It’s only been two days since Overwatch got it’s last patch. But the Overwatch team at Blizzard HQ have just released a brand new patch in order to fix some bugs plaguing the game, as well as fixing the patch problems from two days ago.
Patch Problems Persist. A New Meta for Overwatch?
On Wednesday the 27th of March 2019, a new Overwatch patch was announced to be “in development’ and ‘available for testing” for the public in the form of a PTR (Public Test Realm). Almost immediately, many fans where seemingly ecstatic with what the new patch could bring to the table. Reddit user MoiraMain posted the patch notes title “Overwatch PTR Patch Notes — March 27, 2019”, and this was the community’s response.
- “Loving these recent railing nerfs” -Acadiaa
- “Some of these recent changes have been needed for two years. Glad to see them!” -SupremeKotor
- “Finally! The blessed symmetra QoL changes!!!” -c0ntinue-Tstng
- “I like that they’re improving targetting in general, it sometimes felt a bit clunky” -rthink
Fans were generally pleased with the match notes. However, some users were speculating that the new patch would bring a new metag to the game.
The Patch (patch number 1.35.0.0.56446)
Doomfist, Reaper, Symmetra, and Mei mains should all be eagerly awaiting for when this patch releases and the new meta it may bring. What exactly does this new patch plan on bringing to the game? Well, in terms of hero updates:
- Doomfist’s Seismic Slam “can now target through railings”.
- Mei’s Ice Wall is “easier to place on thin surfaces” and “appears less jittery when placing while moving around”.
- Reaper’s Shadow Step received the same treatment as Rei’s Ice Wall, “easier to place on thin surfaces” and “appears less jittery when placing while moving around”.
In terms of bug fixes:
- A bug was fixed “where your view would become level with the horizon after using Symmetra’s Teleporter”.
- A bug was fixed “where Doomfist would get caught on door frames when impacting a wall”.
- Two bugs were fixed for Reaper where his Shadow Step placement target would “fall from ledges”, and where he was able to “gain capture progress on an objective while phased using Shadow Step”.
- Lastly, a bug was fixed where Symmetra’s Teleporter placement target would fall from ledges.
More here at: https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/overwatch/t/overwatch-ptr-patch-notes-march-27-2019/323544. Many of the problems players faced after the last patch on March 25th are hoping that the issues will be fixed after it’s release from development.
Problems with the patch
Within seconds of the patch being live and available for public testing, problems where found. Players quickly took to the Blizzard forums and stated the obvious. Ceiu, an Overwatch player posted in the Blizzard forum regarding Mei’s Ice Wall placement being “severely broken”. He stated:
“If you look downward to place a wall, there’s an angle at which you cannot place the wall on slopes. This is most obvious right in front of you, but it also seems to either extend out (as the Junkertown window wall on 2nd no longer works), or they completely broke edge walls entirely, as evident by the Numbani bench clip. This also affects Reaper’s shadow step, though instead of simply not working, it snaps the destination around to avoid the deadzone. Symmetra is not affected at all since she has a minimum distance for teleporter placement. Her ult is unaffected.”
Here’s the video showcasing the issue:
The Effects
This new patch is already being seen by players as the “death of railing mains” and even possibly the death of the “GOATS” strategy. A strategy in which a team is fielding three tanks and three healers.
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