Blizzard releases a new patch for the PC version of Overwatch that fixes some bugs plaguing the game, and also makes important changes to ranked Competitive Play.

Blizzard waited a month after launching Overwatch to implement ranked Competitive Play in an effort to make sure the mode worked properly on release. While Competitive Play has mostly went off without a hitch, there have been some issues, and now Blizzard has taken steps to address these problems in a patch that has so far only released for the PC version of the game.

PC players can download the latest patch for Overwatch today, and will find some significant changes made to Competitive Play. First and foremost, Blizzard has been quick to address the issue where players were unfairly punished for disconnecting from Competitive Play matches, which should no longer happen after downloading the patch.

The patch brings other changes to Competitive Play as well. Before the patch, all maps allowed for 1 minute and 45 seconds for Sudden Death rounds, but now the length of Sudden Death is relative to the map being played. Every map's Sudden Death time has either been increased or decreased, with the exception to Hollywood, which remains at 1 minute and 45 seconds.

See below for the full patch notes:

GENERAL

Competitive Play

The duration of Sudden Death has been adjusted across all maps from 1m45s to the following values:

Assault:

  • Hanamura - 1m35s
  • Temple of Anubis - 1m30s
  • Volskaya Inudstries - 1m35s

Escort:

  • Dorado - 1m30s
  • Route 66 - 1m35s
  • Watchpoint: Gibraltar - 1m35s

Hybrid:

  • King's Row - 1m30s
  • Numbani - 1m50s
  • Note: Sudden Death duration is unchanged for Hollywood, which remains at 1m45s

BUG FIXES

General

  • Fixed a bug that prevented Overtime music from playing on Escort and Assault/Escort maps, if they payload was nearing the final checkpoint
  • Fixed a bug where display settings weren't always saved after restarting the client
  • Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the in-game UI to display incorrectly at 4k resolutions
  • Fixed a bug where sometimes the wrong player level would appear in the Social menu

Maps

  • Fixed an issue with collision not blocking line of sight on certain areas of Nepal

Heroes

  • Fixed a bug that caused Mercy's Caduceus Staff beam to disconnect from its target if the player a) quickly switched between healing and damage beams by holding down both mouse buttons and/or b) was facing away from the target at the time of the switch
  • Fixed even more bugs that allowed Reaper to Shadow Step to unintended locations on certain maps
  • Fixed a bug that caused Winston's melee attack during Primal Rage to inconsistently hit targets in range
  • Fixed a bug that sometimes cause Zarya's alternate fire to scaled incorrectly with her damage boost modifier

Competitive Play

  • Fixed a bug that caused the "Top 500" icon to incorrectly display for certain players in various places throughout the game UI
  • Fixed a bug that sometimes caused players' Skill Rating to display as "64" during placement matches
  • Fixed an issue where if you left and rejoined an in-progress Competitive Play match, the game would still track the match as a loss in your placement match history and when determining the amount of Skill Rating you receive for completing a match even if your team won
  • Note: You must be present for the conclusion of the match to be eligible for the win. If you leave a match and do not rejoin before it's over, it will count as a loss both in your placement match history and when calculating your Skill Rating adjustment.
  • Fixed an issue where you would still receive a Competitive Play "leave" penalty even if you rejoined a match and completed it
  • Note: If you leave a single Competitive Play match more than 3 times, you will receive a Competitive Play "leave" penalty even if you complete the match

Besides Competitive Play-specific updates, the patch also squashes some bugs found in the general game. It also makes slight adjustments to a few characters, with Winston's ultimate attack now more accurate, and Mercy's staff no longer disconnecting when switching between healing and damage beams. After downloading the patch, Reaper is no longer able to abuse his Shadow Step ability to reach unintended areas, and Zarya's alternate fire should now scale correctly with her damage boost modifier.

Despite discussing the possibility of applying balance changes to Zenyatta, this patch doesn't feature any changes for the popular support character. Since Overwatch is a constantly evolving game, and one that will probably be updated for years to come, Zenyatta will likely be addressed in a future patch, so fans of the popular support character should stay tuned for more info on that front.

In the meantime, it remains to be seen when Blizzard will bring this patch to the console versions of Overwatch. So far, the company has released patches and updates a little later on Xbox One and PS4, with the McCree and Widowmaker nerf patch coming to consoles weeks after it was released for PC. Hopefully console gamers won't have to keep waiting so long for Overwatch patches, and this latest update comes to the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game soon.

Overwatch is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.