Rebekah D. October 17, 2018
A new Overwatch patch is now live, bringing with it hero balance changes including a complete rework for Torbjörn and a change in how Pharah plays.
The rework to Torbjörn has arrived with Patch 1.29. As there is no longer a defense hero category, developers thought Torbjörn wasn’t as adaptable as the game’s other heroes. In order to make him feel viable in more situations, his defensive capabilities have been adjusted and his damage output increased.
Armor packs and the scrap currency have been completely removed and replaced by a buff called Overload that gives Torbjörn increased movement speed and grants 150 points of armour. His turret now automatically upgrades to level two, automatically targeting the last enemy to be hit by Torbjörn’s primary fire. Turrets can also be thrown, making their placement more flexible.
Torbjörn’s Molton Core has also been reworked and no longer affects his turret. The hero’s claw arm becomes his primary weapon, shooting 10 globules of molten lava that cause 130 damage to enemies that stepping in their lingering effects. Armored heroes will receive extra damage.
Pharah’s rocket launcher has been tweaked to feel more responsive and to reward for players for hitting direct shots. Her explosive damage has been lessened and her direct impact damage increased. Players will now benefit more from direct hits and perform less splash damage.
Brigitte has received a nerf to her barrier shield health dropping it by 100 points, while McCree has received a buff to his combat roll allowing him to use it every six seconds instead of every eight.
Orisa and Doomfist have both received some tweaks to their primary fire. Orisa’s fusion driver now has a reduced spread so that she can hit targets that are farther away with more accuracy, while Doomist’s hand canon has had its damage reduced at greater distances.
Visuals have been updated in the patch with an improvement to colorblind settings. Team colors, hero outlines, and other aspects of the user interface can now all be adjusted separately for a more personalised experience. These adjustments come from the technology originally developed for spectating Overwatch League matches.