On June 9, Blizzard released a surprise update that saw abilities taken from the beta of Overwatch 2 into the first Overwatch. This shocking move has garnered warm reception from fans, however, as the last beta for Overwatch 2 was a closed one. The new integration is intended to help players get familiar with the massive overhauls coming to many characters in the sequel. The patch is heavily experimental, and will help Blizzard to see which abilities work and which ones need to be removed or reworked.
Some of the new changes are minor, such as increasing Sombra's damage from an 8 to a 9, or Pharah's reload time being 0.3 seconds faster.
More significant changes were added to Zenyatta and Reinhardt. Reinhardt can now cancel his charge ability mid-use; Zenyatta's melee attack deals 50% more damage and has more knock back power.
Here's the full list of what was added in the patch:
TANKS
Orisa
Fusion Driver
- Weapon spread removed
Protective Barrier
- Maximum duration reduced from 20 to 4 seconds
- Health increased from 600 to 1200
- Cooldown increased from 10 to 12 seconds
Halt!
- Pull radius increased from 5 to 7 meters
D.Va
Fusion Cannons
- Weapon spread reduced by 15%
Reinhardt
Charge
- Can now be cancelled by pressing the ability input again
Wrecking Ball
Roll
- Knockback increased 36%
DAMAGE
Bastion
Configuration: Recon
- Weapon spread removed
Cassidy
Combat Roll
- Now grants 50% damage reduction for its 0.4 second duration
Sombra
Machine Pistol
- Damage increased from 8 to 9
Hack
- Cast time reduced from 0.65 to 0.5 seconds
- Hacked duration reduced from 5 to 3 seconds
EMP
- Ultimate cost reduced by 15%
Doomfist
Seismic Slam
- Distance increased from 15 to 20 meters
Pharah
Rocket Launcher
- Reload now begins 0.3 seconds sooner when out of ammo
Concussive Blast
- Now deals 30 damage on direct hit
- Deals 50% additional knockback to direct hit targets
Junkrat
Frag Launcher
- Projectile radius increased from 0.2 to 0.25 meters
Steel Trap
- Projectile speed increased from 10 to 15
Torbjorn
Rivet gun primary fire
- Recovery reduced from 0.6 to 0.55 seconds
Rivet gun secondary fire
- Recovery reduced from 0.8 to 0.7 seconds
SUPPORT
Zenyatta
Orb of Discord
- Linger duration reduced from 3 to 2 seconds
Snap Kick
- New passive added
- Quick melee deals 50% more damage and knocks enemies away
Overwatch is heading in an exciting new direction, and it will be interesting to see what they integrate next into the game to get players prepared for Overwatch 2.
