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Tag: Brigitte

  • Overwatch 2 Patch Makes One Tank’s Ultimate Terrifyingly Busted

    Overwatch 2 Patch Makes One Tank’s Ultimate Terrifyingly Busted

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    When Overwatch introduced mad scientist tank Sigma back in 2019, he was immediately a powerful shakeup of the meta. His placeable shield was more flexible than Reinhardt or Orisa’s, and his primary rock-throwing weapon did can do damage and disrupt in equal measure. On top of this, his ultimate ability, Gravitic Flux, which lifts enemies within its radius off the ground, slams them down, and cuts their health by half its base health, is still one of the most powerful ones in the game. For some reason, with Overwatch 2’s mid-season patch, Blizzard decided that Sigma’s ultimate needed a huge buff. Naturally, it’s now very broken.

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    Gravitic Flux is an area-of-effect ability signified by a dark circle on the ground that appears as its cast. There’s a darker center within this circle, and before this patch, a character had to be in the circle’s line of sight to be caught in the telekinetic slam. This is why characters like Mei or Lifeweaver were able to counter this ultimate by building an Ice Wall or Tree of Life that blocked teammates from being caught in the attack. This new patch removes that requirement, so now, if you’re in the circle at all, Sigma is giving you uppies. However, as some players have discovered, taking out the line of sight requirement means it can work through walls, even if Sigma can’t see those enemies.

    Blizzard explicitly notes that this change was made because there’s a lot of counterplay against the Gravitic Flux, so perhaps this was the intention. But now all I can think about is how Sigma’s suddenly made for stealthy plays. Is your enemy team sitting on the payload in Dorado? Go into one of the buildings surrounding it and cast Gravitic Flux just on the edge of the room. You’re bound to catch at least one of them by surprise. This shit’s busted.

    The full patch notes for Overwatch 2’s mid-season update are as follows:

    COMPETITIVE PLAY UPDATES

    Demotion Protection Modifier

    • The Demotion Protection modifier has been moved from below the Rank Progress bar into the bar itself to improve visibility when a player is in a Demotion Protection state.
    • When Demotion Protection occurs, you will not be told when your progress is below that skill division’s range. If you lose your Demotion match, the Skill Rank adjustment will show only the adjustment from that match, instead of the net total of that match and the adjustment of the previous match.

    New – Pressure Competitive Modifier

    • This rank modifier appears for players who are at the far ends of the overall skill distribution.
    • For players who are very high ranked (like Champion), this modifier will show when you don’t earn as much progress from winning a match or drop more progress for losing a match.
    • For players who are very low ranked (like low Bronze), this modifier will show when you earn more progress for winning a match or drop less progress for losing a match.

    Developer comments: This new modifier was added to show how our highest and lowest-skill players are being pushed toward a more average Rank. Competitive Play already calculates this Modifier to your Skill Rank adjustment, but it wasn’t visible until now. Very high or very low-ranked players will see this Modifier after every match while they continue to maintain a Rank at the outer limits of the ranked spectrum. Climbing to the highest skill tiers like Grand Masters or Champions is not intended to be easy, and overcoming Pressure to reach the top is no longer a hidden challenge that players must face.

    Grouping Restrictions

    The Skill Tier legend was updated to show the changes to grouping restrictions that were applied in a previous update. The grouping restriction changes we applied are the following:

    • Grand Master can now group within 3 divisions to be considered a narrow group.
    • Champion can now group within 1 division to be considered a narrow group.

    Developer comment: While the Season 10 changes to grouping up with friends have contributed to a large improvement in match quality for most players, we’re still looking to reduce queue times for players and groups, especially for higher ranks.

    MATCHMAKING UPDATES

    • When a player is currently on a loss streak, the matchmaker will try to avoid putting the player on a team that is statistically calculated to have a lower chance of winning.

    Developer comments: Loss streaks never feel good. Before each match, we make a prediction about which team will win the game, based on the information we have about the players on both teams. This is how modifiers such as Consolation, Reversal, Uphill Battle, and Expected give or take additional Rank Progress after each Competitive Play match. Since most matches will have a team that has a slightly higher chance of winning, placing a player on the team with the higher chance who is currently on a losing streak is aimed at helping them have a fair chance of breaking that streak. While this won’t guarantee they’ll win, it does provide a helping advantage.

    HERO UPDATES

    • Armor health has been reverted to provide a flat damage reduction of 5 per projectile, up to a maximum of 50% damage reduction.
    • Out-of-combat health regeneration changed from 20 health per second to 10 health per second + 5% of maximum health.

    Developer comment: Armor is being reverted to its original functionality to better resistance rapid fire damage and shotgun-type weapons. Out- of- combat health regeneration has been a positive but subtle addition to the game, but had a much smaller impact for tank heroes due to their massive health pools, so we’re adjusting it to heal for a percentage of maximum health.

    TANKS

    Role Passive

    • Tanks now have 25% damage reduction against critical headshot damage.
    • Knockback resistance increased from 30% to 50%

    Developer Comment: Although armor health will now be more effective in some of the more difficult matchups, it will also be losing potency against the typically slower, higher damage instances. To help reduce the feeling of tanks being taken out too quickly by high bursts of damage, the role-wide passive now provides improved defense against critical headshot damage.

    JUNKER QUEEN

    Developer Comment: Junker Queen being able to activate Commanding Shout while swinging her axe or during her Ultimate ability will make it more responsive for when an additional burst of health or movement speed is needed.

    Commanding Shout

    • Can now be activated while using other abilities.
    • Cooldown reduced from 14 to 12 seconds.

    SIGMA

    Developer Comment: Similar to how Graviton Surge functions, Gravitic Flux no longer needs line of sight to affect enemy targets in its area. There are a fair amount of counterplay options to deal with this ultimate so we’re making it more reliable to grab enemy targets within its area of effect.

    Gravitic Flux

    • No longer requires line of sight to the center of the effect.

    WRECKING BALL

    Developer Comment: Wrecking Ball has been performing much better after his recent update and these tuning changes will help his abilities feel more impactful.

    Grappling Claw

    • Impact damage increased from 50 to 60.

    Piledriver

    • Movement lockout duration for enemies increased from 0.5 to 0.75 seconds.

    Minefield

    • Damage increased from 130 to 165.
    • Explosion knockback increased from 5 to 10.

    ZARYA

    Developer Comment: We have been increasing the value of some tank ultimate abilities to account for the increased health pools and it helps to make the decision of when to counter-swap more of an interesting tradeoff. Graviton Surge was still very useful to set up combos with other ultimate abilities but we want to makes sure it’s powerful enough on its own.

    Graviton Surge

    • Radius increased from 6 to 7 meters.
    • Duration increased from 3.5 to 4 seconds

    DAMAGE

    JUNKRAT

    Developer Comment: Junkrat’s weapon has great damage output but is unreliable outside of close range due to its slow projectile speed, which is an intended drawback to its high output. The Season 9 health changes affected Junkrat more than most other heroes since it now requires one more shot to secure an elimination. We’re increasing the damage on direct impacts to return to 2 direct hits for an elimination, without making his combo with Concussion Mine as deadly as before since that one is much easier to execute.

    Frag Launcher

    • Impact damage increased from 40 to 45 (Total damage increased from 120 to 125).

    ECHO

    Developer Comment: While the main benefit of Duplicate is a second health pool and the utility of another hero’s abilities, it was often too difficult to charge an ultimate in the Duplicate time limit so we’re increasing the bonus multiplier slightly.

    Duplicate

    • Ultimate gain multiplier while transformed increased from 4 to 4.5.

    HANZO

    Developer Comment: The Dragonstrike ultimate hasn’t been very effective outside of being used in a combo with other abilities that restrict enemy movement, so we’re increasing its speed to help position it as less of a zoning tool and more likely to deal some damage.

    Speed increased from 12 to 15 meters per second.

    Dragonstrike

    • Speed increased from 12 to 15 meters per second.

    SUPPORT

    BRIGITTE

    Developer Comment: Resetting the Shield Bash cooldown on ultimate activation was too much potential burst damage for Brigitte when the average maximum health of everyone was lower, but it’s much more reasonable now that it won’t be as lethal.

    Rally

    • Now resets Shield Bash cooldown upon activation.

    BUG FIXES

    GENERAL

    • Fixed a bug with Mirrorwatch not generating stats in Game Reports.
    • Fixed a bug with Competitive Progress not incrementing correctly.

    MAPS

    • General bug fixes and improvements were performed on multiple maps.

    Eichenwalde

    • Fixed an area that could cause players to temporarily become stuck.

    Samoa

    • Fixed a spot on the map that players could become temporarily stuck in.

    Shambali

    • Fixed a location where players could become stuck for a period of time.

    HEROES

    Mercy

    • Vengeance Skin – Fixed a bug with the feathers on the skin not being properly aligned.

    Venture

    • Fixed a bug with Tectonic Shock that counted turrets and other non-player targets as valid for the Excavation Annihilation challenge.
    • Fixed an issue that could occur with Burrow where Venture could remain burrowed above the ground.

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    Kenneth Shepard

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  • Overwatch 2 Left A Trail Of Broken Promises In 2023

    Overwatch 2 Left A Trail Of Broken Promises In 2023

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    In 2023, Blizzard opened up Overwatch’s world for third-party collaborations. The first was a set of skins and other cosmetics based on the anime/manga One-Punch Man, which naturally turned Overwatch’s own “one-punch man,” Doomfist, into the titular hero with a new skin. The cape is luxurious, but he’s not the only hero who got to cosplay during the event. Soldier: 76 gets to ride a bike as Mumen Rider, Kiriko’s green wig is wigging as the Terrible Tornado, and Overwatch’s resident cyborg Genji naturally becomes One-Punch Man’s cyborg Genos.

    Looking back, the collaboration was strange because One Punch Man hasn’t really been doing much as of late, with the third season still in development and the last one having come out in 2019. But there’s a surprising amount of love shown in the skins, highlight intros, and other cosmetics, as silly as it is seeing Soldier: 76 pedaling like his life depends on it.

    The second big collaboration was with K-Pop girl group Le Sserafim, and it was an absolute banger of an event. Take my hand, walk with me. Have you heard the good word of Le Sserafim’s catchy as hell bop “Perfect Night”? Have you basked in the glory of Tracer, Kiriko, Brigitte, D.Va, and Sombra geared up for a K-Pop concert, serving some of the most glamorous skins Overwatch has ever seen? And did you watch the music video, in which all the previously mentioned girlies attend a Le Sserafim concert and use their various abilities to have their own perfect night? It ruled. I’m still wearing the Sombra skin when I play her, and have no plans to take it off.

    Le Sserafim / Blizzard Entertainment

    While Blizzard looked outside of its stable for crossovers, it also looked to the other side of the office and had a Diablo crossover, as well. Moira mains rejoiced as she finally got a decent skin out of the arrangement, though the Diablo-themed co-op mode was extremely mid and tiresome. Also, John Cena showed up in a viral marketing campaign for some reason, though that had no impact on the game itself.

    Even if you don’t watch One-Punch Man or jive with Le Sserafim’s music, Overwatch 2’s collaborative events have felt meaningful, not like they’re just cheap crossovers. The team at Blizzard has done a lot to capture the vibes of its partners without it coming at the expense of its own identity. Crossovers can be exhausting, as games like Fortnite can lose their entire sense of self as they clutter their worlds with pieces of other properties. But so far, Overwatch 2 has found a happy medium in paying tribute to something within its own framework. — KS

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    Kenneth Shepard and Alyssa Mercante

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  • Overwatch 2’s Latest Patch Is Nerfing The Support Heroes

    Overwatch 2’s Latest Patch Is Nerfing The Support Heroes

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    Overwatch 2’s latest balance patch ahead of the upcoming Le Sserafim collaboration event is hitting Support heroes hard. Blizzard said this was its plan in a developer update earlier this month, but looking at the actual patch notes, it definitely looks like medics are feeling the latest nerfs most.

    Where Does Games Media Go From Here? | Ahead of the Game

    According to Blizzard, these changes were meant to address criticism that Support characters had been enjoying a rise in power since Overwatch 2 launched last year, so almost everyone is seeing some tweaks, mostly in the form of nerfs.

    High-impact abilities like Ana’s Biotic Grenade and Kiriko’s Protection Suzu have been given increased cooldowns, while building abilities like Illari’s Healing Pylon and Baptiste’s Immortality Field now have reduced durability and can be more easily destroyed by the enemy team.

    Zenyatta, meanwhile, has one of the more notable changes to his Orb of Discord ability. The ability increases damage taken on whichever enemy it’s attached to, giving Zen’s team a chance to focus on them and take them out quickly. Now, it. can’t be reapplied to the same target for seven seconds after it’s removed. This means you can’t just keep spamming it on one high-priority target.

    The full patch notes read as follows:

    LE SSERAFIM X OVERWATCH 2 LIMITED TIME EVENT

    Overwatch 2 is teaming up with K-pop sensation, LE SSERAFIM in an in-game music collaboration. Play Concert Clash, a 3v3 capture-the-flag mode set in a K-pop themed Busan. Play as D.Va, Kiriko, Tracer, Brigitte and Sombra—decked out in LE SSERAFIM-inspired skins—and compete over tickets and capture objectives to turn them in and score points. This limited-time event begins on Wednesday, November 1, at 11:00 AM PDT.

    GENERAL UPDATES

    ENDORSEMENTS

    Endorsement level decay has been reworked to be more forgiving in some circumstances. The endorsement level always decays slightly whenever you finish a match, but that decay is now reduced by the percentage of players who could not have endorsed you. If none of the players in the match could have endorsed you, your Endorsement level would not decay. The following reasons prevent other players from endorsing you:

    • The player is your friend.
    • The player endorsed you within the past 24 hours.

    Endorsement level decay also no longer occurs when a server shuts down. The most common reason for this is a competitive match shutting down when players leave the match early.

    CHALLENGES

    Added Legendary, Mythic, and Ultimate Player Title challenges to each hero’s progression challenges.

    PROGRESSION

    Victory Pose now shows your Progression Level instead of the Hero Level.

    Developer Comments: The hero you end the match on isn’t necessarily representative of you as a player. This change is intended to better show off your overall progression.

    SOCIAL FEATURES

    The default option for match text chat is now set to OFF (previously set to ON) for new players. This can be changed in the Social Options.

    The default option for team voice chat is now set to ON (previously set to AUTO-JOIN) for new players. This can be changed in the Social Options.

    Current text or voice chat settings for existing players are not changed.

    Developer Comments: We will be changing the defaults for both text and voice chat to encourage effective communication through the ping system while reducing the chance of encountering disruptive chat in the game.

    HERO UPDATES

    Developer comments: This balance patch is largely focused on widening the window of time players have during combat between some impactful cooldowns, such as Bastion’s reconfigure, Cassidy’s grenade, and many of the support utilities.

    TANK

    D.VA

    Developer comments: The added projectile speed to Micro Missiles helps improve their consistency at medium range while the decreased movement speed penalty on Fusion Cannons enable D.Va to stick closer to mobile targets, making her more of a threat when diving into the enemy team.

    Fusion Cannons

    • Movement speed penalty reduced from 40 to 30%.

    Micro Missiles

    • Projectile speed increased from 40 to 50.

    DOOMFIST

    Developer comments: This change will give the stunned player more opportunities to react to Doomfist following a wall stun.

    Rocket Punch

    • Minimum wall stun duration decreased from 0.25 to 0.15 seconds.
    • Maximum wall stun duration decreased from 0.75 to 0.6 seconds.

    WINSTON

    Developer comments: Increasing the range of the alternate fire will give Winston some more flexibility in positioning while dealing damage from range.

    Tesla Cannon

    • Secondary fire range increased from 30 to 40 meters.

    DAMAGE

    BASTION

    Configuration: Assault

    • Cooldown increased from 10 to 12 seconds.
    • Weapon spread increased 10%.

    CASSIDY

    Magnetic Grenade

    • Cooldown increased from 10 to 12 seconds.

    MEI

    Developer comments: With some of the recent changes, Mei is now slightly overperforming. Her improved primary fire damage output is good for her role, so rather than adjust that further, we’re instead targeting the more commonly frustrating crowd control aspect of its slowing effect.

    Endothermic Blaster

    • Slow effect decreased from 40 to 30%.

    SOMBRA

    EMP

    • Ultimate cost decreased 10%.

    SYMMETRA

    Developer comments: With Symmetra recently gaining more lethality in her long-ranged secondary fire, she’s no longer as reliant on playing at close range, so we’re reverting her total health back to 200.

    Base shield health reduced from 125 to 100 (total 200 HP)

    WIDOWMAKER

    Developer comments: Recon Visor is taking a long time to charge on average relative to other ultimate abilities so we’re reducing the cost. Widowmaker is also at a more severe disadvantage against Sombra with the recent rework and these changes will add more counterplay.

    Widow’s Kiss

    • Unscoped shots to reach maximum spread increased from 3 to 7.

    Infra-Sight

    • Ultimate cost reduced 10%.

    SUPPORT

    ANA

    Biotic Grenade

    • Cooldown increased from 10 to 12 seconds.

    BAPTISTE

    Immortality Field

    • Health decreased from 150 to 125.
    • Cooldown increased from 23 to 25 seconds.

    ILLARI

    Developer comments: Illari’s overall damage output throughout a match is too high so we’re reducing how consistent her Solar Rifle damage is to apply. Her weapon has some other disadvantages such as needing to charge up and a reduced critical damage multiplier, but we’ll be evaluating how much of an effect this change has in combination with the reduced Healing Pylon uptime.

    Solar Rifle

    • Primary fire projectile size reduced from 0.1 to 0.05 meters.

    Healing Pylon

    • Base health reduced from 75 to 50 (total 100 HP).
    • Cooldown when destroyed increased from 12 to 15 seconds.

    KIRIKO

    Protection Suzu

    • Cooldown increased from 14 to 15 seconds.

    LIFEWEAVER

    Dev Comment: Lifeweaver’s total healing over a match is significantly higher than any other hero so to help bring it more in line we’re making some adjustments to his primary Healing Blossom.

    Healing Blossom

    • Ammo reduced from 20 to 16.
    • Max heal reduced from 75 to 70.

    Life Grip

    • Cooldown increased from 16 to 19 seconds.

    ZENYATTA

    Developer comments: The goal of these changes is to add more counterplay against Discord Orb and encourage Zenyatta players to think more about who to place it on. Now, if the effect ends for any reason, the target is temporarily unable to be targeted again by Discord Orb. A new soft-targeting reticle appears when aiming toward an enemy player that cannot be affected by Discord Orb to display the remaining duration before it can be reapplied. This is a significant change both to how the ability feels to use and how clear it is to understand, so we will be keeping a close eye on player feedback.

    Base health increased from 50 to 75 (total 225 HP).

    Harmony Orb

    • Time to wear off when not in line-of-sight increased from 3 to 5 seconds.

    Orb of Discord

    • Can no longer be reapplied to the same target for 7 seconds after the effect has been removed.
    • Range increased from 30 to 40 meters.

    HERO CUSTOM CONTROL UPDATES

    In addition to the hero balance adjustments in this update, we are implementing additional quality-of-life settings and additional input options for several hero abilities to give you the ability to custom-tailor your experience of playing your favorite heroes.

    Sorted many Hero-Specific Options into Advanced Hero Options category.

    TANK

    DOOMFIST

    Added the Hero-Specific Options:

    • Relative Aim Sensitivity During Power Block – 100% by default.
    • Relative Gyro Aim Sensitivity During Power Block – 100% by default (Only available on gyro-supported platforms).

    SIGMA

    Added the Hero-Specific Option:

    • Rise During Gravitic Flux With Ability 3 – Off by default.

    DAMAGE

    ECHO

    Added the Hero-Specific Options:

    • Crouch Activates Glide – Off by default.
    • Rise During Flight With Ability 1 – Off by default.
    • Flight Cancel Input – Ability 1 by default.
    • Automatically Toggle Glide After Flight – Off by default.

    TORBJÖRN

    Added the Hero-Specific Option:

    • Interact Cancels Deploy Turret – On by default.

    SUPPORT

    ILLARI

    Added the Hero-Specific Option:

    • Rise During Captive Sun With Ability 3 – Off by default.

    LÚCIO

    Added the Hero-Specific Options:

    • Automatically Wall Ride – Off by default, Only available on Console Platforms.
    • Wall Ride Cares About Movement – Off by default.

    MERCY

    Added the Hero-Specific Options:

    • Crouch Activates Glide – On by default.
    • Automatically Toggle Angelic Decent After Guardian Angel – Off by default.
    • Rise During Valkyrie With Ability 3 – Off by default.

    RUMBLE UPDATES

    We’ve gone through and adjusted the Rumble and Trigger Feedback on several abilities for controllers. We looked to make the rumble more dynamic and responsive while also highlighting the unique feel of many abilities.

    TANK

    D. Va

    • Reworked Rumble on Primary Fire.
    • Added rumble on activation of Defense Matrix.
    • Adjusted trigger feedback on Defense Matrix to account for damage of destroyed projectile.
    • Added rumble on projectile destruction for Defense Matrix.
    • Added rumble on Self-Destruct activation.
    • Added trigger feedback on Boosters.
    • Added rumble on Call Mech start.
    • Adjusted rumble on Call Mech.
    • Added rumble on Call Mech hit.
    • Added rumble on entering the Mech after Call Mech.

    Doomfist

    • Added rumble on start of Power Block.
    • Added rumble on Fist Empowerment.

    Orisa

    • Fusion Driver rumble now scales slightly with Heat.
    • Added rumble on Overheat.
    • Added rumble on Javelin Spin start.
    • Added rumble on Javelin Spin duration.
    • Added rumble on Javelin Spin damaging an enemy.
    • Added rumble on Javelin Spin end.
    • Added rumble on Terra Surge start.
    • Added rumble on Terra Surge charge
    • Added rumble on Terra Surge activation.

    Ramattra

    • Increase rumble strength and duration on Pummel.
    • Added rumble on Block activation.

    Reinhardt

    • Added rumble on Barrier activation.

    Roadhog

    • Added rumble on Chain Hook activation.
    • Added trigger feedback on Chain Hook activation.
    • Added trigger feedback on Chain Hook impact.
    • Added trigger feedback on Chain Hook retraction.

    Sigma

    • Added rumble on Accreation fire.
    • Added rumble on Kinetic Grasp duration.
    • Added rumble on Kinetic Grasp absorb.
    • Added rumble on Kinetic Grasp Overhealth gain.
    • Added rumble on Gravitic Flux intro.
    • Added rumble on Gravitic Flux searching for targets.
    • Added rumble on Gravitic Flux found targets.
    • Added rumble on Gravitic Flux holding targets.
    • Adjusted rumble on Gravitic Flux slam.

    Winston

    • Added rumble on Jump Pack activation.
    • Added rumble on Secondary Fire release.
    • Added rumble on Barrier Projector Activation.
    • Reworked rumble on Winston’s Primal Rage punch.
    • Added trigger feedback on Winston’s Primal Rage punch hit.

    Wrecking Ball

    • Added rumble on Roll exit.
    • Adjusted the rumble on Piledriver impact.

    Zarya

    • Added rumble on Particle Barrier.
    • Added rumble on Barrier Deploy.
    • Added rumble on Particle Barrier end.
    • Increased the rumble strength on Particle Beam while targeting an enemy.

    DAMAGE

    Ashe

    • Added rumble on Dynamite.
    • Added rumble on B.O.B. call.
    • Added rumble on B.O.B. landing.

    Cassidy

    • Added rumble on Magnetic Grenade.
    • Added rumble on Deadeye start.

    Genji

    • Added rumble during Dash.
    • Added rumble on Dash dealing damage.
    • Added rumble on Deflect start.
    • Added rumble on Deflect deflection.
    • Reworked rumble on Dragonblade swing.
    • Added Trigger Feedback on Dragonblade swing hit.
    • Added rumble on Wall Climb.
    • Added rumble on Ledge Climb.
    • Added rumble on Double Jump.

    Hanzo

    • Added trigger feedback on Bow charge.
    • Reduced rumble duration on charging arrow to match charge time.
    • Reduced rumble on holding arrow.
    • Reduced rumble on arrow fire during Storm Arrows.
    • Added rumble on Lunge.
    • Added rumble on Dragonstrike fire.
    • Added rumble on Wall Climb.
    • Added rumble on Ledge Climb.
    • Added rumble on Sonic Arrow Equip.

    Junkrat

    • Adjusted RIP-tire rumble.
    • Reduced rumble on Concussive Mine when not hitting self.
    • Increased rumble on Concussive Mine when hitting self.
    • Added rumble on Concussive Mine fire.
    • Added rumble on Steel Trap fire.

    Mei

    • Added rumble on Blizzard fire.
    • Added rumble on Ice Wall start.
    • Added rumble on Ice Wall destroy.

    Pharah

    • Increased Rumble on Primary Fire.
    • Added rumble on hitting yourself with Concussive Blast.

    Reaper

    • Swapped the Left and Right Primary Fire rumble.
    • Increased the rumble on the Left Primary Fire.
    • Added rumble on Wraith Form activation.
    • Added rumble on Wraith form ending.
    • Adjusted Shadowstep’s trigger feedback for player’s input settings.
    • Added rumble on Shadowstep start.

    Sojourn

    • Increased rumble on Primary Fire.
    • Adjusted rumble on Secondary Fire.
    • Added unique rumble on Secondary Fire shots charged above 90.
    • Added rumble on Power Slide jump.

    Soldier: 76

    • Adjusted rumble on Helix Rockets.
    • Added rumble on Sprint start.
    • Added rumble on Spring duration.
    • Added rumble on Tactical Visor start.

    Symmetra

    • Added rumble on all three levels of Primary Fire on miss.
    • Added rumble on moving from level 3 to level 2.
    • Added rumble on moving from level 2 to level 1.
    • Added rumble on Teleporter start.
    • Added rumble on Teleporter destroy.
    • Added rumble on Photon Barrier start.
    • Lengthened rumble on Photon Barrier fire.
    • Added rumble on using the teleporter (as any character).

    Torbjörn

    • Added rumble on Turret Deploy.
    • Added rumble on Turret Destroy.

    Widowmaker

    • Added rumble on Infra-sights.

    SUPPORT

    Baptiste

    • Reworked Exo-boots hold rumble.
    • Shortened Exo-boots charging-up rumble.
    • Added rumble on Amplification Matrix Start.

    Brigitte

    • Reworked Brigitte’s Primary Fire rumble.
    • Added rumble on Shield Barrier activation.

    Illari

    • Added rumble on Healing Pylon destroy.

    Kiriko

    • Reworked Healing Ofuda rumble.
    • Adjusted Healing Ofuda rumble to respond to acquiring targets.
    • Added rumble on Wall Climb.
    • Added rumble on Ledge Climb.

    Lifeweaver

    • Reworked Rumble on Rejuvenating Dash to be directional.
    • Added rumble on Tree of Life start.
    • Added rumble on Tree of Life destroy.

    Lúcio

    • Added rumble on Amp It Up.
    • Added rumble on Crossfade.
    • Added rumble on Wall Ride start.
    • Added rumble on Wall Ride ride.
    • Added rumble on Wall Ride jump.
    • Added rumble on Sound Barrier start.
    • Added rumble on Sound Barrier.
    • Reworked rumble on Sound Barrier Fire.

    Mercy

    • Added trigger feedback on Caduceus Staff Secondary Fire.
    • Added trigger feedback on Caduceus Blaster.
    • Added rumble on Valkyrie intro.

    Moira

    • Reduced rumble on Secondary Fire.

    Zenyatta

    • Added rumble on Healing Orb.
    • Added rumble on Discord Orb.

    BUG FIXES

    GENERAL

    Audio

    • Fixed an issue in the Training Grounds where the Heavy Training Bot’s Shield was playing the incorrect impact effect.
    • Adjusted the areas in the training grounds in which the default Training Bot’s weapon fire can be heard. This should provide content creators some additional quiet areas for capturing their media.

    Hero Mastery

    • Fixed a bug that could result in a perpetual black screen if you died to enemy damage after a course restart.
    • Resolved an issue that resulted in no Hero icon being shown in the Results screen during a Replay.
    • Resolved a bug that could result in ‘New Personal Best’ being displayed for any score.
    • Fixed a bug that could occur on some platforms that caused the Kill Feed and HUD to vanish if Try Again was selected.
    • Resolved an issue for Mercy that resulted in Healing not being displayed in the Scoring Details.

    Other Fixes

    • Fixed a bug that would disband your group if you selected ‘Leave as Group’ in a Competitive match.
    • Fixed a bug in the Hero Gallery that would cause the UI to highlight another cosmetic after equipping one.
    • Fixed an issue that caused the achievement ‘The Friend Zone’ to not unlock on some platforms despite requirements being met.
    • Fixed an issue that resulted in enemy team Roles being revealed via the scoreboard in Mystery Heroes.
    • Fixed a bug that prevented some Player Icons from being equipped.
    • Fixed a bug that prevented ‘Random From Favorites’ from working during Hero Select.
    • Fixed a bug with AI bots picking heroes excluded in the Custom Game Settings which would result in empty slots in the match.

    MAPS

    Antarctic Peninsula

    • Fixed some areas of the map that could get players stuck.

    New Junk City

    • Moved some environment assets from floating in one of the spawn rooms.

    Route 66

    • Fixed an area of the map that allowed players to stand outside the intended playable space.

    Samoa

    • Fixed some areas that had gaps that caused unintended sight lines.
    • Fixed some areas that allowed players to stand in unintended locations.
    • Fixed some areas of the map that allowed turrets to be placed outside the playable space but still attack enemies.
    • Fixed some areas of that map that could get players stuck.
    • Fixed lighting in some areas of the map.

    HEROES

    Illari

    • Fixed a bug that resulted in the ‘Daybreak’ skin displaying twice in the Skin Selection while in pre-game Hero Select.
    • Resolved an issue with Healing Pylon that could result in players launching out of it.

    Lifeweaver

    • Fixed a bug that prevented Petal Platform from falling when Hacked.

    Lúcio

    • Fixed a bug with the Hermes skin that caused the sounds played during Wallride to be louder than intended.

    Mercy

    • Fixed an interaction with Sombra that prevented Mercy’s beams not properly fading out when applied to a Stealth Sombra.

    Moira

    • Fixed a bug with the ‘Be Beautiful’ Highlight Intro not displaying the window behind Moira on all platforms.

    Sombra

    • Fixed in a previous update – Resolved an issue that caused Sombra to appear untextured after interacting with Random from Favorites.

    Zenyatta

    • Fixed an issue where sometimes Orbs of Discord and Harmony would not stay attached to the target.

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    Kenneth Shepard

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  • It Sounds Like Overwatch 2 Is Still Trying To Figure Lifeweaver Out

    It Sounds Like Overwatch 2 Is Still Trying To Figure Lifeweaver Out

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    Lifeweaver has been in Overwatch 2 for just under a month, and already the plant-based support hero has had some pretty significant reworks in both his control scheme and abilities. Personally, I’ve had a much better experience with the character since his last update, but it sounds like Blizzard is planning more changes as it tries to figure out where the character should fit into its popular hero shooter.

    This Wacky Magical Girl Anime Is Studio Trigger-Coded To Perfection

    In a new post on the Overwatch website, director Aaron Keller talked about the team’s mindset regarding Lifeweaver moving forward. While they’ve made some improvements to his healing output (he now has one of the higher ones in the game), the team says changes like tightening the spread on his offensive alt-fire Thorn Volley haven’t had much effect on his kill rate. On the bright side he also has one of the lowest death rates of any support hero, so I’m glad to hear you all took my advice and are keeping your distance from the fight.

    All that said, Keller says the team is still looking to better figure out Lifeweaver’s intended role in the game, which is exactly what I’ve been trying to do since he joined the roster. Before Lifeweaver, Baptiste and Brigitte were my go-to support characters depending on my team’s makeup and the map type, but Lifeweaver feels like this very situational character that I mostly run just because he’s new, I like him as a character, and his kit is fun, rather than because his utility feels objectively better than the other options.

    His abilities—like Petal Platform, which raises a player to high ground, or the controversial Life Grip, which pulls an ally to Lifeweaver’s position—are best used within a coordinated team. The trouble is, most randos online don’t understand or don’t care about how they can create effective plays, and it feels like most just want support players to act as heal bots, rather than leaning into more varied support abilities. It feels like my teammates, and sometimes myself, don’t know how to coordinate around Lifeweaver, so I can see why Blizzard hopes to make his ideal role clearer in Season 5.

    Keller continued:

    When it comes to future changes for Lifeweaver, here’s what we are thinking. We want it to be clearer why players may select Lifeweaver over other heroes. If your current hero pick isn’t working for some reason (whether it be the map or enemy team comp), what’s a strong incentive for swapping to Lifeweaver? We may make other changes along the way, such as lightly buffing his Thorn Volley and reducing hit volumes, but ultimately, we’ll have changes targeted at further pronouncing Lifeweaver’s strengths and clearly defining his role on your team. This could be leaning harder into his healing effectiveness through a new passive or bringing additional benefits to some of his utility-focused abilities. With a defensive-based hero, we have to be careful how far we go in terms of buffing raw healing and defensive abilities – too far can negatively disrupt the overall flow of an engagement. These are some of the early things we’re iterating through, hope to have our next set of changes ready for Season 5.

    Even when Lifeweaver first debuted, I figured he would be a character that would evolve a great deal over time, similar to Symmetra, whose moveset has changed more than once since she debuted at the original Overwatch’s launch. As someone who’s already put over a dozen hours into Lifeweaver, I’m hopeful whatever changes come will help him be the effective support character everyone wants him to be, as Overwatch 2’s beleaguered support players could really use some wins.

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    Kenneth Shepard

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  • In Overwatch, Healing Is The Real Gay Agenda

    In Overwatch, Healing Is The Real Gay Agenda

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    There’s a phenomenon in the Overwatch community that has persisted through the original game’s 2016 release, its gradual decline, and the launch of the sequel. This phenomenon is an interesting one, a sort of “IYKYK” situation that requires membership in a specific community in order to recognize its members: in Overwatch, a lot of queer players choose to play as healers. Maybe you haven’t noticed this—maybe you’re straight (I’m sorry) and can’t spot an alphabet army soldier in your lobby, but if you’re in the LGBTQIA+ community and play Overwatch 2, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

    Mercy mains with rainbow player icons, Moira one-tricks wearing her Bowie skin, two-stacks who instalock support with some iteration of “-ussy” in their gamertag—if you pay attention, you’ll see that the gays are everywhere in Overwatch, and most of the time they’re playing healer.

    But this is all anecdotal evidence, right? Surely gays don’t gravitate to playing healers that disproportionately, do they? After hundreds of hours logged in Overwatch 2 comp , most of which I played as a healer, I felt a burning desire to delve deeper into this phenomenon and figure out why I kept encountering fellow gays in the support role. I had my theories: queer people are used to supporting their found families in the real world, support roles are notoriously less toxic, many of the healer characters are femme or androgynous—but I needed more.

    So, I put out a call for “gay people” on Twitter, I interviewed players and peers, and I spoke to a queer-identifying counselor, all in an attempt to properly investigate Overwatch’s gay healing agenda. The result is a fascinating look at a subculture within a subculture, one marked by real-world social queues, kink play, emotional connections, and, unfortunately, a frustrating lack of scientific research.

    Gay icons

    Mercy in bisexual lighting.

    Image: Blizzard / Nico D.

    The most obvious answer (and one of the more common ones I received on Twitter) as to why queer people play healers in Overwatch is that the characters themselves are gay icons. Even though the only two openly queer characters are both DPS heroes, the lineup of support characters looks a lot like the line outside of Happyfun Hideaway on a Saturday night: the uber-feminine and soft Mercy, the muscular and bold Brigitte, the sweet but strong Baptiste, the spunky and sarcastic Kiriko, the calm and collected Zenyatta, the androgynous and tall Moira, the soothing and maturely sexy Ana. Compared to your typical FPS lineup, and even most of the other Overwatch characters (save for outliers like Zarya and Mei), the support squad in this game feels demonstrably queer.

    Overwatch player and freelance writer Nico D. echoes this sentiment via email, saying the characters “are designed in such a way to be desirable to queer communities—Moira is a REALLY good example of this, but I also know a lot of queer women or other queer people who are attracted to women that love Mercy, Ana, and Brig.” Nico suggests this has to do with the futuristic, sci-fi fashions depicted in the game “that also happen to be on characters with typically queer-coded appearances like slightly more atypical body types/silhouettes/haircuts.”

    That definitely describes most Overwatch support heroes. And though Mercy is slim and white and traditionally attractive (Blizzard does, after all, historically have a problem with portraying women’s bodies), she still doesn’t feel as aggressively sexualized as someone like Widowmaker, whose impossibly long legs and massive tits scream The Male Gaze everytime she runs (in heels) across the screen.

    Others who identify as queer and play Overwatch predominantly as healers tell me that the support characters are “gay icons” whose presence/vibes suggest queerness even though it’s not outright stated. “They feel queer” is a sentiment that, while scientifically impossible to prove, is consistently echoed in both messages to me and Overwatch community spaces. But “feeling queer” is a helluva lot different than being canonically queer—so why doesn’t it seem like members of the community play Tracer and Soldier: 76 as much as they play healers?

    Gender roles

    Kiriko, the newest Overwatch 2 healer.

    Image: Blizzard

    Venture into the Reddit or TikTok trenches in search of an answer as to why gay people play healers and you’ll likely stumble across the “I can’t aim” meme. Like many internet fables, this one is somewhat rooted in reality. Evie Mae Barber, writer and narrative designer, tells me via Twitter DM that when she played Overwatch, she mained Lucio and Mercy because she finds healers in FPS titles “require less precision and more strategy,” whereas the DPS characters’ effectiveness are largely rooted in accuracy.

    A desire to avoid roles that require accuracy could be a side effect of traditional multiplayer FPS titles being largely unsafe spaces for women and non cis-het men—it’s hard to feel comfortable or competent in these roles when the skills you need to excel at them should have been honed in the dark and scary servers of Halo 3 or CS:GO, during a time when the mere hint of “otherness” was met with viciousness, slurs, and threats.

    The boys’ club of FPS titles may not exist in such severity today as it did in the early 2000s, but its effects linger. “There was a meta-analysis done that had several results, specifically about Overwatch,” says Dr. Sarah Hays, a queer-identifying counselor at nonprofit org Game to Grow and director of programming at Queer Women of Esports, during a video call. “Of course, it was on a gender binary, but male esports competitors are seen as more competitive than female competitors. Female players believe support to be the easiest position to play and prefer to play it because they don’t want to be blamed for not doing well.” She pauses. “That meta study has a whole bunch of data. I just hate that it’s done on a gender binary.”

    It’s clear that the lack of adequate research around LGBTQIA+ gamers and the roles they choose to inhabit in multiplayer titles frustrates Dr. Hays. “My plea is: ‘people, let’s do research on this because it’s so cool,’” she says earnestly before returning to the meta study, combing through it to try and find some more connections to the theory at hand: “Non male-identified people tend towards picking a character that they can feel confident in. So they reduce harassment and they reduce some of that input. ‘It’s easier to play support because I’m not getting as much shit, I’m not getting blamed for that.’ That’s something we’re seeing both based in research and generally: people want to look and appear and feel like they know what they’re doing, so they’re not going to receive flack for being another ignorant non-dude. Which sucks. But it’s true.”

    Dr. Hays doesn’t say this word during our chat, but it lingers overhead: toxicity. “I think queer folks trend toward support as it feels like the least toxic role or at least one that has less toxicity associated with them,” says Threshold Games’ community manager Colin Cummings in a DM. So, part of the reason queer-identiying gamers may be choosing healers is to avoid the rampant toxicity that comes with playing competitive FPS games. But how much do real-world experiences outside of gaming tie into choosing the support role?

    Support systems

    Zenyatta pondering orbs.

    Image: Blizzard / Nico D.

    I’m pleased when one of my theories is echoed by a few fellow healers: queer people, so often forced to protect themselves because the government won’t protect them, so connected to found families made up of supportive friends, would naturally gravitate towards characters who provide safety and security.

    “I don’t think that it’s a far stretch to imagine that the fantasy of support or healers is appealing to groups of people who require communities around them for safety and affection,” Nico writes.

    When I mention my theory in a DM with Eric Ravenscraft, product writer and reviewer at Wired, he’s on board, too. “Honestly, that wouldn’t surprise me too much,” he writes. “Support is very much herding cats, keeping your precious babies alive while they’re getting chased down by a mean dude with a hammer…most of the LGBTQIA+ folks I know live in a very found-family kinda space that becomes very protective of outside threats. Every single person I know in that space knows what it’s like to protect their friends—or even randos—from a bigoted parent or institution or whathaveyou. That kinda mindset maps pretty cleanly onto keeping four randos you just met safe online.”

    This social connection between support roles IRL and in Overwatch is something Dr. Hays “loves” during our chat—it clearly sparks her interest, and I can see her cogs turning on our video chat as she begins pondering the larger ramifications of this idea. “I wonder if there isn’t a correlation between oppressed identity and feeling better as a person in the position of healer, because it means that you get to avoid the blame, but also you get to be reinforced as someone who’s helpful and supportive, and more effective in that role? Yeah, because of the way that our real-life experiences have catered to that, as well.”

    While Dr. Hays is clearly inspired by these ideas, she reiterates that there’s just not enough research about this kind of stuff to provide us with much concrete evidence. She does, however, bring up a scientific study that leaves my jaw on the floor.

    Piss play

    Moira in Overwatch, holding her damage and healing orbs.

    I have used this image three times on Kotaku.com.
    Image: Blizzard / Kotaku

    When I wrote about how Overwatch 2’s shorthand is a specific brand of twisted, the slang term for Moira’s healing (pee) was at the top of my mind. So when Dr. Hays starts talking about a scientific study about Overwatch’s “healsluts,” I am, as the kids say, gagged—the connections are there, drawn together by queer players who are, in fact, little freaks.

    Assuming the role of a healslut, according to the study from Finnish academic journal Widerscreen, “[invites] players to deploy elements of BDSM kink and sexuality not merely within the vocabulary and design of the game, but also in a communal paratext surrounding the game involving forums, voice chat, and viral fan-designed images.” Kotaku already wrote about this kinky phenomenon almost eight years ago—a r/healslut moderator told writer Luke Winkie that healsluts take classic dominant and submissive roles that are synonymous with traditional BDSM and apply it to the roles laid out in Overwatch.

    The tank (dom) protects and compliments the healers (subs), occasionally scolding them if they fail. Healsluts have one main duty, and it’s to protect their doms (DPS characters are considered darker, more violent versions of tanks, which makes sense if you’ve ever tried to pocket heal a Genji). Though much of the writing about this community was published several years ago, I can confirm that r/healsluts is still an active subreddit.

    In many cases, the Venn diagram of kink and queer communities is a circle, with kink playing an important role in Pride events and in the history and legacy of LGBTQIA+ people. Kink play in Overwatch is a “a way for resisting ‘masculine-normative hegemonic fandom’ in video games,” according to the aforementioned study, and it persists even after Overwatch 1 was sunset in place of a free-to-play sequel.

    So whether it’s because of cishet-y FPS pressure making support a more attractive role, social roles within found families that translate to games, the indefinable but still somewhat tangible queerness of the healer characters, or a preternatural need to heal big, dommy tanks, it’s very clear that there are a lot of LGBTQIA+ people playing support in Overwatch 2.

    I could happily unpack this phenomenon in another 2,000 words, but maybe I should just leave it at what Kaitlin Jakola, managing editor at The Trace and former Gizmodo employee, had to say about it:

    “I assume we all heal because gays love to be both extremely powerful and woefully unappreciated in our own time????” Work, bestie.

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    Alyssa Mercante

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  • Drama: New Overwatch 2 Patch Buffs Moira’s Pee Charge

    Drama: New Overwatch 2 Patch Buffs Moira’s Pee Charge

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    Moira in Overwatch 2

    I’m so glad I get to use this image again on Kotaku.com.
    Image: Activision Blizzard / Kotaku

    The latest Overwatch 2 patch notes have dropped alongside a cool, Ancient Greece-themed limited time mode, and the Moira detractors are absolutely going to hate this announcement. Alongside a few bug fixes, several characters got adjustments in this latest update, and Moira’s will only add to the drama surrounding the controversial healer.

    Ever since Overwatch 2 launched and removed the sixth player on each team, the gameplay has been faster and deadlier—as such, a support problem has emerged, with players filling that role on the roster, but not actually healing their teammates. Moira is the biggest offender in this growing support problem: with her Biotic Grasp she can suck the life out of enemy players without having to aim all that well, and her fade ability makes her incredibly squiggly and hard to kill. She can easily pump out 10k damage in a match, but since she can also very easily heal double that amount, it’s incredibly frustrating to play with a Moira who refuses to heal.

    Now, in a hilarious turn of events, the latest Overwatch 2 update has made it so that Moira needs to do more damage in order to heal more. Oh boy. The patch notes read: “Dealing damage with Biotic Orb now restores a small amount of Biotic Energy.” This means that Moira’s damage orb, which can careen down alleys and bounce off walls, sapping the health out of enemy characters, will now restore some of her healing output, known to us Moira mains as “pee.” 

    This is a massive change—previously, Moira could only restore her pee from “sucking” (using her Biotic Grasp to drain enemies at close range), or just by waiting for her bladder to fill again and spamming the suck button (I’m sorry). Now, essentially, Blizzard is suggesting that Moira players do even more damage in order to pump out more heals. Overwatch Twitch streamer Hoshizora puts it best: “Tbh this change is weird like it’s meant to encourage moiras to heal more but I feel like it will do the opposite.” I see more drama in our future.

    The rest of the patch notes are relatively tame, with baby buffs for Zarya, Brigitte, and Junker Queen, and a few bug fixes around map boundaries and sound effects. The main draw from this smaller patch is that Moira will continue to piss and piss people off.

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    Alyssa Mercante

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  • Overwatch 2’s New Support Hero Can Block Headshots By…Looking Up

    Overwatch 2’s New Support Hero Can Block Headshots By…Looking Up

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    An image of Overwatch 2 support hero Kiriko throw her kunai at the camera.

    This left arm of mine? Yeah, it’s indestructible.
    Screenshot: Blizzard

    Overwatch 2 continues to incur issue after issue, with the latest problem leaving the icy damage dealer Mei totally unplayable due to a “critical issue” with her Ice Wall ability. Well, Blizzard may also want to investigate the hero shooter’s newest support character, Kiriko, as it appears she can block headshot damage by simply [checks notes] staring up at the sky.

    Kiriko is a kunai-wielding ninja healer who leaked at the beginning of September. Previously locked behind Overwatch 2‘s battle pass, Blizzard has since opted to give the kunoichi away for free following some rather uproarious criticism of the developer’s initial decision. Though she’s a pretty squishy hero, with only 200 health points, she can deal some solid damage and has a kit perfectly suited to buffing her teammates. In other words, she isn’t as passive a healer as, say, Baptiste or Mercy, but you probably don’t want her charging the enemy frontline like Brigitte or Zenyatta either. However, that might change considering an exploit discovered by Twitch streamer Flats.

    A partner of the Overwatch League’s Florida Mayhem, Flats tweeted a video on November 15 of Kiriko blocking headshot damage with her arm by looking up at the sun. Flats shot at an opposing Kiriko a few times with Widowmaker, only for the bullets to merely graze the ninja’s seemingly indestructible arm, allowing her to immediately heal back up. Flats eventually murked Kiriko with a single headshot, but only after positioning himself at just the right angle, saying you “have to get behind” Kiriko to “shoot the back of her head.” Who knew that staring up at the sky could save you from death?

    What’s appears to be happening here is that, when she looks up, Kiriko’s arm gets in the way of her dome’s hitbox, impacting the damage she takes from headshots. In response to Flat’s tweet, one Twitter user noted that Mercy was able to do the same thing, but only when casting her Resurrect ultimate ability, which sees her raise her arm in the air to revive a dead teammate.

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    Kotaku has reached out to Blizzard and Flats for comment.

    Blizzard, which has a storied history of abuse and harassment, has been working to get Overwatch 2 into a more stable and balanced state since the game launched on October 4. This includes patches to nerf heroes such as Genji and benching characters to remove exploits and fix other issues (as we’ve seen with Mei, who should return to the hero shooter on November 17). During the Overwatch League grand finals, which were held earlier this month, the studio revealed the new tank hero Ramattra, who will be locked behind the game’s battle pass. It sucks, but I guess we’d better get used to it.

     

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    Levi Winslow

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