Coinciding with the beginning of the Year of the Rooster event, a new Overwatch update is now rolling out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, reportedly requiring a 1.5GB download. According to the official trailer (above), Year of the Rooster will run until Monday, February 13, and it includes over 100 seasonal cosmetic items, a special fireworks display on Lijiang Tower, and a brand-new brawl!
Here’s some highlights of the patch notes for today’s new Overwatch update:
New Seasonal Event: Year of the Rooster
- Grab your friends, family, and loved ones and get ready to ring in the Year of the Rooster.
- Overwatch’s Lunar New Year celebrations have begun and, for the next three weeks, we hope this seasonal event brings you happiness, prosperity, and (most importantly) lots of fun! Collect more than 100 seasonal cosmetic items from our special Lunar Loot Boxes, enjoy a festive fireworks display on Lijiang Tower, and get ready to capture the flag in Overwatch’s newest brawl. To learn more, click here.
General Updates
General
- The “Stay as Team” button now lights up when anyone on your team clicks it
- Players can now join Team Chat from the Hero Select screen (Push “RB” on the Xbox One controller and push “R1” on the PlayStation 4 controller)
- Crouch now has a very small cooldown between uses
Communication Wheel
- Players can now equip up to 4 emotes, sprays, and voice lines from within the hero gallery
- Voice line and emote submenus can be accessed from within the Communication wheel
- Players can now bind individual sprays, emotes, and voice lines to mouse buttons, unique keys, or controller buttons
Kill Feed
- Hero ability icons are now displayed in the Kill Feed
- Headshot eliminations are now indicated with a red icon
Hero Balance Updates
D.Va
- Health increased from 200 to 400
- Armor decreased from 400 to 200
- Fusion Cannons: Bullet damage decreased from 3 to 2, Number of bullets per shot has been increased from 8 to 11
Lucio
- New Hero Option: Allow Backwards Wall Ride – When enabled, allows Lucio to start wall riding while moving backwards.
Roadhog
Chain Hook
- Targets are now pulled directly in front of Roadhog (rather than straight to him), except in cases where Roadhog drastically rotates
- Hooked targets are now released if they leave Roadhog’s line of sight before being pulled
- Line of sight checks (which determines if targets are hit by the hook) are now done from Roadhog’s position, rather than the hook’s position
Bug Fixes
General
- Fixed a bug allowing spectators to utilize the “Stay as Team” button during the end of a game
- Fixed a bug that caused the “Stay as Team” button to overlap with the Back button on the Social menu
- Fixed a bug preventing the Social menu from not correctly displaying World of Warcraft zones that have an apostrophe in the name
- Fixed a bug causing heroes to display a T-pose on the victory screen after a Mystery Heroes brawl
- Fixed a bug preventing Simple Checkout from being navigated by a controller on PC
- Fixed a bug preventing Alt+Tab from properly minimizing the game client while in fullscreen mode
- Fixed a bug preventing the Kill Feed from displaying the destruction of Teleporters, Shield Generators, and Turrets
Heroes
- Fixed a visual bug with Ana’s “Toast” victory pose, causing her cup to appear blurry on the right side of the screen
- Fixed a bug causing a graphics issue with McCree’s “Hat Trick” emote
- Fixed a bug preventing the countdown timer from appearing on Mei’s Cryo-Freeze ability
- Fixed a bug with the placement of Mercy’s wings on her Valkyrie and Sigrún skins
- Fixed a bug preventing Symmetra’s Photon Barrier from playing its destruction sound effect when it is destroyed
- Fixed a bug causing Tracer’s “You Got It” voice line to play an incorrect line
- Fixed a bug preventing Widowmaker’s Venom Mine from attaching to walls
- Fixed a bug preventing Zenyatta’s Nutcracker skin from receiving a golden glow while using his Transcendence ultimate ability
Some Reddit users have uploaded images of the new skins and victory poses, which you can see on Imgur here and here.
In other Overwatch news, Game Director Jeff Kaplan said reporting is coming to PS4 and Xbox One, hopefully before summer:
Regarding Reporting: This feature is coming to both PS4 and Xbox. I don’t have an exact ETA because there are many moving parts to make this happen. My hope is that everything locks into place before summer… or sooner. But we’re at the mercy of things beyond our control on this one and we’ve been working super hard to make it happen.
Kaplan also said Torbjorn and Symmetra have “begun to diverge a little bit so we’re taking a look at them now and we’ll consider adjusting them.”
Will you be taking part in the Year of the Rooster event?
[Source: Reddit, Blizzard (1), (2), (3) via VG247]
20 PS4 Co-Op Games That You Need to Play Now & in the Future
Here are twenty co-op games that you can look forward to or play right now!
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20 PS4 Co-Op Games That You Need to Play Now & in the Future
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Destiny
Few games have been as polarizing as Bungie's co-op focused first person shooter. Destiny, despite its many shortcomings, is still one of the best multiplayer experiences found on the PlayStation 4. It is just plain fun to dance with friends, shoot enemies and going on raids.
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Battleborn
While not a ton is known about Gearbox Software's upcoming game there is no doubt that it is ambitious. Battleborn will attempt to combine the gameplay of a first person shooter with the trappings of a MOBA. Whether or not this will be the first-person equivalent to League of Legends is still up in the air but we can't wait to find out.
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Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
Borderlands has been a multiplayer stand-out ever since it debuted in 2009. Now the co-op fun has been extended to four player split-screen in Borderlands: The Handsome Collection. It is hard not to get excited about playing through Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! with four of your best friends.
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Broforce
Self described as a "cooperative patriotism simulation", Broforce offers up some of the wackiest fun on the system. Up to four players can play as Rambro, Snake Broskin and other action heroes inspired by 80s films.
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Dying Light
Techland's successor to Dead Island brings four player co-op to the forefront. While parkouring to survive in the zombie apocalypse is already fun by yourself, it is even more-so with friends. Dying Light can breath life into a boring afternoon, especially with others.
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Evolve
Turtle Rock Studios came to prominence working on multiplayer classics such as Counter-Strike and Left 4 Dead. Now they have released Evolve which pits four players against a player-controlled monster. It's one of the most compelling co-op experience (if played with the right group of friends) to come out in recent memory.
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Far Cry 4
Ubisoft had a controversy-filled 2014 but they also released some great games. Few games offered up more fun than Far Cry 4 which allows players to explore Kyrat with a partner. Grab a friend (and an elephant) and you are sure to have a blast.
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Killzone Shadow Fall Intercept
Killzone Shadow Fall Intercept added class-based co-op fun to one of the PS4's most popular launch titles. Available as DLC and as a standalone download, four players can take on the Helghast and transmit data back to headquarters.
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LittleBigPlanet 3
LittleBigPlanet has always been fun to play with others, but since everybody played as Sackboy there was no way to offer up unique play-styles. Developer Sumo Digital has changed that, however, in LittleBigPlanet 3 by introducing new characters to the mix. With four unique roles, everybody has something to offer in multiplayer.
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Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, the follow-up to 2010's Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, allows four players to experience the game's story. Players will have to work together to solve puzzles and defeat enemies in this downloadable title.
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LEGO Jurassic World
Few developers have made more fun co-op games than Traveller's Tales. Their latest title, LEGO Jurassic World, allows players to relive the first three Jurassic Park movies and this year's blockbuster Jurassic World.
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Mercenary Kings
Mercenary Kings manages to combine the gameplay of Monster Hunter and Contra to create one of the best co-op experiences on the system. Up to four players can take on the game's over 100 missions both locally and online.
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Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare
One of 2014's pleasant surprises was EA's Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare. The game features fun multiplayer and a great wave-based survival mode that combines the game's strategy roots with the new outing's third person shooting gameplay. Since it was free after the PlayStation Experience there is a good chance you already own this title. Give it a play!
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Resident Evil: Revelations 2
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 features a fully fleshed out co-op campaign. Players will be able to play as Claire Redfield or Moira Burton as they try to escape from zombies. Throw in an excellent Raid mode, and there is a lot of fun to be had!
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Saints Row IV: Re-Elected + Gat out of Hell
Both Saints Row IV: Re-Elected and its standalone expansion, Gat out of Hell, feature hilarious co-op action. The already ridiculous games manages to become even more of a mess when playing with friends.
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Warframe
Few free-to-play titles are as full featured as Warframe is. Players can join up with others to shoot and slice enemies through several different planets. With a lot of content and loot to collect, Warframe is a game that will keep you coming back.
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Assassin's Creed Unity
Assassin's Creed Unity allowed players to link up with three other assassins to take on missions. Teamwork is key during these segments and it is fulfilling to assassinate a target due to proper planning.
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Child of Light
Child of Light is one of the most gorgeous games ever released and can be experienced with a loved one thanks to its co-op mode. While it isn't the greatest cooperative experience (the second player can only help out outside of combat), it is more engaging than playing alone.
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Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition
Blizzard managed to not only successfully port Diablo III to consoles, but to also offer up one of the best multiplayer experiences on the system. With online and local co-op there is no reason to explore Sanctuary together.
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TowerFall Ascension
Thanks to the advent of Share Play, the fantastic co-op mode found within TowerFall Ascension can be played both locally and online. Players can take a break from battling each other to team up and take on waves of enemies.
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Minecraft
Minecraft became a cultural phenomenon thanks to the ability for players to visit the worlds of others. Needless to say it is one of the best co-op experiences on PS4. It is so much more fun to make crazy buildings and tunnels with a friend!
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Helldivers
Helldivers is one of the best co-op games on the market, but it is also one of the hardest. You might lose some friends due to the game's friendly fire, but it will be so satisfying when you beat a level with your besties!
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Magicka 2
When played with other smart players, Magicka 2 is a blast. This fantasy action game requires multiple players to be in sync with each other, or its high difficulty will conquer. If you have three friends, or don't mind taking a chance with random players online, then this is definitely one to check out.
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Gauntlet Slayer Edition
Arrowhead Game Studios, the developer behind Helldivers, had a busy 2015, as they also released Gauntlet Slayer Edition. While it may not be quite as polished as their other PS4 offering, Gauntlet is still good fun if you need a break from other co-op titles.
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Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
MMOs are built around playing with friends, and the best MMO on PS4 is Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Players can team up to grind out experience, go on raids, and finish quests. This is one journey that is better with others!
