Overwatch 'remaster' patch makes changes to 13 heroes on the PTR

(Image credit: Blizzard)

A new Overwatch patch went live on the PTR yesterday, and it's a big one. Blizzard described the 1.41 patch as a "remaster" and warned that it will require "a relatively large download" on all platforms. None of the changes seem especially significant, but 13 separate characters have been updated in one way or another, and according to this Reddit thread (via Polygon) that adds up to a patch of roughly 8GB in size.

Some of the heroes have been buffed—D.Va's regeneration rate has been boosted from 12.5 percent to 16 percent per second, and the delay before regeneration begins is now 0.75 seconds, instead of 1 second—while others have been nerfed. The regeneration rate of Sigma's Experimental Barrier, for instance, has been cut from 175 to 150 per second and now has a 1-second cooldown. Roadhog gets an extra bullet in his Scrap Gun, and Doomfist takes a little longer to reach maximum charge on his rocket punch.

It's that sort of big mix of small tweaks that, collectively, will likely have a pretty significant impact on the game as a whole. As some commenters in the Reddit patch notes thread point out, the changes are widespread enough that even characters who went untouched, like McCree and Soldier: 76, are likely to benefit. (Or suffer, as the case may be.)

The full Overwatch 1.41 PTR patch notes are below.

D.Va

Defense Matrix

  • Regeneration rate increased from 12.5% to 16% per second
  • Delay before regeneration begins lowered from 1 second to 0.75 seconds

Orisa

Protective Barrier

  • Cooldown increased from 9 to 10 seconds

Roadhog

Scrap Gun

  • Ammunition increased from 5 to 6.

Sigma

Kinetic Grasp

  • No longer blocks Chain Hook and Whip Shot

Gravitic Flux

  • High gravity effect duration reduced from 1.2 to 0.9 seconds

Experimental Barrier

  • Regeneration rate reduced from 175 to 150 per second
  • Now has a 1 second cooldown after recalling the barrier
  • Initial 0.2 second cast time removed

Winston

Barrier Projector

  • Duration increased from 6 to 9 seconds
  • Health increased from 600 to 700

Baptiste

Immortality Field

  • Health decreased from 250 to 200

Lucio

Crossfade

  • Speed boost’s effect increased from 20% to 25%

Amp It Up

  • Speed boost’s amplification increased from 50% to 60%

Wall Ride

  • Speed buff reduced from 40% to 30%

Mercy

Valkyrie

  • The extra beams created by Valkyrie now ignore enemy barriers

Moira

Biotic Grasp

  • Self-healing reduced from 30 to 20 health per second

Doomfist

Rocket Punch

  • Time to reach max charge increased from 1 to 1.4 seconds

The Best Defense…

  • Shield health gained per hit reduced from 35 to 30

Sombra

Translocator

  • Cooldown increased from 4 to 6 seconds
  • Cooldown now begins immediately upon deploying the beacon or if it is killed by an enemy

Symmetra

Photon Barrier

  • Duration reduced from 15 to 12 seconds
  • Health reduced from 5000 to 4000

Sentry Turret

  • Damage per second reduced from 50 to 40

Photon Projector

  • Players impacted by the primary fire beam should now hear a louder impact sound

Tracer

Pulse Pistols

  • Damage falloff now starts at 13 meters, up from 10 meters

Bug Fixes

General

  • Fixed a player profile issue preventing hero win percentages from being displayed for competitive arcade mode seasons

Brigitte

  • Fixed a bug with Brigitte’s Rally checking line of sight from her feet instead of from her head
  • Fixed a bug with Inspire’s position being affected by the player’s aim pitch

Doomfist

  • Fixed a bug that allowed Doomfist to use Meteor Strike before taking impact damage from Sigma’s Gravitic Flux

Sigma

  • Fixed a bug that allowed Sigma’s Gravitic Flux to ignore line of sight through some ceilings

Sombra

  • Fixed a bug with EMP’s position being affected by player’s aim pitch

Winston

  • Fixed a bug that caused Winston’s Barrier Projector to not consistently play its destroyed visual effects
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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