After being the very worst hero for the entirety of Overwatch's post-launch existence, Bastion's time to shine has finally come! The recent PTR update has brought with it a massive increase to Bastion's survivability at the expense of Sentry Mode damage, while also making him much more accurate in Recon Mode... so much so that he now feels like a bulkier version of Soldier 76.
There's also a bunch of changes for other heroes in this new PTR patch. Most notably, D.Va and Mercy have received some much needed buffs, while the newly added Ability Sensitivity slider will ensure Ana's Nano Boosts no longer end up on Lucio players wall-riding half a kilometer away from the fight itself. If you're interested in all of the details you can find them over at the official forums, but for now here are all of the hero changes:
Ana
• New Hero Option: Nano Boost Sensitivity
- Allows players to adjust Nano Boost’s targeting sensitivity
Bastion
• Configuration: Sentry
- Deploy time decreased from 1.5 seconds to 1.0 second
- Bullet spread increased by 50 percent
- Bullet spread is always at maximum (it no longer increases as the weapon is fired)
- Magazine size increased from 200 to 300
- Headshot damage multiplier has been removed
- No longer deals critical damage
• Configuration: Recon
- Bullet spread decreased by 25 percent
- Magazine size increased from 20 to 25
• Self-Repair
- Can now be used while moving
- Now bound to secondary fire (formerly Ability 2)
- No longer interrupted by taking damage
- A new resource meter has been added that deplete while Self-Repair is active and recharges when not in use
• Configuration: Tank
- No longer grants bonus armor
- Bastion has a new passive: Ironclad
- Bastion takes 35% less damage while in Sentry or Tank configuration
Developer Comments: The goal of these changes is to move some of Bastion's power from Configuration: Sentry to Recon, while keeping its sentry mode a strong option, especially versus tanks and barriers. Overall, Bastion should feel stronger and more flexible with these changes.
D.Va
• Defense Matrix
- Projectiles (like Roadhog’s Chain Hook or Tracer’s Pulse Bomb) no longer need to travel a minimum distance before they can be blocked
Developer Comments: Previously, there was a minimum distance a projectile had to travel before it could be destroyed by Defense Matrix. This made it nearly worthless in situations where an enemy was right next to your teammate, such as when Roadhog hooks your ally. This change removes that restriction so Defense Matrix should now reliably destroy projectiles regardless of how far they have traveled.
Mei
• Cryo-Freeze
- Mei can now be targeted by allies while in Cryo-Freeze
Mercy
• Resurrect
- While performing a resurrection, Mercy now becomes temporarily invulnerable along with the allies being revived
• Caduceus Staff
- Zenyatta can no longer be targeted when Transcendence is active
• New Hero Option: Guardian Angel Sensitivity
- Allows players to adjust Guardian Angel’s targeting sensitivity
• New Hero Option: Beam Sensitivity
- Allows players to adjust targeting sensitivity on Mercy’s Caduceus Staff beams
Developer Comments: Mercy’s Resurrect has always been very powerful, but it often forces her to sacrifice herself to use it well. There have been changes in the past that attempted to help her in this area, but haven’t done enough to solve it. This change means that once she uses the ability, she will always survive long enough to be with her team again.
Sombra
• New Hero Option: Hack Sensitivity
- Allows players to adjust the targeting sensitivity on Sombra’s Hack ability
Torbjörn
• Rivet Gun
- Ammo is now loaded earlier in the reload animation
Widowmaker
• New Hero Option: Grappling Hook Sensitivity
- Allows players to adjust Grappling Hook’s targeting sensitivity
Zarya
• New Hero Option: Projected Barrier Sensitivity
- Allows players to adjust Projected Barrier’s targeting sensitivity
Zenyatta
• New Hero Option: Harmony Orb Sensitivity
- Allows players to adjust Harmony Orb’s targeting sensitivity
• New Hero Option: Discord Orb Sensitivity
- Allows players to adjust Discord Orb’s targeting sensitivity
I was only able to get 10 minutes with Bastion before the servers keeled over, but from everything I've seen so far I'm fairly confident in saying that Bastion is now actually good. If you can aim well the Recon Mode is a force to be reckoned with, while the faster transformations have made the once static playstyle now much more dynamic, and as such, much less prone to instant death. Whether he's going to be viable at higher levels or not, that will still need some testing, but the important thing here is that Bastion is no longer useless. Or in other words, Overwatch just got a brand new hero!