Patch 1.11 for Overwatch (console patch 2.13, we think, pad-fans) is here. It’s got nerfs and buffs, though nothing drastic, as well as a load of quality of life changes to both heroes and systems – rezzes in the kill feed, Mercy-killers rejoice! All the details below.
For what we know about the future of Overwatch, check our dedicated updates post.
Overwatch Patch 1.11 Release Date and Time
It’s live now!
Overwatch Patch 1.11 Hero Balance Changes
Genji –buffed
- Removed the attack cooldown from Genji’s wall climbing ability, allowing him to engage with enemies immediately after completing a climb
Hanzo – buffed
- Removed the attack cooldown from Hanzo’s wall climbing ability, allowing him to engage with enemies immediately after completing a climb
Developer comments:“This is a quality of life change to make wall climbing feel better.”
Neither of those are particularly going to light the world on fire, though it does mean in extreme circumstances Genji can go a lil’ bit broken.
- Storm Bow (Primary Fire):
- Increased charge speed by 10%
- Charged arrows now maintain their charge after climbing a wall, provided the button is continuously held
Developer comments:“Decreasing Hanzo’s draw time gives him more overall DPS, while also letting him fully charge an arrow and more quickly return to full movement speed when needed.”
Much as the joke of the Hanzo main continues (which Kaplan himself can only aspire to be), the character is pretty weak. In line with Overwatch’s usual changes, this seems focused on making him more fun to play, while hoping that improves his standing in the tier list at the same time.
Orisa –changed
- Fusion Driver (Primary Fire):
- Damage decreased by 9%
- Protective Barrier (E):
- Cooldown decreased to 8 seconds from 12 seconds
Developer comments:“To help Orisa maintain the front line for her team, we’re reducing the cooldown of her Protective Barrier. This change also helps her reposition the barrier more easily when needed. To compensate for this new defensive strength, we’re reducing her Fusion Driver’s damage, as it felt too high.”
For a tank, Orisa could put out some mad damage. However, her shield was not as useful as Reinhardt’s larger, hardier version. This is a step in that direction, though clearly Blizzard won’t want to totally switch her over.
More recently, Kaplan has said the damage changes are being reconsidered. That probably means a lighter nerf, rather than it being totally scrapped, but the changes are intended to be a “large buff” according to Geoff Goodman.
Reaper –buffed
- Wraith Form (Shift):
- Ammo is now entirely refilled when Wraith Form is used
Developer comments:“Wraith Form is typically used as an escape ability after firing. This change gives Reaper a fighting chance if an enemy chases him down as he uses it.”
Not the largest buff in the world for another of the game’s least-used heroes, but it’s a quality of life change that will make play far less frustrating. Blizzard have said in the past they don’t want to make Wraith Form something you can cancel out of – the other obvious buff – so this is the change left to them.
Reinhardt –nerfed
- Earthshatter (R):
- Effective height has been lowered from 3 meters to 2 meters
- The height threshold of objects that Earthshatter can “climb” has been lowered from 3 meters to 2 meters, making Earthshatter less likely to climb tall objects as it “crawls” along the ground.
Developer comments:“Earthshatter tended to climb unexpectedly high, frequently hitting targets that were significantly above the ground. These changes help the ability stay more grounded.”
More of a bug fix here, but doubtless expert Reins will have gotten used to the climbing power. It’s not like he doesn’t need to be brought down a peg though, so fair play.
Soldier: 76 –nerfed
- Heavy Pulse Rifle (Primary Fire):
- Bullet damage decreased from 20 to 19
Developer comments:“Soldier: 76 is in a much better place lately, but his damage output was making him a must pick, compared to similar roles.”
The only straight nerf in the patch, and not a humongous one, but one of the game’s best DPSers getting a tone down. Nobody is going to be unhappy about this.
Overwatch Patch 1.11 Custom Game Changes
- Players can now disable secondary fire and secondary weapons in Custom Games
- You can now disable one Symmetra ultimate while leaving the other active
- Added new rules sets for 3v3 and 1v1 Elimination modes on the Arena maps
- Added options for Hero Lockout, Limited Hero Pool, Tiebreakers, and Hero Reveal for Elimination mode
The first of these has been promised for a while, the other is clearly a unique situation that wasn’t originally accounted for. While the custom game section isn’t used by the majority of the playerbase, it is an extremely useful tool – more stuff is good, surprise.
Overwatch Patch 1.11 cosmetics
Along with whatever comes alongside the Anniversary event (skins, skins galore), there’s some extra items coming to default Overwatch loot boxes with this patch. A Tracer emote, Reaper’s shrug and sits / laughs for Orisa and Sombra are all in standard loot boxes.
Overwatch Patch 1.11 Bug Fixes
The usual round of changes here, including making it easier to BM your opponents in POTGs. Hidden down here is also the note that Mercy rezzes, environmental kills, and assists are all now in the kill feed.
Another thing worth highlighting: the Symmetra invicible teleporter glitch will be fixed in patch 1.11, according to QA Lead Max Thompson.
- General
- Fixed an issue that prevented voice lines from being heard during the Play of the Game
- Fixed an issue causing shields to display the wrong team color during the Play of the Game
- Added new Kill Feed icons for environmental kills and a number of abilities
- Arcade
- Fixed a bug causing the introduction before 1v1 Mystery Duels to be interrupted
- A.I.
- Fixed a bug that allowed bots to become stuck around the well on Ilios
- Heroes
- Fixed a bug that caused Lucio’s healing and speed song auras to be inaccurately projected
- Fixed a bug that prevented Orisa’s Fortify from blocking the alternate fire from Lucio’s Sonic Amplifier
- Fixed a bug that prevented Orisa’s Protective Barrier from deploying in certain situations
- Fixed an issue that affected some graphics cards, causing an inaccurate ammo count to be displayed with Pharah’s Mechaqueen and Raptorion skins equipped
- Fixed a bug that could prevent two charging Reinhardts from being able to kill each other
- Fixed a bug that prevented Winston’s Primal Rage ultimate from restoring his health when hit by Ana’s Biotic Grenade
- Maps
- Fixed a bug that caused Tracer to move oddly when she first appeared in the tutorial
- Fixed an issue causing asymmetry between pillars on the Ruins capture point on Ilios
- Fixed a bug that allowed Sombra to reach unintended locations on Watchpoint: Gibraltar
There’s also this post of unlisted changes on Reddit. Some of them are in the above, as it was mostly compared to an early, leaked version of the patch notes found on BlizzTrack.
That’s it for Overwatch patch 1.11 – 1.12 should follow next month, by usual timing. We’ll update this post as Blizzard do.