Overwatch PTR patch nerfs Reinhardt's Earthshatter, Soldier: 76, buffs Genji, Hanzo

Some balance tweaks have made their way into the Overwatch PTR.

Blizzard has rolled out a couple of balance changes in a patch for the Overwatch PTR earlier. The update also expands the custom game feature, but the character-specific changes are more interesting.

Reinhardt's Earthshatter ability has had its effective height lowered from three to two meters. This also affects the height threshold of objects Earthshatter can reach, meaning the ability will be most effective on the ground and near short objects.

The damage for Soldier: 76's weapon has been decreased from 20 to 19, as Blizzard feels the hero was being picked too often compared to similar roles.

The attack cooldown that prevented Genji, and Hanzo from attacking right after wall climbing is now gone, making it possible to engage as soon as the climbing animation is finished.

See the full notes below:

General

Custom games and game browser
• Players can now disable secondary fire and secondary weapons in Custom Games
• You can now disable one Symmetra ultimate while leaving the other active

Hero updates

Genji
• Removed the attack cooldown from Genji’s wall climbing ability, allowing him to engage with enemies immediately after completing a climb

Hanzo
• Removed the attack cooldown from Hanzo’s wall climbing ability, allowing him to engage with enemies immediately after completing a climb
• Storm Bow: increased charge speed by 10%
• Charged arrows now maintain their charge after climbing a wall, provided the button is continuously held

Orisa
• Fusion Driver: damage reduced by 15%
• Protective Barrier: cooldown reduced from 12 seconds to 8 seconds

Reaper
• Wraith Form: ammo is now entirely refilled when Wraith Form is used

Reinhardt
• Earthshatter: effective height has been lowered from 3 meters to 2 meters
• The height threshold of objects that Earthshatter can "climb" has been lowered from 3 meters to 2 meters, making Earthshatter less likely to climb tall objects as it "crawls" along the ground.

Soldier: 76
• Heavy Pulse Rifle: bullet damage decreased from 20 to 19

Bug fixes

General
• Fixed an issue that prevented voice lines from being heard during the Play of the Game
• Fixed an issue causing shields to display the wrong team colour during the Play of the Game
• Added new Kill Feed icons for environmental kills and a number of abilities

Arcade
• Fixed a bug causing the introduction before 1v1 Mystery Duels to be interrupted

A.I.
• Fixed a bug that allowed bots to become stuck around the well on Ilios

Heroes
• Fixed a bug that caused Lucio’s healing and speed song auras to be inaccurately projected
• Fixed a bug that prevented Orisa’s Fortify from blocking the alternate fire from Lucio’s Sonic Amplifier
• Fixed a bug that prevented Orisa’s Protective Barrier from deploying in certain situations
• Fixed an issue that affected some graphics cards, causing an inaccurate ammo count to be displayed with Pharah’s Mechaqueen and Raptorion skins equipped
• Fixed a bug that could prevent two charging Reinhardts from being able to kill each other
• Fixed a bug that prevented Winston’s Primal Rage ultimate from restoring his health when hit by Ana’s Biotic Grenade

Maps
• Fixed a bug that caused Tracer to move oddly when she first appeared in the tutorial
• Fixed an issue causing asymmetry between pillars on the Ruins capture point on Ilios
• Fixed a bug that allowed Sombra to reach unintended locations on Watchpoint: Gibraltar