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New Overwatch PTR patch buffs Hanzo, Orisa, adds more info to Kill Feed

Hanzo gets some buffs in the newest Overwatch PTR buffs. (Blizzard)
Hanzo gets some buffs in the newest Overwatch PTR buffs. (Blizzard)

Blizzard has released a new patch on the Overwatch Public Test Realm, introducing a number of tweaks to specific heroes as well as gameplay. The most affected heroes are Hanzo, Orisa, and Soldier: 76.

Hanzo’s bow charge speed is increased by 10 percent, and charged arrows now maintain their charge after he climbs a wall so long as the player holds down the charge button. In addition, the attack cooldown from Hanzo’s wall climbing has been removed, allowing him to attack right after he finishes climbing. This means players will be able to peek over walls with fully-charged arrows more often. Similarly, Genji no longer has an attack cooldown after climbing walls.

Tank hero Orisa has had Protective Barrier ability cooldown decreased from 12 seconds to 8 seconds. Theoretically, she could now have a shield up nearly permanently in-game. To balance this, Blizzard has reduced the damage from her primary weapon by 15 percent.

Soldier: 76 received a minor nerf, with the bullet damage from his main weapon decreased from 20 to 19. Reaper’s Wraith Form also automatically reloads his weapons. The height of Reinhardt’s Earth Shatter ability has been tweaked so that it no longer hits as high, reduced from 3 meters to 2 meters.

The update also adds more icons to the Kill Feed for environment kills and “a number of abilities.”

In related Overwatch news, earlier this week Blizzard announced that the game has hit the 30 million player milestone. The developer also recently confirmed that it was working on three new maps for quick play/competitive, and they would likely be released this year.

Zorine isn’t ready to see more Hanzo players in Overwatch. Share her pain on Twitter @ztharli