Patch voegt nieuwe map en meer toe aan Overwatch

Blizzard heeft een nieuwe patch uitgerold voor Overwatch, hun heroes shooter die momenteel nog in bèta zit. De patch is 1,5GB groot en de grootste nieuwigheid is waarschijnlijk een nieuwe map, Route 66, en een nieuwe game mode genaamd Weekly Brawl. Deze mode is te vergelijken met Tavern Brawl van Hearthstone en biedt custom games aan met telkens andere regels.

Als aanvulling op de Play of the Game voegt de patch ook een nieuwe highlights feature toe. Spelers moeten minstens één match hebben uitgespeeld om highlights bij te kunnen houden en per sessie kunnen tot vijf clips worden bewaard. Na het uitloggen verdwijnen deze clips wel weer. De manier waarop Play of the Game wordt geselecteerd is ook wat aangepast. Er wordt voortaan naar meer verschillende acties en situaties gekeken.

Hieronder het grootste deel van de patch notes. Voor meer details over de balans van heroes kan je hier terecht.

Player Progression

• All available and unlocked achievements can be viewed in the Career Profile > Achievements tab
• Select achievements will now unlock general and hero-specific sprays (which can be equipped in the Hero Gallery)
• Players will now unlock a new portrait frame every 10 levels, instead of only at levels 10, 25, 50, and 100
• Players will now receive a promotion every 100 levels
• When a player receives a promotion, they will unlock a new portrait frame theme
• With each new promotion, the player’s level (and the EXP required to level) will be reset
• New Legendary skins have been added for several heroes
• Plays of the Games have received a polish pass

Joining and Leaving Games

• Players will now receive an EXP bonus for playing multiple matches in succession
• Players who backfill into a match will no longer receive a loss for that match (even if it ends in a defeat), but can still receive a win
• These players will also receive an additional EXP bonus for the match, if completed
• Players who leave an in-progress match will now receive an automatic loss
• Players who repeatedly leave in-progress matches will also receive a temporary penalty on EXP gained from future matches (this penalty will persist as long as the player continues to repeatedly leave in-progress matches)

Group Improvements

• Players can now request to “Join a Group”
• When a group leader leaves a game, he or she will now have the option to leave with the group intact
• Expanded preferences for groups have been added to the Options menu
• Option to allow current group members to invite other players to the group
• Option to allow “Anyone,” “Friends,” or “No One” to join your group without an invite

Miscellaneous

• The new player experience has been updated
• The Tutorial and Practice Range have received a polish pass
• Dialogs will now guide new players through the Tutorial, Practice Range, and Practice vs AI modes before recommending Quick Play
• Players can now browse the main menu while queued for Quick Play, Play vs AI, or Weekly Brawl! games
• “Healing Done” has replaced “Final Blows” as an available end-of-match medal
• End-of-match commendations have received another tuning pass
• AI heroes will now melee and use Health Packs