A handful of hero nerfs and buffs are also live now.
Overwatch’s 29th Hero, the gunslinging Ashe, is now available to play on the live servers. She arrives with Patch 1.30.0, which also introduces a number of balance changes to the game.
First up though, the new hero. Ashe is a versatile offensive hero with a high skill-ceiling and plenty of clever tricks in her arsenal.
Her weapon can be used in semi-automatic or aim-down-sights mode for precision shots. Coach Gun knocks both opponents and Ashe backwards, while Dynamite is a thrown offensive tool that can be detonated early with a shot from Ashe’s weapon.
Finally, her Ultimate ability – B.O.B. – is a ferocious Omnic champion that rushes forward into battle, clatters enemies out of the way, and then let rips with a volley of bullet fire.
Have a look at our essential Ashe guide if you want to learn more about this hero. Note, however, that you won’t be able to make use of her in Competitive Play for a couple more weeks – just Quick Play for now.
As for balance changes, Mercy’s Ultimate cost is being reduced by 15%, and her healing per second has been increased from 50 to 60.
Reaper’s spread randomization has been reduced by 50% and the spread pattern of fire has also been tweaked. Life steal gained from The Reaping has also been increased from 20% to 30% of the damage dealt.
The delay on Roadhog’s pulling of a hooked target has been brought down from 0.5 to 0.3 seconds, and the target’s momentum is reduce on hooking too. The cooldown of Chain Hook now also starts right away, rather than after the victim has been dragged in. Scrap Gun has also been tweaked positively, and the knockback of Whole Hog has been increased by 25%.
One final balance change affects Symmetra. The primary fire beam of Photon Projector now charges up 20% faster than before.
For a full run down of all the latest changes, head over to the official blog post where you can find the complete patch notes.
