Overwatch Echo Patch Notes: Update Has New Hero And Much More

Along with adding the 32nd hero Echo to the game, Blizzard has released a new Overwatch update that tweaks various aspects of the hero shooter. We've compiled the full patch notes below. The update is live on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

While Echo may be the update's headliner, Blizzard added a brand-new feature for players to experiment with. The Training Partner Spawner can be found in the Practice Range, allowing you to create a bot of any hero. This means new Echo players can test out her ultimate ability, Duplicate, which basically lets her to fit into just about every role despite technically being a Damage character. Echo will be the final new hero added to the game prior to Overwatch 2. Her gliding and flying abilities should make her one of the most mobile and agile characters in the game.

The patch makes some quality-of-life improvements, particularly for players in the Middle East. Blizzard said the Overwatch team opened a new data center in the region to help stabilize the experience. These servers are now available. Other bug fixes include issues with hero switching when spectating D.Va in custom games, enemy voice lines being heard during hero selection, knockbacks not performing as expected, and more.

Heroes and maps have also been adjusted in Overwatch thanks to the update. Tracer's quick-maneuvering ability Blink has been tweaked so that she more accurately lands where the cursor is pointed, players should no longer get stuck on maps like Dorado and Havana, Moira's Fade icon should appear disabled when she's stunned, and more.

You can check out the full PC patch notes from Blizzard below, or head over to the official Overwatch site for patch notes on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Full Overwatch Patch Notes For PC

New Hero: Echo (Damage)

• Echo is an evolutionary robot created by Dr. Mina Liao and programmed with a rapidly adapting artificial intelligence, versatile enough to fill multiple battlefield combat roles. Having joined up with the Overwatch team to defend Paris against the Null Sector incursion, Echo is seeing action as a full-fledged member of Overwatch for the first time. Echo fires three shots (Tri-Shot) at once, in a triangle pattern. Echo fires a volley of Sticky Bombs that detonates after a delay. Echo uses Flight to surge forward quickly, then can fly freely to avoid danger or maneuver to a more strategic location. Using Focusing Beam, Echo channels a beam for a few seconds, dealing very high damage to targets with less than half health, including barriers. With Duplicate, Echo targets an enemy hero and clones them, gaining all of their abilities and potentially changing a team fight in an instant.

General Updates

• New Feature: Training Partner
  • Within the Practice Range, use the Training Partner Spawner to create a bot of any hero on which you can test your abilities.

General

• The Overwatch team has opened servers in a new datacenter to improve the gaming experience for players in the Middle East. Servers are available now.
• Added a "Patch Notes" button on the main menu and within the options menu. Selecting this button will open a web browser with the latest available game updates

Competitive Updates

• The new Competitive Open Queue will be available in the Arcade for roughly 4 weeks. This mode will use standard Competitive Play rules, including hero pools, but will have no role restrictions or role queues.

Hero Updates

• Tracer
  • Blink:
    • Improved the accuracy of Tracer's blink movement such that Tracer will more likely end up where the crosshair is pointing
      • Developer Comments:
        • Tracer will now blink around and over obstacles more easily to move towards the crosshair location. For example, if you aim alongside the corner of a wall, Tracer will blink past the corner
        • Tracer cannot blink through a space where she otherwise cannot fit normally
        • Tracer cannot blink over an obstacle which she otherwise cannot jump over normally, with the jump originating from Tracer's height at the start of the blink movement
        • We hope that these changes to Tracer's blink will feel more responsive than before.

Bug Fixes

General

• Fixed an issue preventing switching to the next hero when team spectating D.Va in Custom Games
• Fixed an issue preventing Team FFA settings and some Hero settings from being pasted back into Custom Game Settings via copy-paste
• Fixed a bug that could cause voice lines from opposing teams to be heard at Hero Select screens on certain maps
• Fixed a bug where knockbacks were not working correctly if the target was moving down a ramp
• Alt+Tab now will cancel saving a highlight, instead of causing problems with playback
• Fixed an issue where support players were getting incorrect credit for some plays, when determining the play of the game

Maps

• Blizzard World
  • Fixed a bug that allowed players to stand in an unintended location between the first and second point
• Busan
  • Fixed a bug that caused Sombra's translocator to float when thrown in certain spots
• Dorado
  • Fixed a bug that could cause players can get stuck between the scooter and wall
• Havana
  • Fixed a bug that could cause players to get stuck on some bushes
• Hollywood
  • The capture area for the first capture point no longer extends outside of the visual capture boundary
• Ilios
  • Fixed a bug that could cause players to get stuck between a wall, plant, and tree

Heroes

• Moira
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Moira's Fade icon from appearing disabled when she is stunned
• Mei
  • Fixed a bug where an already frozen enemy getting hit by Blizzard would cause the frozen visual effect to end too early
• Tracer
  • Fixed a bug where the Pulse Bomb's "Stuck" message would sometimes appear on the wrong target

Workshop

• Fixed an issue preventing Big Message and Small Message from displaying messages in Practice Range