After spending a bit of time on the PTR, the brand new Control map set in Busan (South Korea) has now finally made its way to the live servers. You can check it out in both Quick Play and the Arcade, though it won't be available in Competitive Play for another two weeks - a rather wise decision given that the third phase of the map contains some of the most complex pathways Overwatch has ever seen.
So if you're curious about what the new Busan map looks like, as well as what sort of map design I'm talking about, you should check out the teaser trailer down below. Have a look, it's a fairly brief video:
Besides the new map, this update has also brought in a variety of excellent bug fixes and some relatively minor balance changes. The list isn't terrible long, so here all of the notable fixes, as well as the accompanying developer commentary:
General
• Added visual outlines to make allies visible through walls
• Fixed a bug that would cause some weapons that fired multiple shots at once to inconsistently deal critical damage (e.g. Doomfist’s Hand Cannon, D.Va’s Fusion Cannons, Genji’s Shurikens, Reaper’s Hellfire Shotguns, Torbjörn’s Rivet Gun)
Developer Comments: While this is a bug fix, we wanted to highlight this change as it can affect gameplay by changing the damage output of the affected heroes in certain situations. After this fix, weapons with spread should now correctly calculate critical damage for each individual pellet that lands in a critical region (e.g. a headshot).
The end result of this change is that it should be significantly easier to deal critical damage with any weapon that fires multiple shots simultaneously, such as Reaper’s Hellfire Shotguns and D.Va’s Fusion Cannons. In addition, we’ve changed the logic for when these weapons display a critical marker on your screen. It now requires 30% of your shots to be critical, rather than displaying it if a single pellet hits critically.
Ana
• Biotic Rifle
- Increased the precision of the Relative Aim Sensitivity While Zoomed slider. This can be found under Options > Controls > Hero > Ana
Brigitte
• Shield Bash
- Now knocks down and gets knocked down by other charging targets (e.g Reinhardt and Doomfist)
Developer Comments: Currently, when two charging targets hit each other, they both fall down and are briefly stunned. You can see this interaction with Doomfist’s Rocket Punch and Reinhardt’s Charge abilities. Brigitte’s Shield Bash previously wasn’t included in this group, which meant that if she used Shield Bash against these other abilities, she would generally stun them and not be affected herself. This change makes it so if she uses Shield Bash against Charge or Rocket Punch, both players will be knocked down.
Reinhardt
• Earthshatter
- Now consistently hits enemies near walls
- No longer hits enemies that enter the damage cone after the “wave” has passed that area
- No longer damages enemies behind barriers blocking it, even if the barrier is later dropped or destroyed
- Always travels up inclines and around the payload
• Bug fixes
- Fixed a bug that allowed Reinhardt to pin targets that were behind him when using Charge
- Fixed a bug that prevented Reinhardt from pinning some targets when he turned during Charge
- Fixed a bug that allowed Reinhardt to use Earthshatter while standing on an enemy’s head
- Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented Reinhardt’s Earthshatter from hitting enemies standing on a payload
- Fixed a bug that prevented Reinhardt’s Earthshatter from traveling up certain inclines
Developer Comments: We’ve given Earthshatter a complete overhaul to combat inconsistencies with its performance. These changes will make Earthshatter’s behavior more predictable and effective.
Roadhog
• Bug fixes
- Fixed a bug that sometimes caused Roadhog’s Chain Hook to break after hitting an enemy while maintaining line of sight
- Fixed a bug that prevented Roadhog’s alternate fire from calculating falloff damage correctly
- Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented Reinhardt’s Earthshatter from landing if he was launched into the air while activating it
Widowmaker
• Grappling Hook
- Now retains momentum when used on environments or structures without a ledge (e.g. walls)
• Widow's Kiss
- Increased the precision of the Relative Aim Sensitivity While Zoomed slider. This can be found under Options > Controls > Hero > Widowmaker
• Bug fixes
- Fixed a bug that prevented Widowmaker’s Grappling Hook from connecting to some ledges
If you're looking for all of the details, however, you can find the full list of changes by visiting the Overwatch website. And just in case you haven't already seen it, you should go and check out the D.Va cinematic short the Busan map is heavily inspired by.
I can't say it's my favorite short released so far, especially when it comes to the writing, but it does have some pretty awesome combat sequences! So if you have a couple of minutes to spare I'd highly recommend you give it a look, if for no other reason than the lovely visuals. Enjoy!