As of November 7th, a new patch is available for Blizzard Entertainment’s fast paced shooter, Overwatch. The patch is only available on Overwatch’s Player Test Realm (PTR). The PTR is only available for PC users and gives players a chance to test out patches and updates before they hit the general public so that the developers can make adjustments (if needed) before full patch release.

The new patch is jam packed full of awesome goodies. Along with a number of bug fixes and character balancing, players can expect new  maps, game play modes, and the long awaited and finally confirmed character Sombra. Listed below are some of the patch highlights as listed by Blizzard and the Overwatch team:

New Hero: Sombra

Sombra is a master manipulator who can hack her enemies, temporarily blocking their abilities. In addition, she can hack health packs and Torbjorn’s turret, making them useless to her opponents. She uses her fully automatic Machine Pistol to take out her enemies, getting into position using her Thermoptic Camo, which allows her to become invisible and move more quickly for short periods of time. This gives her the ability to slip past enemy defenses undetected, but she’s instantly revealed if she takes damage or attacks an enemy. She also has a Translocator, which can be tossed like a grenade. When it’s activated, Sombra is teleported to its location (even while it’s in flight).Sombra’s ultimate ability, EMP, discharges electromagnetic energy in a wide radius, hacking anyone caught within range and destroying enemy barriers and shields.

New Feature: The Arcade!

• Discover brand new ways to play Overwatch in the Arcade. Choose from a variety of regularly rotating game modes, maps, and rulesets that don’t quite fit into Quick Play or Competitive Play. Whether it’s 1-on-1 duels, 3-vs-3 skirmishes, our alternating selection of brawls, or special rulesets like “no hero switching,” you should have no problem finding a game that fits your mood. Experience is earned just like any other mode, but you can also earn Arcade-specific rewards, like Loot Boxes!

New Arena Map: Ecopoint: Antarctica

• Bundle up for a journey to Ecopoint: Antarctica, the former Overwatch installation where climatologist Mei-Ling Zhou was once stationed. While researching severe weather anomalies in the region, the station was hit by an intense polar storm. Running out of options and low on supplies, the team decided to cryogenically freeze themselves until the storm passed. They believed that it would only be for a few months, but Mei awoke nearly a decade later.
• Ecopoint: Antarctica is a compact new Arena map that features multiple new game modes, including a 3-vs-3 battle and 1-on-1 duel. Check it out in the Arcade.

Aside from the awesome new features, there are some big changes coming to Overwatch. One of those changes is a one hero limit in Quick Play. As of right now, players can choose duplicate heroes in Quick Play, but developers feel that more balance and stability will be result with the restriction in place. There will be a “No Limit” mode available in the Arcade where you can still have multiple players choose the same character.

Changes to the experience requirements to level up are also coming. Previously, players would level up to 100, then wait for a seasonal event to occur so they could take advantage of the quick leveling through levels 1-23. That was because after reaching level 100, players could promote and the experience counter would reset. The changes are as follows:

• The amount of experience needed to reach levels 2 through 13 remains unchanged
• The amount of experience needed to reach levels 14 through 100 has been slightly reduced
• The amount of experience needed to reach levels after 100 is now constant (20,000 XP) and will no longer reset after each promotion

Those that partake in Overwatch’s Competitive mode also have a few changes coming. Season 2 of Competitive Play will end November 23 at 4 PM PDT. Season 3 will begin on November 30, but players can still play under the Competitive rules set and will not collect competitive points. During season 3, players will be more widely dispersed across the skill tiers, resulting in a possible lower skill rating than past seasons. The developers commented on the changes:

When season 2 started, we had more players in the Gold and Platinum skill tiers than we originally intended. This meant that skill levels varied widely for players within those tiers, and some players were achieving inappropriately high rankings during their placement matches. These players typically began the season by having their skill rating adjusted downwards after their first few matches. For season 3, skill ratings will be slightly lower after your placement matches, allowing them to increase as the season begins. After you play enough matches, your skill rating changes will return to normal.

The patch is available in the PTR now. If you are a PC player and are interested in joining the PTR, you can find instructions here. What do you think of the new features and changes? Are you excited to try out Sombra? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned with DFTG for all of your gaming news.