Overwatch Doomfist Now Available In New Update; Patch Notes Released

Overwatch's next big update is now available, the main component of which is a new character: Doomfist. The long-awaited Offense character is now playable on PC, Xbox One, and PS4.

Doomfist has been available for the past few weeks on the PC version's Public Test Realm. Not long after his initial PTR debut, a patch made some changes to the way he works. The range of his Rocket Punch was reduced, while his Ultimate gained a UI indicator to help gauge how effective it will be.

Aside from introducing Doomfist, today's patch also makes some adjustments for a number of other characters. Reinhardt's hammer can now be swung more quickly, while Zarya's Ultimate receives a buff so that it now disables all movement abilities for those trapped inside. McCree's Flashbang slows enemies more, Reaper's Shadow Step sound effect and voiceover can't be heard from as far away (making it easier for him to be stealthy), and D.Va has new sound effects and voice lines for her Defense Matrix. Those include one that will let you know when it absorbs an enemy Ultimate.

Additionally, the update makes some dramatic improvements to the Highlights system--you can now manually capture clips and save them--and reduces the likelihood of receiving duplicates from Loot Boxes. These are changes that were previously made on the PTR.

For a complete rundown on those new features, check out the full patch notes on Blizzard's website. You can see some of the key sections below.

General

• Adjusted the respawn timing to limit defensive stalling strategies when the offensive team has a clear advantage and plays aggressively

Custom Games and Game Browser

• Clarified the text on the "Flag Carrier" options under the Capture the Flag settings for Custom Games
• Removed the "Projectile Speed" and "Projectile Gravity" options for heroes who do not have projectile weapons
• Minimum movement speed has been changed to 50% (formerly 10%)
• Players can no longer select Roadhog during Limited 1v1 matches

User Interface

• Added ability to create customized reticles
  • Reticle options can be found under the "Controls" tab in the "Options" menu (click the "Advanced" expander under the "Reticle" heading)
• The name of Mercy's "Stethoscope" spray has been changed to "Heartbeat"
• Statistics gathered from 6v6 Elimination matches will now be added to statistics in the Career Profile
• Tie games will no longer be included in the win percentage calculation that’s listed under the Player Profile

Hero Updates

D.Va

• Defense Matrix
  • New sound effects and voice lines have been added, indicating when Defense Matrix has absorbed an enemy's ultimate ability

Genji

• Deflect
  • New sound effects and voice lines have been added, indicating when an enemy’s ultimate ability has been deflected

McCree

• Flashbang
  • Stunned targets are now slowed heavily, meaning they're less likely to escape while stunned (especially while in the air)

Developer Comment: This change will make McCree's Flashbang consistent against fast-moving targets like Genji or Lúcio.

Reaper

• Shadow Step
  • Sound effect and VO distance has been reduced by 50%

Developer Comment: Even though Shadow Step wasn't intended to be used as a way for players to teleport right next to an enemy without their knowledge, the sound effects were audible from distances that made teleportation difficult from nearly anywhere. This change allows Reaper to be a bit more sneaky with his flanking options.

Reinhardt

• Rocket Hammer
  • Swing speed increased by 10%

Developer Comment: In the last update, Reinhardt's Rocket Hammer had an issue that allowed players with higher latency to swing faster. We fixed this bug, which suddenly made the swing speed feel too slow, so we're compensating by increasing his standard swing speed. During this process, we also found and fixed a few bugs with Rocket Hammer's hit registration. Overall, the hammer should feel much better.

Zarya

• Graviton Surge
  • Now disables mobility abilities on all affected targets

Developer Comment: In the past, the abilities that allowed heroes to escape Zarya's Graviton Surge felt fairly arbitrary. We're cleaning this up and increasing Graviton Surge's overall power by rendering all movement abilities unusable when an enemy is trapped.