'Overwatch' PTR Buffs Reaper, Mercy, Roadhog and More

A new Overwatch patch is slated for the hit FPS's Public Test Realm (PTR) and comes bearing good [...]

By Liana 'LiLi' Ruppert

A new Overwatch patch is slated for the hit FPS's Public Test Realm (PTR) and comes bearing good news for Roadhog and Mercy mains alike. Though quite a few heroes saw a nice little buff, the team really focused their attention on a wide variety of heroes across the board.

Before we dive into the heroes, Blizzard did outline a general audio update:

  • An option to use Windows Spatial Audio is now available. This feature can be found in the Windows Start Menu under Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound > Speaker Device > Spatial Sound

According to the studio, "Since launch, we've supported Dolby Atmos for players who use headphones, and we're now expanding this support to include the Windows 10 implementation for spatial audio. Spatial audio is configured in the Windows 10 sound settings and will take priority over the settings in the game client. This will allow for more options, including settings for Windows Sonic Headphones, Dolby Atmos for Headphones, and Dolby Atmos for Home Theater."

Now, onto the heroes with the full patch notes below:

Mercy and Reaper

Mercy

Valkyrie

  • Ultimate cost reduced 15%
  • Healing per second increased from 50 to 60

Developer Comments: Mercy's ultimate was charging a bit too slowly after her base healing was reduced in a previous update. These changes should restore some of her ultimate's strength and let it build up more quickly.

Reaper

Hellfire Shotguns

  • Spread randomization reduced by 50%

The Reaping

  • Life steal increased from 20% to 30% of damage dealt

Developer Comments: Reaper's specialty is fighting at a very close range. The more consistent spread pattern and increase in healing from his passive ability will make him more capable of standing toe-to-toe with his enemies.

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Roadhog and Symmetra

Roadhog

Chain Hook

  • Decreased the delay before pulling a hooked target from 0.5 seconds to 0.3 seconds
  • Now greatly reduces the target's momentum upon being hooked
  • Cooldown now begins immediately, instead of after the target has been pulled

Scrap Gun

  • Spread pattern adjusted for both primary and secondary fire
  • Spread randomization reduced by 50%

Whole Hog

  • Knockback maximum velocity increased by 25% (from 8 to 10 meters per second)
  • Horizontal recoil decreased slightly

Developer Comments: Roadhog is receiving several large changes to make his abilities more consistent. His Chain Hook had issues with breaking when enemy targets jumped or fell behind environment collision. It will now slow them down in the air more when the hook lands, and wait less time before it starts reeling them in. Since Chain Hook's cooldown now begins immediately upon use, so it no longer varies based on Roadhog's distance to the hook target. We've also moved some of the projectiles closer to the center of the spread pattern on his Scrap Gun, which gives him a more consistent damage output for its primary and alternate fire. Previously, there was a long-standing bug that caused close-range targets to fly much further than expected. After this bug was fixed, we still wanted to keep some of the knockback burst it provided, so we've increased the overall velocity cap to maintain some of that functionality.

Symmetra

Photon Projector

  • Primary fire beam charges up 20% faster

Developer Comments: It's still difficult to use Symmetra's Photon Projector beam effectively, even after its range was increased. By speeding up the primary fire charge rate, it takes less time to ramp up to its full damage potential and will be a stronger option when she's presented with targets to charge up on.

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Bug Fixes

A.I.

  • Fixed a bug that caused Mei bots to attempt landing headshots on Wrecking Ball while he was immune to them in Roll mode
  • Fixed a bug that caused bots to get stuck near Point A on Eichenwalde

Heroes

Brigitte

  • Fixed a bug that prevented Brigitte's Whip Shot from going on cooldown if it was interrupted before the chain retracted

Doomfist

  • Fixed a bug that prevented victims of Doomfist's Rocket Punch from ragdolling if they were eliminated by it
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Doomfist's Rising Uppercut from damaging enemies
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Doomist's Seismic Slam from dealing damage if he hit by a knockback ability the moment he landed

Junkrat

  • Fixed a bug that caused Junkrat to return to his idle animation if he was stunned while using RIP-Tire

Lúcio

  • Fixed a bug that caused some allied heroes to say their "under attack" voice lines when receiving a friendly Sound Barrier

Orisa

  • Fixed bug that prevented Orisa's Fortify from canceling Doomfist's Rising Uppercut air control effects

Reinhardt

  • Fixed a bug that allowed Reinhardt's Earthshatter to hit Brigitte when she blocked it with her Barrier Shield if she was strafing during high latency periods

Roadhog

  • Fixed a bug that prevented Chain Hook from going on cooldown if it was interrupted before the chain retracted
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Chain Hook from destroying breakable objects when pulling the target backward
  • Fixed a bug that caused Roadhog's Whole Hog visual effects to cover a wider area than the spread of projectiles

Torbjörn

  • Fixed a bug that prevented Santaclad Torbjörn's ultimate voice lines from playing when activating Molten Core
  • Fixed a visual issue that prevented Molten Core's magma globules from appearing in the correct place with his Barbarossa or Blackbeard skins equipped
  • Fixed an animation issue that caused Torbjörn's claw arm to suddenly appear when Overload and Molten Core were used in quick succession

Symmetra

  • Fixed a bug that prevented Symmetra to charge up her primary weapon on enemy ice walls

Tracer

  • Fixed an issue that caused Tracer to accelerate slightly slower and decelerate slightly faster than other heroes

Wrecking Ball

  • Fixed a bug that prevented Wrecking Ball voice lines from playing when previewed after opening a Loot Box

Zarya

  • Fixed a bug that allowed heroes to charge through a Graviton Surge without getting trapped
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Hero Gallery

Hero Gallery

General

  • Fixed an issue that caused some heroes legs to twitch when viewed in the Hero Gallery
  • Fixed a bug that prevented players from rotating heroes in the Hero Gallery while the UI was hidden

Social

  • Fixed a bug that allowed players to hear the voice lines of heroes controlled by players they muted

Game Browser and Custom Games

Maps

  • Fixed a bug that prevented the payload from healing attackers if they were damaged while pushing it on Assault/Escort and Escort maps
  • Fixed a lighting issue that caused a skyscraper in Hollywood's skyline to appear pitch black

Overwatch is now available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. The patch is now live in PTR and once tested, will move into the main game shortly.

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