Overwatch fans, rejoice! Season 4 of competitive play has kicked off and a number of neat changes and additions are in the mix, including the highly anticipated server browser.
The latest patch brings a new mode, a customized game browser, competitive play, hero updates, map balance changes, and bug fixes, all aiming to take the Overwatch experience to the next level.
Overwatch Season 4 Hero Updates
The most significant changes are for Bastion, who is getting stronger and more independent. Sentry mode now takes effect more quickly and protects Basion from headshots, while the magazine size is now larger. On the other hand, bullet spread is now larger as well and it's always at maximum, so Bastion can't deal critical damage anymore.
In Recon mode, meanwhile, Bastion now has less bullet spread and he can fire more before having to reload his weapon. Moreover, Self-Repair is now working while on the go as well, and additional damage will not interrupt it.
"The goal of these changes is to move some of Bastion's power from Configuration: Sentry to Recon, while keeping its sentry mode a strong option, especially versus tanks and barriers," Blizzard explains. "Overall, Bastion should feel stronger and more flexible with these changes."
Roadhog now has a 20 percent lower weapon spread, a nerfed hook, and a smaller area where Winston can take critical hits.
Mercy can now no longer be killed when she's activating Ultimate, while Eichenwalde's second gate also sees some modifications so that the attacking team can now move the payload past it more easily.
'Overwatch' Season 4: Skill Rating Changes
Blizzard developers have also tweaked how skill ratings work from now on. High-ranking players (those with a rating of above 3,000) will now have to compete in seven matches per week if they want to maintain their rating. Blizzard says that this change is designed to improve the accuracy of players' skill rating and make it more difficult to maintain several high-level accounts. At the same time, the change will also make it "more meaningful" to have an upper-tier placement.
At the same time, Blizzard has also made it more difficult to obtain the lowest rating.
"Some players, for instance, have been deliberately throwing matches in an effort to reach the lowest attainable skill rating," says Blizzard. "We obviously don't want to incentivize this behavior - because Competitive Play works best when everybody is trying - so we're making it a little more difficult to hit the lowest and highest possible ratings: 0 and 5000."
The update also modifies how respawns work. On objective game types, a respawn delay timer will now take effect when there are more attackers than defenders on a control point.
More specifically, if after a specified time the attackers haven't captured the point and the defense hasn't regained the advantage, the defender respawn timer will start to increase until it reaches the maximum value. If, on the other hand, the defense gets an edge, the timer resets to zero.
'Overwatch' Game Browser
Last but not least, one of the greatest highlights of Overwatch Season 4 is the all-new customized game browser, which allows players to set their own parameters to play exactly how they want to play.
Gamers who are not so thrilled with the pre-made lists of parameters can now crank it up based on their personal preferences, customizing everything from map rotation to hero ability, capture speed, movement speed, ultimate abilities, and everything in between.
The competitive shooter's server browser brings an unprecedented level of customization to the table, helping players achieve their perfect match. To get a better idea of what the new Overwatch game browser entails, check out the video below.
