Everything you need to know about the redesigned Symmetra coming to the PTR soon.
The Overwatch team has just released a new Developer Update video outlining the long-promised changes to Symmetra that are coming to the PTR in the very near future.
You can find the video itself a little further down the page, but we thought it would be useful to break all of the exciting details into a quick article that you can read through if you’ve not the time or inclination to watch the whole thing.
Let us know what you think about these new changes in the comments!
– The fundamental problem with Symmetra right now is that she can be good on the first point but is very situational. If the team fails the first point, the player will either switch out altogether or stay on Symmetra and not perform effectively due to the increasingly ineffective value of her Ultimate over time.
– The team wanted to address quality of life issues around initial setup which feels panicked and rushed as you shield people on the run to the frontline, get turrets up to build Ultimate and so on. Then you’re waiting on cooldowns a lot. It lends her a time-efficiency aspect that is quite stressful.
– She’ll be the first character in OW to have a choie of Ultimates. Two Ultimates available at all times in the match. Start with no Ult – ehr Ult at 0 just like other heroes. Over time it increases.
Symmetra Ultimate changes
– When the redesign goes live, she’ll be the first character in Overwatch to have a choice of two Ultimates. Just as before, you start with zero Ultimate points and gradually build up to 100%.
– When it’s available, you’re Ultimate will light up and you’ll see the Teleporter as before. However, if you press the Ultimate button again you’ll gain access to a shield generator.
– It’s a built object just like the teleporter but it puts a substantial shield – more than her usual shield – on all of her teammates. This effect spreads in a big radius and ignores line of site. She can hide the generator somewhere, and it ticks away applying shields to everybody. The enemy must hunt it down and destroy it.
– Her traditional Teleporter now has more health and some of it is shield-related, so it regenerates over time if not entirely depleted.
New ability: Photon Barrier
– Shields were never a highly interactive, fun element of playing Symmetra. At times it felt like a chore and like plate-spinning. They have been replaced with a new ability called Photon Barrier.
– Photon Barrier is very similar to Reinhardt’s shield or Winston’s projected barrier. It’s projected on a track of movement though – it’s elliptical and it moves along a trajectory. It’s very effective at signalling your team to press forward and use its protection.
Friend of geeksplatform Chris Bratt has also posted a video over at our siste-siter Eurogamer too. In it he explores everything that Symmetra’s new Photon Barrier can block.
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Sentry Turret changes
– As for Sentry Turrets, Symmetra could always have six out at any one time, but could only stock up to three. Once they were placed, you’d have wait for the cooldown to regenerate.
– Maximum is now six, so at setup she can run out and instantly place six turrets wherever she wants. They’re still on cooldown after that, but at a reduced timer of ten seconds rather than twelve.
– This new system ensures map setup is how they want it to be – you pick your setup and just get going. It also allows Symmetra to move her location with the flow of combat much more easily.
Weapon changes
– For the most part her weapon works just as it does presently – both in terms of primary and secondary fire. There’s a slight change to primary fire, and Blizzard has extended the distance of the beam so she can make contact with the target slightly further out – not a huge amount, so don’t panic! She’s still a very short-range character.
ETA
– All of the changes are coming very soon to the PTR and the team wants to hear all of your feedback – from both veterans and newcomers to the hero alike!
