Overwatch details Torbjorn rework, colorblind mode, and Halloween Terror
The next PTR update for Overwatch will feature some big changes to the game's diminutive engineer.
The Overwatch team has not been slowing down with keeping the team-based shooter up-to-date. There are big plans for the game in the next month or so, so Game Director Jeff Kaplan took to YouTube to reveal what's coming up for Torbjorn, the upcoming Halloween event, and future balance changes.
Torbjorn is next on the docket to receive a total rework. While Kaplan notes that the dwarven engineer won't be drastically changed, he will undergo some noticeable tweaks. Armor Packs and the scrap system are being dropped, replaced by a new ability called Overload. Overload will look similar to the old Molten Core ultimate, giving Torbjorn boosts to his movement, firing rate, and damage absorbtion. Torb's turrets will also change, with all turrets now permanently at Level 2. Turrets can also be deployed with slight tosses, allowing for some trick deployments.
As for Torb's actual Molten Core ultimate, that's also being changed up.
"We're keeping the name Molten Core, because we think it's cool, we love World of Warcraft, and it's important to us," Kaplan explained. "And we love the way he yells out 'Molten Core,' so we're keeping that. What he does when he does Molten Core now is that awesome claw-hook hand that he has comes up into frame, he has that magma (hot-liquid magma, some might say) that he can now shoot out. He has limited ammo for it and he can shoot out pools of that liquid magma that are very devastating in terms of area-of-effect damage and it does extra damage against armor. So we think that will give Torb some new utility in his abilities."
Other big changes in the pipeline involve balance tweaks for a handful of the roster. Orisa, Soldier:76, McCree, and Pharah will be among those targeted. Blizzard is also aiming for quality-of-life changes, with a colorblind mode set to be implemented soon.
Lastly, with Halloween on the way, Blizzard is looking to bring back Dr. Junkenstein and the Junkenstein's Revenge mode once more. While Junkenstein's Revenge won't be much different than last year, Kaplan did hint at Dr. Junkenstein getting a bride for this year.
The Public Test Realm will be updated soon. Shacknews will break them down as they arrive.
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replyOzzie Mejia posted a new article, Overwatch details Torbjorn rework, colorblind mode, and Halloween Terror
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I hate the sound of these Torb changes.
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As somebody who didn't like playing him before, I think it sounds great. Yeah it's a lot more actiony which you might say isn't true to his traditional engineer playstyle, which is true, they've reimagined him. Much like Sym's changes, it might alienate his old die-hard fans. But he just wasn't very popular before, even in defense scenarios. I think the game is healthier when the characters are versatile enough to play both offense and defense.
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I guess I should have expanded on my hate. I dislike Torb in general and right now I only really play random heroes. Which Torb can be really big fucking pain in the ass to deal with because you can't reliably counter him. So now he's going to be better and harder to deal with in that play mode. If I was playing quickplays with a group more often I probably wouldn't care so much. I know they don't balance towards random heroes so I'm just complaining to complain.
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Jeff seemed really self-conscious about the events, which he admits are becoming fairly low effort. He says in no uncertain terms that they've moved dev resources away from events onto other things like these reworks. I appreciate the honesty, though I do want to see more work on new game modes. I'd rather the events stayed focused on cosmetics, and they worked on adding more interesting Arcade modes instead that can rotate in throughout the year.
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