Overwatch Patch Adds Baptiste, Major Balancing Updates

Patch 1.34 is now live in Overwatch bringing new hero Baptiste into the game along with a slew of balancing updates. Blizzard released two videos today, one showing off Baptiste’s abilities and one detailing all the changes that came in the patch. The patch is now live for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Baptiste is a hero that combines the damage and support classes in Overwatch, meaning that he can pump out damage and kills as well as heal himself and allies. Here is his official description:

“Baptiste is battle-hardened combat medic who wields an assortment of experimental devices and weaponry to keep allies alive and eliminate his enemies. Baptiste’s Biotic Launcher fires a three-round-burst that rewards accuracy and recoil control with significant damage output. His alternate fire lobs grenades that heal allies near the point of impact. With Regenerative Burst, Baptiste activates an intense surge that heals himself and nearby allies over time. When danger is near, Baptiste can toss out his Immortality Field to prevent allies from dying. Baptiste moves around the battlefield with Exo Boots, jumping over obstacles and clearing distances that would stop other heroes. Baptiste deploys his Amplification Matrix as his ultimate, which doubles the damage and healing effects of friendly projectiles.”

Both Baptiste and the balancing in this patch seem to be designed to counteract the current three tank/three support meta that is dominating the Overwatch League and high-level competitive play. With this patch, Blizzard seems to be aiming towards making damage dealers a more viable option.

Keeping that in mind, let’s look at the specific character changes that are now live in this patch:

• Ana
  • Nano Boost
    • Heal reduced from 300 to 250
• Doomfist
  • Rising Uppercut
    • Cooldown reduced from 7 to 6 seconds
  • Seismic Slam
    • Cooldown reduced from 7 to 6 seconds
• Hanzo
  • Sonic Arrow
    • Detection radius increased from 7 to 9 meters
• Junkrat
  • Frag Launcher
    • Impact damage increased from 40 to 50
  • Rip-Tire
    • Cost increased by 10%
• Lúcio
  • Amp It Up
    • Speed Boost’s amplification reduced from 70% to 50%
  • Cross Fade
    • Speed Boost’s effect reduced from 30% to 20%
  • Sonic Amplifier
    • Soundwave now counts towards Offensive Assists
  • Wall Rider
    • Speed buff increased from 20% to 40%
• McCree
  • Fan The Hammer
    • Damage reduced from 55 to 50
  • Deadeye
    • Damage per second increased from 275 to 550 after locking onto targets for 1.5 seconds
• Mei
  • Endothermic Blaster
    • Primary fire damage increased from 2.25 to 2.75 (45 to 55 damage per second)
  • Ice Wall
    • Health reduced from 500 to 400
• Moira
  • Biotic Grasp
    • Heal over time duration increased from 3 to 4 seconds
    • Total healing increased from 50 to 65
• Orisa
  • Fusion Driver
    • Movement speed penalty while firing reduced from 50% to 30%
• Pharah
  • Rocket Launcher
    • Minimum explosion damage increased from 16.25 to 20
• Reaper
  • The Reaping
    • Healing received from dealing damage reduced from 50% to 40%
• Soldier 76
  • Pulse Rifle
    • Damage increased from 19 to 20
  • Sprint
    • Delay before you can fire the weapon after using Sprint reduced from .5 to .3 seconds
  • Tactical Visor
    • Can target RIP-Tire and Immortality Field
• Sombra
  • Hack
    • Cooldown is reduced by half when hacking a health pack
    • Changed the visual appearance to more clearly indicate when something has been hacked
• Symmetra
  • Photon Projector
    • Primary Fire’s damage ramps up 20% faster
• Torbjörn
  • General
    • Base health increased by 50 armor (250 maximum health)
  • Overload
    • Armor gain reduced from 150 to 100
• Widowmaker
  • Infra-Sight
    • Reveals enemy health bars
    • Now canceled on death
• Wrecking Ball
  • Adaptive Shield
    • No longer cancels Roll mode
• Zarya
  • Particle Cannon
    • Alternative Fire’s explosion radius changed to 2 meters, regardless of energy level
• Zenyatta
  • Orb of Destruction
    • Damage increased from 46 to 48
  • Orb of Discord
    • Effect reduced from 30% to 25%

In addition to these specific character updates, there are also a few general updates:

• Armor
  • Beam-type damage is now reduced by 20% when hitting armor
    • Mei: Primary Fire
    • Moira: Alternate Fire, Coalescence
    • Symmetra: Primary Fire, Sentry Turret
    • Winston: Primary Fire
    • Zarya: Primary Fire
  • Damage over time effects are no longer mitigated by armor
    • Ana: Primary Fire
    • Ashe: Dynamite
    • Hanzo: Dragonstrike
    • Mei: Blizzard
    • Moira: Biotic Orb
    • Widowmaker: Venom Mine
    • Zarya: Graviton Surge
• Damage Boost
  • Damage boost is now applied when a projectile is fired rather than when it hits a target
• Knockback
  • Knockback distance is now more consistent
  • Heroes that are flying can now be knocked back and slowed
• Sound
  • A new sound plays when you land a hit while damage boosted
  • A new sound plays when you land a hit, but it doesn’t do any damage

For more information on this Overwatch patch, including developer comments and a few minor bug fixes, check out the official patch notes from Blizzard.

What do you think about the new patch? Is it going to change the meta? Are you excited to play Baptiste? Let us know in the comments!

About the author

Darby Hallman

Darby is a graduate from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelors Degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. Loves games and just wants to be able to talk about them every day. He has a soft spot for RPGs of every type, narrative-driven games and PS2 mascot platformers. Patiently waiting for the Final Fantasy VII remake.

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