As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of gaming under my belt, I must say that the latest update for Juno in Overwatch seems like a game-changer! The updates to Mediblaster, Pulsar Torpedoes, Glide Boost, Hyper Ring, and Orbital Ray make it clear that the developers have been listening to player feedback.
As an avid Overwatch 2 enthusiast, I’m thrilled to share that we’ve got another exciting update on August 20, marking the beginning of Season 12! Here’s a sneak peek into what this update brings: a multitude of character adjustments, the addition of a new hero named Juno, a fresh map for us to explore, and much more. Dive into the detailed patch notes below to get the full scoop!
Overwatch 2 patch notes – August 20, 2024
On August 20, 2024, Blizzard shared the update details for Overwatch 2 on their official website. Let’s delve straight into the extensive patch notes.
Season 12 – New frontiers
Get ready for an exciting intergalactic expedition to explore uncharted territories, as this season introduces Juno, a delightful and unique Support character originating from Mars. Engage in combat on two fresh maps using the Clash game mode, where you’ll experience an intense struggle for victory in a tug of war! Unveil the divine power of ancient Egypt with the new Anubis Reaper Hero Skin and defeat your adversaries wielding the sun god Ra’s celestial sword with the approaching Midnight Sun Ana Weapon Skin. Elevate to the premium battle pass and acquire Legendary Bast Doomfist, Oni Ana, and other exceptional items for your collection.
New Hero – Juno
The latest Support character in Overwatch 2 hails from Mars – meet Juno! Equipped with a Mediblaster that offers healing as well as damage, and Pulsar Torpedoes for good measure, Juno is a versatile addition to the team. Moreover, her Hyper Ring ability speeds up movement for quicker battles, and her agility lets her move swiftly across the battlefield to offer crucial support or dodge threats efficiently.
Born on Mars as part of Project Red Promise, a covert endeavor by Lucheng Interstellar to make Mars habitable, Juno Teo Minh found herself in a precarious situation when the planet was hit by destructive dust storms that disconnected the Red Promise Colony from Lucheng. To secure her safety, the Red Promise Team transported her to Earth. As an adult, Juno is driven to find a solution to rescue Mars and reunite with her family, before it’s too late.
New Core Game Mode – Clash
Prepare for a fresh gameplay experience as Overwatch 2 introduces its innovative core mode, titled Clash! In this exciting new format, five capture points are strategically placed along a linear path on symmetrical maps. At any given time, only one objective is active, with the match beginning at Objective C, the central point. Secure an objective by remaining unchallenged on it until the capture progress is fully completed. Each successfully captured objective rewards a team with 1 point towards their score.
After the recent Clash trial, the concluding capture areas for both teams (A and E) now offer greater incentives, awarding three points in total that are divided as segments based on capture progress. A victory is achieved when a team accumulates five points from capturing different objectives across the map, or if they successfully conquer their opponent’s final objective entirely.
With the introduction of the new Hanaoka and Throne of Anubis maps, along with an increased occurrence, Clash is now available in Quick Play and Competitive Play. This gives you additional opportunities to engage in this mode. For a brief period, Clash will also be accessible in the Arcade.
New Clash Map – Throne Of Anubis
Nestled deep within the ancient temple grounds where I stand, the Throne of Anubis, a godly program confined by Helix International, resides. The tranquil streets and rich historical sites nearby are heavy with tension, as whispers of the power that ignited the Omnic Crisis stir fear, hinting at its potential to rise once more.
Hero Mastery Updates
Prepare your particle cannon and stock your rockets! The solo training courses for characters Pharah and Zarya are debuting this season. Time your attacks carefully and safeguard your bot allies while you engage in fresh challenges during our limited-time event, running from August 20 to September 3. Additionally, collect new rewards and gain up to 22,500 Battle Pass XP.
- Hero Mastery Courses for Pharah and Zarya have been added.
General Updates
Avoid As Teammate
The Avoid List has been updated with the following new features:
- Players now have 15 avoid slots divided into 3 Pinned slots and 12 Recent slots.
- Pinned Avoid slots guarantee that these players will never be in your matches and unlike our old Avoid slots, they never time out.
- The new Recent Avoid slots do time out after 7 days like the old Avoid slots, and they only prioritize constructing teams without these players on them.
- The player with the lowest time remaining in the Recent list is removed from the list if a new player is avoided when the list is full.
- Time Remaining for an avoided player in the Recent list can be refreshed by using the Reset Avoid Expiration feature.
- The Avoid List is now its own tab in the Social menu (which still only appears when at least 1 player is avoided).
- Any players that were avoided when Season 11 ended will be removed from the avoided list due to the aforementioned updates to the system.
Developer Comments: Since we implemented the feature, avoiding other players has helped shape your gameplay. However, with these updates, we aim to find effective methods for players to handle their ignore settings.
Spawn System Changes
- Group Respawn is replaced by Wave Respawn for all non-Competitive modes.
- Wave Respawn is added to Competitive Play.
- Default respawn time increased from 10 to 12 seconds.
- Overtime respawn time increased from 13 to 14 seconds.
- Wave Respawn is disabled in Overtime.
- Overtime respawn time is not increased in Flashpoint.
- Wave Respawn is disabled when the Payload is near the end of the track in Escort and Hybrid game modes (the same time the existing Anti-Stall system activates).
- When the first hero on a team dies, they start a new Wave for their team.
- Any hero that dies within 6 seconds of a Wave starting automatically joins that Wave.
- A hero joining a Wave will respawn at the exact same time as the hero that started the Wave. This means that the respawn time of heroes joining the wave can be as long as 12 seconds if they died at the same time as the first hero or as short as 6 seconds if they catch the end of the Wave.
- If a hero starts a Wave and no other hero joins the Wave they will respawn 2 seconds faster. This hero will respawn in 10 seconds (the default respawn time before Season 12).
Developer Comments: These changes are designed to reduce the number of one-sided matches. For an in-depth analysis of our thought process behind the changes to respawning, read the latest Director’s Take on PlayOverwatch.com.
Shop Updates
- You can now try out all skins in the practice range from the Hero Gallery or the Premium Shop.
Competitive Play Updates
Mid-Year Rank Reset
- Competitive skill ranks for all players have been reset for Season 12.
- Players will need to complete ten placement matches for each role to be ranked and start climbing on the leaderboard.
As an avid player, I’m excited to share that our team has a strategy in place. Every six months, we’ll refresh rankings, coinciding with larger updates designed to stir up the metagame. These updates will bring about substantial hero balance adjustments, introduce new characters such as Juno, unveil innovative game modes like Clash, and implement modifications to core systems, like the ones concerning respawning, as previously mentioned.
Predicted Rank
- The Predicted Rank that was displayed to players in Placements at the end of each match is now displayed in all locations that rank is displayed for individual players.
- Predicted Rank is only displayed to players viewing their own Rank (other players can’t see this information).
- Predicted Rank is now used to determine whether a group is Wide or Narrow, meaning that Placements are no longer automatically considered Wide.
- This will allow players to get much faster queues in many scenarios after their Rank has been reset.
Hero Updates
In our latest 2.11.1 update, we made improvements to all Tank characters, which sparked increased player engagement with that role. This change also led to shorter wait times for players seeking Damage and Support roles in matches. This update also includes some tweaks for Tanks, but the main focus is on fine-tuning several agile heroes in the Damage and Support categories.
We aim to introduce a balance when it comes to mobility within the game, considering that it offers great power. This is particularly important as we integrate Juno, who enhances speed. Consequently, certain characters will have their health capped at 225 HP, and in some instances, we’ll strengthen other aspects of their abilities.
Tank
D.Va
Team Discussion Note: Boosting Defense Matrix accessibility for D.Va didn’t significantly improve her overall effectiveness, but it’s generating quite a bit of annoyance among opposing-team players. Therefore, we’ll be restoring its duration back to its original state.
Defense Matrix
- Maximum duration reduced from 3.5 to 3 seconds.
Orisa
Developer Comment: Orisa is still underperforming so we’re increasing the impact damage of Energy Javelin to better reward accuracy with the ability.
Energy Javelin
- Impact damage increased from 60 to 80.
Zarya
As an enthusiastic player, I wanted to share some insights about Zarya’s secondary fire during Season 9. Despite the projectile size adjustments, it didn’t seem to gain much advantage since it’s primarily aimed at the ground. To ensure her secondary fire remains impactful compared to her primary beam, we’re enhancing its damage in upcoming updates!
Particle Cannon
- Secondary fire minimum damage increased from 47 to 55.
- Secondary fire maximum damage increased from 95 to 110.
Damage
Echo
Developer Note: Since Echo has been among the high-performing damage heroes lately, no extra modifications are needed to accommodate a smaller health pool, similar to Pharah’s situation.
- Base health reduced from 250 to 225.
Hanzo
Game Design Note: Hanzo doesn’t quite align with the high mobility class of our other heroes, so we’re increasing his health to 225 HP. Similar to Widowmaker, he possesses potential for long-range damage, allowing him to take out 225 HP heroes in a single shot. This adjustment should make Hanzo vs. Hanzo matchups more definitive as well.
- Base health reduced from 250 to 225.
Junkrat
Comment from Developer: We’re returning Junkrat’s grenades to their original behavior from early Overwatch, allowing for greater control over the angle at which they bounce and improving the weapon’s ability to handle tricky shots in various spaces. However, after a couple of bounces, the size of the projectiles will decrease, reducing the number of unexpected direct hits towards the end of their lifespan.
Frag Launcher
- Projectile size is now reduced by half after the second ricochet.
- Projectiles preserve slightly more velocity on ricochet.
Sojourn
Team Note: Following our adjustment to limit the max damage of Sojourn’s Railgun’s secondary shot, we’re now assessing the impact on her primary fire. Our goal is to enhance its precision and boost the energy gain from headshots to encourage accurate aiming.
Railgun
- Primary fire weapon spread reduced from 2 to 1.6 degrees.
- Critical hits now grant 10 energy.
- Energy degeneration rate reduced from 33 to 15 per second after 7 seconds.
Sombra
Dev Note: Boosting Sombra’s speed when she’s stealthed allows her to reach favorable spots quicker, or dodge slightly more effectively due to the reduced health she now has.
- Base health reduced from 250 to 225.
Virus
- Impact damage increased from 25 to 35.
Stealth
- Bonus movement speed increased from 45 to 60%.
Torbjörn
Developer Comment: This shift in armor health for Torbjorn is to increase survivability against the heroes which are most affected by armor’s damage reduction, such as Tracer.
- Base health reduced from 250 to 225.
- Base armor increased from 50 to 75.
Support
Illari
Game Design Note: Character Illari has high damage output throughout the game, but her ammo supply might be excessive because her larger projectiles are more likely to hit targets. To address this, we’re taking away some extra environment collision on her Captive Sun projectile to prevent accidental early detonation when firing at walls or other obstacles. We’re also making an adjustment to ensure that her secondary fire beam hits allies rather than colliding with walls.
Solar Rifle
- Maximum ammo reduced from 16 to 14.
Captive Sun
- Projectile environment collision size reduced from 0.15 to 0 meters.
Juno
Dev Note: The response from the gaming community regarding Juno’s trial was mixed, with some finding her too powerful while others thought she was underpowered. In terms of statistics, Juno excelled in most categories but showed an exceptional ability to heal during gameplay. To enhance her usefulness and slightly reduce her healing output, these adjustments have been made. We aim for Juno to debut in a robust state as players get familiar with her playstyle. Additionally, there are several quality-of-life improvements detailed elsewhere in the update notes.
- Juno has been added to the lineup.
- Juno is now eligible for Competitive Play.
- Base health reduced from 250 to 225.
Mediblaster
- Burst projectile volley rate of fire reduced from 34 to 28 shots per second.
Pulsar Torpedoes
- Damage and Healing impact increased from 75 to 85.
- Heal-over-time reduced from 60 to 50 health.
Hyper Ring
- Deploy range increased by 3.5 meters.
- Cooldown reduced from 16 to 14 seconds.
Orbital Ray
- Beam travel speed increased from 1.9 to 2.25 meters per second.
Kiriko
Comment from Developer: Although Kiriko seems strong when facing opponents, she often falls short in terms of winning games. However, her ability to evade enemies effectively justifies her 225 health level. To offset this lower health, we’re improving her damage consistency by boosting the base damage of Kunai and eliminating the enhanced critical multiplier.
- Base health reduced from 250 to 225.
Kunai
- Critical multiplier reduced from 2.5 to 2x.
- Damage increased from 45 to 60.
- Recovery time increased from 0.5 to 0.55 seconds.
Lifeweaver
Developer Note: To prevent accidental destruction of the Petal Platform, it will now automatically reset to the ground when no one is on it. Additionally, we’ve decreased its durability to make it more challenging to destroy. Furthermore, Healing Blossom will recharge at a slower pace to allow players to switch weapons without worrying about falling behind in combat while switching back to healing.
Healing Blossom
- Healing progress can now charge passively at a reduced rate.
- No longer reduces movement speed when holding a full charge.
Petal Platform
- Duration only counts down while the platform is raised.
- Platform now resets if no one is standing on it for 2 seconds.
- Duration increased from 10 to 12 seconds.
- Health reduced from 400 to 300.
Rejuvenating Dash
- Healing reduced from 60 to 45.
Mercy
Game Designer Note: Mercy’s Guardian Angel movement makes it challenging for multiple opponents to target her and adds excitement to her skill set, which we want to maintain. To achieve this, we will boost her health to 225 and enhance the power of her Caduceus Staff beams.
- Base health reduced from 250 to 225.
Caduceus Staff
- Primary fire healing increased from 55 to 60 health per second.
- Secondary fire damage boost increased from 25% to 30%.
Moira
Dev Note: Due to Moira’s quick recharge on Fade skill and her self-healing capacity using Biotic Orb, we’ve boosted her health to 225 and increased her damage output slightly to maintain her offensive threat level.
- Base health reduced from 250 to 225.
Biotic Grasp
- Secondary fire damage increased from 60 to 65 damage per second.
Lúcio
Comment by Developer: Lucio is among the most agile characters, boosting the speed of his teammates too. Therefore, we’re placing him in the group of heroes with 225 HP. His gameplay style usually involves moving into closer ranges more frequently compared to other heroes within this category. To enhance his effectiveness at a distance and prior to charging in, we are increasing the damage output of his Primary fire.
- Base health reduced from 250 to 225.
Sonic Amplifier
- Primary fire damage increased from 18 to 22.
Hero Quality of Life Updates
In our updates, we aim to enhance Juno’s strength in the Support Role while ensuring gameplay with and against her is more enjoyable based on community suggestions. We appreciate your thoughtful input during Juno’s Hero Trial.
Support
Juno
Mediblaster
- The weapon model visuals and firing sounds were updated to indicate when the weapon is at low ammo.
- The heal sounds that play locally to the Juno player were updated to be more noticeable when healing allies closer to full health.
Pulsar Torpedoes
- The cooldown when the ability is canceled after no successful lock-ons has been reduced from 5 seconds to 2 seconds.
- Line of Sight checks were improved to better find targets with hitboxes in view.
- Added range forgiveness of an extra 5 meters on current targets that might move beyond the max 40 meters range.
- The local cancel sound was increased in volume to be more noticeable for the Juno player.
- The ally and enemy impact sounds were updated to be more noticeable for the Juno player.
- Healing torpedoes have new impact visuals when hitting enemy barriers and when clipping near walls.
Glide Boost
- Now adjusts Juno better when she hits level architecture such as doorways.
Hyper Ring
- Juno players will now hear the initial Hyper Ring apply sound when entering their own ring for the first time.
- The sound when re-entering the Hyper Ring was updated to be more noticeable.
Orbital Ray
- The Ultimate enemy voice line was updated in tone to better contrast the ally version.
- The enemy version of the ray’s start sound was updated to be more noticeable.
Map Updates
Flashpoint
- Passing through the spawn door barrier of your own spawn will apply a temporary speed boost to get to the capture point faster.
- The speed boost is removed when taking or dealing damage.
- The speed boost is applied by both the default and forward spawns.
- The speed boost counts toward the existing movement speed bonus cap of 75%.
Push
- The Push bot collision has been updated so players cannot contest from certain high ground positions.
General map & Mode updates
- Updates to our map recency system to increase the frequency of new maps and modes at the start of each season.
- Capture point outlines can now be seen through walls on Clash and Flashpoint when the capture point is unlocked.
- Lighting scenarios are now randomized in Quick Play and Competitive Game Mode.
Bug Fixes
General
- Fixed a bug where the Gotcha achievement was not awarding properly.
- Fixed a bug where weapon skins were not showing in the weapon variant menu.
- Fixed a bug where first-time users could not skirmish which waiting for a game.
Heroes
Ashe
- Fixed a bug where some of the effects would not trigger with the Ashe mythic skin equipped on Steam.
Illari
- Fixed a bug with Illari’s Solar Rifle secondary fire healing beam impacting the environment instead of players when aiming near edges of collision.
Juno
- Cleaned up some of the effects of Juno’s Pulsars torpedoes when they landed as D.Va was re-entering her mech.
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2024-08-21 03:28