New Overwatch PTR Patch Delivers Changes To Brigitte, Reaper, & More
It’s been some time since we have seen an Overwatch PTR patch that brings some improvements to Reaper, but the team must have snuck this one while Jeff Kaplan was celebrating New Years. However, it wouldn’t be a proper test update if all heroes weren’t seeing some type of nerf. In this case, we are seeing a slight armor reduction on protection against damage – making armored heroes a little easier to do damage against.
Reaper (this writer’s personal main) received a buff in which he will obtain 20% more life steal from damage done. On the down side, Brigitte’s Rally has received a maximum duration of 30 seconds. D.Va also received a nerf with Defense Matrix receiving an increase on cooldown.
Check out all of the details on the latest Overwatch PTR patch notes below, via Blizzard:
Please note that the below patch notes only include changes currently available for testing on the PTR. While many of these changes will also be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in a future patch, the PTR is PC-only and therefore will only reflect changes coming specifically to that platform.
HERO UPDATES
General
- Damage reduction from armor reduced from -5 to -3
Developer Comments: Before this change armor reduced all incoming damage by up to 5, maxing at half of the normal amount. This change reduces the damage reduction to 3, while still capping at half. This change will be mostly noticeable on heroes that fire quickly or in a burst of shots (such as shotguns), and which do more than 6 damage per shot. For example, Soldier: 76’s Heavy Pulse Rifle will now do 16 damage per shot to armor, up from 14, an increase of 15%. Armor was a bit too strong overall, especially when being healed quickly and often. This change will help more heroes fight against higher armored enemies.
Brigitte
- Rally
- Now has a maximum duration of 30 seconds
Developer Comments: Sometimes Rally could cause a snowballing effect where it was too difficult to deal with the increased health of Brigitte’s allies before she built up another one. This change puts a cap on how long her Rally effect can last to make it a bit more manageable in those situations.
D.Va
- Defense Matrix
- Cooldown increased from 1 second to 2 seconds
Developer Comments: This change allows D.Va’s enemies to try to play around her Defense Matrix by increasing its downtime between uses.
Reaper
- The Reaping
- Life steal increased from 30% to 50% of damage dealt
Developer Comments: Reaper’s passive is one of the main tools he has which allow him to play aggressively when near his enemies. This change allows him to keep the pressure up as long as he can stay near his enemies enough to keep dealing damage. This change is particularly effective versus tanks, as they tend to do less damage than damage heroes, and also take more damage from his Hellfire Shotguns due to their larger hit volumes.
What do you think of changes seen in the new Overwatch PTR patch? Is there something you would like to see Blizzard improve or change next? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below, and don’t forget to check out DFTG on Twitter for gaming and entertainment news live 24/7!
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Matt Ruppert715 Posts
Navy Veteran with a penchant for the FPS genre, Chewy has all aspects of the gaming community covered. Don't expect to see him on a console any time soon, however - though he has experience in all platforms, the PC Master Race has a firm hold on him.
