The new season of Overwatch has arrived, bringing with it a significant balance patch that alters several heroes, including substantial reworks for Sombra and Roadhog. Alongside these changes, one of the game's most entertaining team-up strategies has been disabled: the ability for Cassidy to use his ultimate, High Noon, while airborne on Jetpack Cat's tether.
Jetpack Cat, a Support hero, possesses the unique ability to tether herself to a teammate and fly them around the map. This synergy proved particularly potent with Cassidy, allowing him to gain an elevated position for his ultimate, High Noon, which locks onto enemies. The combination was effective because it made it difficult for targets to escape Cassidy's line of sight while he was airborne.
Blizzard has addressed this interaction in the latest patch notes, stating, "Lifeline can create unique interactions with several ultimates, but its combination with High Noon has proven too powerful at repositioning Cassidy to eliminate targets." To counter this, High Noon will now prevent Cassidy from tethering to Jetpack Cat. The developers mentioned they will continue to evaluate other similar interactions on a case-by-case basis, noting that Soldier: 76's ultimate and Ashe's B.O.B. were not affected by this change.
Hero Reworks and Rebalances
The patch introduces comprehensive changes to Roadhog, aimed at reducing the frustration associated with his Chain Hook's lethality and adding more team-oriented utility. His Scrap Gun's primary fire has been adjusted to fire in two bursts, with increased ammo and total damage per volley, though the critical damage multiplier has been reduced. The secondary fire has been removed and replaced with a new ability, "Trash Compactor." This ability allows Roadhog to absorb projectiles for two seconds, then unleash an explosive projectile with damage scaling based on absorbed damage.
Sombra has been moved from the Damage to the Support role. Her signature "Hack" ability has been removed, replaced by "Weaken," a debuff that halves an enemy's damage and healing output. Her "Virus" ability is also removed. New abilities include "Hotfix," which allows her to heal allies over time and hack health packs or enemy deployables, and "Cyberspace," a projectile that creates a zone weakening enemies and healing allies. Her ultimate, EMP, has had its cost increased and damage reduced.
Other Notable Changes
Several other heroes have received adjustments. D.Va's Micro Missiles fire rate has been increased. Domina's Crystal Charge cooldown has been reduced, and her Reconstruction passive lifesteal has been increased. Bastion's Reconfigure duration has been shortened. Emre's Cyber Frag cooldown is reduced, and Genji's Swift Strike damage is increased while his Dragonblade damage is reduced, with an increase in swing speed. Ana's "Groggy" minor perk has been replaced with "Local Anesthetic," which allows Sleep Dart to affect nearby enemies. Lucio's Sound Barrier duration has been increased.
The patch also includes global adjustments to hitscan projectile sizes, reducing them from 0.07 to 0.04 meters for large projectiles and 0.04 to 0.02 meters for small projectiles. Additionally, a broad pass was made across the hero roster to adjust hit volume sizes, aiming for greater consistency in aiming across different heroes.