Blizzard has just rolled out the latest Overwatch update and this one is exclusive to the PlayStation 4. Clocking in at 1.3GB, the patch has a few bug fixes, hero tweaks and even some new features. And yes, one of these new features is “Competitive Play.”
Without further ado, check out the complete changelog below.
New Feature: Competitive Play
Overwatch is raising the bar for competitive players, giving them the perfect arena to sharpen their skills and hone their strategies. Introducing Competitive Play.Competitive Play is designed for players who truly want to put their skills to the test, and offers a more serious experience than our Quick Play or Weekly Brawl! modes. To make sure everyone playing the mode has a solid understanding of the game’s mechanics, maps, and heroes, Competitive Play will be locked until you hit level 25.
Once you reach level 25, the mode will become available under the “Play” button in the main menu. Simply select “Competitive Play” from the submenu, and you’re ready to enter a match. You can join on your own or in a group, and Overwatch’s matchmaking system will automatically find the best game possible for your (or your group’s) skill level.
Gamepad Controls
- Players can now swap the left and right sticks on a control pad
- “Legacy” controls option has been added:
- Left stick up/down moves forward/backward
- Left stick left/right turns left/right
- Right stick up/down aims up/down (these can be inverted)
- Right stick left/right strafes left/right
- Sticks can also be switched
- Improved dead-zone controls, giving players increased accuracy during off-center and diagonal stick movement
- Added an option to adjust Aim Assist strength (defaults to full strength)
Miscellaneous
- “Weapons” section added to the Hero Gallery
- Added McCree as an AI hero in Practice vs. AI, Play vs. AI, and Custom Game modes
- Disabled “Avoid This Player” functionality and removed option from the game UI
Developer Comments: The “Prefer”/”Avoid” player system was designed with the best intentions; however, it’s not currently performing in a way that we feel is healthy for the game. While the “Prefer This Player” option is more or less working as intended (and is thus still enabled), the “Avoid This Player” option has impacted the matchmaker in negative way and led to some very poor player experiences across the board. Although we like the idea of being able to say “hey, I’d prefer not to play with this person,” the implementation of the mechanic is not where it needs to be. We’re still looking at ways to iterate and improve upon features that empower players to reduce toxicity and harassment in their games; we just want to be sure these features don’t accidentally punish positive community members as a side-effect.
HERO BALANCE CHANGES
- Peacekeeper
- Alternate Fire
- Recovery time (i.e. the amount of time before McCree starts reloading) decreased from 0.75 seconds to 0.3 seconds
- Bullet damage decreased from 70 to 45
Developer Comments: McCree was performing too well against all targets, making him feel like a must-pick in many situations. By reducing the damage of his alternate fire, McCree is now significantly weaker against tanks like Roadhog and Reinhardt, but still maintains his lethality against smaller targets like Tracer and Genji.
- Widow’s Kiss
- Alternate Fire (Scoped Shot)
- Base damage decreased from 15 to 12
- Note: Scoped shot damage multiplier remains unchanged
- Headshot damage multiplier increased from 2x to 2.5x
- Players must now wait for the unscoping animation to completely finish before scoping
- Infra-Sight
- Ultimate cost increased by 10%
- When activating Infra-Sight, Widowmaker’s voice line will now be audible map-wide
Developer Comments: In the right hands, Widowmaker can often feel unstoppable—even when just landing body shots instead of critical heads shots. The changes to her alternate fire weaken body shot damage while leaving her headshot damage unchanged. Additionally, we felt her Ultimate ability, Infra-Sight, was coming up a little too frequently, especially considering its impact on the game.
BUG FIXES
General
- Fixed a bug preventing players from being able to leave as a group
- Fixed a bug that would cause players’ weapons to auto-snap straight up or down when the crosshair was aimed between 85 and 90 degrees
- Fixed a bug that caused players who backfilled and then completed a game to sometimes receive a loss on their Career Profile and not receive their XP bonus for backfilling
- Fixed a bug that would move players toward the source of a knockback rather than away from it
- Fixed a bug that caused Hearthstone-themed sprays to ignore localization
- Fixed several framerate issues that could occur when cycling through the hero selection menu
- Fixed a variety of issues with and made several improvements to ambient lighting
- Made some improvements to how AI heroes respond to one another
- Made a variety of performance and optimization improvements across the game
Maps
- Players can no longer be resurrected in out-of-play areas on Ilios
- Fixed an issue with collision on certain areas of Dorado not blocking line of sight
Heroes
- Fixed a bug with the “Junkrat RIP-Tire Kills—Average” lifetime statistic
- Fixed a bug that allowed Mercy to gain Ultimate charge whenever damage boosting an ally who was attacking a barrier or Ice Wall
- Fixed a bug that allowed Reaper to Shadow Step to unintended locations on certain maps
- Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause projectiles to hit Reinhardt instead of his Barrier Field
- Fixed a bug that allowed Torbjörn to pick up Scrap while dead
Unfortunately, it seems the patch to nerf Torbjorn’s turrets aren’t part of the update just yet, so you’ll have to be a wee bit more patient when it Torbjorn stacking. Either that or join in on the fun while the nerf isn’t here yet (which is what I’m doing).
What are you hoping Blizzard tweaks next for Overwatch? Let’s hope new maps and heroes are part of the update next.
[Source: Battle.net]
More Overwatch Reading:
- Everything Wrong With Overwatch
- Overwatch Leaver Penalty Explained in Detail by Blizzard
- Overwatch Beginner’s Guide
Games With Tacked on Multiplayer That's Actually Good
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Games With Tacked on Multiplayer That's Actually Good
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Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
While Assassin's Creed's signature competitive multiplayer has been missing from recent installments, it really shined in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. It was one of the best takes on multiplayer stealth yet, which isn't seen very often. You also get to virtually cosplay as a pirate, so it's highly recommended even if Edward Kenway's adventure is the real draw in Black Flag.
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Batman: Arkham Origins
While nobody was really asking for a multiplayer to Warner Bros.' excellent Batman series, Batman: Arkham Origins offered one up anyhow. It has the unique hook of having Bane and Joker thugs fighting, while Batman also lurks in the shadows attempting to end their night of crime. This is surprisingly fun, and letting your enemies take each other out is always a satisfying strategy.
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Dragon Age: Inquisition
One of Dragon Age: Inquisition's coolest features is the game's cooperative mode (that can also be played solo if you don't play well with others). This dungeon crawl has players teaming up in order to battle enemies, and there's three separate campaigns. It's a separate experience from the single-player, but it's still a really fun way to experience Dragon Age with your friends.
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DOOM
While DOOM features three distinct modes, the campaign is the real focus. That said, it does feature a lot of cool stuff that justifies the inclusion of multiplayer. For example, the two round-based modes, Freeze Tag and Clan Arena, really standout when compared to other console shooters. The game's creation tool set, SnapMap, also supports multiplayer, and allows players to play cooperative levels (or just ring a cowbell).
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Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V's online has been constantly evolving since the game released. Not only have new features been added to it, such as online heists, it continues to be upgraded to this day. Wrecking shop in San Andreas is a blast online, and it's great to see Rockstar coming up with plenty of reasons for players to jump back in.
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The Last of Us
Naughty Dog really outdid themselves with the multiplayer in The Last of Us. Sure, it seems out-of-place considering how emotionally draining the campaign is, but there's a really satisfying third-person shooter here. One of the really nice touches is how you can populate your clan by using Facebook. Naughty Dog has always toyed with integrating social media (anyone remember the awful Uncharted auto-tweets?), but this actually worked.
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Mass Effect 3
Like Dragon Age: Inquisition, Mass Effect 3 features a separated multiplayer component. Called Galaxy at War, the mode allows a group of four to tackle on exclusive missions. This horde mode features 15 different maps, and the wave-based combat requires both quick reflexes and strategy to succeed.
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Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
While the microtransactions will make you roll your eyes, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain's online mode is a ton of fun. This isn't much of a surprise, since the game plays so damn well, and there's a special joy that's triggered when you fulton another living person and not just a computer controlled character. Even the health club company that published the game can't ruin this mode.
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Tomb Raider
While it's missing from its sequel, the reboot of Tomb Raider had a sneakily good multiplayer mode. The four versus four multiplayer really shined due to the game's destructible environments and solid gunplay (or more realistically how much fun the bow and arrow is to use).
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Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End features the Uncharted series' best shooting yet, and enhanced melee combat. That great gameplay carries over to the multiplayer side. While it won't give Overwatch something to worry about, there's still good fun to be had here. Plus, it's dumb fun to see Uncharted characters doing wacky dances.
