Overwatch PTR Patch Notes – August 29, 2017

A new Overwatch patch is currently in development and now available for testing. To share your feedback or report and issue, please post in the PTR Feedback or PTR Bug Report forums.

Please note that the below patch notes only include changes currently available for testing on the PTR. While many of these changes will also be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in a future patch, the PTR is PC-only and therefore will only reflect changes coming specifically to that platform.

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

New Escort Map: Junkertown

Junkertown is located in the harsh and unforgiving Australian Outback. Constructed from the remains of a destroyed omnium, it's now the home to a band of lawless scavengers known as the Junkers, led by their cutthroat Queen. When they aren’t pillaging the omnium's skeleton for anything of value, the Junkers blow off steam in the Scrapyard—a massive gladiatorial arena whose combatants fight for glory, riches... and to survive.

GENERAL

Arcade and Custom Games

• Players will no longer see the Assemble Your Team screen at the beginning of a game when Respawn as a Random Hero is enabled.
• Players who purposefully kill themselves in a game where Respawn as a Random Hero is enabled, will no longer respawn as a new hero. However, their Ultimate ability will reset and any equipment that’s been placed (i.e. Torbjörn’s turret) will despawn.
• In games where Respawn as a Random Hero is enabled, players will no longer receive the same hero two consecutive times, unless Custom Game settings have restricted the hero pool to a single hero

User Interface Updates<

• The skull icons that indicate where teammates were killed throughout the map have been replaced with Hero Portrait icons
• Third person camera view will now frame the action automatically when spectating or waiting to respawn

HERO UPDATES

D.Va

• Micro Missiles (New Ability)
  • D.Va fires a barrage of small rockets that detonate on impact, dealing damage in a limited radius around each explosion. These can be fired while D.Va is using any other ability or firing her Fusion Cannons
    • [8/29 UPDATE] Damage has been reduced by 25%
• Defense Matrix
  • Defense Matrix's resource meter will now deplete twice as quickly
• Boosters
  • Fusion Cannons can now be fired while flying

Developer Comments: D.Va’s Defense Matrix uptime has proven to be too strong, but simply reducing it without making other changes would make her too weak (and far less interesting to play). Instead, we’re adding a new ability, and giving her the ability to fire while flying. These changes give D.Va a lot of new options while maintaining Defense Matrix’s ability to shut down big enemy attacks.

Mercy

• Resurrect (formerly Mercy’s Ultimate ability)
  • Ability now targets a single player, instead of every player within a radius
  • Radius reduced to 5 meters
  • Ability cooldown is 30 seconds
  • Mercy is no longer granted invulnerability while Resurrect is active
• Valkyrie (New Ultimate Ability)
  • Valkyrie unleashes the full power of Mercy’s Valkyrie Suit, enhancing her weapons and abilities for 20 seconds:
    • Caduceus Staff: Mercy’s healing and damage boost beams now affect all allies near the targeted teammate, and the staff’s effective range has been extended
      • [8/29 UPDATE] No longer gains an increased fire rate or damage boost
    • Caduceus Blaster: Granted infinite ammo, while simultaneously increasing damage and fire rate
    • Guardian Angel: Increased range and movement speed
    • Resurrect: Cooldown is instantly reset when Valkyrie is activated and reduced to 10s after the initial cast
    • Hover: Mercy gains the ability to fly freely, at increased movement speed
      • [8/29 UPDATE] Flight speed decreased to 9 (formerly 11)
    • Regeneration (Passive): No longer interrupted when Mercy takes damage

Developer Comments: While resurrecting downed allies is a core part of Mercy’s gameplay, the way her Ultimate functioned was causing a number of problems. It was frustrating to play against, and it incentivized Mercy players to hide away from important battles, instead of taking part in them. This version turns Resurrect into a single target ability. It’s still an important part of Mercy’s kit, but plays much better for both Mercy players and her enemies. Valkyrie, her new Ultimate, gives her the opportunity to make big game-making plays and opens a number of new options for her.

Reinhardt

• Barrier Field
  • Holding primary fire while your shield is active now allows you to rotate the camera

Developer Comments: This change gives Reinhardt more situational awareness while using his shield, allowing him to keep an eye on the battlefield while still protecting his team.

USER INTERFACE

• Added an “Outline Opacity” option under the custom reticle settings (found under Controls > Options > Advanced), which allows players to control the opacity of the black outline surrounding the reticule

BUG FIXES

General

• Fixed an issue that prevented players from automatically joining Match Chat, even when the option was enabled
• Fixed a bug that prevented players from receiving the Perfect Round indicator after an Elimination game if they received a temporary health boost from an ability (e.g. Lúcio’s Sound Barrier)

Heroes

• Fixed a bug that occasionally caused the heroes’ “sigh” voice line to play when respawning
• Fixed a bug that interrupted the animation on Ana’s eye during the Beach Ball emote with her Captain Amari skin equipped
• Fixed a bug that prevented Doomfist from being knocked back when his Rocket Punch ability was being used
• Fixed a bug that allowed Doomfist’s Rocket Punch to hit players through the taxi on King’s Row
• Fixed a bug that caused a pair of pink fuzzy dice to mysteriously float onto the screen when viewing D.Va’s weapon in the Hero Gallery if her Cruiser skin was equipped
• Fixed an issue that caused the golden tint of Junkrat’s weapon to appear dull when his Firework skin was equipped
• Fixed a bug that caused Mei’s Ultimate to appear friendly (it failed to change from blue to red) after being reflected by Genji
• Using D.Va's melee attack no longer cancels Micro Missile barrage
• D.Va's Micro Missiles are now interrupted by stuns, knockbacks, and other crowd-control effects
• Mercy’s Resurrect is no longer blocked by Steel Trap or Graviton Surge
• Mercy is no longer able to use Valkyrie to escape Graviton Surge and Steel Traps

Maps

• Fixed a bug that prevented reflections from appearing on weapons while standing in certain areas on Ilios
• Fixed a lighting issue that caused some items on the last point of Route 66 to take on a pinkish hue when players used low video settings
• Fixed an issue that caused reflections to appear overly dark while players were standing in areas of The Cave Inn on Route 66
• Fixed an issue that caused excessive camera zoom and flashing lights when players loaded into the tutorial map
• Fixed a bug that prevented plated railings from being properly destroyed by weapons fire on Volskaya Industries

Overwatch PTR Patch Notes – August 10, 2017

A new Overwatch patch is currently in development and now available for testing. To share your feedback or report and issue, please post in the PTR Feedback or PTR Bug Report forums.

Please note that the below patch notes only include changes currently available for testing on the PTR. While many of these changes will also be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in a future patch, the PTR is PC-only and therefore will only reflect changes coming specifically to that platform.

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

New Game Modes: Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch

Two new game modes have been added to the Arcade: Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch!

In Deathmatch, eight players go head-to-head until one player scores 20 points. Players will earn 1 point whenever they land the final blow on an opponent and will lose 1 point whenever they die to environmental damage (ex: falling off a cliff) or self-inflicted damage. This scoring will be tracked in a brand-new scoreboard. The first player to 20 points wins!

In Team Deathmatch, two teams of four players face off until one team scores 30 points. Players will earn 1 point for their team whenever they land the final blow on an opponent and will lose 1 point for their team whenever they die to environmental damage (ex: falling off a cliff) or self-inflicted damage. If players are resurrected before they respawn, the corresponding point for their death will be deducted from the enemy team’s score. This scoring will be tracked in our default scoreboard. The first team to 30 points wins!

Both modes will play out on a selection of maps from our existing pool:

• Hanamura
• Horizon Lunar Colony
• Temple of Anubis
• Volskaya Industries
• Dorado
• Eichenwalde
• Hollywood
• King’s Row
• (TDM only) Black Forest
• (TDM only) Castillo
• (TDM only) Ecopoint: Antarctica
• (TDM only) Necropolis

We’ve made several modifications to many of these maps (including restricting play to a specific area and developing a special respawn system) when playing in these modes. We’re also introducing a brand-new map specifically for Deathmatch: Château Guillard! Learn more about this map below.

Both modes will be available for play in Custom Games.

Watch our developer update for additional insight: https://youtu.be/4_CBzklel1c

New Deathmatch Map: Château Guillard

Château Guillard is located near Annecy in southeastern France. For hundreds of years, it was the estate of the influential Guillard family, until it gradually fell into disrepair after the family's power waned in the decades after the Revolution. Recently, the château has found a new owner: the Talon agent Widowmaker, who has returned to her family's ancestral home.

General

• A number of data format changes have been implemented

Developer Comments: Over the past few months, we’ve been working on a number of significant under-the-hood changes that will help us streamline the patching process. This will allow us to reduce the download size in future patches, but it does mean that today’s patch is larger than a traditional patch.

Hero Updates

Junkrat

• Concussion Mine
  • Junkrat can now hold two mines
• RIP-Tire
  • Tire’s movement speed has been increased by 30%
  • There is no longer a time limit when wall climbing

Developer Comments: Giving the Junkrat the ability to store two concussion mines adds some much-needed flexibility and versatility to his kit, particularly when using the mines for mobility. RIP-Tire’s damage has always been very good, but it was often difficult to steer the tire into position before it was destroyed. Increasing its speed will allow players to effectively detonate the tire more often and decrease the amount of time that Junkrat is vulnerable while controlling it.

Orisa

• Fusion Driver
  • Projectile speed increased by 20%
• Protective Barrier
  • Barrier size increase by 20%
  • Barrier shape has been changed to allow for more coverage from enemies that are below the barrier

Developer Comments: The projectile speed increase helps Orisa’s consistency, especially at medium ranges (or further). Her barrier size has been increased to better protect her team, and the new shape makes the shield more effective when it’s used on slopes or on top of objects (such as a payload).

Roadhog

• Take a Breather
  • Can now be used while moving
  • Damage taken while healing has been reduced by 50%

Developer Comments: These changes help Roadhog be much more aggressive when looking for hook targets or blocking for his team. The combination of these effects significantly increases Roadhog’s sustainability and survivability.

Widowmaker

• Grappling Hook
  • Cooldown has been reduced from 12 seconds to 8
• Venom Mine
  • Affected targets are now visible through walls (to you as Widowmaker only)

Developer Comments: Widowmaker is extremely powerful in the right hands, but her abilities often felt a little weak. The Grappling Hook cooldown reduction means she is more likely to have it available when she needs to escape. Venom Mine is intended to be an early warning system, uncovering enemies that are attempting to flank her or her team. With this change, she can see enemies when they trigger the mine, even if they’re on the other side of a wall.

User Interface

• Added an “Outline Opacity” option under the custom reticle settings (found under Controls > Options > Advanced), which allows players to control the opacity of the black outline surrounding the reticule

Bug Fixes

General

• Fixed a bug that occasionally required the Capture Point progress bar to progress past the second tick mark before being activated

Heroes

• Fixed a bug that could cause D.Va's black ejection screen to briefly reappear after being ejected from her mech
• Fixed a bug causing D.Va’s Light Gun to use the wrong texture while outside of her mech when the Junker skin was equipped
• Fixed a bug that caused D.Va’s hair to stand straight up on the Hero Select screen when her Cruiser was equipped
• Fixed a bug causing the lights on the back of Doomfist’s gauntlet to incorrectly indicate full ammo when his Hello emote was activated
• Fixed a bug that prevented the area-of-effect circle for Doomfist’s Meteor Strike from being visible to all players
• Fixed a bug preventing the height from Doomfist’s Meteor Strike from being high enough to reach certain locations
• Fixed a bug that was preventing Doomfist’s Rocket Punch from connecting with enemy players that were moving up an incline
• Fixed a bug that caused Hanzo’s arrow to disappear when his Meditate emote was active
• Fixed a bug preventing Orisa’s “Overclocked” achievement from being granted, even after the criteria was met
• Fixed a bug causing Sombra’s teeth to be visible while her Stealth ability was active when her Los Muertos skin was equipped
• Fixed a bug causing Sombra’s reload animation to play even when interrupted

Maps

• Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Ecopoint: Antarctica
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to see past the map’s background on Black Forest
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Black Forest
• Fixed a bug that caused the announcer to say “Traveling to Dorado” when joining Castillo
• Fixed a bug that prevented some equipment (vents, pipes, etc.) from properly connecting to the walls of the power plant on Dorado
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Hanamura
• Fixed an issue that caused sprays to display incorrectly on the crane on the Horizon Lunar Colony
• Fixed a bug that could cause A.I. heroes to get themselves stuck while traveling to the Well Capture Point on Ilios
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Ilios
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Oasis
• Fixed a bug that prevented Pharah’s Jump Jet from recharging while perched on doorframes in Oasis
• Fixed a bug that prevented doorframes from being visible and lacking collision on the Practice Range

User Interface

• Fixed a bug in the Options > Controls menu that prevented the asterisk (which normally indicates that changes have been made) from being removed from the hero’s dropdown after controls have been set to default
• Fixed a bug causing the Back button to disappear when scrolling through the list of available games in the Game Browser
• Fixed a bug that prevented grouped players from appearing linked in the tab menu during a Custom Game