Overwatch's upcoming patch is not only buffing several key heroes, but also providing the first new map since the game's release last year.
Late last week we saw the public test region release of an update that featured buffs for McCree and Reaper, more changes for Roadhog, and the first main new map since the game was released over a year ago.While you can currently only test the update's changes on the PTR, the update will reach regular servers on PC and console in the next month.
The update also unlocks two popular skins for D.Va and Genji that were previously available only for players who also downloaded Heroes of the Storm and played a special event. These are respectively, the Officer D.Va skin and the Oni Genji skin.
This was done as there was a good degree of frustration expressed by fans over the limited giveaway. Both are legendary skins, but they are now open in the classic loot boxes that players get when they level up or complete weekly arcade mode challenges, in between seasonal events.
The biggest changes were likely with Reaper, who was heavily buffed. His passive healing ability, the "reaping," now turns 20 percent of all damage done to enemies into healing, rather than getting a healing orb after an enemy player dies. Reaper has historically seen little play at the pro-level of gaming, and Blizzard is hoping that this buff will make him more viable in team comps at higher levels.
McCree was also buffed, specifically with his Ultimate "High Noon" which now accrues more damage during its second round. Roadhog, too, received a smaller head hitbox to give him more survivability, not that he really needed it.
But perhaps the biggest change of note in the update is the new Horizon Lunar Colony, an Assault Type Map. Blizzard's official release said this:
"Now, many years later, attacking and defending teams must return to the moon and battle for control of the colony’s facilities, all while they discover clues as to the fate of its previous inhabitants,"
The new map falls in line with the previous weeks tease of a new potential playable character, Hammond, an ape who, like Winston, grew up on the Horizon lunar colony before it suffered a mysterious loss of communication. We are expecting to see these character, skin, and map changes coming live in the next several weeks, as they usually take three weeks to fix bugs and issues in the PTR first, before the update comes into effect.