Huge Overwatch PTR patch nerfs Sigma, buffs Winston, and more

A massive Overwatch PTR patch has just dropped featuring a magnitude of nerfs and buffs to all sorts of heroes.

Of note on the tank buff side, D.va got a nice buff to her Defense Matrix, Roadhog gained an extra shot in his scrap gun and Winston’s barrier got improved in both duration and health. 

In terms of nerfs, Orisa’s barrier received an additional second of cool down time and Sigma’s barrier was finally given a cool down – something many players were demanding. 

For supports, Lucio’s speed has been buffed – a nice revert given his nerfs back during the now obsolete triple tank GOATs meta. Moira now heals herself less and Baptiste’s Immortality Field has 50 less health.

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On the damage side, Tracer’s damage fall off has been slightly decreased meaning she will be able to do slightly more damage. Meanwhile, Doomfist and Symmetra have both received an assortment of nerfs. 

The full patch notes are as follows: 

Full September 24 Overwatch PTR Patch Notes

HERO UPDATES

D.Va

Defense Matrix

• Regeneration rate increased from 12.5% to 16% per second
• Delay before regeneration begins lowered from 1 second to 0.75 seconds

Orisa

Protective Barrier

• Cooldown increased from 9 to 10 seconds

Roadhog

Scrap Gun

• Ammunition increased from 5 to 6.

Sigma

Kinetic Grasp

• No longer blocks Chain Hook and Whip Shot

Gravitic Flux

• High gravity effect duration reduced from 1.2 to 0.9 seconds

Experimental Barrier

• Regeneration rate reduced from 175 to 150 per second
• Now has a 1 second cooldown after recalling the barrier
• Initial 0.2 second cast time removed

Winston

Barrier Projector

• Duration increased from 6 to 9 seconds
• Health increased from 600 to 700

Baptiste

Immortality Field

• Health decreased from 250 to 200

Lucio

Crossfade

• Speed boost’s effect increased from 20% to 25%

Amp It Up

• Speed boost’s amplification increased from 50% to 60%

Wall Ride

• Speed buff reduced from 40% to 30%

Mercy

Valkyrie

• The extra beams created by Valkyrie now ignore enemy barriers

Moira

Biotic Grasp

• Self-healing reduced from 30 to 20 health per second

Doomfist

Rocket Punch

• Time to reach max charge increased from 1 to 1.4 seconds

The Best Defense…

• Shield health gained per hit reduced from 35 to 30

Sombra

Translocator

• Cooldown increased from 4 to 6 seconds
• Cooldown now begins immediately upon deploying the beacon or if it is killed by an enemy

Symmetra

Photon Barrier

• Duration reduced from 15 to 12 seconds
• Health reduced from 5000 to 4000

Sentry Turret

• Damage per second reduced from 50 to 40

Photon Projector

• Players impacted by the primary fire beam should now hear a louder impact sound

Tracer

Pulse Pistols

• Damage falloff now starts at 13 meters, up from 10 meters

BUG FIXES

General

• Fixed a player profile issue preventing hero win percentages from being displayed for competitive arcade mode seasons

Heroes

Brigitte

• Fixed a bug with Brigitte’s Rally checking line of sight from her feet instead of from her head
• Fixed a bug with Inspire’s position being affected by the player’s aim pitch

Doomfist

• Fixed a bug that allowed Doomfist to use Meteor Strike before taking impact damage from Sigma’s Gravitic Flux

Sigma

• Fixed a bug that allowed Sigma’s Gravitic Flux to ignore line of sight through some ceilings

Sombra

• Fixed a bug with EMP’s position being affected by player’s aim pitch

Winston

• Fixed a bug that caused Winston’s Barrier Projector to not consistently play its destroyed visual effects

Another welcome addition comes in the form of a fix Brigitte’s Rally Armor. As we previously reported, a bug prevented the ultimate from supplying teammates with armor. Finally, that problem seems to have been fixed.

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There are so many changes in this patch aimed at tackling the double barrier meta plaguing Overwatch both in ranked and professionally. Double barrier (Sigma and Orisa) has been used frequently in the Overwatch League playoffs along with Moira and Doomfist who also received nerfs.

This new patch could completely flip Overwatch on its head and may possibly be the version of the game that launches with the Nintendo Switch port on October 15.

It’s also unclear if this patch will go live before the next major competition, the Contenders Gauntlet in Seoul, South Korea. Though it is very likely teams will play on this patch in time for the Overwatch World Cup at Blizzcon in November.