Overwatch PTR update July 25 patch notes: Moira nerf, Sigma buff, more

The latest Overwatch Public Test Realm (PTR) patch features a reversal of a controversial Moira change as well as a buff for new hero Sigma.

It’s an exciting time on the PTR right now, as Blizzard are not only testing a new hero, but also a massive fundamental change to how the game works with the implementation of role queue.

Meanwhile, the PTR has also seen a variety of major hero adjustments, such as a sweeping nerf to Brigitte, only adding to the massive meta shake-up that role queue will bring.

This is the first time that Blizzard have been able to publicly test how heroes perform when locked into a strict 2-2-2 system at all times, and so it’s not too surprising that they’re looking to preemptively account for the major shifts in champion balance that might result.

• Read more: Here’s why Sigma has bare feet in Overwatch

There have therefore been several updates to this iteration of the PTR as Blizzard fine-tune the balance they’re aiming for, and the latest patch addresses one of the more controversial changes, reversing the buff to Moira’s Fade that made her incredibly difficult to kill.

The patch also brings a buff to Sigma, reducing the cooldown of his Kinetic Grasp and increasing the amount of shielding he can generate from it. Meanwhile, Ashe and Wrecking Ball are targeted with bug fixes.

It’s not entirely clear how long the current patch could spend on the PTR. New heroes usually spend around three weeks there, and with Sigma appearing on July 23, that would suggest a live release around August 13, but it’s not impossible that a patch as significant as this could be in testing for longer than usual. 

Sigma is expected to be played in the Overwatch League playoffs, however, so this patch should have arrived by August 30, when the play-in stages featuring the 7th-12th teams kicks off.

The full patch notes for the July 25 update can be read below:

Overwatch PTR July 25 patch notes

GENERAL UPDATES

Practice Range

• Practice Range has been re-enabled.

HERO UPDATES

Moira

Fade

• No longer usable while stunned.

Sigma

Kinetic Grasp

• Cooldown reduced from 15 to 13 seconds
• Shield per damage conversion increased from 0.33 to 0.40

BUG FIXES

Heroes

Ashe

• Fixed a bug where jumping while scoped shooting could cause the gun to clip into the camera slightly.

Wrecking Ball

• Fixed a bug where Wrecking Ball could get stuck in his slam animation if landing on very flat slippery surfaces.