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PTR Patch Notes and Dev Update: Deathmatch!

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New game mode, new map and a lot of big hero changes in this PTR edition!

Never say nerver, as Deathmatch, a mode the OW team explicitly said would never be in the game, is on the PTR right now! Jeff Kaplan also talks about it and the reasons for the change of heart in the latest dev update. In addition to the new game mode and new map for said mode we also get some hero changes: Junkrat can now have 2 trip mines and gets a faster tire; Orisa gets faster projectiles and a bigger barrier; Roadhog can now heal himself during movement and takes less damage while healing; Widowmaker gets a shorter cooldown grapple and can see poisoned enemies through walls!

 

Blizzard LogoDeathmatch PTR (source)

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

New Game Modes: Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch

Two new game modes have been added to the Arcade: Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch!

In Deathmatch, eight players go head-to-head until one player scores 20 points. Players will earn 1 point whenever they land the final blow on an opponent and will lose 1 point whenever they die to environmental damage (ex: falling off a cliff) or self-inflicted damage. This scoring will be tracked in a brand-new scoreboard. The first player to 20 points wins!

In Team Deathmatch, two teams of four players face off until one team scores 30 points. Players will earn 1 point for their team whenever they land the final blow on an opponent and will lose 1 point for their team whenever they die to environmental damage (ex: falling off a cliff) or self-inflicted damage. If players are resurrected before they respawn, the corresponding point for their death will be deducted from the enemy team’s score. This scoring will be tracked in our default scoreboard. The first team to 30 points wins!

Both modes will play out on a selection of maps from our existing pool:

  • Hanamura
  • Horizon Lunar Colony
  • Temple of Anubis
  • Volskaya Industries
  • Dorado
  • Eichenwalde
  • Hollywood
  • King’s Row
  • (TDM only) Black Forest
  • (TDM only) Castillo
  • (TDM only) Ecopoint: Antarctica
  • (TDM only) Necropolis

We’ve made several modifications to many of these maps (including restricting play to a specific area and developing a special respawn system) when playing in these modes. We’re also introducing a brand-new map specifically for Deathmatch: Château Guillard! Learn more about this map below.

Both modes will be available for play in Custom Games. Watch our developer update for additional insight: [link]

New Deathmatch Map: Château Guillard

Château Guillard is located near Annecy in southeastern France. For hundreds of years, it was the estate of the influential Guillard family, until it gradually fell into disrepair after the family's power waned in the decades after the Revolution. Recently, the château has found a new owner: the Talon agent Widowmaker, who has returned to her family's ancestral home.

GENERAL

  • A number of data format changes have been implemented
Developer Comments: Over the past few months, we’ve been working on a number of significant under-the-hood changes that will help us streamline the patching process. This will allow us to reduce the download size in future patches, but it does mean that today’s patch is larger than a traditional patch.

HERO UPDATES

Junkrat

  • Concussion Mine
    • Junkrat can now hold two mines
  • RIP-Tire
    • Tire’s movement speed has been increased by 30%
    • There is no longer a time limit when wall climbing
Developer Comments: Giving the Junkrat the ability to store two concussion mines adds some much-needed flexibility and versatility to his kit, particularly when using the mines for mobility. RIP-Tire’s damage has always been very good, but it was often difficult to steer the tire into position before it was destroyed. Increasing its speed will allow players to effectively detonate the tire more often and decrease the amount of time that Junkrat is vulnerable while controlling it.

Orisa

  • Fusion Driver
    • Projectile speed increased by 20%
  • Protective Barrier
    • Barrier size increase by 20%
    • Barrier shape has been changed to allow for more coverage from enemies that are below the barrier
Developer Comments: The projectile speed increase helps Orisa’s consistency, especially at medium ranges (or further). Her barrier size has been increased to better protect her team, and the new shape makes the shield more effective when it’s used on slopes or on top of objects (such as a payload).

Roadhog

  • Take a Breather
    • Can now be used while moving
    • Damage taken while healing has been reduced by 50%
Developer Comments: These changes help Roadhog be much more aggressive when looking for hook targets or blocking for his team. The combination of these effects significantly increases Roadhog’s sustainability and survivability.

Widowmaker

  • Grappling Hook
    • Cooldown has been reduced from 12 seconds to 8
  • Venom Mine
    • Affected targets are now visible through walls (to you as Widowmaker only)
Developer Comments: Widowmaker is extremely powerful in the right hands, but her abilities often felt a little weak. The Grappling Hook cooldown reduction means she is more likely to have it available when she needs to escape. Venom Mine is intended to be an early warning system, uncovering enemies that are attempting to flank her or her team. With this change, she can see enemies when they trigger the mine, even if they’re on the other side of a wall.

USER INTERFACE

  • Added an “Outline Opacity” option under the custom reticle settings (found under Controls > Options > Advanced), which allows players to control the opacity of the black outline surrounding the reticule

BUG FIXES

General

  • Fixed a bug that occasionally required the Capture Point progress bar to progress past the second tick mark before being activated

Heroes

  • Fixed a bug that could cause D.Va's black ejection screen to briefly reappear after being ejected from her mech
  • Fixed a bug causing D.Va’s Light Gun to use the wrong texture while outside of her mech when the Junker skin was equipped
  • Fixed a bug that caused D.Va’s hair to stand straight up on the Hero Select screen when her Cruiser was equipped
  • Fixed a bug causing the lights on the back of Doomfist’s gauntlet to incorrectly indicate full ammo when his Hello emote was activated
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the area-of-effect circle for Doomfist’s Meteor Strike from being visible to all players
  • Fixed a bug preventing the height from Doomfist’s Meteor Strike from being high enough to reach certain locations
  • Fixed a bug that was preventing Doomfist’s Rocket Punch from connecting with enemy players that were moving up an incline
  • Fixed a bug that caused Hanzo’s arrow to disappear when his Meditate emote was active
  • Fixed a bug preventing Orisa’s “Overclocked” achievement from being granted, even after the criteria was met
  • Fixed a bug causing Sombra’s teeth to be visible while her Stealth ability was active when her Los Muertos skin was equipped
  • Fixed a bug causing Sombra’s reload animation to play even when interrupted

Maps

  • Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Ecopoint: Antarctica
  • Fixed a bug that allowed players to see past the map’s background on Black Forest
  • Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Black Forest
  • Fixed a bug that caused the announcer to say “Traveling to Dorado” when joining Castillo
  • Fixed a bug that prevented some equipment (vents, pipes, etc.) from properly connecting to the walls of the power plant on Dorado
  • Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Hanamura
  • Fixed an issue that caused sprays to display incorrectly on the crane on the Horizon Lunar Colony
  • Fixed a bug that could cause A.I. heroes to get themselves stuck while traveling to the Well Capture Point on Ilios
  • Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Ilios
  • Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Oasis
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Pharah’s Jump Jet from recharging while perched on doorframes in Oasis
  • Fixed a bug that prevented doorframes from being visible and lacking collision on the Practice Range

User Interface

  • Fixed a bug in the Options > Controls menu that prevented the asterisk (which normally indicates that changes have been made) from being removed from the hero’s dropdown after controls have been set to default
  • Fixed a bug causing the Back button to disappear when scrolling through the list of available games in the Game Browser
  • Fixed a bug that prevented grouped players from appearing linked in the tab menu during a Custom Game

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1 hour ago, enviousmtg said:

Wow! These are all great buffs to underused characters. Even if it doesn't make them super viable, I'm sure people who enjoy them will be very happy! 

I really love playing widowmaker on maps where she shines, especially when countering specific heroes such as Pharah, Zarya, Roadhog, Hanzo, Genji, the supports etc. Getting wallhacks with the venom mine helps with the problem she has on maps where she's difficult to play (Areas with lots of flanks) but doesn't help her at all against her hardcounters which I think is the biggest issue for her on a couple of maps.

 

Thankfully my gm teams really know how to shut those down while I take care of their counters. I still think Widowmaker is OP on favored maps, but what do I care, I get my points with her so... whatever. If they bring too many hardcounters against my widow then that simply means the rest of my teams hardcounters them. Just need quick reflexes and good positioning and its just a point and click adventure to ggez.

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On 8/11/2017 at 0:06 AM, Yridaa said:

Thankfully my gm teams really know how to shut those down while I take care of their counters. I still think Widowmaker is OP on favored maps, but what do I care, I get my points with her so... whatever. If they bring too many hardcounters against my widow then that simply means the rest of my teams hardcounters them. Just need quick reflexes and good positioning and its just a point and click adventure to ggez.

Even with a Winston on the enemy team, it can be so easy to take them down, especially with the new hook time. It's going to be awesome.

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must be my low elo talking, but the buff to 'rat seems pretty strong. not necessarily a core character, but sees a lot of play where i'm at (and for good reason; when team aren't coordinated he sows a lot of chaos and is perhaps the best one-person shield-buster).  making the double-mine-jump on-demand is a *big* defensive buff  for those that learn to make use of it, and the ult buff is nothing to shake a stick at either (as it addresses the only weakness of this otherwise strong Q)

Edited by Voltorocks
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On 8/19/2017 at 4:59 AM, Voltorocks said:

must be my low elo talking, but the buff to 'rat seems pretty strong. not necessarily a core character, but sees a lot of play where i'm at (and for good reason; when team aren't coordinated he sows a lot of chaos and is perhaps the best one-person shield-buster).  making the double-mine-jump on-demand is a *big* defensive buff  for those that learn to make use of it, and the ult buff is nothing to shake a stick at either (as it addresses the only weakness of this otherwise strong Q)

From a high elo perspective, it's not just a defense buff. It's a HUGE offensive buff against Tracer. Previously, Tracer could just recall your mine damage and dodge your bombs. You can now either instant kill her before Recall or literally just hold one for Recall and kill her out of it. Junkrat is going to be even more of a problem for her now. It's also going to be incredibly good on holding points 1v1, since you can now bounce enemies. Mine them up and then mine them away, letting you cap. It also makes the mine + trap combo far easier on people like Reinhardt.

Definitely going to see more people playing Junk now and not just on things like Anubis A Def. 

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