Overwatch Scraps Powerful Moira Changes

Overwatch’s Experimental Mode briefly entertained the idea of Moira getting some powerful new [...]

Overwatch's Experimental Mode briefly entertained the idea of Moira getting some powerful new changes to her abilities, but those ideas have since been scrapped in favor of different directions. The proposed changes affected three of her abilities, but the most notable adjustment was that she would be able to use Fade to "phase out all allies" for one second after exiting the ability. One second isn't a long time at all, but seeing how it would make the whole team immune to damage and effects for that second, it was a powerful proposal that's no longer going to be happening.

Blizzard Entertainment addressed the potential changes in an update within the Overwatch forums where it confirmed it wouldn't be taking the direction proposed in the Experimental Mode. If it had, Blizzard said it likely would've adjusted the Fade ability further.

"The current experiment is a glimpse into just one of the various iterations the team has been exploring to achieve these goals," Blizzard said. "For this test, it was important for the team to get feedback on the Fade ability test specifically – we wanted it to get used and feel powerful. Sometimes during earlier phases of development it's more helpful to test abilities at their extremes and fine-tune with balancing after. It's likely that if we wanted to pursue the Fade ability change further we would adjust the ability's cooldown or its interaction with other hero ultimate abilities."

Community manager Molly Fender continued to say the changes are no longer happening but that Blizzard is already working on a few other directions for Moira. Another Experimental Mode update will come in the future to preview those.

For those who missed all the fuss when the mode was first added, the proposed changes can be seen below.

Biotic Grasp

  • Attach angle reduced by 37%

Biotic Orb (Damage Orb)

  • Damage radius reduced from 4 meters to 3 meters
  • Projectile slow amount after a target is found increased from -72.5% to -80%
  • Damage-per-second now scales based on how close the target(s) are to the Biotic Orb
    • Between 0 – 1 meter: It will deal 150 damage per second
    • Between 1 meter – 3 meters : Scales linearly down from 150 to 25 damage per second
    • Note: The normal damage orb on live is always 50 damage per second
  • The total potential damage the Biotic Orb can deal is unchanged: 200 damage total

Fade

  • Now phases out all allies within 6 meters (and self) for 1 second after exiting Fade
    • Phasing makes a hero immune to all damage and effects. It will work exactly like Reaper's Wraith Form or Moira's own Fade effect in this regard

You won't have to worry about those changes shipping now, though keep an eye out for whatever Blizzard has planned for Moira in the future when the next Experimental Mode previews her possible changes.

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