Overwatch PTR Update Completely Changes How The Heroes Move
The Overwatch Public Test Realm (PTR) is a place where Blizzard can try out new ideas on a massive [...]
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The Overwatch Public Test Realm (PTR) is a place where Blizzard can try out new ideas on a massive scale to gauge player feedback and stress test its compatibility with their hit FPS game as a whole. The latest update to hit the PTR is tackling how the the in-game heroes move about the maps both on ground and in the air. Game Director, and Overwatch Dad, Jeff Kaplan took to the Blizzard forums to give fans an update on the new changes:
"We're making a change on our PTR servers shortly (no patch required!), that reworks some of how our heroes move and accelerate.
This was originally done to fix bugs on a couple heroes, but the changes are systemic and affect all Heroes.
Specifically, movement on the ground is much more consistent. Going up/down inclines will no longer affect the Hero's speed. Previously, inclines could either make you move slightly faster or slightly slower, depending on the circumstances. Inclines will also no longer cause a small amount of strafing movement when moving diagonally on them. A side effect of these changes is characters will now have slightly better air control. For example, Winston previously was not able to easily make small adjustments to his flight path during his Jump Pack leap, but now he should be able to do that, and it is also noticeable on many of the other Heroes that are often in the air.
We think these changes will overall be great improvements but there might be some unintended side effects that we'd love your help finding on the PTR!"
Unlike the recent bullying of Mercy, the changes affect all of the heroes in an effort to maintain consistency. We're sure many of the faster character mains, like Genji and Lucio, will have an interesting time with this, though it does seem to be effectively more balanced and easier to manage. Surprisingly enough too, the comment responses were overall really positive and receptive. The best part? No patch! It just is so hooray for easier play time!