Armor and tanks nerfed in latest Overwatch patch

Fariha Bhatti Published 24/01/2019

A new patch has been introduced to live servers, bringing a few balance changes to heroes just in time for the start of Overwatch League Season 2.

Patch 1.32.1 will be used for Stage 1 of the Overwatch League, with commissioner Nate

Nanzer announcing that the patch used by the professional players will be in line with versions at home.

The biggest change in the patch affects multiple heroes, as it makes adjustments to the armor mechanic. Previously, armor worked by reducing five points of damage per shot from any given hero. With the new changes, this has now been reduced to three points of damager per shot. While the change may not immediately seem significant, heroes with a rapid rate of fire will the see effects stack up against enemies with large armor bonuses.

Brigitte has received another nerf to her kit, with the duration of her ultimate being capped at 30 seconds. This prevents bonus armor from staying on allies between separate uses of her ultimate.

D.Va’s Defense Matrix has been updated with a longer cooldown period between uses. While previously at one second, the ability now takes 2 seconds to become available for use again. Defense Matrix is a particularly strong ability as it can absorb all projectiles while active. The changes will make it easier for her enemies to break through D.Va’s defenses..

The final balance change buffs DPS hero Reaper. His passive ability The Reapening steals life from his targets, and will now restore 50% of all damage dealt as health. This is up from 30%, and should allow Reaper to be more effective against tank heroes with their large health pools.

The update also activated the Lunar New Year event, which brought a host of new cosmetics to the loot pool. The event runs from January 24 to February 19.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

View full profile

Read Also

Movies & TV

Will The Batman Part II Be Delayed Again? Zachary Roberts The Batman: Part II has already been delayed three times. It was supposed to come out this month, actually. Three delays later, though, and it's on the slate for February 2028, which would be almost six years to the month after the first movie. Is it going to be delayed again? Movie fans live in fear of that very thing in these uncertain times. Any piece of art, including video ...

Kick

Nigerian Musician Davido Joins Kick: Here’s What We Know Khizar Mundia Afrobeats star David “Davido” Adedeji Adeleke has joined livestreaming platform Kick and expressed his intention to begin a new part of his career. Kick has previously revealed that the platform has stepped back from signing streamers with large deals and also stopped encouraging gambling content. Both announcements were met with widely positive reactions, as there was much criticism regarding casino streaming and many people believed huge deals led to streamers ...

Dota 2

BLAST SLAM VIII Finals predictions and preview Michael Hassall It’s been a long road, but after a strangely-formatted group stage, and a decidedly anticlimactic playoffs, we’re down to the final three teams in BLAST SLAM VIII. The finals are today (Oct. 11) and we’ll see the premier teams in Dota 2 clash. Perhaps disappointingly, we’re not seeing a new wave of top-teams at the pinnacle of Dota 2 competition, with the three final teams being the same trio we’ve ...

Twitch

Kai Cenat Reveals Japan IRL Tour and Says He Wants To Go to Space Khizar Mundia Twitch star Kai Cenat has recently expanded his content to include IRL tours, and Japan is next on the list of places he will be heading it seems. The American kicked off his Exploring the Unexplored IRL series with Iceland, reportedly becoming the first streamer to broadcast from inside a volcano. This was a massive accomplishment, but just a few days later Cenat became embroiled in controversy with Reginald “Reggie” Travers. ...

News

NFL petitions U.S. Supreme Court for clarity on prediction markets Michael Hassall The heat is officially on for prediction market operators such as Kalshi and Polymarket as the NFL, one of the United States’ biggest sports leagues, is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the classification of prediction markets. In a brief filed late on Thursday (Oct. 8), the National Football League (NFL) backed the state of New Jersey’s request for the U.S.’s highest legal entity to review whether ...

GTA

Lacy Reveals GTA 6 Marathon Plans and Monthly Income Breakdown Khizar Mundia Nick “Lacy” Fosco recently made headlines after announcing he would disable Twitch ads on his streams. Now, the streamer has revealed plans for an upcoming GTA 6 marathon, alongside a breakdown of his monthly earnings and expenses.. Lacy is in the news frequently, whether it's because of his relationship, drama with other streamers, or even leaving CORE. The creator recently also limited his Twitch ads significantly after starting, saying that ...

News

Crypto Casino Stake To Launch In Alberta, Canada Khizar Mundia Stake co-founder Eddie Craven made an X post announcing that the casino has secured licensing approval in Alberta, Canada, and will be launching its services in the new location imminently. Crypto casino Stake is one of the most popular gambling sites, with livestreaming platform Kick having been a major marketing force for it over the years. Both platforms are owned by co-founders Eddie Craven and Bijan Tehrani. While Kick has ...