It's always exciting when big changes are made to the games and characters that we love, and Overwatch's developer, Blizzard, has done an excellent job of keeping fans excited since the game's launch back in 2016. Symmetra fans should be especially excited for the next big change, as Blizzard has finally detailed what will be coming in her major rework.

The changes were detailed by Geoff Goodman, one of Overwatch's developers, on Blizzard's official forum yesterday in response to a fan wondering about the nature of the update.

The biggest changes will be made to Symmetra's turrets, which have been reduced from a maximum of 6 to 3 and will now deal more damage and reduce movement speed by a greater amount. On top of that, their health has been buffed from 1 to 30, though that number will likely change before the update is implemented into the game. Players will also be able to attach the turrets to walls from a distance, which should help speed up planning.

Symmetra Turret

Blizzard is also working on changing Symmetra's primary weapon, which will no longer lock on to targets but be a single, focused beam with increased size and range. The weapon will still deal extra damage by charging up as it does now, though those damage tiers have been increased from 30/60/120 to 65/130/195 dps. While this is a large increase, it will now take 2 seconds of combined damage rather 1 second to 'level up' to the next tier. In addition, Symmetra will be able to generate ammunition by attacking barriers, which will make her more effective at destroying them and charging up her attack against enemies.

Her alternate attack will be getting a relatively small change, with the speed of the projectile increasing from 10 m/s to 30 m/s and the addition of splash damage. A direct hit from the projectile will deal about 130 damage, which should make lower health heroes less likely to engage.

Symmetra's iconic teleporters are being moved to her 'E' ability slot and Photon Barrier will become her new ultimate. The teleporter will be similar to what it was before, except the exit can now be placed up to 25 meters away. After placing the exit, the entrance will be built right in front of Symmetra instead of at the spawn room. The teleporter will only last a short amount of time, but teammates may use it freely and Blizzard is experimenting with what should and shouldn't be able to travel through it. In Blizzard's current build, the teleporter allows other ultimates such as Junkrat's tire and D.Va's ultimate mech to travel through it, opening up the door for some amazing plays.

Instead of being a small, moving shield, the Photon Barrier will become a static shield capable of spanning the entire map with 5000 health. The barrier will be most similar to Mei's ice wall, with players able to place the barrier from some distance away as well as adjusting its orientation.

Finally, Symmetra is being reclassified as a defense hero instead of her current role as a support hero. This move makes a lot of sense, especially given the changes to her abilities. Blizzard did experiment with giving her turrets healing abilities, though they found it "super awkward" due to the speed at which Overwatch is played.

Symmetra isn't the first character to receive a rework like this, with Hanzo being the most recent to get updates to his abilities and Mercy being changed with what feels like every hotfix. It's unlikely that all of these changes will make it into the game, but it seems that Symmetra is destined to be a more imposing figure on the battlefield rather than the nuisance she is now.

Overwatch is available now on PC, Xbox, and PS4.

Source: Blizzard