Major Overwatch Update Changes Four Heroes; Here Are The Full Patch Notes

Blizzard has announced a new update is available for testing on the Overwatch Public Test Region (PTR). The PTR is PC only, but the changes that end up working are also made available on Xbox One and PS4 when they go live in the main game.

The new update makes several major changes to Mercy, Reaper, Symmetra, and Roadhog. The cost of Mercy's Ultimate is lowered by 15% and her healing per second is increased from 50 to 60, making her a more valuable healer. The spread pattern of Reaper's shotguns has been made more consistent and the amount of health he gains from The Reaping ability has been raised, which increases his offensive potential in head-on fights. Symmetra's primary fire beam charges 20% faster, raising her damage output significantly.

Roadhog has the largest changes in the new update. His Chain Hook starts cooling down as soon as it's used and greatly reduces his victim's speed. The spread pattern on Roadhog's Scrap Gun has also been adjusted so both his primary and secondary fire deal more consistent damage. The knockback velocity of Whole Hog has also been increased so that Roadhog now sends enemies flying. All in all, Roadhog will be able to more consistently trap other players, deal massive damage, and clear them out so that he can do it again.

The full patch notes for the PTR update can be found on Blizzard's website. We've outlined the major points below. Overwatch is available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Overwatch PTR October 23 Update

General Updates

Audio

• An option to use Windows Spatial Audio is now available. This feature can be found in the Windows Start Menu under Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound > Speaker Device > Spatial Sound

Hero Updates

General

• Made jump height consistent across hero roster

Mercy

• Valkyrie
  • Ultimate cost reduced 15%
  • Healing per second increased from 50 to 60

Reaper

• Hellfire Shotguns
  • Spread randomization reduced by 50%
• The Reaping
  • Life steal increased from 20% to 30% of damage dealt

Roadhog

• Chain Hook
  • Decreased the delay before pulling a hooked target from 0.5 seconds to 0.3 seconds
  • Now greatly reduces the target’s momentum upon being hooked
  • Cooldown now begins immediately, instead of after the target has been pulled
• Scrap Gun
  • Spread pattern adjusted for both primary and secondary fire
  • Spread randomization reduced by 50%
• Whole Hog
  • Knockback maximum velocity increased by 25% (from 8 to 10 meters per second)
  • Horizontal recoil decreased slightly

Symmetra

• Photon Projector
  • Primary fire beam charges up 20% faster

Bug Fixes

A.I.

• Fixed a bug that caused Mei bots to attempt landing headshots on Wrecking Ball while he was immune to them in Roll mode
• Fixed a bug that caused bots to get stuck near Point A on Eichenwalde

Heroes

• Brigitte
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Brigitte's Whip Shot from going on cooldown if it was interrupted before the chain retracted
• Doomfist
  • Fixed a bug that prevented victims of Doomfist's Rocket Punch from ragdolling if they were eliminated by it
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Doomfist's Rising Uppercut from damaging enemies
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Doomist's Seismic Slam from dealing damage if he hit by a knockback ability the moment he landed
• Junkrat
  • Fixed a bug that caused Junkrat to return to his idle animation if he was stunned while using RIP-Tire
• Lúcio
  • Fixed a bug that caused some allied heroes to say their "under attack" voice lines when receiving a friendly Sound Barrier
• Orisa
  • Fixed bug that prevented Orisa's Fortify from canceling Doomfist's Rising Uppercut air control effects
• Reinhardt
  • Fixed a bug that allowed Reinhardt's Earthshatter to hit Brigitte when she blocked it with her Barrier Shield if she was strafing during high latency periods
• Roadhog
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Chain Hook from going on cooldown if it was interrupted before the chain retracted
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Chain Hook from destroying breakable objects when pulling the target backward
  • Fixed a bug that caused Roadhog's Whole Hog visual effects to cover a wider area than the spread of projectiles
• Torbjörn
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Santaclad Torbjörn's ultimate voice lines from playing when activating Molten Core
  • Fixed a visual issue that prevented Molten Core's magma globules from appearing in the correct place with his Barbarossa or Blackbeard skins equipped
  • Fixed an animation issue that caused Torbjörn's claw arm to suddenly appear when Overload and Molten Core were used in quick succession
• Symmetra
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Symmetra to charge up her primary weapon on enemy ice walls
• Tracer
  • Fixed an issue that caused Tracer to accelerate slightly slower and decelerate slightly faster than other heroes
• Wrecking Ball
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Wrecking Ball voice lines from playing when previewed after opening a Loot Box
• Zarya
  • Fixed a bug that allowed heroes to charge through a Graviton Surge without getting trapped

Hero Gallery

General

• Fixed an issue that caused some heroes legs to twitch when viewed in the Hero Gallery
• Fixed a bug that prevented players from rotating heroes in the Hero Gallery while the UI was hidden

Social

• Fixed a bug that allowed players to hear the voice lines of heroes controlled by players they muted
• Game Browser and Custom Games

Maps

• Fixed a bug that prevented the payload from healing attackers if they were damaged while pushing it on Assault/Escort and Escort maps
• Fixed a lighting issue that caused a skyscraper in Hollywood’s skyline to appear pitch black