The work is never done in Overwatch. Each week, new balance tweaks are uploaded into the game’s test server. Sometimes it’s number changes, other times it’s larger, more comprehensive reworks. Today, it’s the former. Multiple heroes have been targeted, including the contentious support-tank Brigitte and her Shield Bash ability.
But she’s not alone. Blizzard’s uploaded changes for Bastion, Doomfist, McCree, and Torbjörn. The changes range the gamut from buff, nerf, and in-between. Check out the patch notes:
Related: New Overwatch hero Ashe is now playable on the live server
Bastion
- Configuration: Recon
- Ammo increased from 25 to 35.
- Configuration: Sentry
- Weapon spread decreased by up to 33 percent while firing.
Developer comments: Bastion could use a little bit of an offensive boost to balance out how vulnerable Configuration: Recon’s bulky size and Sentry’s stationary nature make it. To address this, we increased the ammo he receives in Recon mode and gave Bastion a lower spread in Sentry mode to make it more effective at farther ranges than it was previously.
Brigitte
- Shield Bash
- No longer can travel or stun targets through barriers.
Developer comments: Brigitte’s Shield Bash is a strong ability that often feels difficult to counter. This change will offer new options for counter play, enabling shield tanks to better protect themselves and their teammates.
Doomfist
- Rising Uppercut
- Loss of air control duration lowered to 0.6 seconds from three seconds.
- Seismic Slam
- Maximum range reduced from 20 meters to 15 meters.
Developer comments: Doomfist’s high mobility allows him to engage and disengage from extremely long ranges. Decreasing the range of his targeted aerial version of Seismic Slam requires him to get closer before engaging an enemy and makes it slightly harder for him to escape from combat. The loss of air control on Rising Uppercut was a frustrating mechanic for players, but it allowed Doomfist to set up combos. We’ve found a decent middle ground by limiting the time Doomfist has to line up his next move.
McCree
- Peacekeeper
- Alternate fire damage increased from 45 to 55.
Developer comments: McCree’s Fan the Hammer wasn’t as reliable of an option against higher health heroes as it should be. Increasing its damage will make it more potent in close-range engagements where it is intended to be most effective.
Torbjörn
- Molten Core
- Damage increased from 130 to 160 per second.
Developer comments: While the Molten Core damage pools were intended to provide players with tools for area denial, they weren’t proving threatening enough to deter enemies for a significant amount of time because their damage was too low.
Soldier: 76
- Tactical Visor
- No longer makes Helix Rockets auto-target enemies.
Developer comments: The intent of Tactical Visor is to make Soldier: 76 unable to miss during its duration. However, Helix Rockets have travel time, so if they were fired directly at an enemy they would often miss a moving target at further ranges. This change allows players to freely aim Helix Rockets while still auto-aiming his primary fire.
Blizzard hasn’t said how long these changes will stay on the test server, but two weeks is the typical time frame.
