Ana NERF, Widowmaker, and Junkrat BUFF-September 22 PTR Patch Notes

Ana has only just begun to make pro Overwatch teams and now Blizzard thinks she's too strong, so they've nerfed her. The tank heavy meta really focuses on the nano boost ability and its super fast charge. They nerfed the ultimate cost by 20% which means it takes that much longer to charge up.

Ana

• Nano Boost
  • Ultimate cost has been increased by 20%
• Biotic Grenade
  • Radius has been increased from 3 to 4 meters

Developer Comments: So far, we haven't seen any indication that Ana is too strong overall, but her ultimate charges a little too fast, especially considering the impact it can have on a match. Also, her Biotic Grenades are getting a small boost to help her hit multiple targets.

Now I haven't had that much time to play PTR to test her out but I've heard from YouTubers that her ultimate charges up fast still, albeit just not as fast. For sure its a nerf but its not a super duper heavy nerf. However, this nerf was a little too fast given that this 3 tank 3 healer meta just started. I hope this doesn't get rid of this new change in the game because its a good change.

The biotic grenade range was increased. This is great! You'll be able to hit allies as well as enemies just a tiny bit further. Not too shabby. Not that much of a buff but acceptable for our favorite healing sniper mom.

Now for the buffs, starting with Widowmaker.

Widowmaker

• Widow's Kiss
  • Scoping-in animation time has been reduced from 0.5 to 0.3 seconds

Developer Comments: This change will help Widowmaker acquire new targets more quickly and speed up her reaction time in fast-paced situations.

In the past it was popular to have quick scoping Widowmakers but they ended up changing it so that you couldn't rescope until the scope animation had finished. This ended Widowmaker pretty much since then. This won't bring back the old school Widowmaker killer quick scopes but it might make her picked a bit more often.

And then Junkrat got a buff.

Junkrat

• RIP-Tire
  • Ability now activates more quickly

Developer Comments: Junkrat can be an extremely effective hero in the right hands, but RIP-Tire often felt underpowered when compared to his counterparts.

So the Rip-tire now activates more quickly. He's not seen much in pro play because he just fuels Zarya's shield and charge but his problem wasn't so much of casting his ultimate super fast. The problem is that his tire is super easy to destroy. The tire always gets shot before it gets close enough. They should've increased the speed of his tire instead. However, a buff is still a buff. This just isn't that effective for a better Junkrat. I do dig Junkrat and this is still cool.

General Updates

Static cameras are now supported in spectator mode. This is awesome for increasing the view-ability of the game (for esports). Team names can now be edited in Custom Games, which you can also pause! There was a raise in volume for Hanzo's Dragonstrike voice-line when using the wolf skins. Heroes hit by Ana's nano-boost now have a voice-line informing of who's getting the boost. And then there's a voice-line for when Reinhardt's shield drops. There's also news about potential Symmetra buffs.

We expect all this which is now only on the PTR to appear on the base game in a few weeks, like they always do. I'm a bit annoyed that they decided to nerf Ana when she's still super fresh and is just making her way into the competitive scene. I hope she stays in the limelight, at least in the professional scene. I'll still be playing her in competitive, as long as someone else is playing a healer too. There's talks about possible future Symmetra buffs so expect that in the near future. I'm also looking forward to hearing more about the Sombra reveal during October.

Get in there, you're powered up!