For April Fool’s Day, Blizzard made a number of changes to Overwatch That makes a lot of heroes on the roster a nightmare. Mei is now a tank with a lot of health. Junkrat can drop three of his bear traps at the same time. And McCree gets a refund every time he lands a headshot.
Oh, and D.Va can bring her opponents to death by summoning her mech, resulting in full team kills like this:
So when I say that some heroes are a nightmare now, I really mean that they are fun play with (and occasionally against).
Of course, these changes are currently limited to OverwatchExperimental game mode in which Blizzard usually tests small changes in balance. Don’t expect it to be there forever, especially when a new seasonal event (Overwatch Archives) starts on April 6th.
Many of Overwatch‘s “joke” changes should stay or be included in the main game, say many fans, because they made it Overwatch fun again. Almost five years after the creation of Hero Archer, a number of fools have breathed new life into the game for April Fool’s Day. (The full patch notes for experimental mode are also wonderfully cheeky.)
Some of the better changes to Overwatch The experimental mode fixes the game’s shield problem. Sigma no longer has a shield at all; Instead, it can fly around the map regardless of gravity. Baptiste’s immortality field, practically another protective layer, no longer offers the characteristic immortality, but reduces the overall damage.
Zenyatta has increased mobility due to limited levitation (Fun!). Reaper can now “fly” in his ghostly Wraith mode (makes sense!). Mercy can now target enemy players and zoom in on them using her Guardian Angel ability (making Mercy even more terrifying in Valkyrie Mode).
Few of these changes feel “balanced”. Roadhog’s chain hook, which gets a shorter cooldown timer on landing, feels kind of broken. I’m not sure, Soldier: 76’s ult really needed a buff. And the number of characters flying around doesn’t feel sustainable anymore in the long run. But almost everything feels fun.
Some of these changes to Heroes are effectively previewed Overwatch 2that include character development and heroic talents. As far as we know, those talents will be limited to the cooperative PvE component of the game, messing up the way we play heroes we’ve now spent half a decade with. The experimental patch also seems like an easy way for Blizzard to easily break everyone in the game and try out dramatic changes at once.
With Overwatch 2 It’s still a long way off and no new blood has been in the game for almost a year (since Echo arrived). It was great to see Overwatch feel fresh again, even if only for a short time.
