Overwatch has released a patch which adds the new Junkertown map, changes Mercy, D.Va, & Reinhardt, and makes some other gameplay changes according to the patch notes on the game's official forums, based on what had been on the PTR.
Junkertown is the latest map to be added to the game. Set in the Australian Outback, it rests upon the ruined remains of an Omnium that was blown up by locals who were going to be displaced by the government as part of peace accords with the Omnics. Players will guide a cart laden with treasure (and a dash of high explosives) past Roadhog's farm, through Junkertown proper, and finally to the Scrapyard for the final point. The New Map Preview video for Junkertown highlights some of the imagery and features of the map:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XU1TockPjE
Three Overwatch heroes are getting changes in this patch. Reinhardt has the least changes this time around; you can hold down left click while his Barrier Shield is engaged to look around while keeping your shield in the same orientation. This will give you more situational awareness without having to actually move your shield.
D.Va has had her Defense Matrix nerfed: it now depletes the resource meter twice as quickly. However, the Korean pro gamer/Mech pilot has gotten some buffs to compensate. The recharge per second has been changed from 10% to 12.5%, effectively changing the recharge time from 10 seconds to 8 seconds. D.Va can now shoot her Fusion Cannons while flying. Finally, she has a new Micro Missiles ability that can be used alongside any of her other abilities (including her primary attack).
The last of the hero changes in this Overwatch patch go to Mercy. Her old Resurrect Ultimate is no more; instead, Resurrect is now a regular ability that can target one player within 5 meters and has a 30-second cooldown. Mercy is no longer invulnerable when using Resurrect anymore. Her new Ultimate is called Valkyrie and it essentially supercharges all of her abilities.
Mercy's enhancements when Valkyrie is active are as follows: healing and damage boost abilities from her Caduceus Staff has an extended range and targets any other allies near the primary target. Guardian Angel has increased range and movement speed. Her Caduceus Blaster doesn't have to be reloaded and the projectiles move faster. Resurrect's Cooldown is instantly reset on the activation of the Ultimate, and the cooldown is reduced to 10 seconds. Her passive health regeneration is no longer interrupted by taking damage, and her Hover ability is replaced with the ability to fly freely at an increased movement speed. Valkyrie lasts for 20 seconds.
Finally, Mystery Heroes has gotten changes implemented that were initially announced back in March of this year. The redundant "Assemble Your Team" screen is no longer shown at the beginning of the game. Players will no longer respawn as the same hero twice in a row. Purposefully killing yourself will now zero out your Ultimate meter and destroy any deployable equipment, but it won't allow you to respawn as a new hero. These changes will also be applied to any custom games where the "Respawn as Random Hero" option is selected.
There's plenty of other bug fixes and small changes in this patch - be sure to click through to the patch notes to read up on all of the details!
What do you think of the changes to Mercy & D.Va in this latest patch? Do you think the changes made to Mystery Heroes are a good idea? Which Overwatch hero do you think most needs a rework? Let us know in the comments below!
