A new patch has just dropped onto the live servers with several points of interest to dissect. In an effort to encourage positivity, the Endorsement system has been introduced. Now players can be rewarded for good sportsmanship! Additionally, there is a new Looking for Group feature that allows players to specify what teammates they would like to play with.
Other non-gameplay changes include: Defense and Offense Heroes being lumped together under the "Damage" umbrella, entrance to the top 500 requiring accounts with SMS protection, and profiles being private by default.
On the gameplay side, a few hero tweaks have been implemented, the biggest of which is Symmetra. This is the hero's second major rework, with the goals of flexibility and justification of her new damage tag in mind. New weapon and turret mechanics, a former ultimate becoming a new ability, and a giant wall for an ultimate makes the order loving heroine a completely new character. Tweaks to McCree, Orisa and Doomfist's ultimates, as well as Doomfist's passive, have snuck into the patch, as well.
Horizon Lunar colony has received a major rework in order to facilitate different strategies both offensively and defensively
This is only the main points of the patch. For those who want to see every change, check out the patch notes (which also got a bit of a facelift) or the transcription below:
PATCH INTRODUCTION
We’re super excited about this patch because we are adding some social features that we hope you guys really like!
First, our Endorsement system. Endorsements give you a way to acknowledge other players for having a positive impact on your gaming experience. We have ways to report people for poor conduct, but now, if you have teammates who coordinated well, a leader who gave great direction, or even someone who was just being positive you can now let them know how much you appreciated it with an endorsement!
Second is Looking for Group. A long-awaited feature that we’ve being dying to get in the game. Looking for group allows you to find like-minded players before you queue to make sure you have the kind of Overwatch experience you want! Things like specifying what game mode want to play, preferring voice chat, and knowing that a player wants to play a certain role before you go into battle together goes a long way toward solid hero compositions and team work. One small tip: Once you have created a LFG group you can browse the list and search for groups that meet your needs and invite them to join up! This is a more proactive approach to getting a group together faster.
We can’t wait for you guys to start using these systems!
—Jeremy Craig, Principal Game Designer
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Endorsements
- Acknowledge your fellow Overwatch players’ positivity with endorsements! Recognize commendable behavior for players exhibiting sportsmanship, being a good teammate, or for shot calling. Commend players who lead you to victory, put the team’s needs above their own, or exhibit humility in victory or grace in defeat. Endorsements are readily available to view on Career Profiles, the Groups menu, and more so you can tell at a glance the types of players you’re playing with. Those who consistently maintain a high endorsement level will receive periodic rewards, while those who display negative behavior or accrue suspensions will lose their endorsements.
Looking for Group
- Play your way using the Looking for Group feature! You can control your gameplay experience before stepping into a match by using specific parameters to create your dream team. Join a team of other like-minded players or lead a group of your own by creating a group with your personal preferences such as game mode, role enforcement, and more. Those who want to queue up for Quick Play, Play vs AI, or any competitive mode can set the types of roles others can play. These specifications will then be activated in-game (e.g. players who chose a support role will be restricted to only using heroes in that category).
GENERAL UPDATES
General
Developer Comments: Since the line between Offense and Defense heroes has become increasingly blurred, we’ve decided to group all those heroes into a single new “Damage” category. We believe that the term more closely matches the role name that is now being used in Overwatch League and across most of the game’s community.
- All heroes in the Defense and Offense categories have been merged into a new category: Damage
- Combat can now be heard 25% further away
- Changed the name of the Varok spray to Saurfang
- Players must have Blizzard SMS Protect enabled on their account to be eligible for the Top 500
- The Acknowledge and Interact buttons are now separate input bindings
Career Profile
- Added an Inspire Uptime Percentage statistic for Brigitte on the Career Profile
- Removed some statistics for Symmetra on the Career Profile
- Added a Scoped Critical Hit Accuracy statistic for Widowmaker on the Career Profile
- Career Profiles will no longer be public by default (now defaults to Friends Only). An option to make Career Profiles visible has been added under Options > Social > Profile Visibility
ARCADE UPDATES
General
- Symmetra can now be played in 1v1 duel game modes (e.g. 1v1 Limited Duel and 1v1 Mystery Duel)
HERO UPDATES
Doomfist
Developer Comments: The increased movement speed on Meteor Strike gives Doomfist new options in how and where to deploy it. His passive is also being increased, allowing him to survive more often when diving into enemies.
Meteor Strike
- Bonus movement speed increased from 150% to 200%
The Best Defense…
- Shield gain increased from 30 to 35 for normal abilities
McCree
Developer Comments: While McCree’s Deadeye rarely came into play at 70 meters, we are increasing the range so it cannot be a limiting factor during normal gameplay.
- Deadeye
- Range increased from 70 meters to 200 meters
Orisa
Developer Comments: Supercharger wasn’t getting enough use, considering its impact. This change allows Orisa to use her ultimate more aggressively, knowing that she will be able to generate them more easily.
- Supercharger
- Ultimate cost reduced by 15%
Symmetra
Developer Comments: The goal of these changes is to move Symmetra to her new damage role and make her more flexible and viable across more areas of the game than she was previously. Now that Symmetra is no longer a support hero, she is expected to be able to dish out heavy damage, and these changes allow for her to do so. She should be more powerful and interesting in more team compositions and maps, and she should also be stronger on offense and defense.
Photon Projector
- No longer locks onto targets
- Range increased to 10 meters
- Damage ramping now takes 2 seconds per damage level instead of 1 second
- Damage ramp increased from 30/60/120 to 60/120/180
- Now generates ammo instead of spending it when hitting a barrier
- Ammo reduced from 100 to 70
Alternate Fire
- No longer locks onto targets
- No longer pierces targets
- Now explodes on contact
- Projectile speed increased
- Charge up speed increased
- Damage changed to 60 impact / 60 explosive
Sentry Turret
- Turret is now placed like a projectile instead of being set in place
- Can hold a max of 3, down from 6
- Can now deploy a max 3, down from 6
- Damage increased
- Amount of slowing effect increased
Teleporter
- Can now place the exit up to 25 meters away from Symmetra
- Entrance will automatically be built in front of Symmetra, rather than at her team’s spawn point
- Lasts 10 seconds
- Health lowered to 300
- More things can teleport through it (e.g. Junkrat’s RIP-Tire)
- Entrance can be destroyed
- If either the entrance or exit is destroyed, the other is removed
New Ultimate: Photon Barrier
- Deploys a barrier that is big enough to span and cut through an entire map
- Orientation can be changed by pressing the ultimate button again
- Lasts 15 seconds
- Has 5000 health
MAP UPDATES
Horizon Lunar Colony
Developer Comments: We’ve wanted to make some gameplay improvements to Horizon Lunar Colony for some time now. The defenders’ spawn room had a problem with its main exit that allowed defenders to quickly duck back inside and regain health while attackers shot at them without doing damage. Since we were already reworking the entire back area, we decided to make some more changes addressing player feedback. The idea behind the rework of Point A was to not only help the defenders a bit, but also provide some gameplay options aside from sitting on the point and trying to hold it for as long as possible. Easier access to high ground, as well as limiting the routes for attackers (or at least allowing for defenders to more easily spot the attackers), will allow more opportunity for counters and create a better gameplay experience. We’ve made a lot of additions and changes to the art throughout the map for you to discover as well.
Point A
- Added a staircase on the right when exiting the Hydroponics Room
- Removed the door to the lower room on the right
- Removed the small wall on the catwalk above Point A
- Added some cover walls to the catwalk area
- Moved the door next to the staircase that led to Winston’s room
- The door is now on the side of the wall in the training pit
- Moved the large health pack to the back of the room
- Removed some clutter in the upper left computer room
Hydroponics Room
- Switched the positions of the large and small health pack
- Changed some of the hydroponic plant cover on the right
Point B
- Defender spawn room exits moved from the front to the sides out of direct line of fire
- Small rooms added at spawn room exits
- Additional cover added near the spawn room exits
- Added a route and larger platform leading to the back right corner
- Raised the platform to the same height as the attackers’ platform on the opposite side of the point
- The location of the old defender exit is now an alcove with a small health pack
- Both teams can still pass behind the point, but there is now a cut-through in the middle of the wall for better access
- The area above the window overlooking the point is now covered
- A large platform with cover has been attached to the left side of the catwalk
- The upper platform for the attackers has been reduced
- The doorway leading to the platform is slightly smaller
BUG FIXES
General
- Fixed a bug that prevented loading screens from displaying the game mode
- Fixed a bug that caused the capture point UI to display capture progress as 100% before the point was captured
- Fixed a bug that caused some sprays to be pixelated
AI
- Fixed a bug that allowed Sombra bot to continue hacking health packs if the ability was disabled in a Custom Game
Heroes
Ana
- Fixed a bug that prevented Ana’s Naptime achievement from being granted when interrupting Moira’s Coalescence
- Fixed a bug that caused Ana’s Sleep Dart effect to persist on afflicted targets after changing heroes
Bastion
- Fixed a bug that prevented McCree’s Flashbang from interrupting Bastion’s Configuration: Tank transformation
- Fixed a bug that caused Bastion’s treads to disfigure if he was frozen while in Tank configuration
Brigitte
- Fixed a bug that caused Junkrat’s grenades to damage Brigitte when hitting her Barrier Shield
- Fixed a bug that allowed Brigitte’s Barrier Shield to become indestructible if her Barrier Shield Cooldown Time modifier was set to 0% in a Custom Game
- Fixed a bug that caused Brigitte’s Rocket Flail to clip into the ground during her Flail highlight intro on King’s Row
- Fixed a bug that allowed Brigitte to proc Inspire when hitting gondola omnics with her Rocket Flail in Rialto
- Fixed a bug that allowed Brigitte to proc Inspire by hitting the motorcycle in the Junkertown attacker spawn room
- Fixed a bug that allowed Brigitte to use Shield Bash while affected by Steel Trap or Graviton Surge
- Fixed a bug that prevented Brigitte’s Inspire passive from sometimes healing allies out of line of sight
- Fixed a bug that caused Brigitte’s knee pad and foot to clip the ground during her Kneel victory pose when wearing her Paladin or Engineer skins
- Fixed a bug that caused Brigitte’s arm animation to shake when using Repair Pack and Rally in quick succession
Doomfist
- Fixed a bug that caused Doomfist’s Meteor Strike animation to place him back on the ground when used in midair
- Fixed a bug that prevented Doomfist’s Meteor Strike cooldown UI from being hidden if he died during its activation
- Fixed a bug that prevented the HUD messaging for Doomfist’s Meteor Strike to indicate that players can zoom their camera out
- Fixed a bug that prevented Doomfist’s Rocket Punch from dealing bonus damage when the target hit a friendly Mei’s Ice Wall
- Fixed a bug that allowed Doomfist’s Rocket Punch bonus damage to hit Genji after using Swift Strike to move through the punch
- Fixed a bug that prevented Rocket Punch’s bonus damage from applying if the enemy used an evasive ability at the same time they hit a wall (e.g. Moira’s Fade, Tracer’s Blink, or Reaper’s Wraith Form)
- Fixed an issue that prevented Doomfist’s Rocket Punch from impacting some walls
- Fixed a bug that prevented Doomfist’s Rocket Punch, Rising Uppercut, and Seismic Slam from not playing the appropriate sound effect if these abilities were disabled or on cooldown
- Fixed a bug that prevented enemies struck by Doomfist’s Rocket Punch from taking additional collision damage when hitting Mei’s Cryo-freeze
- Fixed a bug that prevented Doomfist’s Rising Uppercut animation from playing when used after hitting something with Rocket Punch
- Fixed a bug that allowed Doomfist to use Seismic Slam and escape Graviton Surge when within range
- Fixed a bug that caused Doomfist’s failed Seismic Slams to display the wrong UI information
- Fixed a bug that prevented Doomfist’s Seismic Slam from being usable if spammed in a Custom Game with 0% cooldown modifier
D.Va
- Fixed a bug that caused D.Va’s mech to do a standing pose right before detonating
- Fixed a bug prevented the South Korean flag decal from displaying when she was in her mech
- Fixed a bug prevented projectiles from hitting D.Va if she stood behind her mech after it detonated
- Fixed a bug that prevented the Team Kill sound effects from playing for D.Va inside her mech
- Fixed a bug that allowed pilot D.Va could summon extra, empty mechs if she used Call Mech while standing on top of an enemy
- Fixed a bug that allowed D.Va to activate her mech boosters after activating her Self-Destruct
Genji
- Fixed a bug that allowed Genji’s Swift Strike to do damage after he dies
- Fixed a bug that prevented stuns from applying if Genji used Swift Strike
- Fixed a bug that allowed Genji to wall climb while using emotes
Hanzo
- Fixed a bug that caused Hanzo’s Storm Bow projectiles to sometimes use the sound effect for Storm Arrow
- Fixed a bug that allowed Hanzo to wall climb while using emotes
- Fixed a bug that prevented Hanzo’s Dragon Strike animation from playing if he was in a Graviton Surge
Junkrat
- Fixed a bug that allowed Junkrat to place multiple Steel Traps
- Fixed a bug that caused Junkrat’s projectiles to become invisible if they were shot through railings
- Fixed a bug that caused the medal in Junkrat’s Medal victory pose to clip through his chin with his Scarecrow or Hayseed skins equipped
- Fixed a bug that caused turrets to target Junkrat’s Concussion Mines while airborne
Lúcio
- Fixed a bug that prevented Lúcio from using his Sonic Amplifier when waving hello
- Fixed a bug that prevented Lucio from using Soundwave if he had zero ammo
McCree
- Fixed a bug that prevented McCree’s Flashbang from giving credit for environmental kills
- Fixed a bug that caused McCree’s Deadeye targeting markers to persist if the target died while it was active
- Fixed a bug that caused McCree’s Deadeye reticle to lock onto players who die while the ability was active
- Fixed a bug that prevented the tumbleweed from appearing in McCree’s The Duel highlight intro
Mei
- Fixed a bug that prevented Mei from receiving environmental kill credit if her targets were frozen
- Fixed a bug that caused Mei’s projectiles to appear that they weren’t passing through friendly barriers
Mercy
- Fixed a bug that prevented Mercy’s Caduceus Blaster and Caduceus Staff from appearing when switching between weapons and using quick melee at the same time
- Fixed a bug that caused Mercy’s Caduceus Blaster shots to become invisible if they were deflected by Genji if her Pink skin was equipped
- Fixed a bug that prevented Mercy’s Guardian Angel cooldown from resetting if Valkyrie was used midflight
- Fixed a bug that prevented the cooldown on Mercy’s Guardian Angel from being refunded while Valkyrie was active
- Fixed a bug that caused the resolution quality of Mercy’s Today’s Top 5 highlights icon to drop with her Zhuque skin equipped
- Fixed a bug that prevented player names from displaying when being healed by Mercy
- Fixed a bug that allowed Mercy to see her eliminated teammates while resurrecting a target
- Fixed a bug that allowed Mercy to switch weapons while using her Caduceus emote
Moira
- Fixed a bug that prevented Moira’s Biotic Grasp from damaging barriers
- Fixed a bug that caused Moira’s Biotic Grasp’s beam to disappear when attaching to barriers from certain angles
- Fixed a bug that prevented players from receiving the Excuse Me achievement when successfully interrupting Moira’s Coalescence
- Fixed a bug that allowed Moira’s Biotic Grasp to heal targets behind an enemy barrier
- Fixed a bug that allowed Moira’s Biotic Orb to pass through breakable objects
- Fixed a bug that caused Moira’s Biotic Grasp to attach onto the base of targets (e.g. Mei’s Cryo-freeze)
Orisa
- Fixed a bug that prevented players from being awarded Orisa’s Halt State achievement
- Fixed a bug that prevented Orisa’s Fusion Driver from closing if her Halt projectile was affected by Defense Matrix or Deflect immediately after it spawned
- Fixed a bug where Orisa’s arm would clip into her leg during her Puppy emote
- Fixed a bug that caused the effect of Orisa’s Halt! to persist if Wraith Form or Fade were used immediately after being pulled in
Pharah
- Fixed a bug that prevented Pharah from being knocked back by her Concussive Blast in spawn rooms
Reaper
- Fixed a bug with Reaper’s Shadow Step sound effect continuously playing while moving around on breakable terrain in Petra.
Reinhardt
- Fixed a bug that caused Reinhardt’s Barrier Field from not playing the correct sound effect if it was affected by Sombra’s Hack
- Fixed a bug that caused Reinhardt’s Barrier Field cooldown to cancel an active hammer swing when it became ready to use
- Fixed a bug that prevented Reinhardt’s Rocket Hammer eliminations from receiving credit in the Kill Feed
Roadhog
- Fixed a bug that allowed Roadhog’s Chain Hook to reel in targets even if the ability was interrupted
Sombra
- Fixed a bug that prevented Sombra’s Hack from interrupting Symmetra’s Teleporter placement
- Fixed a bug caused Sombra’s Hack to be interrupted by thin environment objects (e.g. lamp posts)
- Fixed a bug that prevented Sombra’s Translocator from being destroyed when it was thrown off a level
Symmetra
- Fixed a bug that prevented Symmetra’s Photon Barrier from blocking Reinhardt’s Earthshatter
- Fixed a bug that allowed Symmetra’s Photon Projector to gain charge when used on breakable objects
- Fixed a bug that prevented Symmetra’s Photon Barrier from being placed with the correct orientation if the player rapidly turned during its placement
- Fixed a bug that prevented Symmetra’s Photon Barrier from being placed on moving platforms or payloads
- Fixed a bug that allowed Symmetra to place her Shield Generator inside gates on certain maps
- Fixed a bug that allowed Symmetra to place her Sentry Turrets inside chests and vending machines
- Fixed a bug that allowed Symmetra’s Sentry Turrets to deploy at maximum range without sticking to a surface
- Fixed a bug that prevented Symmetra’s Sentry Turrets from dealing the correct amount of damage and slow values
- Fixed a bug that caused Symmetra’s Teleporter to self-destruct when it was placed
- Fixed a bug that prevented Torbjörn’s turret from being built on Symmetra’s Teleporter
- Fixed a bug that prevented Symmetra’s secondary fire from consuming ammo when minimally charged
- Fixed a bug that prevented Symmetra’s Teleporter from teleporting allies that moved through it at high movement speeds (e.g. Genji’s Swift Strike)
- Fixed a bug that caused Symmetra’s Teleporter to fall through the ground if placed on platform edges
- Fixed a bug that prevented Symmetra’s eyes from aligning properly during her Askew and Snowflakes highlight intros with her Dragon skin equipped
Torbjörn
- Fixed a bug that prevented Torbjörn’s Batter Up emote from playing sound effects if he switched weapons
Tracer
- Fixed a bug that caused Tracer’s Pulse Bomb to stick on the opposite side of barriers when thrown at a certain angle
- Fixed a bug that caused Tracer’s animation to pause at the start of her Bomb Spin emote
Widowmaker
- Fixed a bug that caused Widowmaker’s shooting animation to become stuck if she scoped while firing and then jumped
- Fixed a bug with the grammar in the flavor text for Widowmaker’s Comtesse skin
- Fixed a bug that prevented Widowmaker’s Venom Mine from being destroyed when thrown over the environment edges on Oasis Gardens
Winston
- Fixed a bug where placing Winston’s Barrier Projector while going a step upwards would cause it to fall through the floor
Zenyatta
- Fixed a bug that prevented Zenyatta’s Discord Orb sound effects from playing with his Cultist skin equipped
- Fixed a bug that caused Zenyatta’s arm to clip through his pants during his Heroic highlight intro
Maps
Blizzard World
- Fixed a bug that prevented Soldier: 76’s Helix Rockets and Zarya’s primary fire from popping balloons
Horizon Lunar Colony
- Fixed a bug that caused armor packs to land behind crates and not be usable
Petra
- Fixed a bug that prevented ability indicators for Seismic Slam and Ice Wall from being visible on the breakable terrain in Petra
- Fixed a bug that allowed Reinhardt’s Earthshatter to travel across holes in the breakable tile floor on Petra
Rialto
- Fixed a bug where heroes would move left and right on their own while standing in one of the speed boats in the canal
- Fixed a bug where players were able to apply a spray on the surface of a body of water
Watchpoint: Gibralter
- Fixed a bug that caused the first Attacker spawn room to extend past its walls
Discord