UPDATE: Blizzard backtracks on aspects of the Ana nerf.
UPDATE:
The Overwatch developers have made the decision to reduce the impact of the proposed Ana nerf. In an update due to hit the PTR at some point today, the Biotic Grenade changes will be reverted to their current live status.
Principal designer Geoff Goodman posted on the Overwatch forums to explain the rationale behind this change of heart from the team:
“Ana had the biggest changes in this patch, and upon testing, feedback, and talking about it a ton internally, we decided to pull back on the nerfs a bit for this patch.”
“The damage reduction on her weapon is significant, but if this ends up not being enough we can re-visit some further tuning. We don’t want to swing her balance too wildly within a single patch.”
ORIGINAL STORY:
Ana, the first new hero to hit Overwatch post-launch, has just been hit with a pretty hard nerf on the PTR servers. Here are the details:
Biotic Rifle
- Damage decreased from 80 to 60
Biotic Grenade
- Impact damage reduced from 60 to 30
- Impact healing reduced from 100 to 50
In hard terms, then, that’s a 25% nerf to Ana’s damage output and a 50% nerf to all aspects of her healing/debuffing grenade.
Keep in mind that these numbers will likely change over the course of the testing period, so if you’re an Ana main you shouldn’t panic too much. You should expect to come out of the process considerably weaker though.
Ana’s had a bit of a complicated relationship with the Overwatch metagame since her release last summer. It took a very long time for players to really grasp her strengths and make her a core part of most teams, and Blizzard clearly feels the time has come to tame her a little.
Here are the other hero tweaks that have arrived with the latest PTR update. Note that Orisa’s release date is still up in the air right now.
Junkrat
- No longer hurts himself from his own explosions. (Effect added to current passive: Total Mayhem)
Orisa
Fusion Driver
- Magazine size lowered from 200 to 150
Supercharger
- Cost increased by 15%
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Sombra
Stealth
- Sound effects and VO distance for entering and exiting Stealth reduced to 15 meters
Translocator
- Cooldown reduced from 6s to 4s
Winston
Barrier Projector
- Cooldown now starts when the barrier is placed, instead of when it ends
Zenyatta
Orb of Destruction
- Alternate fire recovery reduced from 1s to 0.6s
Orb of Discord
- Can now target enemies through barriers
