Overwatch patch notes are now arriving on a fairly regular basis. Be it the latest big improvements straight from the Overwatch PTR or a batch of bug fixes, the interest and demand is high. We want to provide the best possible resource for this, so we’ll be using this page to always display the latest patch notes each time there’s an Overwatch update, including what Blizzard have to say about it and any additional context we can provide.

For what’s currently in development, check our dedicated post on the Overwatch PTR.

The latest Overwatch patch is now available, bringing the Halloween skins and Brawl, Leaderboards and balance changes for Ana, Junkrat and Widowmaker. All the details are below, straight from Blizzard.

Overwatch Hero Balance Updates

Ana

Nano Boost

Ultimate cost has been increased by 20%

Biotic Grenade

Radius has been increased from 3 to 4 meters

Developer Comments:So far, we haven’t seen any indication that Ana is too strong overall, but her ultimate charges a little too fast, especially considering the impact it can have on a match. Also, her Biotic Grenades are getting a small boost to help her hit multiple targets.

Widowmaker

Widow’s Kiss

Scoping-in animation time has been reduced from 0.5 to 0.33 seconds

Developer Comments:This change will help Widowmaker acquire new targets more quickly and speed up her reaction time in fast-paced situations.

Junkrat

RIP-Tire

Ability now activates more quickly

Developer Comments: Junkrat can be an extremely effective hero in the right hands, but RIP-Tire often felt underpowered when compared to his counterparts.

Overwatch General Updates

General

Static cameras are now supported in spectator mode

Team names can now be edited in custom games

Raised the volume of Hanzo’s Dragonstrike voice line while wearing the Okami/Lone Wolf Skin

Heroes hit by Ana’s Nano Boost have a new voice line that informs other players

Increased frequency of Reinhardt’s “barrier failing” voice line

Custom Games can now be paused

Competitive Play

Players who leave or are disconnected from a competitive match can now rejoin anytime while the match is still in progress

Teammates of a disconnected player can now exit a match after 2 minutes have elapsed (formerly 1 minute), and they will not receive a leaver penalty. However, they will receive a loss

Spectating

Camera movement in Spectator Mode has been improved

Overwatch User Interface Updates

General

Hero Gallery now signify which items were unlocked during the Overwatch Halloween Terror event

Several minor aesthetic changes have been made to the game’s Main, Social, and Options menus

Removed several stats that were duplicated for certain heroes throughout the career profile

Graphics, typography, and layout have been updated in the Player Profile menu

Controller users can now choose between two aiming modes

Dual-Zone mode (New default): The vast majority of the thumbstick’s range moves with reduced sensitivity and relatively high acceleration. However, when the thumbstick crosses to the outer 10% of its range, it will move with high sensitivity and relatively low acceleration. This mode will allow for more precise aiming, while still allowing players to turn around quickly



Exponential Ramp mode (Old default): As the thumbstick moves toward the outside of its range, the sensitivity is ramped up exponentially. The acceleration remains relatively high throughout

Social Features

Certain commendations will now appear less frequently during end-of-round voting, and others will appear more frequently (e.g. Torbjörn’s Armor Packs Created will appear less frequently while Offensive Assists will appear more frequently)

Overwatch Bug Fixes

General

Enemy players that are knocked down no longer lose their red outline

Highlight Intros previewed after opening a loot box now loop

Fixed a bug that prevented custom key bindings from saving after relaunching the game

Fixed a bug that kept players from binding Take Screenshot to other keys

Fixed a bug preventing any non-default sprays from appearing during the Play of the Game

Heroes that appeared on the main menu screen are no longer visible in the background while viewing items in the hero gallery

Maps

Fixed a bug that allowed D.Va to reach unintended locations on several maps when using Self-Destruct

Fixed a bug that allowed players to capture first objective on King’s Row from extremely high above the point

Fixed a bug that allowed the payload to heal players, even when they were negatively affected by Ana’s Biotic Grenade

Fixed a bug preventing the health bars on the Practice Range bots from displaying the effects of Ana’s Biotic Grenade

Fixed a bug preventing sprays from being applied correctly to some surfaces on Eichenwalde

Fixed a lighting issue, causing certain objects to appear darker than intended inside the Eichenwalde castle

Heroes

Smoothed the animation during Ana’s zoom-release transition

Fixed a bug causing Bastion’s bullet shells to eject backwards while in Configuration: Sentry mode

Fixed a bug causing D.Va to be teleported back to a re-spawn point if her Boosters are used inside the team’s dropship

Fixed an issue preventing Hanzo’s Sonic Arrow from appearing when selected

Fixed a bug preventing Junkrat’s statistics from correctly tracking RIP-Tire kills

Fixed a bug that prevented Junkrat’s “Roadkill” achievement from being awarded after obtaining 4 kills with RIP-Tire

Fixed an issue preventing Mercy’s staff from appearing in some highlight intros while wearing the Valkyrie, Sigrún, and Cobalt skins

Fixed a bug causing Tracer’s highlight intros to render at a lower resolution when accessed from the Highlights menu

Fixed a bug that allowed Widowmaker to use her Grappling Hook on basketballs

Symmetra’s “Car Wash” achievement now correctly lists the number of beams required (6 instead of 7)

Fixed a time calculation issue that was causing Zenyatta’s “Rapid Discord” achievement to be more difficult than intended

Spectating

Spectators are now able to see the Assemble Heroes countdown timer on all maps during a Custom Game

You are no longer able to see your killer’s red outline while spectating your team before respawning

That’s it for the current patch, though as soon as we find out more we’ll update again.