New Overwatch Patch Nerfs McCree, Changes Up Widowmaker

[ffronw]

New Overwatch Patch Nerfs McCree, Changes Up Widowmaker

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1329/1329609.jpgThe newest Overwatch patch includes the promised nerf to McCree, as well as some tweaks to Widowmaker.

If you're one of the Overwatch players who's been waiting for Blizzard to tweaks Widowmaker's abilities [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/167640-Blizzard-to-Nerf-Overwatchs-McCree-Soon-Exploring-Changes-for-D-Va] as well.

For McCree, the changes center around his Fan the Hammer alternate attack. Each bullet will now do 45 damage, down from 70 before the patch. However, they have also sped up his reload after using the skill. He will now start reloading 0.3 seconds after firing the final round, down from 0.75 seconds. Blizzard said of the change, "By reducing the damage of his alternate fire, McCree is now significantly weaker against tanks like Roadhog and Reinhardt, but still maintains his lethality against smaller targets like Tracer and Genji."

Widowmaker's changes are a bit less drastic. Her scoped shot alternate fire base damage has been decreased from 15 to 12, with no change made to the scoped multiplier. Headshots are more valuable now, as Blizzard increased the headshot multipler from 2x to 2.5x. Another subtle change: when you unscope, you will now have to wait for the animation to complete before you can scope again. Finally, the cost of her Ultimate ability has been increased 10 percent. Blizzard's comments say, "The changes to her alternate fire weaken body shot damage while leaving her headshot damage unchanged. Additionally, we felt her Ultimate ability, Infra-Sight, was coming up a little too frequently, especially considering its impact on the game."

The patch also brings a few minor bug fixes, but the main focus here is on the character changes. If you want to check out all the patch notes, you can find them here [http://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20745235963]. For now, the patch is only live on PC. It will be coming to consoles in a larger patch at a later date.

Permalink

 

[twcblaze]

Seems fair enough, I imagine he has 6 rounds per mag, so that still comes out to 270 damage for a full clip with no headshots, which is enough to kill almost all of the non-tanks and still enough to screw up a tank

 

[RedDeadFred]

Good. McCree was too good at almost everything. I like that he's the best duelist when it comes to other squishies, but that shouldn't extend to tanks. Reaper now has a reason to exist.

This is also a great change to Widowmaker and it's essentially what a lot of people were suggesting. Stop her from one-shotting Zen and Tracer with body shots, but bump up her head shot damage so that it still does the same. Also, the unscoping animation change is actually a big deal. It makes checking for flankers a bit more of a commitment.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

*puts on his best Mcree Accent* "Someone call the undertaker..."

This is a good thing. I like my McCree, but his tank-busting potential was just waaaay too good, on top of all his other great strengths.

And the Widowmaker changes are welcome too. Her Bodyshot potential was a little too ridiculous. I just hope that it's enough to make Zenyatta no longer a totally suicidal pick when the enemy has a Widowmaker.

Seems fair enough, I imagine he has 6 rounds per mag, so that still comes out to 270 damage for a full clip with no headshots, which is enough to kill almost all of the non-tanks and still enough to screw up a tank

Fan the Hammer can't headshot anyway, as far as I know.

 

[IceForce]

Ah yes, finally. Been waiting for this.

It's high noon for YOU, McCree.

 

[Metalrocks]

waiting for an animation before you can scope again? this sounds rather aggravating. i guess i will see later tonight what they have done. with mccree i can agree with since he was really all over the place with his ability.

 

[Paragon Fury]

Good.

McCree hard or soft countered literally every single Hero in the game, and was piss-easy to play too.

 

[Cowabungaa]

They did that to Widowmaker? Huh. Still thinking her charge time should be increased. She's way too spammy as is now and that animation thing does little to remedy that to be honest. Snipers should be patient heavy-hitters.

But I'm glad to see the McCree nerf.

 

[Ciartan]

Really didnt hit Widowmaker hard enough at all, shouldve made her auto-fire a second gun, or increased the scope charge time.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

scoped recharge time should've been increased by a bit or have it recoil harder, but it's something.

so glad about the mcree nerf, about time he wasn't 2-3 to a team every single game.

 

[twcblaze]

Fan the Hammer can't headshot anyway, as far as I know.

Ah, I made an assumption since I know his regular rounds can and he's still firing the same round types, but I suppose that makes sense from a balancing perspective

 

[ASnogarD]

I am glad they are not waiting for all the platforms to do patching, I read a comment sometime back where Blizzard said they would be patching all platforms at the same time.

It is both fair and unfair to patch all platforms at the same time, fair for consoles that typically fall behind in patches but unfair for PC's as the wait is artificial as there is no permission needed for that platform.
I think as long as Blizzard don't simply stop patching the console versions (looking at TF 2 on 360), its good for consoles too as the patches will get 'field tested' on PC before going through all the permission rigmarole.
(I know it ain't asking for permission, it's easier to say that than test and submit for approval process)

Wont comment much on the actual changes until I got sometime on him, but I feel he wont be too effected by the changes, can still stun and gun with relative ease and with the roll instantly reloading his gun, a double fan the hammer is still possible.
Widows changes, shouldn't effect a skilled player but will make it harder for bad shots like me to spam a few body shots after messing up the head shot.
Needs some game time to make a fair comment though.

 

[elvor0]

I am glad they are not waiting for all the platforms to do patching, I read a comment sometime back where Blizzard said they would be patching all platforms at the same time.

It is both fair and unfair to patch all platforms at the same time, fair for consoles that typically fall behind in patches but unfair for PC's as the wait is artificial as there is no permission needed for that platform.
I think as long as Blizzard don't simply stop patching the console versions (looking at TF 2 on 360), its good for consoles too as the patches will get 'field tested' on PC before going through all the permission rigmarole.

Well they're actually planning on balancing them differently, so patch times are going to be different anyway(barring content updates I'm sure), as what is OP on PC may not be on console, I'm not even sure if this patch is being put out on the consoles, as Mcree is fine there and Widowmaker is considered one of the weaker characters afaik.

 

[SlumlordThanatos]

Seems fair enough, I imagine he has 6 rounds per mag, so that still comes out to 270 damage for a full clip with no headshots, which is enough to kill almost all of the non-tanks and still enough to screw up a tank

In theory, this sounds good.

In practice, he almost never manages to get a full Fan off against the likes of Tracer, Genji, or Reaper because he can no longer reliably kill a target before the stun wears off. And all of these champions (which Blizzard has said McCree is supposed to counter) have a way to nullify or escape his damage. This means McCree MUST kill them before the stun wears off, or they have a good chance of escaping.

And he has a very hard time doing that now.

Don't get me wrong, a nerf needed to happen. McCree could kill pretty much anything he stunned; now, he has a hard time killing even his intended targets.

Maybe I'm just bad. But he feels much, much worse now.

 

[WindKnight]

Wait, I sucked with him before, now I'm gonna suck with him EVEN MORE???? Bye bye McCree, it has been fun trying to learn you.

Meanwhile, Bastion and those damn Torbjorn turrets are untouched.
So many games where the defending enemy team just put turrets and Bastions everywhere and it was impossible to get in.

Generally found the right team/hero can handle a team with one of each, but as soon as you get multiples of one and/or the other... can still be done but it stops being fun, bigtime. (won a game against four torbjorns, but it was infuriating for every damn second).

Beginning to think they really need to limit one of each character per team.

 

[BeerTent]

Wait, I sucked with him before, now I'm gonna suck with him EVEN MORE???? Bye bye McCree, it has been fun trying to learn you.

Meanwhile, Bastion and those damn Torbjorn turrets are untouched.
So many games where the defending enemy team just put turrets and Bastions everywhere and it was impossible to get in.

Generally found the right team/hero can handle a team with one of each, but as soon as you get multiples of one and/or the other... can still be done but it stops being fun, bigtime. (won a game against four torbjorns, but it was infuriating for every damn second).

Beginning to think they really need to limit one of each character per team.

With my playstyle, I don't really find a problem with Bastion or Torbjorn. I don't really get the hate against the bot when you can just blow him up from a distance, or just flank him. Same with the Dwarf. The turret's the appetizer. That little chicken-nugget of a man is the meal.

As much as I hate her, Mei is probably a good counter to both. Then again, she's also a good counter to her own team. Road-Hog, Junkrat, Zarya... They're my chars, and I never have an issue with them. I also see Reaper, Pariah, Tracer, Winston, and Hanzo (Because his arrows are massive.) as being good against them.

 

[WindKnight]

Wait, I sucked with him before, now I'm gonna suck with him EVEN MORE???? Bye bye McCree, it has been fun trying to learn you.

Meanwhile, Bastion and those damn Torbjorn turrets are untouched.
So many games where the defending enemy team just put turrets and Bastions everywhere and it was impossible to get in.

Generally found the right team/hero can handle a team with one of each, but as soon as you get multiples of one and/or the other... can still be done but it stops being fun, bigtime. (won a game against four torbjorns, but it was infuriating for every damn second).

Beginning to think they really need to limit one of each character per team.

Maybe I'm still not good enough, but darnit.... with turrets, Bastions and Symmetra's balls everywhere, it feels just impossible to break in!

D.va can bum rush the turret with boost and sheild taking the damage so you can pour fire on. I can usually take out the turret and torbs unless he pops molten core. Its hit and miss for bastion, your gonna at least lose the mech, but you'll be close enough that if you keep moving you can evade the worst and either take him out or be the distraction for someone else to.

Pharah is good for bastion if you've got enough distance to fire enough rockets to kill him before the first hits and you get his attention, or else you duck into cover and hope someone else will take his attention so you can pop out and fire a few more.