In the latest developer update for Overwatch, two major announcements were made alongside a host of changes that are coming to several heroes.
The upcoming patch is currently in the Public Test Region, though no specific date has yet been mentioned on when it will be rolled out to the main game.
Overwatch To Soon Receive Server Browser
As noted in the PTR patch notes, one of the major features of the upcoming update is the addition of the Server Browser. Through the Server Browser, players will be able to create custom games that can be shared with their friends, or even to all other Overwatch players in the world.
The Server Browser, which will be an extension of the Custom Game mode of Overwatch, will allow players to create games with customized settings. Among the examples given by the development team on the settings that players can adjust on the Server Browser include increasing the speed of Pharah's missiles and removing the cooldown for McCree's Combat Roll.
After inputting their preferred settings, players can then set up their custom server to only allow their friends or people given an invite to join, or set the game to public so that any Overwatch player can participate.
In addition to the pending arrival of the Server Browser, it was also announced that custom games for Overwatch will start allowing players to accumulate experience points, which provides additional incentives to try out the new addition.
Capture The Flag Mode Made Permanent
The Overwatch development team described Capture the Rooster, introduced in the Year of the Rooster event, as the game's most popular brawl. As such, the decision has been made to add Capture the Flag to the Arcade mode of Overwatch.
In addition, versions of the Nepal, Ilios, Oasis, and Lijiang Tower maps that have been remade into versions for Capture the Flag have been released, giving players a total of 12 maps in which to try the new permanent mode. Players will be able to change the settings of the mode as well, such as decrease or increase the time needed for a player to pick up the enemy flag and cause the flag to be dropped when the holder uses a skill for added mobility or immunity.
Hero Updates
Among the updates coming to the game's heroes, the most significant are the changes that will be applied to Bastion and Mercy.
The changes to Bastion, which have already been previously described by Overwatch principal designer Geoff Goodman, will increase the robot hero's strength and flexibility. Among the coming changes are the increased bullet spread and magazine size for his Sentry mode, a resource meter similar to D.Va's Defense Matrix being added to the Self-Repair skill that can now be used while moving, and the new passive Ironclad skill that allows Bastion to take 35 percent less damage while in Sentry or Tank mode.
As for Mercy, the healer will now become temporarily invulnerable whenever she uses her ultimate Resurrect skill, along with her teammates that she is reviving.
Players will also be given the option to adjust the targeting sensitivity of skills of various heroes, for added flexibility on how they want their characters to play out.
