Symmetra, one of the least popular Overwatch heroes, is finally receiving her long-awaited rework, with the information provided by the game's lead designer.
The planned Symmetra changes are not just simple tweaks to her skills or a replacement for one of them, such as the new Hanzo skill named Storm Arrow. Rather, it will be a complete overhaul that will change how she is played, similar to the Mercy changes from last year.
'Overwatch' Symmetra Rework: Here Are The Changes
As far back as late 2016, there were already plans to rework Symmetra due to her low pick rate in matches. Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan again talked about the plan earlier this year, but no specific details were provided.
Overwatch lead designer Geoff Goodman finally revealed the planned Symmetra rework on the official Blizzard forums. From the looks of things, Symmetra will be undergoing more changes than Mercy did in 2017.
First and foremost, Symmetra will be moved from being a support hero into a defense hero, which already hints at the role that she will play after the overhaul.
The first changes are with her Sentry Turret skill, which will be deployed as projectiles that will stick to walls before activating. The turrets will have increased damage, but only three at a time can be placed compared to six turrets in the current form of the skill.
Symmetra will also see changes to the primary fire of her weapon, the Photon Projector, which will see its homing beam replaced with a thicker straight beam with a longer range. Its damage will still increase over time but at slower intervals. Also, hitting barriers will generate ammo for the weapon. The alternate fire, meanwhile, will see the charged energy ball double its rate of fire and triple its projectile speed, and instead of piercing, enemies will now explode upon impact.
The Teleporter and Photon Barrier skills of Symmetra will also be reworked. The Teleporter skill will no longer be her ultimate, with the exit able to be placed up to 25 meters away and the entrance automatically placed in front of Symmetra. The Photon Barrier will be her new ultimate skill, which, instead of the current moving form, will become a static barrier that effectively has infinite height and with 5,000 health, functioning like Mei's Ice Wall.
New Symmetra vs. Old Symmetra
The new Symmetra already looks more interesting compared to the old Symmetra. For example, the Teleporter will not last long, but it will allow things such as Junkrat's tire and D.Va's self-destructing mech through.
The ability to place turrets practically anywhere will also boost their usefulness, while Symmetra's new ultimate presents limitless applications.
There is currently no target date for the Symmetra rework to go online, but some Overwatch players might already be looking forward to trying her out.
