The latest Overwatch patch contains a change that may have significant effects on the online multiplayer shooter's meta. Tuesday's Overwatch PTR update only makes a handful of changes and hasn't reached live servers yet, but is noteworthy due to its nerf to armor. Armor has become somewhat of an issue lately as armored characters' relative strength has grown as other strong characters have been nerfed. Blizzard's response, it seems, is to broadly weaken armor as a mechanic rather than target individual characters.
Specifically, armor is being nerfed so that it will provide -3 damage reduction instead of -5. That's a 40% nerf to the overall defense that armor offers, which is significant if you put it lightly. The ramifications for characters including D.Va, Orisa, Reinhardt, and Brigitte will be dramatic. Considering these characters' current high rankings in the competitive meta of Overwatch, the change could result in a huge competitive shakeup.
Other changes released as part of the most recent PTR update are worth mentioning, but not as significant as the armor change, include the following:
- Brigitte: Rally now has a maximum duration of 30 seconds.
- D.Va: Defense Matrix cooldown increased from 1 second to 2 seconds.
- Reaper: The Reaping life steal increased from 30% to 50% of damage dealt.
What with the armor changes already being stronghanded, the nerfs to Brigitte and D.Va seem especially rough. But the buff to Reaper, who is already somewhat of a tank killer, is also a tank nerf in some ways.
It should be reiterated that these changes have only been made on Overwatch's PTR, for now, and may or may not be pushed to live servers. In fact, Blizzard has a history testing somewhat severe changes on the PTR just to see how they shake up gameplay at all levels of competition. The company can then take the results of those severe changes and then make more precise decisions.
Whether these specific PTR changes ever make it to live servers or not, players who prefer armored heroes and tanks know that changes of one sort or another are coming. This is a clear message from Blizzard acknowledging that armored characters are too strong and that it's time to experiment with large-scope adjustments. A 40% nerf to armors damage reduction is significant. Zarya and Roadhog's resurgence in the meta may be approaching.
Overwatch is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.