The new Overwatch PTR patch will change ultimate usage

You're going to want to make sure you're safe before hitting Q.
Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Ninety-eight percent. Ninety-nine percent. You pop your ultimate immediately as the counter hits 100. But you didn’t notice the Widowmaker lurking slightly off-screen. Within seconds, you’re dead.

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On Overwatch’s live server, you’d keep ultimate charge if you’re killed within seconds of hitting Q. But should the current PTR patch make it through testing, that will change. The update, uploaded on Sept. 22, expends ultimate charge immediately, instead of having it deplete over a short period of time.

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You’re going to want to be careful before pushing Q.

Most heroes will see little impact from this change, but others will want to make sure they’re safe before committing to their ultimate. Bastion, Mei, and Genji are a few heroes susceptible to this adjustment, as their ultimates take a little time before they start doing damage. With the wrong timing, these characters could die without doing any damage, with nothing left to show for it at respawn.

The rest of the patch is mainly bug fixes, with one minor hero update to D.Va. Blizzard added an option that lets players operate D.Va’s boosters by holding down boost, instead of using toggle. To enable this option, go to the Controls tab in the Options menu and select D.Va from the menu. Scroll down to find Hold Boosters.

A couple of slight user interface adjustments round out the PTR patch. As always, Blizzard hasn’t released a timeline for these changes on the Overwatch live server. Likely, they’ll stay in testing for a couple weeks.


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Nicole Carpenter
Nicole Carpenter is a reporter for Dot Esports. She lives in Massachusetts with her cat, Puppy, and dog, Major. She's a Zenyatta main who'd rather be playing D.Va.