Blizzard detail Overwatch “remaster” update 1.41 with sweeping character rebalancing

Stefan L 26/09/19 Comments Closed

As Blizzard prepare to release Overwatch on Nintendo Switch in October, they’ve also been hard at work on what they describe as a “remaster” update for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Update 1.41 might have an otherwise innocuous version number, but it digs into almost half of the game’s character roster and rebalances them.

In particular, heroes like D.Va and Winston are being buffed, while the latest addition Sigma and Doomfist are being knocked down a peg or two. Thirteen of the thirty-one heroes in the game are being fiddled with.

Of course, this isn’t strictly speaking a “remaster” in the sense that we commonly think of it. The terminology as it’s being used by Blizzard is in reference to the fact that this will require large downloads when the update goes live on each of the platforms. It will likely be a couple of weeks before then, lining up with the Switch port’s October 15th release date.

Here’s the full patch notes from Blizzard:

Overwatch Update 1.41

HERO UPDATES

D.Va

Defense Matrix

Regeneration rate increased from 12.5% to 16% per second
Delay before regeneration begins lowered from 1 second to 0.75 seconds

Orisa

Protective Barrier

Cooldown increased from 9 to 10 seconds

Roadhog

Scrap Gun

Ammunition increased from 5 to 6.

Sigma

Kinetic Grasp

No longer blocks Chain Hook and Whip Shot

Gravitic Flux

High gravity effect duration reduced from 1.2 to 0.9 seconds

Experimental Barrier

Regeneration rate reduced from 175 to 150 per second
Now has a 1 second cooldown after recalling the barrier
Initial 0.2 second cast time removed

Winston

Barrier Projector

Duration increased from 6 to 9 seconds
Health increased from 600 to 700

Baptiste

Immortality Field

Health decreased from 250 to 200

Lucio

Crossfade

Speed boost’s effect increased from 20% to 25%

Amp It Up

Speed boost’s amplification increased from 50% to 60%

Wall Ride

Speed buff reduced from 40% to 30%

Mercy

Valkyrie

The extra beams created by Valkyrie now ignore enemy barriers

Moira

Biotic Grasp

Self-healing reduced from 30 to 20 health per second

Doomfist

Rocket Punch

Time to reach max charge increased from 1 to 1.4 seconds

The Best Defense…

Shield health gained per hit reduced from 35 to 30

Sombra

Translocator

Cooldown increased from 4 to 6 seconds
Cooldown now begins immediately upon deploying the beacon or if it is killed by an enemy

Symmetra

Photon Barrier

Duration reduced from 15 to 12 seconds
Health reduced from 5000 to 4000

Sentry Turret

Damage per second reduced from 50 to 40

Photon Projector

Players impacted by the primary fire beam should now hear a louder impact sound

Tracer

Pulse Pistols

Damage falloff now starts at 13 meters, up from 10 meters

BUG FIXES

General

Fixed a player profile issue preventing hero win percentages from being displayed for competitive arcade mode seasons

Heroes

Brigitte

Fixed a bug with Brigitte’s Rally checking line of sight from her feet instead of from her head
Fixed a bug with Inspire’s position being affected by the player’s aim pitch

Doomfist