Blizzard has rolled out a new Overwatch update that brings the new Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch modes and the new map Château Guillard to the table.
While those are what players have been eager to see live, the character buffs — or rather, balances — are arguably the more important matter here since they affect the shooter's core gameplay.
Roadhog Buffs
According to the patch notes, Roadhog's Take a Breather can now be used while moving, and he now takes 50 percent less damage for the duration of the skill.
The developers say that this will let Roadhog players be "much more aggressive when looking for hook targets or blocking for his team," improving his survivability on the battlefield.
Sure, these buffs don't really make him as powerful and destructive before the nerf that reduced his bullet damage output by 33 percent, which players have had a hard time swallowing, but it's still good to see that the developers are showing some love to him.
Widowmaker Buffs
Widowmaker is getting two of her skills improved. First is Grappling Hook, where its cooldown has been reduced from 12 to 8 seconds. Second is Venom Mine, and it now allows Widowmaker (excluding her teammates) see affected targets through walls.
The developers explain that these buffs are to give her a better chance of escaping and keeping her and her teammates from getting flanked.
Junkrat Buffs
Junkrat becomes more versatile thanks to the update, and he's getting an improved ultimate skill to boot.
On that note, his Concussion Mine can now store two mines, allowing him to become more mobile. Meanwhile, RIP-Tire now moves 30 percent faster, and the time limit in climbing walls have been removed. That way, it reduces the time that Junkrat is vulnerable while controlling the tire and increase his chances of getting more enemies in the bomb's blast zone.
Orisa Buffs
Last but not least, the projectile speed of Orisa's Fusion Driver has been increased by 20 percent. The size of her Protective Barrier has been increased by 20 percent too, and the shield's shape has been tweaked to block enemy fire from below.
With these buffs, she can now protect her team better and improve her "consistency, especially at medium ranges (or further)," the developers note.
In case anyone's wondering, the possible changes coming to D.Va and Mercy are not part of the patch, and that means they're still for PTR players only.
The latest Overwatch update is already available for the PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
