The latest Overwatch update officially adds the latest map, Busan, into the game. The new Filter feature in the Hero Gallery will allow you to sort/search through cosmetics more effectively. Teamwork has been made easier too, as you can now get a sense of where your team is thanks to added visual outlines that let you see allies through walls.
In addition to those new features, there are also some more general adjustments to Overwatch. Thanks to recent changes made to the aiming system, you can now tweak the strength of aim assist without necessarily losing accuracy, hopefully creating a smoother experience. And, as usual, there are plenty of hero updates and general bug fixes.
Below are the latest Overwatch patch notes, in their entirety, for the PlayStation 4.
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
NEW MAP – BUSAN
Travel to Busan, South Korea and battle for control across three distinct locales within one map: Sanctuary, Downtown, and MEKA Base.
Explore the serene setting of the Sanctuary, surrounded by an ancient temple, beautiful gardens, and historic architecture. Clash in the bustling metropolis of Downtown, where players will fight across a busy PC bang, flashy karaoke bar, and central light rail station (just watch out for the train). Contest for position in MEKA Base—home of South Korea’s frontline defense against the gwishin omnic attacks: D.Va and the rest of the MEKA squad.
HERO GALLERY – FILTER
View all of the cosmetics Overwatch has to offer with our new Filter feature in the Hero Gallery. Customize your search for cosmetics by category (including seasonal events or whether they’re from the Overwatch League), rarity, and whether they are unlocked or waiting to be collected.
GENERAL UPDATES
General
- Added visual outlines to make allies visible through walls
- Updated aim assist to improve precision when tracking targets
- An option to revert to the previous aim assist settings can now be found under Options > Aim Assist Legacy Mode
- An option to smooth out the strength of aim assist when closing in on a target can now be found under Advanced Options > Aim Assist Ease
Developer Comments: We’ve reworked how our aim assist algorithm works on console to make the controls more intuitive and to improve gameplay. Previously, aim assist worked in two ways. First, we slowed down your aim to allow more precision when tracking a target. Second, we automatically adjusted your crosshairs in the direction the target is moving around you, to make up for the lower sensitivity. Now, we incorporate how you are currently turning with the aim stick when determining how the enemy is moving relative to yourself. In practice, this means if you are perfectly tracking a target aim assist will not activate.
We’ve also improved aim assist’s target selection to reduce instances where your aim could be pulled away from your focused target if another enemy crossed your path. The new Aim Assist Ease In setting allows the aim assist system to ramp up its strength as you get closer to your target, producing less jarring sensitivity changes.
HERO UPDATES
General
- Fixed a bug that would cause some weapons that fired multiple shots at once to inconsistently deal critical damage (e.g. Doomfist’s Hand Cannon, D.Va’s Fusion Cannons, Genji’s Shurikens, Reaper’s Hellfire Shotguns, Torbjörn’s Rivet Gun)
Developer Comments: While this is a bug fix, we wanted to highlight this change as it can affect gameplay by changing the damage output of the affected heroes in certain situations. After this fix, weapons with spread should now correctly calculate critical damage for each individual pellet that lands in a critical region (e.g. a headshot). The end result of this change is that it should be significantly easier to deal critical damage with any weapon that fires multiple shots simultaneously, such as Reaper’s Hellfire Shotguns and D.Va’s Fusion Cannons. In addition, we’ve changed the logic for when these weapons display a critical marker on your screen. It now requires 30% of your shots to be critical, rather than displaying it if a single pellet hits critically.
Ana
- Biotic Rifle
- Increased the precision of the Relative Aim Sensitivity While Zoomed slider. This can be found under Options > Controls > Hero > Ana
Brigitte
- Shield Bash
- Now knocks down and gets knocked down by other charging targets (e.g Reinhardt and Doomfist)
Developer Comments: Currently, when two charging targets hit each other, they both fall down and are briefly stunned. You can see this interaction with Doomfist’s Rocket Punch and Reinhardt’s Charge abilities. Brigitte’s Shield Bash previously wasn’t included in this group, which meant that if she used Shield Bash against these other abilities, she would generally stun them and not be affected herself. This change makes it so if she uses Shield Bash against Charge or Rocket Punch, both players will be knocked down.
Reinhardt
- Earthshatter
- Now consistently hits enemies near walls
- No longer hits enemies that enter the damage cone after the “wave” has passed that area
- No longer damages enemies behind barriers blocking it, even if the barrier is later dropped or destroyed
- Always travels up inclines and around the payload
Developer Comments: We’ve given Earthshatter a complete overhaul to combat inconsistencies with its performance. These changes will make Earthshatter’s behavior more predictable and effective.
Widowmaker
- Grappling Hook
- Now retains momentum when used on environments or structures without a ledge (e.g. walls)
- Widow’s Kiss
- Increased the precision of the Relative Aim Sensitivity While Zoomed slider. This can be found under Options > Controls > Hero > Widowmaker
COMPETITIVE PLAY UPDATES
General
- Grand Master players can now group with players within 350 Skill Rating, up from 250 Skill Rating
GAME BROWSER AND CUSTOM GAMES
General
- Modified the Respawn Time Scalar custom game option to prevent respawn times longer than the default
- FFA Deathmatch
- Mercy now begins the match with her Caduceus Blaster equipped
- Blizzard World is now available to play in Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch
- 1v1 Mystery Heroes
- Mercy now begins the match with her Caduceus Blaster equipped
MAP UPDATES
Rialto
- Payload travel speed has been slightly increased
- Amount of time the payload pauses at checkpoints has been reduced
BUG FIXES
General
- Fixed a bug that caused players to sometimes slip off railings
- Fixed a bug that prevented Torbjörn Armor Packs Created statistic from updating if the ability landed directly on a friendly target
Heroes
Brigitte
- Fixed a bug that caused Brigitte’s Shield Bash movement to be interrupted when she impacted Symmetra’s turrets
Doomfist
- Fixed a bug that caused Doomfist’s Seismic Slam to cancel when using Symmetra’s Teleporter
D.Va
- Fixed a bug that allowed D.Va to escape the map if she used Call Mech while standing on Mei’s Ice Wall
Hanzo
- Fixed a bug that caused the Dragonstrike arrow’s size to be larger than his other arrows
Mei
- Fixed a bug that caused Mei’s Cryo-freeze to block the line of sight for Mei’s Blizzard
Mercy
- Fixed a bug that allowed Mercy to gain ultimate charge from using her damage beam on attacks that cannot be damage boosted
Reaper
- Fixed a bug that prevented Reaper’s Shadow Step from going on cooldown if he was interrupted
Roadhog
- Fixed a bug that sometimes caused Roadhog’s Chain Hook to break after hitting an enemy while maintaining line of sight
- Fixed a bug that prevented Roadhog’s alternate fire from calculating falloff damage correctly
- Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented Reinhardt’s Earthshatter from landing if he was launched into the air while activating it
Reinhardt
- Fixed a bug that allowed Reinhardt to pin targets that were behind him when using Charge
- Fixed a bug that prevented Reinhardt from pinning some targets when he turned during Charge
- Fixed a bug that allowed Reinhardt to use Earthshatter while standing on an enemy’s head
- Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented Reinhardt’s Earthshatter from hitting enemies standing on a payload
- Fixed a bug that prevented Reinhardt’s Earthshatter from traveling up certain inclines
Sombra
- Fixed a bug that prevented Sombra from translocating to a moving platform
- Fixed a bug that prevented Sombra from destroying her Translocator if she was stunned or hacked
- Fixed a bug that prevented Sombra’s Translocator from accurately indicating where Sombra would arrive when the ability was used
Symmetra
- Fixed a bug that prevented Sombra’s Hack from canceling Symmetra’s Photon Barrier placement
- Fixed a bug that caused Symmetra’s teleport UI to persist after being eliminated
Widowmaker
- Fixed a bug that prevented Widowmaker’s Grappling Hook from connecting to some ledges
- Fixed a bug that caused Widowmaker’s scoped shots on hero placed objects to count against her Scoped Weapon Accuracy statistic (e.g. Symmetra’s Teleporter, Torbjörn’s autocannon)
Wrecking Ball
- Fixed a bug that prevented Wrecking Ball’s Piledriver from dealing falloff damage
- Fixed a bug that allowed Wrecking Ball’s Piledriver to deal damage twice if he slid off the environment during its duration
- Fixed a bug that allowed Wrecking Ball’s primary fire to continue working even if it was disabled in custom game
[Source: Play Overwatch]
