Overwatch 2May 3, 2018 2:47 pm CT

Overwatch patch with Rialto, Hanzo changes, and more now live

By Anne Stickney

The latest patch for Overwatch is now live, with a new map and some significant changes to Hanzo. Rialto is an escort map that takes you through the scenic streets of Venice. The map should look familiar to those who played through the Overwatch Retribution event, although this time around, you’re seeing Rialto in the light of day. Yes, you’ll be busy pummeling the snot out of each other, but take a minute if you can to check out the environmental details. This map is stunning.

And for Hanzo players, the day has come to say goodbye to Scatter Arrow and hello to Storm Arrows. Hanzo’s new abilities have been implemented, including Lunge, which should offer some extra mobility. But just in case you missed it, some other heroes have been adjusted as well:

Brigitte’s Shield Bash cone angle has been reduced from 90 to 60 to bring the ability in line with its visual representation.
Genji’s Deflect hitbox size has also been reduced.
Junkrat’s Frag Launcher projectile size has been reduced and his RIP-Tire movement speed has been decreased from 13 to 12.
Lúcio’s Wall Ride ability has also been given an overhaul, and should perform much more smoothly. In addition, Soundwave no longer consumes ammo, and can be used while reloading.
Tracer’s Pulse Bomb ability has had its max damage reduced from 400 to 300, hopefully giving beefy tanks a better chance at survival when it goes off.

There are also a few known issues with the current patch. Before you hop in and start playing, you might want to give the list a once-over and see if any of the listed issues apply to your hero of choice. Read on for the full patch notes below.

Originally Posted by Tom Powers (Official Post)

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Rialto was home to Talon agent Antonio Bartalotti’s sprawling estate and the backdrop to the infamous “Venice Incident,” a turning point for Overwatch and Talon. The Italian government has taken great steps to preserve Venice, and the results are striking. Tourists visiting this picturesque town can sample the regional cuisine, enjoy a relaxing gondola ride, visit Galleria D’arte Omnica, or simply take in the sights with a stroll along the canal.

NOTE: Rialto will not be available in the Competitive Play rotation until a future patch.

HERO UPDATES

Brigitte

Shield Bash

Cone angle reduced from 90 to 60

Developers Comment: When fighting against Brigitte, it often felt like Shield Bash was able to hit players who felt like they were out of its range and should have dodged it. On the flip side, when playing as Brigitte sometimes players would hit the wrong enemy in the middle of a fight. With the cone being reduced, the ability is more accurate to its visual representation.

Genji

Deflect

Hitbox size has been reduced

Developers Comment: The hitbox on Genji’s Deflect was big enough that it would sometimes reflect projectiles that were pretty far away from him. We’ve tightened up the hitbox, which should solve this problem while still fully protecting him from projectiles that would hit him from the front.

Hanzo

Storm Bow

Projectile speed increased from 85 to 100

Sonic Arrow

Cooldown decreased from 20 seconds to 12 seconds
Duration decreased from 10 seconds to 6 seconds
Radius decreased from 10 meters to 7 meters

New Abilities

Lunge

Press jump while in the air to leap horizontally

Storm Arrows

Replaces his existing Scatter Arrow ability
Hanzo can now rapidly fire up to 6 arrows that deal reduced damage but are always fire at full powers

Developers Comments: The goal of these Hanzo changes is to allow him to have new options and maintain his high damage output, while removing the frustration of fighting against the old Scatter Arrow. Hanzo is now much more mobile with his new Lunge ability, and with the combination of the bow projectile speed increase and the new Storm Arrows ability he can now deal his high damage more consistently than ever before.

Junkrat

Frag Launcher

Projectile size decreased from 0.3 to 0.2

RIP-Tire

Tire movement speed decreased from 13 to 12

Developers Comment: These changes are aimed at lowering some of the most frustrating parts about playing against Junkrat. Decreasing the Frag Launcher’s projectile size means he will have to aim a bit more carefully to land powerful direct hits and slowing the RIP-Tire’s movement speed gives his opponents slightly more time to destroy it before it detonates.

Lúcio

Wall Ride

Wall riding is less likely to be interrupted along a single surface
Can now go around corners (both outside corners, and inside corners) without having to leave the wall
Can now land back on the same wall after leaping away, provided his leap takes him far enough away from the original jumping off point
Added a minimum time that the jump key must be held before Lúcio can ride around corners

Soundwave

No longer consumers ammo
Can now be used while reloading

Developers Comments: Wall Ride has been significantly overhauled to allow it to function more smoothly across more areas of every map. Lúcio players should instantly notice a huge improvement in where and how Wall Ride can be used. In addition, Sonic Amplifier’s Soundwave ability was unnecessarily controlled by both a cooldown and an ammo cost, so we’re removing the ammo cost.

Tracer

Pulse Bomb

Max damage decreased from 400 to 300

Developers Comment: Pulse Bomb was too good at killing tanks, who can be easy to stick due to their size. This damage reduction makes it less powerful as a tank-destroyer, while keeping it lethal against most other heroes.

GAME BROWSER AND CUSTOM GAME

Fixed a bug that caused custom game invites to persist on the invitee’s screen

BUG FIXES

General

Fixed a bug that caused the option “Invite to a Custom Game” to appear while in the Tutorial and Practice Range

A.I.

Fixed a bug that prevented training bots from returning to their original position and behavior after being hit with an ability (e.g. Lúcio’s Soundwave)
Fixed a bug that caused bots to use the wrong route when tracking down the player if their target jumped off a ledge
Fixed a bug that caused bots to get stuck on the siege tank in the StarCraft area of Blizzard World|

Game Browser and Custom Game

Fixed a bug that caused custom game invites to persist on the invitee’s screen

Heroes

Fixed a bug that prevented Bastion’s Zwing Zwing Zwing voice line from playing if the Null Sector skin was equipped
Fixed a bug that prevented Brigitte from using abilities or Rocket Flail while her Repair Pack was in flight
Fixed a bug that prevented Brigitte’s Repair Pack from reaching an ally if she was stunned while it was in flight
Fixed a bug that prevented Genji’s melee attack from making sound effects
Fixed a bug that prevented Genji’s golden weapon variant from displaying its golden sheen when some skins were equipped
Fixed a bug that allowed Junkrat’s RIP-Tire to be immune to the freeze effects of Mei’s Endothermic Blaster
Fixed a bug that caused Junkrat’s RIP-Tire to spawn inside of walls
Fixed a bug that allowed Lúcio to move around while caught in Junkrat’s Steel Trap
Fixed a bug that allowed Lúcio to travel straight up using Wall Ride
Fixed a bug that caused Lúcio to lose movement speed if he landed on a wall from certain angles
Fixed a bug that prevented crowd control abilities from affecting Resurrect (e.g. McCree’s Flashbang)
Fixed a bug that prevented Moira’s flask from displaying in her Erlenmeyer victory pose when an Overwatch League skin was equipped
Fixed a bug that caused Reaper’s Hellfire Shotguns to float when previewing his Dance emote in Hero Gallery
Fixed a bug that caused the camera to not focus correctly when viewing Roadhog’s Mug Shot victory pose
Fixed a bug that caused Roadhog’s Chain Hook to float during his Footsteps highlight intro
Fixed a bug that prevented the laser sight from Sombra’s Machine Pistol golden variant from tapering at its end if her Talon skin equipped
Fixed a bug that caused Widowaker’s HUD to disappear if she used Widow’s Kiss while looking through the scope
Fixed a bug that caused the logos on Symmetra’s Overwatch League skins to appear faded when viewed in the Hero Gallery
Fixed a bug that caused the logos on Torbjörn’s Overwatch League skins to appear faded when viewed in the Hero Gallery
[PC] Fixed a bug that caused the game to stutter during Tracer’s Recall when playing above 60 FPS

Map

Fixed a bug that caused bots to get stuck walking into the side of the Rikimaru Ramen Shop on Hanamura
Fixed a bug that allowed players to place turrets in unintended locations on Horizon Lunar Colony
Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations in Horizon Lunar Colony
Fixed a bug that caused the pig head on the bike to float after the bike had been destroyed in Junkertown
Fixed a bug that allowed players to place turrets and Symmetra’s Teleporter in unintended locations in Junkertown

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