Overwatch Competitive Season 2, New Map, Launches in New Patch

[Steven Bogos]

Overwatch Competitive Season 2, New Map, Launches in New Patch

The patch also includes a host of balance tweaks to heroes, such as the much-needed Genji nerf.

The second season of Overwatch's competitive play, alongside Eichenwalde, a new Escort/Assault map, has landed in a patch for Blizzard's cartoony shooter today. The major patch also comes with a host of balance tweaks - such as the Genji nerf we have all been waiting for.

The second season of competitive play comes with some rather significant changes from season 1. Rather than simply having a "skill rating" represented by a single number, players are now also sorted into "skill tiers" not unlike StarCraft 2's competitive tiers. Sudden Death is also going away in Season 2. Instead, matches that are tied when the clock runs out end in a draw, though Blizzard claims that this should be a "rare occurrence".



You can check out the new map in the preview video to the right, but the short and skinny of it is that it's set in the abandoned village of Eichenwalde, an German-style village that was the point of a key battle during the Omnic crisis.

[gallery=6454]

As for hero balances, you can read them in detail here in the patch notes [http://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20749104703?page=1#post-2] but to summarize:

Genji nerfed
Zenyatta nerfed
Lucio nerfed
Mei buffed
Hanzo buffed

Source: Blizzard [http://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20749104703?page=1#post-2]

Permalink

 

[Xerosch]

Oh, this is unexpected and very appreciated. I've had a shitty week and while the patch won't make the stuff go away it's nice to have a little distraction. Didn't expect Season 2 to start so soon, too. I'll be happy to find out about the improvements.

 

[Bobular]

Damn it!

I had stuff I wanted to do today after work Blizzard, but you've just gone and uprooted all my plans!

 

[RaikuFA]

WE DON'T NEED HANZO BUFFED!!!

Guy already shoots off his ultimate more than Symmetra.

 

[Otaku World Order]

WE DON'T NEED HANZO BUFFED!!!

Guy already shoots off his ultimate more than Symmetra.

Tell me about it. I've lost count of how many times that blasted dragon ult was launched at my team in some matches.

Still sounds like Blizzard has got a lot of stuff fixed for Season 2, so there goes a large chunk of my weekend.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

I know people are going to look at my icon and think I'm biased.

But what the hell, Blizzard? Yes, that amp it up was good, but it was necessary. You took away his damage from the Beta, said he was too powerful. Fine. You said that it didn't matter, because Lucio wasn't meant to stand face to face with characters as it is. But he had great mobility so you can flee fights.

... But now, you say he shouldn't be able to flee fights as well as he used to? If you take away for the group, Add to Lucio. Do not just cut. You can take that 30% you cut off and add to rate of Fire for as long as Amp it up last.

Balance instead of Cut or Add. You had this same problem with McCree... I would love to know how the balancing meetings actually go at Blizzard.

 

[RaikuFA]

I know people are going to look at my icon and think I'm biased.

But what the hell, Blizzard? Yes, that amp it up was good, but it was necessary. You took away his damage from the Beta, said he was too powerful. Fine. You said that it didn't matter, because Lucio wasn't meant to stand face to face with characters as it is. But he had great mobility so you can flee fights.

... But now, you say he shouldn't be able to flee fights as well as he used to? If you take away for the group, Add to Lucio. Do not just cut. You can take that 30% you cut off and add to rate of Fire for as long as Amp it up last.

Balance instead of Cut or Add. You had this same problem with McCree... I would love to know how the balancing meetings actually go at Blizzard.

"Is this character getting people wins?"
"Yes"
"Nerf them"

It's also how Konami deals with Yugioh cards.

 

[RedDeadFred]

WE DON'T NEED HANZO BUFFED!!!

Guy already shoots off his ultimate more than Symmetra.

Eh, I find his ult is one of the easiest to avoid in the game. It seems like it's more for zoning than actually getting kills, so it would make sense that he can use it more often.

I actually think his projectile speed buff might make it tougher for Spamzos since there's a shorter window for an enemy to accidentally walk in the way of his random shots. He'll be better for people who have good aim, and worse for all of my most hated players. Hopefully....

 

[Sight Unseen]

I know people are going to look at my icon and think I'm biased.

But what the hell, Blizzard? Yes, that amp it up was good, but it was necessary. You took away his damage from the Beta, said he was too powerful. Fine. You said that it didn't matter, because Lucio wasn't meant to stand face to face with characters as it is. But he had great mobility so you can flee fights.

... But now, you say he shouldn't be able to flee fights as well as he used to? If you take away for the group, Add to Lucio. Do not just cut. You can take that 30% you cut off and add to rate of Fire for as long as Amp it up last.

Balance instead of Cut or Add. You had this same problem with McCree... I would love to know how the balancing meetings actually go at Blizzard.

Lucio was by far the best support in the game and a must pick for almost any competitive game. The slight nerf that they gave him was necessary and I don't think excessive.

 

[Zelderahn]

I know people are going to look at my icon and think I'm biased.

But what the hell, Blizzard? Yes, that amp it up was good, but it was necessary. You took away his damage from the Beta, said he was too powerful. Fine. You said that it didn't matter, because Lucio wasn't meant to stand face to face with characters as it is. But he had great mobility so you can flee fights.

... But now, you say he shouldn't be able to flee fights as well as he used to? If you take away for the group, Add to Lucio. Do not just cut. You can take that 30% you cut off and add to rate of Fire for as long as Amp it up last.

Balance instead of Cut or Add. You had this same problem with McCree... I would love to know how the balancing meetings actually go at Blizzard.

While I sympathize, I disagree. Lucio as a 100% pick ever since the game started revolved around massive speed boosts. He's still a slippery eel, he's still doling out massive aoe healing, he's still using ults to deny other ults, he's still the brawliest of the true healers in the game.

If the game actually had speed boosts beyond Lucio's E, then there could be a compromise.. but it's a unique piece of kit that was making itself far too required.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

I don't get this mentality. It's not as if they removed the speed boost. He's still extremely mobile. He's just SLIGHTLY weaker, and that's kind of the point.

They don't need to offset every single nerf. They're not removing his key elements. He's just not as strong.

Simply put, when it feels the only time your character is touched is to be nerfed, it starts to grate on your nerves.

Lucio was by far the best support in the game and a must pick for almost any competitive game. The slight nerf that they gave him was necessary and I don't think excessive.

I'll admit that I don't know how competitive people play, but save for the times I've played with the Escapist group, no one protects Supports. No one. If I'm left with only my tools to keep me alive, I (in turn) don't feel it's necessary to limit his options. Read: Limit. Not take away. I know they didn't take away his ability to bounce, but just limit it.

But if the character is made for speed, don't limit that. Take the 30% away for the group, but keep it on Lucio. He doesn't stand up, he needs to get away. If Blizzard made him low health and low damage because that's not supposed to be his role, I get it. But don't limit the only option given to him. There's a way to change his dynamic with the group (which I'll agree could be necessary) and still not make him an easier target, since everyone guns for a Lucio anyway.

In fact, doing that would severely limit his Speed Amp it Up. Most Lucios (who know a team won't protect him) would save his Speed Amp It Up for Survivability more than anything else.

 

[RaikuFA]

WE DON'T NEED HANZO BUFFED!!!

Guy already shoots off his ultimate more than Symmetra.

Eh, I find his ult is one of the easiest to avoid in the game. It seems like it's more for zoning than actually getting kills, so it would make sense that he can use it more often.

I actually think his projectile speed buff might make it tougher for Spamzos since there's a shorter window for an enemy to accidentally walk in the way of his random shots. He'll be better for people who have good aim, and worse for all of my most hated players. Hopefully....

Not if you're stuck in a tight area. Or preoccupied with another opponent.

 

[RedDeadFred]

WE DON'T NEED HANZO BUFFED!!!

Guy already shoots off his ultimate more than Symmetra.

Eh, I find his ult is one of the easiest to avoid in the game. It seems like it's more for zoning than actually getting kills, so it would make sense that he can use it more often.

I actually think his projectile speed buff might make it tougher for Spamzos since there's a shorter window for an enemy to accidentally walk in the way of his random shots. He'll be better for people who have good aim, and worse for all of my most hated players. Hopefully....

Not if you're stuck in a tight area. Or preoccupied with another opponent.

I suppose you're right. Maybe it's because I favor heroes with lots of mobility (Lucio, Tracer, and Soldier are among my favourites) that I haven't had much issue with his ult.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

I don't get this mentality. It's not as if they removed the speed boost. He's still extremely mobile. He's just SLIGHTLY weaker, and that's kind of the point.

They don't need to offset every single nerf. They're not removing his key elements. He's just not as strong.

Simply put, when it feels the only time your character is touched is to be nerfed, it starts to grate on your nerves.

Lucio was by far the best support in the game and a must pick for almost any competitive game. The slight nerf that they gave him was necessary and I don't think excessive.

I'll admit that I don't know how competitive people play, but save for the times I've played with the Escapist group, no one protects Supports. No one. If I'm left with only my tools to keep me alive, I (in turn) don't feel it's necessary to limit his options. Read: Limit. Not take away. I know they didn't take away his ability to bounce, but just limit it.

But if the character is made for speed, don't limit that. Take the 30% away for the group, but keep it on Lucio. He doesn't stand up, he needs to get away. If Blizzard made him low health and low damage because that's not supposed to be his role, I get it. But don't limit the only option given to him. There's a way to change his dynamic with the group (which I'll agree could be necessary) and still not make him an easier target, since everyone guns for a Lucio anyway.

In fact, doing that would severely limit his Speed Amp it Up. Most Lucios (who know a team won't protect him) would save his Speed Amp It Up for Survivability more than anything else.

as a fellow lucio player, I think his speed boost shouldn't be reduced since mercy got the 20% boost to healing and zenyatta got his buff recentl..., or like you said, keep his speed at the 100% and give other people the 70% boost.

OT: I think the hanzo arrow radius should've gotten a bigger hit, his random arrow flailing coupled with his ult's charge speed made him very annoying, regardless of how good the player was with him.

not the worst patch though, relatively happy they finally gave genji a nerf.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

Because he wasn't underpowered in the slightest. And if he were balanced, why on earth would they touch him?

And the game isn't balanced around low tier players who don't protect supports..

But that's just it. You're going to an extreme. No one calls him underpowered. Because he wasn't. Nor was he overpowered. He fit a role, and he fit it perfectly. He's squishy and fairly easy to kill (if you have a Lucio who just stands around or doesn't understand his role), He healed but not as good as anyone else and he had to be in the thick of things to do it, and he had no real damage but his projectiles made people not want to rush because he could pepper a lane with them. He excelled at nothing, but the role he filled.

So why adjust that? Because too many people picked him? That's because he's a good character. Not the best, but good.

People complain about his speed and how it was hard to defend against. But what people don't get is that's not a problem with the character. Just because his Amp it up ability gave a team the ability to rush certain points on certain maps quicker than people could set up doesn't mean he's broken... It means Blizzard created bad maps.

There is no rush to change Mei's Ice Wall even though (I guess Serendipitously) her ice wall seems to be the exact width and height of all major openings, causing a huge headache for the other team. Because that was her job. She limits mobility. Almost everything in her kit was designed to limit or take focus away from an area. Even her Ice Cocoon will usually pull two people waiting to gank her while her team has time to set up.

So if Lucio's only job is to make his team better... people shouldn't get upset that he did what he was programmed for. There's set up time for people on defense. and there's an unlock point cool down in the beginning of the map. And if a Lucio hangs back to ferry two or more people to a point after death, that's half the team not there fighting, nor receiving his buffs.

To be frank, we don't know what the game is balanced on. Go onto google and look up Mei nerfs. The public outcry over her is somewhat staggering. Literally one of the most divisive characters in the game. I will not go into my personal feelings about her, because I already dealt with a thread of people misunderstanding me pointing out players have issues with Mei meaning that I hate the character, but my point is that Blizzard remains fine with the character. In fact, she just got buffs.

But turn around and people get so angry over McCree doing EXACTLY what he was programmed for, that Blizzard caves and changes. For the worst, might I add, and I'm not a McCree player. In fact, I got ganked by so many McCrees... but it was because *I* wasn't paying attention, not because the character wasn't designed right. Same with Lucio.

While I sympathize, I disagree. Lucio as a 100% pick ever since the game started revolved around massive speed boosts. He's still a slippery eel, he's still doling out massive aoe healing, he's still using ults to deny other ults, he's still the brawliest of the true healers in the game.

If the game actually had speed boosts beyond Lucio's E, then there could be a compromise.. but it's a unique piece of kit that was making itself far too required.

I swear I play this game in a different universe than most people. I struggled to find games with even tanks, let alone supports. I'm usually the only Lucio in game. But that's neither here nor there.

I disagree in the word Brawliest merely because it sounds like he can stand up with people. He certainly can not unless there's a ledge. And even then, it's up to Blizzard's servers if a head-on Alt fire pushes the foe a foot back or into the next hemisphere. He's certainly tank-y in the terms that he can take a lot of damage, but that's only if the Lucio gets the heck out of dodge the second he's damaged so he can regen it up. In that case, he's more of a good distraction than a brawler.

I'll never talk bad about his AOE healing. I've helped win my fair share of games with it. When done right, yeah, he's a God send.

His Ult technically got a nerf due to the self healing/Ult patch.

And to your last point... where do we stop? Tracer's rewind? Pharah's Concussion as it can affect the whole team. Same as Ice Wall.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

snip

It's very easy to agree to disagree. But when you engage someone, prepare for how they engage a matter, not how you think they should.

Matter dropped. No minds were changed. And the world keeps spinning.