Overwatch August 24 Experimental patch includes huge Support changes
Blizzard EntertainmentThe latest Overwatch Experimental Mode patch includes a number of significant nerfs for Ana, Baptiste, and Moira, along with a bunch of other updates, so let’s take a look at what Blizzard is trying out.
Moira was the main focus of the August 18 Experimental notes, and it looks like devs aren’t done with her yet, as the August 24 patch continues to nerf the powerful healer.
DPS characters affected in this patch are Ashe, Junkrat, McCree, Pharah, Symmetra, and Widowmaker – and the changes mostly have to do with ammunition clip size and fire recovery time (how quickly you can shoot with a particular hero).
Pharah and Orisa also see minor updates as well, but the main focus for this patch definitely seems to be on nerfing Ana, Baptiste, and Moira, which is strange, considering the new “shieldless” meta we seem to be entering into.
Blizzard EntertainmentTo start out, the healing effects of Moira’s Biotic Grasp will now only stick around for two seconds on allies, instead of four, bringing the total healing down from 65 to just 35. This will greatly reduce the amount of healing she’s able to give to teammates.
Her healing per second has been increased slightly from 65 to 70 perhaps in an attempt to make up for the nerf to total healing time.
The healing resource she gains by damaging enemies is increased by 50% though, so you’ll be able to charge up quicker than ever before, but the rate of healing consumption has increased from 11 to 14.
Blizzard EntertainmentNext up is Baptiste, who’s had the size of his healing grenade clip reduced from 12 to 10 grenades before he has to reload. His Regenerative Burst will also take a hit, only healing allies for 75 instead of 150. The hero himself still gets twice as much healing from the ability though, so at least it will help keep him alive at least.
Ana’s nerf is the simplest to go over, her ammo has simply been reduced from 14 down to 12, which cuts down on the amount of healing she’s able to put out before having to reload.
Like we mentioned, several DPS heroes along with Orisa and Zarya also see updates in the August 24 Experimental patch, and you can read all about them in the full patch notes below.
OVERWATCH EXPERIMENTAL PATCH NOTES – AUGUST 24, 2020
EXPERIMENTAL HERO UPDATES
The next experiment begins! This time we’re hoping to get your feedback on some balance updates that lean toward reducing some heroes’ damage and healing outputs. We’re using the 2-2-2 Role Queue ruleset so that you can get a feel for how these balance changes might affect the live game.
Armor
- Beam-type damage reduction against Armor health pools increased from 20% to 30%
ANA
General
- Ammo reduced from 14 to 12
ASHE
General
- Max ammo reduced from 15 to 12
Secondary Fire
- Aim-down sights damage reduced from 85 to 80
BAPTISTE
Secondary Fire
- Grenade ammo reduced from 12 to 10
- Total healing reduced from 150 to 75
- Baptiste now receives twice as much healing from Regenerative Burst
JUNKRAT
- Impact damage reduced from 50 to 40 (Total 130 to 120)
MCCREE
Primary Fire
- Recovery increased from 0.42 to 0.50
MOIRA
Healing
- Lingering heal reduced from 4 seconds to 2 seconds (Total healing from 65 down to 35)
- Healing per second increased from 65 to 70
- Healing resource consumption rate increased from 11 to 14 (27%)
Damage
- Attach angle reduced by 37%
- Healing resource gain rate increased by 50%
ORISA
- Radius increased from 4 to 5
- Projectile speed reduced from 30 to 25
PHARAH
- Recovery increased from 0.75 to 0.85
SYMMETRA
Secondary Fire
- Max damage reduced from 140 to 120
WIDOWMAKER
General
- Max ammo increased from 30 to 35
Secondary Fire
- Scoped ammo cost increased from 3 to 5
- Scoped shots now have up to 50% damage falloff from 60-85 meters
ZARYA
Secondary Fire
- Ammo cost increased from 20 to 25