Overwatch’s latest patch just went live— here’s everything you need to know

A new patch is now available in Overwatch. Stealth hero Sombra has been playable in Blizzard Entertainment’s public test realm, but today she’s hacked her way into the main server. She’s brought Overwatch’s new Arcade mode, too. It’s a mode that offers a whole bunch of new ways to play the game, a lot of which we think are a ton of fun. Plus, with the Arcade mode, players have the chance to earn extra loot boxes each week. But what you may not have known is that Blizzard’s been testing huge hero balance adjustments in the PTR, many of which were a success. Here’s the rundown and how it’ll affect play:

Ultimate abilities

Blizzard found that ultimates were charging way too fast, allowing “game-changing ultimates” to pop up too often. (Ahem: Mei, Zarya.)

• Dealing damage to anything besides other players?—?for instance, Symmetra’s teleporter?—?will no longer charge ultimate abilities
• Ultimate cost increased by 25 percent for all heroes

Ana

Ana’s nano-boost is really powerful, and Blizzard felt it made some heroes basically unstoppable. Speed increase with nano-boost was a big part of that problem, and limited who Ana players chose to boost.

• Nano-boost no longer boosts speed

D.Va

Blizzard buffed D.Va to help her withstand attacks from enemies. Call Mech has been decreased by 20 percent just to make up for the increased ultimate cost for all heroes, by the way.

• Call Mech ultimate decreased by 20 percent
• Mech health increased to 200 from 100
• Movement speed while firing upped by 25 percent

Lúcio

He’s been, basically, a mandatory pick for competitive players. To adjust that, Blizzard gave him an ultimate nerf.

• Amp It Up ultimate healing per second decreased by 10 percent

Mei

Mei’s ultimate is ridiculously strong, especially given the increased radius from last patch. Blizzard thinks it comes up too often.

• Blizzard ultimate cost increased by 15 percent

Mercy

Mercy’s passive ability allows her to regenerate health when out of battle. Previously, she had to avoid damage for three seconds to trigger the passive ability, but with Blizzard’s buff, it’s been lowered.

• Passive health regeneration triggered when Mercy avoids damage for one second

Pharah

We’re likely to see more Pharah in competitive play after this buff. Plus, now she basically doesn’t even have to touch the ground.

• Rocket launcher minimum explosion damage increased by 13 percent
• Rocket launcher minimum explosion knockback decreased to zero percent
• Jump jets lift increased by 35 percent

Soldier: 76

Blizzard’s buffed everyone’s favorite dad because his damage felt “a little low” compared to similar heroes. The buff affects his normal damage and his ultimate damage, according to Blizzard.

• Pulse rifle damage increased from 17 to 20
• Pulse rifle maximum bullet spread increased from 2.2 to 2.4

Torbjörn

This change doesn’t really feel like a buff or a nerf. Just a change.

• Scrap generates automatically over time
• Amount of scrap collected from fallen enemy decreased by 40 percent
• Forge hammer swing speed increased by 25 percent
• Forge hammer damage decreased by 27 percent

Widowmaker

Blizzard buffed Widowmaker a bit to make her “more flexible and reactive.”

• Venom mine explosion no longer damages the player who placed the mine
• Widow’s Kiss (Widowmaker’s weapon) charge rate increased by 20 percent

Zarya

Zarya is always picked in competitive play, so to deal with that, Blizzard nerfed her. They didn’t want to reduce her damage, though.

• Power gained by particle barrier decreased by 20 percent
• Power gained by projected barrier decreased by 20 percent

Overwatch’s patch 1.5 is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Just time time for Overwatch’s free weekend!