New Overwatch Experimental Mode patch targets meta tanks

The new patch notes for Overwatch’s Experimental Mode changes have arrived and Pilot D.Va just got a whole lot scarier.

This Experimental Mode cycle is now live via the Experimental card and doesn’t include too many hero changes. But the heroes that it does target are being altered quite a bit—particularly tanks that have been either over or underperforming. Some of the hardest-hit heroes include Baptiste and Echo, whereas D.Va and Roadhog gain increased viability with their buffs.

Like previous installments of the mode, all of these changes are experimental and used solely for testing, so they may or may not be released outside of this mode in the future.

Here are all of the hero changes in this iteration of the Experimental Mode:

Damage hero changes

Sombra

• Fade time when entering or exiting Stealth reduced from 0.75 to 0.45 seconds.
• Stealth movement speed bonus increased from 50 to 60 percent.

Overwatch’s resident hacker now has a much easier time getting the job done. With these changes to Stealth, Sombra will be able to get around the map much easier and get out of trouble more quickly. 

Echo

• When Duplicate ends, Echo will return to the health value she had prior to activating the ability, or to 100 health, whichever is higher.

Overwatch’s newest hero has been a huge nuisance in the meta for some time due to her ability to fly around freely and her ultimate, Duplicate, having the power to completely change the course of any fight. With these nerfs, Echo will be much more reliant on her normal abilities, as well as her healers, to make sure that when Duplicate ends, she can soar right back into action.

Support hero changes

Baptiste

• Healing projectile explosion reduced from 60 to 50 health.
• Healing projectile direct impact now restores an additional 20 health.
• Immortality Field now protects teammates to a minimum health threshold of 10 percent maximum health, down from 20 percent.

Baptiste has been running over teams with his efficiency in healing, mobility, and throwing down an Immortality Field at the opportune moment. These nerfs may not take the meta healer out of action but will certainly make him more reliant on prioritizing teammates deep in enemy lines.

Moira

• Biotic Orb cooldown reduced from 10 to eight seconds.

Moira has been in a weird spot in the current meta for some time now since other healers do her job better and more consistently. While her ability to heal and inflict massive damage has its perks, choosing her over an important pick like Mercy or Ana can be disastrous. But with this slight cooldown buff on her Biotic Orb—her central source of teamwide heals and damage—she may step out from the shadows just a bit more.

Tank hero changes

D.Va

• Call Mech damage increased from 50 to 250.

D.Va’s mech was too light, so the developers decided to add some much-needed realism to the mech falling from the sky.

Orisa

• Halt! cooldown reduced from eight to six seconds.

Orisa now has an easier time lining up enemies for herself and her teammates, all without the assistance of a Zarya. It’s not game-changing, but in a meta where main tanks and shields are vital to success, Orisa now has an easier time using another useful tool in her kit.

Reinhardt

• Armor reduced from 250 to 200 (Health/armor total reduced from 550 to 500.

If there’s one hero that’s defined the past few seasons of competitive Overwatch, it’s been Reinhardt. Although his passive still exists, by taking away some of his armor and replacing it with regular HP, he loses some of the sustain that’s made him a valuable pick.

Roadhog

• Damage per projectile (primary and secondary fire) increased from six to 6.6.

These changes to this off-tank aren’t massive on their own but accompanied by Roadhog’s high attack speed, this damage will make a considerable difference when a full clip is used. This will also allow Roadhog to better one-shot enemies that he hooks, rather than letting them get away with a sliver of health.