Overwatch PTR March 19 update patch notes: Echo, training range upgrade

A new Overwatch PTR patch has gone live with the new DPS hero, Echo and a long-awaited upgrade to the Training Range.

Echo is Overwatch’s newest hero and has one of the most packed kits yet. She can easily counter Pharah with her air mobility, her Sticky Bombs can deal damage to groups and her Ultimate is a game-changer.

One cool part of her kit is the Focusing Beam ability which does more damage if a target is under half health. This can also be extremely powerful against barriers.

Her Ultimate, Duplicate, lets Echo transform into an enemy player for fifteen seconds. During that time, her ultimate generation skyrockets, so it’s very easy for her to get multiple ultimates as whatever enemy she duplicates as.

• Read More: First look at Echo gameplay in Overwatch

It will be very interesting to see what players do with Echo and how they use her ultimate as it can drastically change entire team fights and alter the course of whole rounds.

Additionally, the patch also brings in a Training Partner option to the Practice Range.

The Training Partner Spawner will allow players to spawn in any enemy the player wants to practice their abilities on. Plus, it allows Echo players to use their ultimate in the training range, as they can’t turn into the bots.

Full patch notes follow:

NEW HERO: ECHO (DAMAGE)

Echo is an evolutionary robot created by Dr. Mina Liao and programmed with a rapidly adapting artificial intelligence, versatile enough to fill multiple battlefield combat roles. Having joined up with the Overwatch team to defend Paris against the Null Sector incursion, Echo is seeing action as a full-fledged member of Overwatch for the first time. Echo fires three shots ( Tri-Shot ) at once, in a triangle pattern. Echo fires a volley of Sticky Bombs that detonates after a delay. Echo uses Flight to surge forward quickly, then can fly freely to avoid danger or maneuver to a more strategic location. Using Focusing Beam , Echo channels a beam for a few seconds, dealing very high damage to targets with less than half health, including barriers. With Duplicate , Echo targets an enemy hero and clones them, gaining all of their abilities and potentially changing a team fight in an instant.

GENERAL UPDATES

New Feature: Training Partner

Within the Practice Range, use the Training Partner Spawner to create a bot of any hero on which you can test your abilities.

General

• Added a “Patch Notes” button on the main menu and within the options menu. Selecting this button will open a web browser with the latest available game updates

HERO UPDATES

Tracer

Blink

• Improved the accuracy of Tracer’s blink movement such that Tracer will more likely end up where the crosshair is pointing

Developer Comments:

• Tracer will now blink around and over obstacles more easily to move towards the crosshair location. For example, if you aim alongside the corner of a wall, Tracer will blink past the corner
• Tracer cannot blink through a space where she otherwise cannot fit normally
• Tracer cannot blink over an obstacle which she otherwise cannot jump over normally, with the jump originating from Tracer’s height at the start of the blink movement

We hope that these changes to Tracer’s blink will feel more responsive than before.

BUG FIXES

General

• Fixed an issue preventing switching to the next hero when team spectating D.Va in Custom Games
• Fixed an issue preventing Team FFA settings and some Hero settings from being pasted back into Custom Game Settings via copy-paste
• Fixed a bug that could cause voice lines from opposing teams to be heard at Hero Select screens on certain maps
• Fixed a bug where knockbacks were not working correctly if the target was moving down a ramp
• Alt+Tab now will cancel saving a highlight, instead of causing problems with playback

Maps

Blizzard World

• Fixed a bug that allowed players to stand in an unintended location between the first and second point

Busan

• Fixed a bug that caused Sombra’s translocator to float when thrown in certain spots

Dorado

• Fixed a bug that could cause players can get stuck between the scooter and wall

Havana

• Fixed a bug that could cause players to get stuck on some bushes

Hollywood

• The capture area for the first capture point no longer extends outside of the visual capture boundary

Ilios

• Fixed a bug that could cause players to get stuck between a wall, plant, and tree

Heroes

Mei

• Fixed a bug where an already frozen enemy getting hit by Blizzard would cause the frozen visual effect to end too early

Moira

• Fixed a bug that prevented Moira’s Fade icon from appearing disabled when she is stunned

Workshop

• Fixed an issue preventing Big Message and Small Message from displaying messages in Practice Range