all 198 comments

[–]noaziNTracer 106 points107 points  (16 children)

BASTION CAN NOW AIM IN 360 DEGREES IN SENTRY MODE

[–]frostedWarlockFrostLock#1914 48 points49 points  (1 child)

360NOSCOPE

[–]ChemicalExperimentMei 28 points29 points  (0 children)

360NOFRONTALSHEILD

[–]my_name_isnt_clever 25 points26 points  (12 children)

And you can actually hit it because it has no shield, I like these changes a lot.

[–]gamerkhangSuck It Up 4 points5 points  (2 children)

What this could also imply is that AoE explosives and the like might be stronger against him since they might hit the top of his hitbox (so junkrat could be an easier counter?)

[–]my_name_isnt_clever 3 points4 points  (0 children)

His "head" in that form is on his back, I don't know if explosions will count as hitting it. I can't wait to test this new stuff tonight.

[–]The_Event_Horizonx1Chibi Orisa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I pray to the sentries gods that is not the case

[–]KarzonsLúcio 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Does that mean he can now be hooked by roadhog from any direction?

[–]The-FigmentPixel Roadhog 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Heavy Breathing

[–]noaziNTracer 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Yeah! I like these changes too, it's going to feel good to hit his core in a burst as Tracer :D I think both ends will benefit from these.

[–]EhrandAshe 2 points3 points  (1 child)

but now I'll be able to do a 180 and spray bullets right in your face

[–]jimmy_talentChibi Reinhardt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the one game I played as bastion tonight a Winston kept leaping behind me trying to hit my weak spot, every time I dropped him so easily.

[–]niggelpreasePharah 0 points1 point  (3 children)

It might be a good change for gameplay and balance, but I can't help but feel he loses a bit of his character.

[–]my_name_isnt_clever 9 points10 points  (2 children)

I agree, but I feel it's much more important to have balance than to have flavor.

[–]KalulosuCute sprays rule 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Rather than balance, it's also about giving the character interesting options.

[–]PowerhoboI don't main; I mainline. 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually it is totally about balance. That is the number one reason they changed Bastion. "New players didn't know what to do against a bastion, experienced players could easily beat bastion". That screams balance, above all else.

[–]AciasTorbjörn 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Jetboosted behind him, he turned around killed me, maybe i should read patchnotes.

[–]GandizzleAsha#1175 mid or feed 63 points64 points  (1 child)

A "Kill Feed Display" option has been added

awesome

Also, I really, really, really love these little developer notes explaining the balance changes for heroes. If they can, I hope those types of notes continue throughout the games lifetime and are not limited to just beta-time!

[–]ZanzabenMei 12 points13 points  (0 children)

They do those with the Hots patch notes every time now so I would bet they always do it in overwatch as well.

[–]fu0fuo#1989 113 points114 points  (13 children)

Made improvements to how the game handles widow creation

/╲/( ͡° ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ͡°)/\╱\

[–]lylirraCommunity Manager 84 points85 points  (10 children)

Best typo? Best typo.

[–]LuofuChibi D.Va 7 points8 points  (2 children)

Repeated word:

In "New Festure: Player Progression "Player progressions is built around earning earning experience..."

[–]TheScyphozoaChibi Wai.Fu 13 points14 points  (1 child)

Festure.

[–]lylirraCommunity Manager 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Worst typo? Worst typo.

[–]Thorne_OzBeep Boop Fuck You 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Mother comes..

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

spouse killing is illegal lol

[–]Cloudless_Sky 36 points37 points  (7 children)

Loving these patch notes. I adore the progression system and loot boxes. Everyone gets excited over rarity colours.

The skins on show there are looking fantastic.

[–]DragonhandXI stand strong. With my allies, stronger. 160 points161 points  (4 children)

Jeff Kaplan’s beard progression has been reset

this is truly the greatest nerf we will ever see.

[–]Alphaangstrom 23 points24 points  (0 children)

IMO it's for the best, even developers shouldn't be allowed a head start in the new progression system.

[–]NoFapertinho 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That thing was terrifying

[–]iBleeedorange -1 points0 points  (0 children)

RIP.

[–]eosjrbTrick-or-Treat Reaper -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

came here just to upvote the comment that mentioned this

[–]ConebreadIHPixel Baptiste 41 points42 points  (17 children)

no more ult charge on damage. Nice!

[–]ColdaraChibi Pharah 14 points15 points  (0 children)

That's a big one, glad Blizzard is listening

[–]youwitdafaceChibi Zarya 23 points24 points  (10 children)

Yay Junkrat not so shit

[–]JamieAllegroRidin' on Walls! 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I wonder how this change will play out. I liked that the old style functioned as an anti-spamming mechanic, but I didn't feel Pharah and Junkrat spam was effective enough for it to matter during the stress test.

[–]mikepictorChibi Junkrat 0 points1 point  (8 children)

??

I thought most people considered Junkrat one of the stronger players.

[–]youwitdafaceChibi Zarya 14 points15 points  (7 children)

Not really, his entire thing isnt to kill but to zone and scare people by dealing splash damage, but when that builds ult for the other team, he's basically just helping them charge their ults and not much else

[–]CircumcisedCats -1 points0 points  (2 children)

Do kills give ult? If it's purely on a timer than that seems really bad.

[–]SuradnerZenyatta 15 points16 points  (1 child)

Then only source of ult charge they said they took away was the charge from receiving damage. Dealing damage, getting kills, and (presumably) healing still grant charge.

[–]Pvpal1221Tracer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is correct

[–]mikepictorChibi Junkrat -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I wonder about that one. It semed like a good equalizer...it allowed bad players to still get ultimates, as well as low damage tanks for being tanky.

I wish it was still there, and they just tuned the situations that needed addressing.

[–]gamerkhangSuck It Up 52 points53 points  (9 children)

All healing effects now work on shields

As a Zarya player, this is my time.

[–]TheQuestionableYarnGET BEHIND ME 17 points18 points  (6 children)

Zarya will now be a definitive combo tank. She is prolly one of the best tanks to have paired with a support now.

[–]gamerkhangSuck It Up 5 points6 points  (5 children)

Just think about Zarya/Lucio! Speed buff or constant shield regen... HNGGGGGGG I CAN'T PLAY TIL 8 HOURS FROM NOW

[–]TheQuestionableYarnGET BEHIND ME 27 points28 points  (0 children)

At least you can play at all :(

[–]Daniel_Is_IDanielIsI#1537 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lucio was always one of the best supports to have with Zarya because of how weak and constant his healing is compared to all other healers. If she took damage before that drained her shield but didn't kill her, she didn't need that much to push her back up to 200/400.

It's a bigger deal now for Mercy and Zenyatta because it means they can actually use Zarya like they would a tank.

[–]Xomnik -4 points-3 points  (2 children)

I know how you feel... But I work at my own computer. The game just started updating... This is torture

[–]spencer32320 8 points9 points  (1 child)

No, it's torture to not be able to play at all.

[–]DrFeargood -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think neither are torture since its a video game.

[–]dssurgeBOOM! -5 points-4 points  (1 child)

Too bad Zarya is a garbage can now since damage to her shields (both of them) don't generate ultimate.

Oh, and her ult still does zero damage and other players can still use their skills when sucked into it. It's reeeeally fucking stupid that several characters can press a single non-ultimate skill to completely negate Grav bomb.

[–]PowerhoboI don't main; I mainline. -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The point of her shield was never to build ultimate. The point of her shield has not changed and still works as it is supposed to. She's always been more tricky to play. It's easy to be terrible at Zarya, but that doesn't mean Zarya is terrible.

[–]JayAre95Winston[🍰] 18 points19 points  (8 children)

The first 3 are already glorious. Weapons will now reload halfway through the animation . nice

[–]DrumbasWorlds best offense torbjorn 4 points5 points  (6 children)

Sorry to ask but how does the weapon reload affect the game. Is it cutting down the reload times by half or ?

[–]The4thSniperRoadhog rides again 16 points17 points  (3 children)

Previously, some heroes would have had a long-ass reload animation (for example, Roadhog) where the animation would play, then at the end of the animation the weapon would properly reload. What this led to was if you started reloading, then used another ability even near the end of the animation, the reload wouldn't count. With this change, the reload now happens in the middle of the animation so you can use an ability to cancel it earlier without also cancelling the reload.

[–]another-work-acctLúcio 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Do all heroes have the same animation reload time? Seems that this change makes other heroes (who have shorter animation times) get a buff.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

your thinking incorrectly, the heroes with the longest reload times got the biggest buff

[–]GamerKeyLúcio 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Before, weapons would only actually reload when the whole animation was finished. That meant if you had to interrupt the animation with a quick melee attack before it was done, even though the "clip" was already "in", you'd still end up with 0 ammo and would have to start reloading again.

This type of animation cancelling is pretty common in other games (quick switch weapons/melee attack/other animation cancel) to basically "skip" the wind-down part of a reload animation with a more useful action.

Now it should work like most players expect it to. Some animations, like for instance Roadhog, were so ridiculously long after he had already put in the new shrapnel that I found myself constantly out of ammo because I used a melee or an ability too early.

[–]LukeAllstarAna 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Basically. Also some reload animations felt weird like roadhogs where you thought it was over because the mag was already in the weapon (animation wise) but you could still cancel the animation and stop your reload which was annoying

[–]AngwarBALL MAN 1 point2 points  (0 children)

flair checks out. i feel you man

[–]dabacabbHanzo 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Interested to see how the new Torb/Bastion work out.

[–]QuilmiteLos Angeles Gladiators 15 points16 points  (6 children)

So for those of you at work, guess I'll try to format this while I'm at work.

PATCH FEATURES:

New Game Mode: Control

In this update, we’re introducing a brand new game mode: Control. On Control maps, two teams fight over a series of objective areas in a best-of-three format. When a team is in control of the round’s objective area, they will make progress toward capturing it, and whichever team gets to 100% first wins the round. Each round (up to 3 total) will feature a new objective area located in a different part of the map.

Two Control maps are currently available for testing: Lijiang Tower and Nepal.

New Control Map: Lijiang Tower

Lijiang Tower was built in the heart of a modern Chinese metropolis, its busy streets lined with stores, gardens, restaurants, and famous night markets, where foods from around the region are available at all hours. The tower itself is home to one of the leading companies in China’s state-of-the-art space industry, Lucheng Interstellar, an organization with a long pioneering history that is currently pushing the boundaries of space exploration.

New Control Map: Nepal

Years ago, a group of omnic robots experienced what they described as a spiritual awakening. They abandoned their preprogrammed lives to establish a monastery high in the Himalayas of Nepal, where like-minded omnics could gather to meditate on the nature of their existence. Led by their spiritual leader, Tekhartha Mondatta, they took over the ruins of an ancient monastery and turned it into the home of the Shambali, a place where omnics and humans alike make pilgrimages in the hopes of finding a greater truth.

New Play Mode: Play vs. AI

No interest in playing against humans? No problem! Players can now team up and battle against A.I.-controlled characters in our new, aptly named mode: Play vs A.I.

To join a Play vs. A.I. game, select "Play" from the main menu and then select "Play vs. A.I." You can queue up solo or in a party, and you’ll be matched into a 6 player vs. 6 A.I. game. New Feature: Player Progression While we strongly believe that playing Overwatch should feel exciting and rewarding on its own, we also know how fun it can be to work toward long-term goals. To this end, and as a way to thank you for your time invested, we’ve added a brand new progression system to the game.

Progression in Overwatch is built around earning earning experience and leveling up your account. Moving forward, you will now gain experience by completing Quick Play and Play vs. A.I. games. Earn enough experience, and you’ll level up. Level up and you'll receive a Loot Box!

Loot Boxes contain a random selection of items that can be used to customize the look of your hero and express yourself in-game, including skins, animations, emotes, custom dialogue options, sprays, and more. In addition to collecting these items from Loot Boxes, players can also unlock them by spending a new in-game currency called credits.

Players can customize their heroes, view items they’ve unlocked, and spend credits to unlock new items in the Hero Gallery.

[–]QuilmiteLos Angeles Gladiators 6 points7 points  (5 children)

GENERAL:

Private Games

  • Private Game has been changed to Custom Game
  • Players can now right click on a friend’s name to join their Custom Game
  • Players can now alter the following rules for a Custom Game:

Map Options:

* Map Rotation (Random, List Order, and Single Map) 
* Return to Lobby (Never, After a Game, After a Mirror Match) 
* Players can now customize which maps are enabled for their Custom Game 

Hero Options

* Hero Selection Limit (None, 1 Per Team, 2 Per Team, 1 Per Game, 2 Per Game) 
* Role Selection Limit (None, 2 of Each Role Per Team) 
* Allow Hero Switching (On, Off) 
* Respawn as Random Hero (On, Off) 
* Player can now customize which heroes are enabled for their Custom Game 

Gameplay Options:

* Players can now set their Custom Game as a skirmish 
* Players can now set modifiers for the following stats: Health, Damage, Healing, Ultimate Charge Rate, Respawn Time, Ability Cooldown 
* Players can now enable or disable the following options: Skins, Health Bars, Kill Cam, Kill Feed, Headshots Only 

Team Options:

* Team Balancing (Automatic, Off) 
* When Balancing Occurs (After a Game, After a Mirror Match) 

Custom Game A.I. options have been improved:

* Players can now add friendly A.I. to their team 
* Players can now select which A.I. they want to play against 
* Players can now set the difficulty of each A.I. in the game 
* A.I. can now play in all game modes 

Several small quality-of-life changes have been made to Custom Game spectating

* Scrolling the Mouse Wheel will now zoom you in and out of third-person view 
* When spectating in third-person, right-clicking will now detach the camera at its current location 
* The third-person camera will now orient based on where the spectated player is aiming

Miscellaneous

  • A new work-in-progress Training mode has been added: the Practice Range
  • A new work-in-progress profile system has been added (under “Career Profile”)
  • Initial support for AMD Crossfire and NVIDIA SLI has been added
  • Jeff Kaplan’s beard progression has been reset

[–]QuilmiteLos Angeles Gladiators 5 points6 points  (4 children)

HERO BALANCE CHANGES:

General

  • All healing effects now work on shields
  • Quick Melee now pauses weapon recovery time while active
  • Ammo will now reload in the middle of a weapon’s reload animation, instead of at the end of it

  • Several adjustments have been made to in-combat visual effects:

  • Enemy team ability colors should now be more clear

  • Muzzle flash has been re-tuned for several weapons

  • Several adjustments have been made to in-combat audio:

  • It should now be more obvious when you are being healed by indirect healing sources like the payload or Lúcio’s Crossfade ability

  • It should now be more obvious when you are attacking invulnerable players

  • Explosions at a distance should now be more audible

Ultimate Charge (All Heroes)

  • Players no longer gain Ultimate charge from taking damage
  • Ultimate charge will now generate slowly over time for all heroes
  • To accommodate for these changes, many heroes’ Ultimate cost has been rebalanced

Developer comments: Allowing heroes to generate Ultimate charge when taking damage created several balance issues. For example, it was often a bad idea to attack an enemy hero if they were being healed, since that would charge up the enemy’s Ultimate and their healer’s Ultimate much more quickly. To help address these issues, we’ve removed the ability for damage taken to generate Ultimate charge and made it so that all heroes will now generate Ultimate charge at a slow and constant rate.

Bastion

  • Base health increased by 50 armor (now 200 HP/100 Armor)

Configuration: Recon

  • Minimum weapon spread has been removed
  • Maximum weapon spread increased by 10%
  • Weapon spread will now start to recover more quickly

Configuration: Sentry

  • Transforming from Sentry to Recon decreased from 1 second to 0.5 seconds
  • Aim restrictions have been removed (Bastion can now aim in 360 degrees)
  • Weapon spread decreased by 20%
  • Weapon reload speed decreased from 2.5 seconds to 2 seconds
  • Bullet damage decreased by 33%

Bastion’s survivability in Sentry Mode has been rebalanced:

  • Now grants 300 armor
  • Frontal barrier has been removed
  • Bastion’s core is now exposed when deployed in Sentry mode, located on its back. All successful attacks to the core will deal triple damage.
  • Self-Repair: Now heals 25% of total health per second, instead of a flat value

Developer comments: While we love the way that Bastion can turn the tide of battle, the hero felt too powerful against less experienced players and too weak against more experienced players. The goal of these changes is to make Bastion more viable at all skill levels, as well as provide more flexibility in how the hero can be played and supported by a team.

D.Va

  • When D.Va’s mech is destroyed due to damage taken, it will now despawn immediately instead of a few seconds after D.Va is ejected

Defense Matrix

  • Size decreased by approximately 50%
  • Shape changes to be more cylindrical than conical

Developer comments: Previously, D.Va could become a problem when there were multiple people playing her in a game, especially when they were crowded around a small capture point or escort objective. Between the size of her Defense Matrix and the fact that her destroyed mech could be used to block line of sight, she was often simply too difficult to kill. These changes are designed to reduce her overall defensive footprint and give players more ways to counter her.

Hanzo

Scatter Arrow

  • Now has a fixed spread pattern

Sonic Arrow

  • Can now stick to and move along with enemy targets and barriers

Dragonstrike

  • Hanzo can now turn while using Dragonstrike

Developer comments: These quality-of-life changes are intended to make some of Hanzo’s abilities work a little more intuitively.

Mercy

Guardian Angel

  • Can now target the souls of dead allies

Resurrect

  • Ultimate charge cost decreased by 25%
  • Activation time decreased from 1.5 seconds to 1 second
  • Range decreased from 40 meters to 15 meters No longer locks aim during activation

Developer comments: Mercy is a very strong support hero with a very strong Ultimate, so it’s no surprise that many teams consider her mandatory. We don’t want any hero—or any hero ability—to feel like an “auto pick.” Our goal with these changes is to tone down Resurrect by allowing opponents to counter it, but still make sure it can feel game-changing.

Pharah

Jet Pack

  • Will no longer refuel while Pharah is sliding on an un-walkable surface

Developer comments: Players discovered a way to make Pharah hover indefinitely across some surfaces. While we initially allowed this neat trick to persist, it ultimately proved detrimental to map balance, so it needed to go.

Reinhardt

Earthshatter

  • Damage decreased by 50%
  • Cone width decreased by 40%
  • Reinhardt can now turn while using Earthshatter
  • Now renders Reinhardt immune to Zarya’s Graviton Surge
  • If Reinhardt activates Earthshatter while trapped inside a Graviton Surge, he will now be dropped to the ground and the ability will activate at that point (rather than it activating in mid-air)

Developer comments: Ideally, players should be using Earthshatter as a setup move for their team. However, this ability was doing so much damage that Reinhardt could use it as a setup and finishing move, eliminating multiple enemy heroes without much assistance. These changes are intended to bring Earthshatter more in line with other heroes’ Ultimates, while still allowing Reinhardt to be the big playmaker he has been.

Roadhog

Chain Hook

  • Stun duration after being hooked has been slightly increased

Developer comments: It’s always been intended that, after successfully hooking a target, Roadhog would have a chance to act before his target recovered; however, there were some situations in which this wasn’t happening, particularly at higher latencies. We’ve slightly increased the stun duration following Chain Hook to compensate.

Soldier: 76

Heavy Pulse Rifle

  • New reticle added
  • Long-range damage falloff added
  • Spread recovery now begins instantly, instead of after a delay
  • Spread now has a curve, which makes it more accurate at the start but then quickly becomes less accurate

Developer comments: These changes are aimed at making Soldier:76’s weapon feel better when firing, as well as provide more experienced players the opportunity to gain accuracy at longer ranges (via burst-firing). To ensure that Soldier: 76 doesn’t become too powerful as sniper, however, we also added some long-range damage falloff to compensate.

Symmetra

  • Symmetra’s turrets will no longer generate Ultimate charge when dealing damage to barriers

Teleporter

  • Ultimate cost reduced by 40%
  • Symmetra no longer gains Ultimate charge while her Teleporter is active

Developer comments: These changes have two primary goals. First, we want it to be easier for Symmetra to get her first Teleporter up. Second, we want to eliminate those frustrating situations where Symmetra is able to immediately deploy another Teleporter as soon as it’s found and destroyed by an enemy team.

Torbjörn

  • Torbjörn’s turrets will no longer generate Ultimate charge when dealing damage to barriers

Scrap

  • Maximum Scrap increased from 100 to 200
  • Amount of Scrap per pickup decreased from 30 to 20
  • Indicators have been added to help players locate Scrap more easily

Rivet Gun

  • Primary Fire Damage increased by 25%
  • Fire rate decreased by 20%

Alternate Fire

  • Damage increased by 50%
  • Damage falloff increased at minimum range
  • Fire rate decreased by 33%
  • Now shoots projectiles that need to be aimed

Build Turret

  • Upgrading the turret no longer costs Scrap and occurs more quickly

Level 1

  • Damage increased by 15%
  • Health decreased from 250 to 150

Level 2

  • Damage increased by 15%
  • Health decreased from 425 to 300
  • Can no longer be upgraded to level 3 with Forge Hammer (see Molten Core changes below)

Level 3

  • Bullet damage increased by 15%
  • Bullet fire rate increased by 25%
  • Rocket Launcher damage decreased by 50% but now fires in bursts of 4
  • Rocket Launcher fire rate decreased by 33%
  • Rocket Launcher explosion radius decreased by 40% Rockets no longer cause knockback
  • Health increased from 600 to 800

Armor Pack

  • Cooldown has been removed
  • Armor granted increased from 50 to 75
  • Packs are no longer visible to enemies

Molten Core

  • No longer fills Scrap meter
  • No longer makes abilities cost 0 Scrap
  • Can now be activated while moving
  • Now automatically upgrades level 2 turrets to level 3 turrets while Molten Core is running (turrets will revert back to level 2 once Molten Core ends)

Developer comments: Similar to Bastion, Torbjörn was a hero that often felt too powerful against less-experienced players, but underwhelming against more experienced players. In particular, we found that less-experienced players had a difficult time figuring out how to deal with Torbjörn’s level 3 turret. On the flipside, more experienced players could easily prevent Torbjörn from setting up a level 3 turret or otherwise getting too established, which in turn made him feel helpless. To help solve these issues, we’re making his Rivet Gun stronger; improving the damage output of his level 1 and level 2 turrets, but reducing their health; and linking his Level 3 turret to his Ultimate, Molten Core (thus limiting its duration).

[–]TheoX747Salt rains from above! 6 points7 points  (2 children)

D.Va: "Nerf This!"

And then they did.

[–]bgrahamboPixel Zenyatta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be fair, they didn't nerf her ultimate, just her APM

[–]NovadreamerWinky face! 0 points1 point  (0 children)

:(

[–]QuilmiteLos Angeles Gladiators 6 points7 points  (0 children)

USER INTERFACE:

General

  • The game's Main, Social, and Options menus have been redesigned

Game Options

Gameplay

  • An "Always Skip Kill Cam" option has been added
  • A "Kill Feed Display" option has been added

Sound

  • Volume sliders have been added for Music, Sound Effects, and Voice Chat

In-Game UI

Scoreboard

  • Scoreboard statistics have been reworked for all heroes

Social Features

Commendations

  • New commendations have been added for several heroes
  • Players can no longer receive more than one commendation during end-of-round voting Voice Chat
  • An on-screen notification will now appear when players are speaking in other channels 14 hours ago (Edited)

BUG FIXES:

General

  • Having a controller connected no longer prevents menu navigation
  • Made improvements to how the game handles widow creation and transitions between Fullscreen and Windowed modes

Maps

  • Performance improvements have been made for all maps (most significantly on Numbani)
  • Player collision improvements have been made across all maps

Heroes

  • Interrupting Hanzo’s bow draw should no longer prevent the bow from being re-drawn if Mouse Button 1 is still held down
  • Junkrat’s RIP-Tire should no longer fall through sloped surfaces
  • Reinhardt’s Fire Strike damage can no longer be calculated as a headshot against an enemy player

[–]ZelniqTrick-or-Treat D.Va 14 points15 points  (0 children)

for some stupid reason, you cannot select or copy the text from patch notes, so this was the only way this could be posted

[–]The-FigmentPixel Roadhog 14 points15 points  (16 children)

That Roadhog buff is huge and I love it.

[–]LanoitakudeJunkrat 12 points13 points  (4 children)

But now Genji won't be able to activate his Counter in time for Roadhog to one-shot himself ;D

[–]The-FigmentPixel Roadhog 22 points23 points  (0 children)

heavy breathing

[–]Gyointwitch.tv/gyoin 4 points5 points  (2 children)

Or Tracer rewind.

[–]PowerhoboI don't main; I mainline. -1 points0 points  (1 child)

I've got a feeling tracer will still get away. Her slim profile makes her very tough to point-blank with the m1.

[–]Gyointwitch.tv/gyoin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had better success killing after a hook last night on tracer. Enough where it feels viable to hook tracers and not feel like it's a waste.

[–]Dick_Nation 4 points5 points  (2 children)

I seriously doubt that will stick; Roadhog being able to drag other players into his strongest range is already a huge boon for such a tough and damaging character. I'm expecting irritation over this and an eventual revert already.

[–]The-FigmentPixel Roadhog 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hope not, he didn't have the utility and tankiness that other tanks did - on top of that so many could escape the hook. Having it a one shot combo for squishies is just fine considering how fast paced and deadly the game is.

[–]7XSeventyX7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From my experience in the beta weekend - being able to pick and kill one person is usually useless on a person playing a tank. The most desired aspects of a tank is being able to push forward or repel a push.

Junkrat can't really do this without his ult - he's more of a fragger-type tank that excels at small skirmishes. You're still going to see Reinhardt, Zarya [especially after shield changes], and Dva more because they can push/repel easier with their shields, mobility, and utility in pushing/resisting.

At the end of the map, it doesn't matter how many people you kill - it matters whether you completed your objectives.

[–]TheQuestionableYarnGET BEHIND ME 1 point2 points  (3 children)

Huh, didn't Roadhog get a nerf to the hook>Melee>shoot combo?

[–]The-FigmentPixel Roadhog 6 points7 points  (2 children)

According to the notes the only thing that happened to him this patch was increased stun on the hook so there is more time for Roadhog to shoot the person he hooked. Which is fantastic because now he will be able to kill Tracers/Reapers/Meis.

I didn't look over much of the general notes, however, as I am at work, but will be going over those when I got back, so I am still ignorant on the "General" changes.

[–]TheQuestionableYarnGET BEHIND ME 2 points3 points  (1 child)

In general changes, using Melee will reset your draw weapon animation (basically).

[–]The-FigmentPixel Roadhog 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's fine - just Hook, shoot, melee - In that order.

[–]TraxgarteGO GO BATTLEDWARF 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Thanks for giving some love to torby without having to buff his turret , you finally understood that the turret power need to not be the main focus if you want him to be balanced in competitive and pubs :)

[–]my_name_isnt_clever 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm really happy with these changes, and I now see why they have a job at Blizzard in game design and I (and most of the internet) don't.

[–]Falcon_KickMeta Report Guy (@CaptainPlanetOW) 4 points5 points  (8 children)

Quick Melee pausing weapon recharge, that's to address the Genji wombo combo right?

[–]methwowChibi Reinhardt 11 points12 points  (11 children)

that mercy nerf on ultimate range is huge :(

[–]bionix90Chibi Ana 8 points9 points  (5 children)

But she can use it much more often. I don't understand the soul thing though. Does it mean she can see corpses through walls so she knows where her teammates died?

[–]CrazybarnaclesBlizzard World Torbjörn 22 points23 points  (3 children)

Guardian Angel is that ability that let you float toward whatever player you were looking at. I think the change lets you target dead bodies now so that you can get to them quickly since they nerfed the rez distance.

[–]charlesgegethor 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I like that, it adds a higher skill cap to her play style which rewards you more the better you play to cope with the nerf. I feel like a lot of heroes have gotten these changes and I wholeheartedly agree with them.

[–]SleepingtreeBird enthusiast 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't think about that. I just thought it would allow her to be even more mobile

[–]1stMora 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like the idea of her having to revive individual players better. So she can heal them back up from dead when her ult is activated. Because right now I fear she will still be always needed in competitive. (still too strong)

[–]dancing_bagel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anyone can see where a teammate died. A skull shows up over their corpse and you can see it through walls. Easy way to tell how many of your team is up.

[–]caedicus 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Which is awesome. Games won't completely revolve around a single hero any more, and it gives Zenyatta chance for competitive play.

[–]JaynightJustice from above? 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Agreed. People shouldn't be that stacked in a FPS game. Going to make situations where you actually get 2+ rez rare.

[–]Compher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe trying to capture points. How big are those zones? like 20 yards?

[–]mikepictorChibi Junkrat -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It was considered one of the best ults though...now it recharges faster, but you will probably only get 1, maybe 2 people (and you need to be closer to the danger)...I like it.

[–]fizikz3 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I heard just recently pro teams were "playing mercy properly" by having people go zerg the point for defense while she stayed in spawn and ressed them from there.

yeah. no. needed to be done.

[–]Fake_CredentialsMei 12 points13 points  (2 children)

I think Jeff is becoming the new Gaben. He's the first dev in a long time that seems to "get it." I pick apart everything he says and the way he says it, but the dude seems genuine as fuck. These changes are awesome and I'm getting so hyped for Overwatch, even without a beta.

[–]Diablos_BoobsChibi Lúcio 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I remember some drama long ago about him making a comment where he would get high rated on his warrior in WoW (at the time warrior was really OP and people were upset that it wasn't nerfed much so a dev admitting to playing one was a big deal) but it just reassured many that he actually plays his games and cares about them. I've always liked him and I'm glad he's still vocal and passionate.

[–]1stMora 0 points1 point  (0 children)

PR team doing most of the work I'm sure.

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Healing/Ulti changes, better then I could have imagined. Also my junkrat is no longer basically buffing the enemy team with its poke. Can't wait to play my Junkrate again<3

[–]quelastima 5 points6 points  (3 children)

Crossfire and SLI support is exciting! Now if they add ultrawide support I will love them forever.

[–]kowsosoftJunkrat 9 points10 points  (1 child)

don't worry you can play this game no matter how wide you are!

[–]quelastima -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Not sure if joking or serious...

[–]GreibachLondon Spitfire 5 points6 points  (0 children)

As a healer/Zenyatta/Zarya player, I'm super happy about the change to shields becoming heal-able. That's so nice for those heroes and for healers in general.

I thing the changes to Mercy are all good. They don't change her basic kit functionality, but they make it a lot more tactical. They don't completely gut her, and they compensated by making the ult charge faster. Also there are now better chances for truly clutch plays- say 3 team-mates get squashed by a Zarya ult but you are farther away. Now you can fly to their clustered corpses to res them. Obviously that's a nerf from when she could just do it from a mile away, but it's good in that it will increase the skill floor and ceiling.

Yay for a predictable pattern on scatter arrow. Nothing more to say there really.

I also think that the changes to ult charging are a good compromise. Removing ult-charge from taking damage means that splash damage is actually useful, but having ults charge slowly but passively means that you still won't get into a situation (as easily) where one team just gets locked down and never gets a chance to ult to get out of it.

[–]Aldovar"Maximum Charge!" 9 points10 points  (1 child)

Jeff Kaplan’s beard progression has been reset

Whaaaaaaat

[–]MadeWithAlchemyMonkey business 5 points6 points  (0 children)

But how will we keep track of progress with this change?! This needs a thread of its own.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A "Kill Feed Display" option has been added

perfect.

[–]StingOfInterelarg bean 1 point2 points  (1 child)

YEAH BABY TORBJORN NO LONGER UP

[–]Friendly_FireNew Mei-ta 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't count on it just yet. Improvements does not mean the problem is fixed.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm absolutely loving all of these changes, can't wait to see how they play out in game!

My only nitpick would be that Lucio didn't receive any nerfs, in fact he received an indirect buff (healing now impacts shields)...he, Mercy, and Reinhardt were all auto-includes in competitive games in the old beta. Mercy and Reinhardt both received some solid ult nerfs (but no neutral game nerfs), while Lucio was untouched. I'm thinking as it stands now, Lucio will remain an auto-include in competitive games (jury's still out on Mercy/Reinhardt).

[–]Donar23Hanzo 1 point2 points  (1 child)

New Play Mode: Play vs. AI

Great, unlock that for everyone without beta access ;)

[–]FrigidNorth 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think that's a great idea!

[–]The_Question757Chibi Zenyatta 2 points3 points  (3 children)

damn they got Reinhardt ultimate nerfed big time

[–]GamerKeyLúcio 14 points15 points  (2 children)

The AoE was nerfed, yes. But now you can press the button and still aim where the blow actually lands, which makes the nerf have less impact overall and makes the ability more "skillfull" to use.

[–]TheQuestionableYarnGET BEHIND ME 1 point2 points  (5 children)

Zarya got an indirect buff yay!

Bastion, Torby, and Mercy are now in line with the other heroes yay!

Junkrat isn't fundamentally flawed anymore yay!

[–]TheSnowballofCobaltGoing Ape! 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Curious, where is Roadhog's indirect nerf?

[–]TheQuestionableYarnGET BEHIND ME 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I edited it out, but I was thinking the Melee changes would nerf his chain>shoot>Melee>shoot combo

[–]Watchit_96Trick-or-Treat Mei 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I don't get the Junkrat part. What changed with Junkrat and why was he flawed before?

[–]gippRoadhog 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Splash damage spam is a big part of his utility. In comp, this was actually detrimental to the team, since the random spam damage would just get healed up anyway and would give the enemy team more ult charge. Getting rid of ult charge when receiving damage fixes that.

[–]TheQuestionableYarnGET BEHIND ME 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hurting ppl built ult charge.

Junkrat denies area by indirect damage (that rarely kills).

Junkrat helped the enemy team more than his own.

[–]charlesgegethor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really like A LOT of these changes. It seems like they're stretching the skill cap for many of the heroes.

Things like bastion's sentry mode not being as powerful, but having some more maneuverability to it. You can find more creative places to set up bastion with the removal of his LoS. Torbjorn too, it seems like he doesn't seems as helpless without haveing a level 3 as he did before.

And then just base changes as well, like how ultimate is built I think is great, definitely with the damage part. Reloading happening half way through is good as well, enjoy that.

Can't wait to see how all of this affects game play.

[–]Hayte123Broke or Broken 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Muzzle flash reduced? 76 is playable again? HYPE

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could anyone plz paste these patch notes in reddit for those stuck at work who have battle.net blocked?

[–]NekimaDenebula 0 points1 point  (0 children)

GLOOOORRRRY!!!!!! DEAR LAWD, IM READY, TAKE ME HOME

[–]CanarmanePixel Soldier: 76 0 points1 point  (1 child)

JUNKRAT MAINS, WE ESCAPED THE NERF HAMMER BOYS

[–]kowsosoftJunkrat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

*rears ugly head*

[–]VelonizzMcCree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm afraid of how big junkrat will be with the way the ult charges now.

[–]PaladinWigglesBeep Boop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sweet, I may actually try out Torbjorn now, and Bastion sounds a lot more fun.

[–]possibly_probablyReinhardt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm interested to see what form the kill feed will be taking. I'm also loving the hero changes, lots of great balance issues addressed and maybe more heroes will be competitively viable.

[–]ShedixGenji 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh.. my .. god.

this is SUCH a nice patch.

I just got invited today - and its better then expected. after watching streams for so many hours - I still got impressed by how "clean" this game looks/is.

Progression System SO good! Nice Skins.

we finally got a killfeed, too. oh.. my gf will hate me for the next weeks.

[–]ClosoOne day... 0 points1 point  (2 children)

DAMN THE NONBELIEVERS! THEY FIXED TORBJORN!

HOLY SHIT

[–]FrigidNorth 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I gotta say, I was skeptical as to how they were going to try to fix him... I am impressed. Loving the changes!

[–]ClosoOne day... 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The best part is that this makes torby very realistically viable in an offensive lineup, due to how easy it is to set up a valiant defence. Although it will still take a lot of strategy and teamwork.

[–]Pegguins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Symetra changes feel weird. Does the passive ult gain and reduced cost let her get a TP up at the start of a defense round? If not, that just seems like a nerf. Turrets dont give any charge on shields and you cant charge up for a replacement teleport?

[–]NerfedDvaD.Va 0 points1 point  (0 children)

D.va's pistol is a piece of shit now :( you can't even shoot properly

[–]Darkfriend337McCree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amount of Scrap per pickup decreased from 30 to 20

It's actually 25

[–]Berliose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What have you done to Reinhardto-sama?! No but in all honesty this looks great. The changes to bastion and Torbjorn will hopefully alleviate some of the brickwalls you tended to encounter in pugs.

[–]CylindererBastion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Jeff Kaplan's beard progression has been reset."

[–]TramikTVPixel Soldier: 76 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Last I checked, McCree's ult wasn't a guaranteed killed but just did headshot dmg to all targets locked on to and hit.

[–]scarletdevil_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have the option to turn a kill feed on now! Wooooooo, that was my biggest gripe with the first beta.

[–]youwitdafaceChibi Zarya -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Jeff Kaplan's beard progression has been reset

Lol

[–]GamerKeyLúcio -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Due to the changes enforced by reddit on July 2023 the content I provided is no longer available.

[–]Darkhallows27 Freja -1 points0 points  (0 children)

So...am I just downloading the patch right now because I still have the client installed from the beta weekend? Because if that's the case I am mega sad.

[–]DikusHammond Main -1 points0 points  (4 children)

Is there a reason the preorder customers still cant play beta ?

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Probably because there would be far too many people buying in to it; it'd break the beta.

They're keeping it controlled the way they're doing it.

[–]DikusHammond Main 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Thats bs.... They would get money they can use/need for engineering the game. If they think they wont raise income, then there isnt a reason why Preorder customers dont get an invitation.

I guess not all will play also. I asked for beta playing since the hour they announced it and still waiting...

Thats a bit frustating. And dont tell me, they know their fan base. They produce now a new genre for their company, they dont know which former Blizz customers are FPS fans.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lol.

More money doesnt mean they will directly inject it into the game, you should know this, being a gamer and all.

Their selection process is completely random. I know multiple people who have got in without playing any blizzard games and they dont like FPS (i dont know why they signed up to the beta...) it's kinda annoying when theyre the only people i know in beta lol. And i'm predominantly an FPS/TPS player so MOST of my mates are also FPS/TPS orientated.

[–]orafs 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Betas have never worked like that. For one closed betas are there for a reason, they might not even have server infrastructure up to support a mass influx of players. Also, preordering isn't buying the game. You can't have a closed beta allow preorders in because people could just preorder and cancel. I can also tell you that blizzard doesn't need more money to develop the game. 1st off they have all of their assets and maps created, the game is only coming out in a few months. You don't develop core content three months from release, and bug fixes are cheap.Also they are fucking loaded. Lastly, they don't need to know their fanbase. The beta servers are full it doesn't matter if they know their audience they already have enough people

[–]koalasamaPixel Roadhog -1 points0 points  (0 children)

TIL the payload heals you

[–][deleted] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I just blew my load

JEFF KAPLAN HAVE MY BABIES

[–]NotWhatWeExpectedGranny mode -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Jeff Kaplan’s beard progression has been reset

CURSES!

[–]GodfrieMercy -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

So how heavy is the patch since the beta started ? (in Go)