feed
Hero ability icons are now displayed in the Kill Feed
Headshot eliminations are now indicated with a red icon





HERO BALANCE UPDATES

Ana
Biotic Grenade
Effect duration has been reduced from 5 seconds to 4 seconds
Healing boost on allies has been decreased by 50%

Developer Comments: The healing boost from Ana’s Biotic Grenade was providing too much healing, especially when used on targets with large health pools.

D.Va
Health increased from 200 to 400
Armor decreased from 400 to 200
Fusion Cannons
Bullet damage decreased from 3 to 2
Number of bullets per shot has been increased from 8 to 11

Developer Comments: D.Va’s armor often made her feel like she had no weaknesses, even against heroes that are typically effective against bigger targets (like Reaper). The changes to her primary fire will result in a small overall decrease in damage, but her Fusion Cannons should feel more consistent now.

Lúcio
New Hero Option: Allow Backwards Wall Ride
When enabled, allows Lucio to start wall riding while moving backwards.


Roadhog
Chain Hook
Targets are now pulled directly in front of Roadhog (rather than straight to him), except in cases where Roadhog drastically rotates
Hooked targets are now released if they leave Roadhog’s line of sight before being pulled
Line of sight checks (which determines if targets are hit by the hook) are now done from Roadhog’s position, rather than the hook’s position

Developer Comments: The hook should now feel more consistent for Roadhog players, but it should also feel more reasonable to his enemies, as they cannot be hooked or pulled around corners anymore.

Sombra
Hack
Cooldown has been reduced from 12 seconds to 8 seconds
Time it takes to hack a target has been decreased from 1 second to 0.8 seconds

Developer Comments: Sombra often had difficulty hacking enemies, even when she surprised the target. This change should help her execute hacks more easily.





BUG FIXES

General
Fixed a bug allowing spectators to utilize the “Stay as Team” button during the end of a game
Fixed a bug that caused the “Stay as Team” button to overlap with the Back button on the Social menu
Fixed a bug preventing the Social menu from not correctly displaying World of Warcraft zones that have an apostrophe in the name
Fixed a bug causing heroes to display a T-pose on the victory screen after a Mystery Heroes brawl
Fixed a bug preventing Simple Checkout from being navigated by a controller on PC
Fixed a bug preventing Alt+Tab from properly minimizing the game client while in fullscreen mode
Fixed a bug preventing the Kill Feed from displaying the destruction of Teleporters, Shield Generators, and Turrets


AI
Fixed a bug that prevented the Roadhog bot from being able to hook players through Reinhardt’s shield
Fixed a bug that allowed the Sombra bot to hack through barriers
Fixed a bug that made the Torbjörn bot unresponsive after placing a turret


Competitive Play
Fixed a bug preventing players from receiving XP for playing offseason games


Heroes
Fixed a visual bug with Ana’s “Toast” victory pose, causing her cup to appear blurry on the right side of the screen
Fixed a bug causing a graphics issue with McCree’s “Hat Trick” emote
Fixed a bug preventing the countdown timer from appearing on Mei’s Cryo-Freeze ability
Fixed a bug with the placement of Mercy’s wings on her Valkyrie and Sigrún skins
Fixed a bug preventing Symmetra’s Photon Barrier from playing its destruction sound effect when it is destroyed
Fixed a bug causing Tracer’s “You Got It” voice line to play an incorrect line
Fixed a bug preventing Widowmaker’s Venom Mine from attaching to walls
Fixed a bug preventing Zenyatta’s Nutcracker skin from receiving a golden glow while using his Transcendence ultimate ability


Maps
Fixed a bug preventing Pharah from being able to refuel while standing in some planters in Oasis
Fixed a bug that caused Sombra to get stuck under the bridge in Eichenwalde
Fixed a bug that caused Sombra to get stuck behind rocks in Route 66
Fixed a bug that allowed Symmetra to place her Shield Generator in unintended locations in Watchpoint: Gibraltar
Fixed a bug that allowed Widowmaker to perch on an unintended location in Eichenwalde
Fixed a bug that allowed Widowmaker to reach unintended locations in Ecopoint: Antarctica
Fixed several visual artifacts on the Practice Range
Fixed a bug preventing some projectiles from destroying the piñatas in Dorado
Fixed a bug with the size of the capture point on the garden tier in Oasis
Fixed an issue preventing the glass railings in Oasis from being easily broken by a melee attack

[Chaosphere]

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS:

New Feature: Game Browser

Starting today, every player can create their own, unique Overwatch experience and share it with their friends, teammates, or the entire world. Introducing the Game Browser.

An extension of Overwatch's Custom Game mode, the Game Browser allows you to adjust the settings on various maps, modes, and heroes to create your own tailor-made match. For example, if you want to increase the speed of Pharah’s rockets or remove the cooldown from McCree's Combat Roll, the power is yours. Once you're happy with your settings, and you're ready to launch your game, you'll need to set up permissions. You can limit the people who can join your game by toggling the "Friends Only" or "Invite Only" options, but if you want to put your strange creation to a real test, set your server to "Public" and click the launch button.

If you'd like to learn more about the Game Browser, click here.

New Mode: Capture the Flag

Capture the Rooster has been, without a doubt, Overwatch’s most popular brawl. We don’t want the excitement to end, so we’re bringing Capture the Flag to the Arcade as an ongoing game mode. Starting today, we’re adding Capture the Flag versions of Nepal, Lijiang Tower, Ilios, and Oasis, which gives you 12 maps to try when creating a Custom Game.




HERO UPDATES

Ana
New Hero Option: Nano Boost Sensitivity
Allows players to adjust Nano Boost’s targeting sensitivity

Bastion
Configuration: Sentry
Reconfiguration time decreased from 1.5 seconds to 1.0 second
Bullet spread increased by 50%
Bullet spread is always at maximum (it no longer increases as the weapon is fired)
Magazine size increased from 200 to 300
No longer deals critical damage

Configuration: Recon
Bullet spread decreased by 25%
Magazine size increased from 20 to 25

Self-Repair
Can now be used while moving
Now bound to secondary fire (formerly Ability 2)
No longer interrupted by taking damage
A new resource meter has been added that depletes while Self-Repair is active and recharges when not in use

Configuration: Tank
No longer grants bonus armor

New Passive Ability: Ironclad
Bastion takes 35% less damage while in Configuration: Sentry or Tank

Developer Comments: The goal of these changes is to move some of Bastion's power from Configuration: Sentry to Recon, while keeping its sentry mode a strong option, especially versus tanks and barriers. Overall, Bastion should feel stronger and more flexible with these changes.

D.Va
Defense Matrix
Enemy shots no longer need to travel a minimum distance before they can be blocked

Developer Comments: Previously, there was a minimum distance a projectile had to travel before it could be destroyed by Defense Matrix. This made it nearly worthless in situations where an enemy was right next to your teammate, such as when Roadhog hooks your ally. This change removes that restriction so Defense Matrix should now reliably destroy projectiles regardless of how far they have traveled.

Mei
Cryo-Freeze
Mei can now be targeted by allies while in Cryo-Freeze


Mercy
Resurrect
While performing a resurrection, Mercy now becomes temporarily invulnerable along with the allies being revived

Caduceus Staff
Zenyatta can no longer be targeted when Transcendence is active

New Hero Option: Guardian Angel Sensitivity
Allows players to adjust Guardian Angel’s targeting sensitivity

New Hero Option: Beam Sensitivity
Allows players to adjust targeting sensitivity on Mercy’s Caduceus Staff beams

Developer Comments: Mercy’s Resurrect has always been very powerful, but it often forces her to sacrifice herself to use it well. There have been changes in the past that attempted to help her in this area, but haven’t done enough to solve it. This change means that once she uses the ability, she will always survive long enough to be with her team again.

Roadhog: The Nerf Continues
Scrap Gun
Spread decreased by 20%
Chain Hook
Targets are now pulled to a location 3.5 meters away, up from 2 meters
Cooldown increased from 6 to 8

Developer Comments: The Roadhog changes overall reduce the power of his hook a bit, but his gun is now more effective when not using the hook.

Sombra
New Hero Option: Hack Sensitivity
Allows players to adjust the targeting sensitivity on Sombra’s Hack ability


Symmetra
Sentry Turret
[CONSOLE] Damage per second increased from 21 to 25.5

Developer Comments: Back in July, the damage per second from Symmetra’s turrets was reduced by 30 percent. We’ve been keeping an eye on her over the past few months and decided to restore about 15 percent of that damage. On PC, her damage is still 30.

Torbjörn
Rivet Gun
Ammo is now loaded earlier in the reload animation
Build Turret
[CONSOLE] Damage increased from 10 to 12

Developer Comments: Like Symmetra, the damage from Torbjörn’s turrets was also reduced by 30 percent in July. After monitoring his effectiveness, we’ve decided to give his turret a small boost, restoring about 15 percent of the damage. By contrast, the damage from Torbjörn’s turret on PC is still 14.

Widowmaker
New Hero Option: Grappling Hook Sensitivity
Allows players to adjust Grappling Hook’s targeting sensitivity


Winston
Critical hit volume reduced by 15%

Developer Comments: Winston's head hit volume was just abnormally big, making him take more damage than he otherwise should. This change brings it more in line with other heroes.

Zarya
New Hero Option: Projected Barrier Sensitivity
Allows players to adjust Projected Barrier’s targeting sensitivity


Zenyatta
New Hero Option: Harmony Orb Sensitivity
Allows players to adjust Harmony Orb’s targeting sensitivity
New Hero Option: Discord Orb Sensitivity
Allows players to adjust Discord Orb’s targeting sensitivity



COMPETITIVE PLAY

General
Skill ratings below 500 will no longer be displayed.

Developer Comments: We’ve noticed that some players have been deliberately throwing their matches in an effort to reach the lowest attainable skill rating. We obviously don’t want to incentivize this behavior, because Competitive Play works best when everybody is trying.



MAP BALANCE CHANGES

General
Respawn Delay
When attackers outnumber defenders while taking a control point on Assault, Escort and Assault/Escort maps, the defenders’ respawn time will slowly increase until it hits a maximum value or the defense manages to gain the upper hand.

Developer Comments: Until now, stalling an attack by repeatedly throwing yourself at the point has been a common defensive strategy on Assault, Escort and Assault/Escort mapsâ€"even when the attackers have a decisive advantage. Typically, this tactic doesn’t change the outcome of battle; it simply delays the attackers’ progress.

Eichenwalde
A second gate no longer closes after the payload passes through the castle doors. Instead, rubble from the damaged doorway partially blocks the entrance.

Developer Comments: Once the offensive team gets through the castle entrance, the map becomes very heavily stacked in the defense’s favor. This change will give the offense more entrance options, which should improve the map’s overall balance.


BUG FIXES

General
Fixed an audio bug that prevented the point capture sound from increasing in pitch as the capture progressed
Fixed an issue preventing key bindings on the communication wheel from displaying properly
Fixed a bug causing some key bindings to revert to default after the first round of a Control map
Fixed a bug that allowed commendation cards to be recalculated and transferred to a new player after the previous recipient left at the end of a round
Fixed a bug that caused the “experience gained” audio effects to continue playing, even after the players left the game lobby
Environmental damage to barriers no longer counts toward the "Damage Blocked" statistic


A.I.
Fixed a bug that caused Roadhog bot to spin around after hooking a target


Competitive Play
Fixed a bug preventing “60 seconds remaining” and “30 seconds remaining” voice lines from playing during the second round of a match


Heroes
Fixed a bug preventing Lucio’s “Sound Barriers Provided” statistic from being properly calculated
Fixed a bug preventing Reinhardt’s Charge from properly pinning targets
Fixed a bug preventing Reinhardt’s shield from displaying cracks at low health with the Wujing skin equipped
Fixed a bug that allowed Roadhog to turn freely while pulling a hooked target
Fixed an issue that allowed Sombra’s Translocator to become stuck in the air
Fixed a bug preventing Tracer’s ”Clock’s Tickin’’ spray from matching the thumbnail in the Hero Gallery


Maps
Adjusted the collision in the attacker spawn room on Eichenwalde to prevent players from getting stuck in the pipes
Torbjörn can now construct turrets on the stairs in Oasis
Fixed an issue that caused Highlight Intros to clip into the roof of a building on Lijang Tower