Blizzard released a Public Test Realm (PTR) patch for Overwatch today that includes more nerfs to popular meta heroes. Orisa, Sigma, and Baptiste are all taking a hit.
Orisa
Blizzard has finally moved away from nerfing Orisa’s shield, and they are now targeting other areas of her kit. Her primary fire damage is being reduced from 11 to 9, her Fortify cooldown is being increased from 8 to 10 seconds, and her Halt snare duration is being reduced from 1 to .65 seconds.
Despite a multitude of shield nerfs, Orisa has remained a top pick in the meta at all ranks up till now. Blizzard clearly hopes that targeting other parts of her kit will weaken her enough to give other tanks a chance.
Sigma
Orisa’s partner in crime is also receiving some more nerfs on the PTR: Sigma’s primary fire is getting its range reduced from 22 meters to 20. His ult can now be interrupted before targets begin falling and “slow” created by the impact now only lasts .6 seconds down from .9. And Accretion’s explosion damage is being reduced from 60 to 40.
With Sigma and Orisa both receiving multiple nerfs, the double shield meta may finally begin to change. The meta has dominated Overwatch since 2-2-2 was introduced and the GOATS meta was forcefully destroyed.
Other nerfs
Baptiste is receiving another minor nerf, this time to his primary fire and the heal explosion radius. Hanzo is receiving another nerf to his storm arrows, which will do 10 less damage. Reaper is getting his life steal reduced from 40% to 30%.
These are all heroes that are commonly picked with Orisa and Sigma at the moment, so it will be interesting to see what happens if these changes make it live. Jeff Kaplan did just say recently that the Overwatch team will attempt to make balance changes more frequently.
The other hero being changed is McCree, who will have 250 health, but the recovery time of his primary fire is being increased by .08 seconds. More news will surely be on the way soon when the developer update drops later this month.
