Blizzard Entertainment will be nerfing Torbjörn's turret in Overwatch for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of the game according to a post by Game Director Jeff Kaplan on Reddit.
Torbjörn is one of 21 different heroes in Overwatch. He is one of six characters with an explicitly defensive playstyle. Torbjörn mainly operates in a "zone defense" style similar to the Engineer in Team Fortress 2 by using a deployable turret and armor pickup.
The nerf was announced in response to a text post by Redditor /u/canadlaw on the Overwatch subreddit. In it, he talked about how he typically averages a 51% win rate on the PlayStation 4 version of the game . However, he stated that his win rate jumped to 80% when he played Torbjörn. He attributes this greater degree of success to the defensive capabilities of Torbjörn especially when paired with other defensively-oriented heroes like Reinhardt. The subreddit's moderators confirmed that the account /u/Blizz_JeffKaplan does indeed belong to Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan.
The nerf will reduce Torbjörn's turret damage by 30% on the console versions of the game. The PC version will remain unaffected. Overwatch currently does not allow for cross-platform play; Blizzard stated that mouse and keyboard would have an advantage over players using a controller on consoles. The change is slated to come somewhere between the middle and end of July 2016 depending on the first party certification process for the consoles. This fits their plan to separately balance PC and console versions as necessary.
If you're interested in Overwatch, you can grab it via Battle.net for PC for $39.99 or your regional equivalent. It's also available on XBox One and PlayStation 4 as digital downloads or physical discs for $59.99 as the Origins edition.
What do you think of the nerf for Torbjörn's turret? Do you think the update should apply to the PC version of the game as well, or do you feel the differences between the PC and console experiences necessitates minor differences such as this? Let us know in the comments below!
