Overwatch PTR patch notes for March 2 – Baptiste and Symmetra receive huge changes

Connor Bennett

Less than a week after releasing Overwatch’s newest hero, Baptiste, to the Public Testing Region, Blizzard has made a few tweaks to him and Symmetra, while also fixing a few niggling bugs that have been affecting players.

The Public Testing Region (PTR) allows PC players to beta test select features – which includes new heroes, changes to current heroes, being able to play new maps and other general changes – before they are put into the full game.

Baptiste, the newest support hero, was released into testing on February 26, giving fans a chance to get their teeth right into what may or may not need to be fixed before being released to the wider public. 

Fans had already highlighted issues with the character’s Immortality Field ability but a fix for that issue has still yet to be addressed. It was passed over for a fix in the February 28 PTR balancing patch, where 20 of the game’s 30 heroes were adjusted. 

The newest support hero could shake up the game’s current meta when released to the public.

As per usual, Blizzard has heard the feedback and made a few tweaks of their own – including a major change to how the character’s ultimate, Amplification Matrix, appears in-game. 

Baptiste’s ultimate had initially looked like a shield but with the new update, it will now reflect how it is supposed to look – like a field. The developer has also dropped an update for Symmetra’s Photon Projector – buffing the ability and giving it some much-needed added power.

Symmetra’s Photon Projector will now work to it’s full potential.

Below are the full set of PTR patch notes for March 2 – including a number of comments from Blizzard as to why they have introduced the change. 

Overwatch PTR Patch Notes – March 2, 2019

HERO UPDATES

Baptiste

  • Amplification Matrix – made significant changes to its appearance

Developer Comments: When we originally released Amplification Matrix, we felt like it looked a little too much like a shield. These changes will make it clear that this is a field and not a shield.

Symmetra

  • Photon Projector – Primary Fire’s damage ramps up 20% faster

Developer Comments: This will allow Symmetra to more consistently reach peak damage output from her Photon Projector.

BUG FIXES

Heroes

Baptiste

  • Fixed a bug that allowed Baptiste to gain ultimate charge by healing heroes after they were damaged by passing cars on Oasis

Doomfist

  • Fixed a bug where Seismic Slam didn’t pull in enemies as intended

Maps

Horizon Lunar Colony

  • Fixed a bug that caused the hanging tires near the first point to rotate a Self Destructing D.Va mech

User Interface

  • Fixed a bug where the destruction of Baptiste’s Immortality Field generator wouldn’t display on the kill feed