Huge hero changes are now live in Overwatch

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Overwatch is aiming to truly change the game with a long list of general and hero-specific changes going live today.

Baptiste, the game’s 30th hero, also joins live servers today. All of these changes have been tested on the Public Test Realm (PTR) the past few weeks in order to balance them for live players. They’re all instantly available in every part of Overwatch, including Competitive mode. Baptiste will not be available in Competitive mode for at least a week, however.

Here is everything you need to know about the patch.

General changes

Beam-type damage (such as from Zarya’s Particle Cannon) is now reduced by 20 percent when hitting armor. Damage over time, from attacks like Widowmaker’s Venom Mine, will be more consistent when interacting with armor. Knockback has also been made more consistent. Flying heroes, such as D.Va, can now be knocked back by heroes like Lúcio and slowed down.

Damage boost, whether from Baptiste or another hero, is now applied when a projectile is fired rather than when it hits a target. New sounds have been enabled to help players identify different kinds of hits. A new, higher pitched metallic sound plays when you land a hit that is damage boosted. A new duller sound plays when a hit is landed but doesn’t do any damage at all; a good example is when a hit is sent through Baptiste’s Immortality Field and doesn’t damage a character.  

Hero Changes

Ana

• Nano Boost’s instant healing has been reduced from 300 to 250.

Doomfist

• Rising Uppercut and Seismic Slam have had their cooldowns reduced from 7 to 6 seconds.

Hanzo

• Sonic Arrow’s detection radius has increased from 7 to 9 meters.

Junkrat

• Junkrat’s damage has been increased; his Frag Launcher impact damage has increased from 40 to 50. But his ultimate, RIP-Tire, will take longer to charge as the cost has been increased 10%.

Lúcio

• Speed Boost’s effects have been reduced when switching through Crossfade (from 30% to 20%) and Amp It Up’s Speed Boost increase has been reduced from 70% to 50%. Wall Ride’s speed buff has increased from 20% to 40% and Sonic Amplifier hits — otherwise known as “boops” — will now count towards Offensive Assists.

McCree

• Fan the Hammer damage has been reduced from 55 to 50, but McCree’s ultimate, Deadeye, gets a huge buff: the damage has increased from 275 to 550 after locking onto targets for 1.5 seconds.

Mei

• Primary fire (Endothermic Blaster) damage has increased from 2.25 to 2.75, or 45/55 damage per second.
• Ice Wall’s health has been reduced from 500 to 400, making it easier to break.

Moira

• Biotic Grasp’s healing has been increased. The heal over time duration increased from 3 to 4 seconds and the total healing is increased from 50 to 65.

Orisa

• Fusion Driver’s movement speed penalty while firing has been reduced from 50% to 30%.

Pharah

• Rocket Launcher’s minimum explosion damage has increased from 16.25 to 20; this is a reversion of a change a few patches ago that decreased the splash damage of her primary fire.

Reaper

• Reaper’s passive healing that is received from dealing damage reduced from 50% to 40%.

Soldier: 76

• Pulse Rifle damage has been increased from 19 to 20 and Soldier’s ultimate, Tactical Visor, can now target RIP-tire and Baptiste’s Immortality field. The delay before you can fire after using Sprint has been reduced from .5 to .3 seconds.

Sombra

• When hacking health packs, the time required is now reduced by half.

Symmetra

• Photon Projector’s primary fire damage ramps up 20% faster.

Torbjörn

• His base health is increased by 50 armor to 250 maximum health, but the armor gain from Overload has been reduced from 150 to 100.

Widowmaker

• Her ultimate, Infra-Sight, now reveals enemy health bars but is canceled upon death.

Wrecking Ball

• Enabling Adaptive Shield will no longer cancel Roll mode, so Wrecking Ball can armor up and keep moving.

Zarya

• Particle Cannon’s alternate fire has had the explosion radius changed to 2 meters, regardless of energy level. It used to scale with higher level energy.

Zenyatta

• The Orb of Destruction, or Zenyatta’s primary fire, has had its damage increased from 46 to 48. Orb of Discord’s effects have been reduced from 30% to 25%.