Latest Overwatch Update Adds LFG Feature, Player Endorsements and Symmetra 3.0 Overhaul

Overwatch got a new PTR update (1.25) yesterday and it's a meaty one, as Blizzard added social features such as Player Endorsements and Looking for Group. Other changes include the highly awaited Symmetra 3.0 overhaul and major changes to the Horizon Lunar Colony map.

Below we've added the highlights. For the full patch notes, head to the official Overwatch forums.

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Player Endorsements

Acknowledge your fellow Overwatch players’ positivity with endorsements! Recognize commendable behavior for sportsmanship, being a good teammate, or for shot calling. Commend players who lead you to victory, put the team’s needs above their own, or exhibit humility in victory or grace in defeat. Endorsements are readily available to view on Career Profiles, the Groups menu, and more so you can tell at a glance the types of players you’re playing with. Those who consistently maintain a high endorsement level will receive periodic rewards, while those who display negative behavior or accrue suspensions will lose their endorsements.

Looking for Group

Play your way using the Looking for Group feature! You can craft your gameplay experience before stepping into Team Select by using specific parameters to create your dream team. Join a team of other like-minded players or lead a group of your own by creating a group with your personal preferences such as game mode, role enforcement, and more. Those who want to queue up for Quick Play, Play vs AI, or any competitive mode can set the types of roles others can play. These specifications will then be activated in-game (e.g. players who chose a Support role will be restricted to only using heroes in that category).

GENERAL UPDATES

• All heroes in the Defense and Offense categories have been merged into a new category: Damage

Developer Comments: Since the line between Offense and Defense heroes has become increasingly blurred, we’ve decided to group all those heroes into a single new “Damage” category. We believe that the term more closely matches the role name used in Overwatch League and across most of our community.

• Combat can now be heard 25% further away
• Changed the name of the Varok spray to Saurfang
• Added an Inspire Uptime Percentage statistic for Brigitte on the Career Profile
• Removed some statistics for Symmetra on the Career Profile
• Added a Scoped Critical Hit Accuracy statistic for Widowmaker on the Career Profile
• [PC] Players must have Blizzard SMS Protect enabled on their account to be eligible for the Top 500
• Career Profiles will no longer be public by default (now defaults to Friends Only). An option to make Career Profiles visible has been added under Options > Social > Profile Visibility

HERO UPDATES

Symmetra

• New Abilities

Photon Projector

• No longer locks onto targets
• Range increased to 10 meters
• Damage ramping now takes 2 seconds per damage level instead of 1 second
• Damage ramp increased from 30/60/120 to 60/120/180
• Now generates ammo instead of spending it when hitting a barrier

Alternate Fire

• No longer pierces targets
• Now explodes on contact
• Projectile speed increased
• Charge up speed increased
• Damage changed to 60 impact / 60 explosive

Sentry Turret

• Turret is now placed like a projectile instead of being set in place
• Can hold a max of 3, down from 6
• Can now deploy a max 3, down from 6
• Damage increased
• Amount of slowing effect increased

Teleporter

• Can now place the exit up to 25 meters away from Symmetra
• Entrance will automatically be built in front of Symmetra, rather than at her team’s spawn point
• Lasts 10 seconds
• Health lowered to 300
• More things can teleport through it (e.g. Junkrat’s RIP-Tire)
• Entrance can be destroyed
  If either the entrance or exit is destroyed, the other is removed

New Ultimate: Photon Barrier

• Deploys a barrier that is big enough to span and cut through an entire map
• Orientation can be changed by pressing the ultimate button again
• Has 5000 health

Developer Comments: The goal of these changes is to move Symmetra to her new damage role and make her more flexible and viable across more areas of the game than she was previously. Now that Symmetra is no longer a support hero, she is expected to be able to dish out heavy damage, and these changes allow for her to do so. She should be more powerful and interesting in more team compositions and maps, and she should also be stronger on offense and defense.

MAP UPDATES

Horizon Lunar Colony

Point A

• Added a staircase on the right when exiting the hydroponics room
• Removed the door to the lower room on the right
• Removed the small wall on the catwalk above Point A
• Added some cover walls to the catwalk area
• Moved the door next to the staircase that led to Winston’s room
• The door is now on the side of the wall in the training pit
• Moved the large health pack to the back of the room
• Removed some clutter in the upper left computer room

Hydroponics Room

• Switched the positions of the large and small health pack
• Changed some of the hydroponic plant cover on the right side

Point B

• Defender spawn room exits moved from the front to the sides out of direct line of fire
• Small rooms added at spawn room exits
• Additional cover added near the spawn room exits
• Added a route and larger platform leading to the back right corner
• Raised the platform to the same height as the attackers’ platform on the opposite side of the point
• The location of the old defender exit is now an alcove with a small health pack
• Both teams can still pass behind the point, but there is now a cut-through in the middle of the wall for better access.
• The area above the window overlooking the point is now covered
• A large platform with cover has been attached to the left side of the catwalk
• The upper platform for the attackers has been reduced
• The doorway leading to the platform is slightly smaller

Developer Comments: We’ve wanted to make some gameplay improvements to Horizon Lunar Colony for some time now. The defenders’ spawn room had a problem with its main exit that allowed defenders to quickly duck back inside and regain health while attackers shot at them without doing damage. Since we were already reworking the entire back area, we decided to make some more changes addressing player feedback. The idea behind the rework of Point A was to not only help the defenders a bit, but also provide some gameplay options aside from sitting on the point and trying to hold it for as long as possible. Easier access to high ground, as well as limiting the routes for attackers (or at least allowing for defenders to more easily spot the attackers), will allow more opportunity for counters and create a better gameplay experience.

We’ve made a lot of additions and changes to the art throughout the map for you to discover as well.

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