- Recently Patch 1.40.1.0 was released for Overwatch, and like previous patches to the game, it has the community divided on whether it helps or hinders the game. Read what the fuss is all about below.
PATCH 1.40.1.0
Unlike the large patch back on September 17th, patch 1.40.1.0 is rather small. Perhaps the developers believed that there wasn’t much fine-tuning needed. As well, we’ve typically seen downtime towards the end of summer/start of fall as new games start to come out, thus, not many updates are happening with current titles unless of course, you’re Fortnite.
Here are the updates from patch 1.40.1.0 below:
Hero Updates
General: Reverted edge-placement change for ground targeted abilities (Reaper’s Shadowstep, Mei’s Icewall, Symmetra’s Teleporter, etc).
Bug Fixes
General: Made changes to improve game stability.
Maps: Paris – Fixed a bug that allowed players to shoot through one of the spawn doors.
Heroes: Bastion – Brick Bastion Skin – “Updated muzzle flash VFX”
According to Reddit user Orpheon89 from the Overwatch subreddit, the fix to Bastion’s Brick skin’s muzzle flash was a must-have; “Heck it was almost blinding for me. Made almost my whole screen flash when firing. This is much better.” Another user named u/Xion194 added to the discussion saying “the muzzle flash was way too bright and distracting. It was literally hurting my eyes trying to aim with that thing.” The devs made sure to take care of those little nuances.
Both these comments were taken from u/FiLoUx70’s post on r/Overwatch titled Overwatch Retail Patch Notes – September 24, 2019.
Bugs
Since the release of patch 1.40.1.0 some players have been reporting some serious game destroying bugs. As was the case with the last patch that the Overwatch developers released, it seems like this is a typical occurrence with patch releases now. One user named u/lortrey said that “since that patch, my game keeps crashing at ‘Entering game’. I crashed during matches quite often but now [I] can’t play at all.”
A possible solution for those facing the same issue, according to user u/Probably1915, would be to try the following:
- “They have a known bug right now when using different audio locals from the game. So if you’re using Japanese audio and English text. Switch them both back to English and it won’t crash anymore.”
Like most patches, some players have also said they’re experiencing severe FPS drops. No one knows why these types of bugs make their way into the game with every patch update, but there have yet to be any explanation from Overwatch Devs. We’ll just need to wait until further updates come from the HQ.
PTR: Public Test Realm
Besides the bugs from the patch, some serious heat between players is being caused by the new PTR. Here are all the current Hero Buffs and Nerfs from the PTR:
Heroes 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%”
Valkyrie:
- “The extra beams created by Valkyrie now ignore enemy barriers”
- Biotic Grasp: “Self-healing reduced from 30 to 20 health per second”
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”
Thanks to Reddit user THE-WALRUS-KING, we can see both the effects of the nerf on Tracer and Doomfist.
Link to a video for Tracer: https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/d92v86/quick_look_at_the_tracer_falloff_buff/
Link to a video for Doomfist: https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/d91xgv/quick_comparison_of_the_doomfist_nerf_on_the_ptr/
The Player Base Reacts
Out of all these changes, the ones done to Doomfist are the most devastating to the community.
Many players, like Zethlington, currently see Doomfist in PTR as an unbeatable opponent.
“There are no single counters to Doomfist.
Doomfist can destroy any “counter” that people claim he has. Doomfist can instantly destroy McCree, Sombra, Brigitte and so many more heroes. But no hero can destroy Doomfist like he can them. You can flash the Doomfist, but then you have to kill him, and considering Doomfist’s insane mobility, it might be difficult to pull off a flash that gives you the opportunity to also shoot him. You can hack the Doomfist, but then you have to kill him. Even if a Doomfist is hacked, he can take out a Sombra with his primary fire. A Brigitte can Shield Bash you, but then she will die because she cannot defeat him. […]”
If you would like to read the full post made by Zethlington, follow this link. Fans are not just complaining about this nerf mind you, but opening conversations for devs to give heroes buffs as well. One of the main heroes many players seem to think deserves a buff is Brigitte. The following was taken from JaredMusic’s post on r/Overwatch titled “Brigitte buff suggestion”:
“My suggestion would be:
– If the shield is getting destroyed, it shrinks to [its] unextend form but is still usable. The shield will still block dmg but is a lot smaller. Shieldbash is always possible.”
If you want a longer argument as to why Brig deserves a buff, I suggest checking out u/Alec_de_Large’s post. Link to there post.
Whether the developer team will listen to these complaints and suggestions of buffs is anyone’s guess. But hopefully we’ll see a far better patch coming soon to sweep up these recent bugs and a fix to this most recent PTR.
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