Overwatch Update 2.00 Now Live: Is 10.6GB, Adds Sombra

A 10.61GB download (on PS4), Overwatch update 2.00 is now live on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, adding Sombra.

Blizzard has posted the patch notes for Overwatch update 2.00, revealing that PS4 Pro support is added,

New Hero: Sombra (Offense)

One of the world’s most notorious hackers is stepping out of the shadows: Sombra, a mysterious infiltrator who uses information to control those in power.

Sombra is a master manipulator who can hack her enemies, temporarily blocking their abilities. In addition, she can hack health packs and Torbjörn’s turret, making them useless to her opponents. She uses her fully automatic Machine Pistol to take out her enemies, getting into position using her Thermoptic Camo, which allows her to become invisible and move more quickly for short periods of time. This gives her the ability to slip past enemy defenses undetected, but she’s instantly revealed if she takes damage or attacks an enemy. She also has a Translocator, which can be tossed like a grenade. When it’s activated, Sombra is teleported to its location (even while it’s in flight).

Sombra’s ultimate ability, EMP, discharges electromagnetic energy in a wide radius, hacking anyone caught within range and destroying enemy barriers and shields. To learn more about Sombra, click here.

New Feature: The Arcade

Discover brand new ways to play Overwatch in the Arcade. Choose from a variety of regularly rotating game modes, maps, and rulesets that don’t quite fit into Quick Play or Competitive Play. Whether it’s 1-on-1 duels, 3-vs-3 skirmishes, our alternating selection of brawls, or special rulesets like “no hero switching,” you should have no problem finding a game that fits your mood. Experience is earned just like any other mode, but you can also earn Arcade-specific rewards, like Loot Boxes!

New Arena Map: Ecopoint: Antarctica

Bundle up for a journey to Ecopoint: Antarctica, the former Overwatch installation where climatologist Mei-Ling Zhou was once stationed. While researching severe weather anomalies in the region, the station was hit by an intense polar storm. Running out of options and low on supplies, the team decided to cryogenically freeze themselves until the storm passed. They believed that it would only be for a few months, but Mei awoke nearly a decade later.

Ecopoint: Antarctica is a compact new Arena map that features multiple new game modes, including a 3-vs-3 battle and 1-on-1 duel. Check it out in the Arcade.

Season 3 of Competitive Play

Competitive Play’s second season will end on November 23 at 4PM PDT (November 24 at 0:00 UTC), and the third season will begin on November 30 at 4PM PDT (December 1 at 0:00 UTC). During the week-long off season, you’ll still be able to queue for matches using the Competitive Play ruleset, but your skill rating will not be affected and no Competitive Points will be awarded.

We’ve also made a few adjustments to the skill rating system for season 3. Players will be distributed more broadly across the skill tiers, which means that your season 3 rating will probably be lower than the previous season.

General

[PS4] Added PlayStation 4 Pro support

Made a number of data format improvements, which should decrease load times and reduce the game’s storage space requirements

Quick Play matches are now restricted to one of each hero per team

Made several adjustments to the amount of experience needed to level:

The amount of experience needed to reach levels 2 through 13 remains unchanged

The amount of experience needed to reach levels 14 through 100 has been slightly reduced

The amount of experience needed to reach levels after 100 is now constant (20,000 XP) and will no longer reset after each promotion

Spectating

The number of observer slots in Custom Games has been increased from 6 to 12

Hero Balance Changes

General

Dealing damage to things other than players (like Torbjörn’s turret or Symmetra’s teleporter) no longer charges ultimate abilities

Ultimate costs have been increased by 25% for all heroes

Ana

Nano Boost: No longer increases move speed

D.Va

Call Mech: Ultimate cost has been decreased by 20%

Mech health increased to 200 (formerly 100). Armor remains at 400

Movement speed while firing has been increased by 25%

Lucio

Amp It Up: Healing per second has been decreased by 10%

Mei

Blizzard: Ultimate cost has been increased by 15%

Mercy

Passive health regeneration now activates when Mercy avoids taking damage for 1 second (formerly 3 seconds)

Phara

Rocket Launcher: Minimum explosion damage has been increased by 13%; Minimum explosion knockback has been decreased to 0%

Jump Jets: Lift increased by 35%

Soldier: 76

Pulse Rifle: Bullet damage increased from 17 to 20; Maximum bullet spread increased from 2.2 to 2.4

Torbjorn

Scrap is now automatically generated over time

The amount of scrap collected from a fallen enemy has been decreased by 40%

Forge Hammer: Swing speed increased by 25%; Damage decreased by 27%

Widowmaker

Venom Mine: Explosion no longer damages the player who placed the mine

Widow’s Kiss: Charge rate increased by 20%

Zarya

Particle Barrier: Power gained from barriers decreased by 20%

Projected Barrier: Power gained from barriers decreased by 20%

User Interface Updates

General

Loading screen now displays the name of the chosen game mode when playing in the Arcade

To read developer comments on many of the changes, and to see the bug fixes, head over to the Overwatch Forums.

If you haven’t picked up Overwatch yet, don’t forget that the next free weekend starts on November 18.

[Source: Play Overwatch, Reddit (1), (2)]

Essential Reading:

Shooter Showdown 2016

Shooter Showdown 2016 - Which Should You Play?
Battleborn
Unfortunately overshadowed by Overwatch’s release, Battleborn is in no way a bad multiplayer/MOBA hybrid. And given how it’s cheaper now, and there’s no shortage of post-launch support, giving this a try might not be a bad idea. Just remember that it doesn’t play nearly the same as Overwatch as some people might make you believe.

Get This If You:
- Want an alternative to Overwatch
- Like a shooter/MOBA on consoles that has LOTS of characters to choose from
- Want something different than your standard shooter
Don’t Play This If:
- You’re addicted to Overwatch and you’ll compare Battleborn to this
- Don’t like learning a ton of characters and their ultimates
- Not a fan of MOBA-ish shooters
Read our review!
Battlefield 1
With Battlefield 1, DICE went back in time to World War I to give the game a modern edge. Sound weird? Yes, it is. While it has a decent single-player campaign, it’s in the multiplayer where it really shines. Prepare for all-out warfare with 32 vs. 32 matches with vehicles, planes, tanks and of course, infantry. There’s even a new mode called Operations that could very well be the franchise’s new go-to game mode.

Get This If You:
- Like pretty graphics and audio work (seriously, they’re damn impressive!)
- Love multiplayer matches with vehicles and lots of people in each match
- Have been a fan of the franchise
Don’t Play This If:
- You want something that you can just pick up and play (it has a bit of a learning curve)
- Can’t play multiplayer matches that are longer than your standard team deathmatch rounds
- Hate vehicles and want scorestreaks and other boosts for getting a lot of kills
Read our review!
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Infinity Ward’s latest entry in the Call of Duty franchise is once again going to the future, and seems to be borrowing quite a few things from Treyarch’s Black Ops 3 in terms of multiplayer game design. Once again, players will be able to equip a gun, their preferred scorestreak setup, the Combat Rig of their choice and just go to town. It’s easily the most accessible shooter in the list because let’s face it, who hasn’t played a Call of Duty game, right?

Get This If You:
- Love Call of Duty’s kind of multiplayer
- Want super deep progression and unlock system in multiplayer
- Liked Black Ops 3’s multiplayer but want something fresh, but not too different
Don’t Play This If:
- You can’t stand Call of Duty’s kills-first multiplayer mantra
- Prefer your multiplayer experience to be more objective-focused
- Didn’t like Black Ops 3 or don’t want double jumps, and futuristic stuff
Read our review!
Destiny
One of the biggest IPs in gaming to launch this generation, Destiny might possibly be the biggest MMORPG on consoles of all time. It’s certainly one of the most famous, and it’s hard to deny that it’s a fun experience — especially with friends.

Get This If You:
- Like RPGs and shooters rolled into one with a layering of AAA production values
- Find loots and crafting a fun experience
- Want something to play with your buddies that’s more cooperative than competitive
Don’t Play This If:
- You’re not a fan of grinding for crafting materials or doing tasks repeatedly to level up (or your weapons and items)
- Leaning on competitive multiplayer when it comes to shooters
- Can’t consistently party up to play
Read our review of the base game and the latest expansion!
DOOM
Who’d have thought that DOOM would be this good? While it does have a multiplayer mode, the latest entry in the franchise has an excellent single-player campaign, with serviceable multiplayer. If you’d rather play a meaty FPS single-player than multiplayer, then this might be the game for you.

Get This If You:
- Like to play a solid single-player FPS campaign
- Not a fan of your typical military FPS
- Don’t see yourself playing too much online multiplayer
Don’t Play This If:
- Would rather have an online shooter with the usual progressions, ranking, etc.
- Squeamish or don’t like blood and guts
- Buy shooters mostly for online multiplayer
Read our review!
Overwatch
While not really a “shooter” in the strictest sense of the word, Overwatch is Blizzard’s first foray into the crowded genre. Needless to say, it’s a huge success and its influence will surely be felt in other games. If you want your multiplayer super polished, with a regular release of free content (all maps, characters and modes!), and want characters you can master like in MOBAs, then give it a shot.

Get This If You:
- Want “Heroes” in your multiplayer games
- Like the feel of multiplayer shooters but not actual shooters like Call of Duty, Battlefield. etc.
- Want a game that’s supported for years to come
Don’t Play This If:
- You’re more a fan of military first-person shooters than anything else
- Want constant unlocks, progression, and the like
- Can’t be assed to work with a team
Read our review!
Rainbow Six Siege
While Rainbow Six Siege has been released last year, it still manages to crack our list due to just how well supported it is. What other shooter do you know that has managed to hike up its player base more than at launch? If you want more tactics, a slower pace in your shooters, then give this a try.

Get This If You:
- You want a slower, more tactical approach to military shooters
- Want an established player base that’s not as toxic as most shooter communities
- A change of pace and want something more grounded in realism
Don’t Play This If:
- Want arcade-ey, twitch shooters
- You’re not the patient type (seriously)
- You prefer playing the latest multiplayer shooters
Read our review!
Titanfall 2
While PlayStation gamers weren’t able to experience the first game in the franchise due to EA’s exclusivity deal with Microsoft, the sequel will be available to PC, Xbox and PlayStation gamers. Prepare for a mix of super fast infantry (Pilots) gameplay coupled with mechs (Titan) for something new to the FPS formula.

Get This If You:
- Hate Season Passes (all of Titanfall 2’s post-launch maps, modes and weapons will be free for everyone)
- Want fast-paced shooters but want a break (or an alternative) to Call of Duty
- Want to play as big mechs of death that can put the hurt on other mechs or infantry
Don’t Play This If:
- Want a slower, more “boots to the ground” FPS experience
- Prefer to camp (nothing wrong with that), since the game encourages you to move
- Don’t like double jumps, sliding and the sort in your shooters
Read our review!
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
What’s there left to say about Uncharted 4? Easily one of the best gaming experiences available on the PS4, and it has a very competent multiplayer, too! If you’ve finished the single-player stuff, then there’s a surprisingly rather meaty multiplayer experience waiting for you.

Get This If You:
- Like epic, single-player adventure games that are really well done (like, really)
- Third-person multiplayer that focuses more on objectives
- Different kinds of game modes and not just TDM
Don’t Play This If:
- Prefer first-person shooters to third-person ones
- Expect to get lots of double and triple kills (not as easy as in other shooters)
- You want a super robust and super deep multiplayer (compared to full-fledged, multiplayer experiences)
Read our review!
Warframe
Possibly one of the best free-to-play games available on PS4, which is still getting heavy support presently is Warframe. If you don’t want to spend a dime on any shooter at all, then this is right for you. You can download it, check it out all guilt-free.

Get This If You:
- Are on a budget
- Want a F2P game with an active player base
- Prefer your F2P games be supported for a long time
Don’t Play This If:
- Don’t like F2P games
- Hate micro-transactions
- You prefer Planetside 2, World of Tanks, etc. more (but seriously, they're free, so go try them all out)
Read our review!