Following a Developer Update video featuring Overwatch Game Developer Jeff Kaplan, the new Overwatch deathmatch gameplay and Château Guillard map are now available on the game's Public Test Realm according to the PTR Patch Notes on the game's official website.
Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch are exactly what they say on the tin: Overwatch's take on the classic first person shooter gameplay mode. Deathmatch is an 8-player free-for-all played to 20 points and Team Deathmatch is a 6 vs. 6 team battle played to 30 points. Killing an enemy gives you (or your team) a point, and dying to environmental damage will remove a point from your score. Mercy's Resurrect Ultimate will also remove a point from the enemy team for every ally revived in Team Deathmatch.
A new respawn system has been created specifically for the Deathmatch gameplay modes; I took it for a quick whirl and found that I was teleported into the map at one of several random fixed points. Furthermore, a new scoreboard has been released to help players keep track of their progress in a match. Players concerned about Arcade wins in the free-for-all Deathmatch will be happy to hear that the top four (out of eight) players on the scoreboard will be credited with an Arcade win at the end of the match.
A number of existing maps have been retrofit for this new gameplay mode: Dorado, Eichenwalde, Hanamura, Hollywood, Horizon Lunar Colony, King's Row, Temple of Anubis, and Volskaya Industries are in the rotation. The Elimination maps Black Forest, Castillo, Ecopoint: Antarctica, and Necropolis are restricted to Team Deathmatch. The maps have had the playable areas and features adjusted specifically for this new gameplay mode.
In addition to existing maps being retrofit, a new map called Château Guillard has been released. Château Guillard is the ancestral home of Widowmaker located in Southeastern France:
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Heroes have gotten some updates to be tested out. Junkrat now has two Concussion Mines, his RIP-Tire moves 30% faster, and the delay for wall-climbing has been removed. Orisa has had the projectile speed of her Fusion Driver primary weapon increased by 20% and her barrier has been buffed with a 20% increase in size and a slightly changed shape to better protect from threats underneath the barrier. Roadhog is undergoing some more changes as was previously detailed in late July: Take A Breather healing ability can now be used while moving and provides 50% damage reduction for the duration of the heal. Widowmaker has had her Grappling Hook cooldown reduced from 12 seconds to 8 seconds, and her Venom Mine will now let her (and only her) see enemies affected by the mine through walls.
Aside from these highlights, a number of small changes and bug fixes have been pushed with this Overwatch PTR update; take a peek at the full patch notes for all the details. The Deathmatch gameplay modes and the Château Guillard map are available on the Overwatch PTR right now.
What do you think of Overwatch Deathmatch as set up on the Overwatch PTR? Do you like the Château Guillard map? What do you think of the hero changes currently being tested? Let us know in the comments below!
