It’s been a while since any noteworthy changes have been rolled out for Overwatch‘s PTR, but if you were taking that as a potential sign that Blizzard had finally gotten the shooter’s tough balancing in a position where it could be labeled perfect, think again. A new patch has recently gone live on the test server that, besides introducing a few small tweaks to the Custom Games feature, makes several adjustments – big and small – to a handful of heroes.
As you’d expect, not all of these chops and changes serve to bolster the recipients’ strength or combat efficiency, with Reinhardt and Soldier 76, in particular, being hit hardest by Blizzard’s experienced nerf bat. The former’s Earthshatter ability has had its effective height lowered from 3 to 2 meters in order to, as Blizzard puts it, make it less likely to “climb tall objects as it ‘crawls’ along the ground.” Soldier 76, on the other hand, has taken a direct hit to his damage potential, although it’s only a minor adjustment: Heavy Pulse Rifle now does 19 bullet damage as opposed to 20.
On the flip side, Genji and Hanzo have received what could be their biggest buffs yet. Both heroes have had the attack cooldown period following a wall climb removed, meaning that you’ll no longer need to wait before engaging an opposing team member after a daring acrobatic maneuver. Other small tweaks include a reduction in the potency of new hero Orisa‘s Fusion Driver and a minor buff to Reaper’s Wraith Form, as well as an arm’s length list of bug fixes, which you can find in their entirety here.
In related news, Blizzard’s latest (and first unique) event for Overwatch just recently came to an end. Uprising added a whole bunch of new skins and other cosmetics for players to scoop up during its duration. Did you manage to find what you were looking for within those Loot Boxes? Let us know in the comments below!
