"Overwatch" has been delivering an enjoyable FPS experience on both consoles and the PC. New characters and content have kept players engaged and invested in the game. Given the consistent drops of new characters and content, the game will eventually require re-balancing to address possible unfair advantages or disadvantages across the board. Blizzard's FPS is on track to receive another patch, which seeks to adjust some gameplay elements soon.
Siliconera reports that the game's PTR (Public Test Region) has applied the patch version 1.7.0 and is currently available for PC users only. It appears that the update will affect both the PC and console versions of the game in the near future.
The 1.7.0 patch for "Overwatch" features changes for the emote wheel. Players may now toggle from four sprays, voice lines and emotes once it is all equipped form the hero gallery. PC users can access the sub-menus through the left and right mouse buttons. Lastly, PC gamers can bind different emotes, sprays and voice lines to special buttons or keys. Blizzard did not confirm these changes for the console versions of the game.
Other notable changes featured focus on some of the games bugs, which fixes some of the AI's performance during some matches. The Roadhog bot can now grab opponents through a friendly Reinhardt's barrier shield. AI Sombra can no longer hack through barriers and AI Torbjörn is no longer unresponsive after setting up his turret.
Blizzard Entertainment also details some character balance changes to tone down some character's reportedly overpowered abilities. Other characters also receive tweaks to make their performance more consistent.
Ana
Her biotic grenade ability has been toned down to give 50 percent less healing. The developers felt that her ability was regenerating too much health, especially when used on tanks like Roadhog and others.
D.Va
Health has been boosted to 400 while her armor is lowered to 200. Her fusion cannons now deal lesser damage but the number of bullets have been increased to 11 per shot.
Sombra
Feedback claims that she usually fails to hack opponents even when she manages to stay undetected. They have reduced the hack time requirement from a second to 0.8 seconds
Roadhog
His chain hook has been the subject of many complaints prior to this patch. The update now causes his ability to pull opponents directly toward his front. Captured targets can now escape if they are not in Roadhog's line of sight.
These patch updates are still only applicable to the "Overwatch" PTR only. The changes are still subject to final approval based on feedback gathered during its run. Character balance changes will most likely apply to all platforms, while some interface or bug fixes might be intended for the PC version only.
