The 8 things that matter in Overwatch’s new update: Symmetra overhaul, a new hero, maps and modes
Game director Jeff Kaplan’s recent update has given us the low-down on what shiny new things we can expect to see in Overwatch, some features coming sooner than later. Here’s are the best 8 things which’ll soon be heading your way:
Symmetra is getting an overhaul
Your favourite support is probably going to see some changes to her mechanics in terms of her stats and ability cooldown. The team are also exploring more dramatic changes largely in terms of design vision for her, but Kaplan makes it pretty clear that this doesn’t mean she’ll be getting healing turrets, healing teleporters, or healing weapons (so stop asking for them). Rather than shift her design dramatically she might be moved out of the support category. Symmetra’s updates are the ones which we’re probably going to see soonest, with the earliest changes appearing in mid-November.
Junkrat’s trap is fixed
The main change is that Junkrat’s trap has been amended so Genji can’t dash through it and destroy it, so now the lime green ninja’ll get caught in a similar way to Tracer. The activation time of his ultimate is also going to be sped up so no more twiddling your thumbs waiting for it to power up.
Widowmaker’s scope is quicker
Those playing Widowmaker will see an increase in her scope speed to reduce powergaming and increase situational awareness. Techy words, but a good change.
More heroes are on the way...
Expect new heros, with one being playtested now which will likely see the light of day sooner rather than later. Another is being developed internally reusing placeholder models and animations and will likely see the light of day next year.
...and so are more voices and more emotes
In the future you might be able to unlock more voice lines and emotes, potentially being able to use them all at once and equip them simultaneously. Anything’s got to be better than the current system.
Spectating Mode has been overhauled
At the forefront of Kaplan’s mind is eSports broadcasting, so now, whilst in spectator mode, you can bookmark cameras to hotkeys and jump between camera locations on a map. If you like to watch a specific player, there’s also going to be hotkeys for observers which follow particular characters. Coming soon will also be a camera which is always focused on the objective, payload, or the bit where most players are active so you don’t miss out on a moment of action. Basic ease of viewing has also been fiddled with, so the camera is steadier and more fluid.
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More maps and modes are coming
One map has been playtested enough that it's getting art for an existing game mode, which means that it’s going to come out soon. Plus new game modes are getting sketched out but no details yet.
While here at GamesRadar, Zoe was a features writer and video presenter for us. She's since flown the coop and gone on to work at Eurogamer where she's a video producer, and also runs her own Twitch and YouTube channels. She specialises in huge open-world games, true crime, and lore deep-dives.