Overwatch Patch 2.91 is out and has a few balance changes in the bag: Genji and Hanzo can be happy with their buffs, but Echo's Nerf marathon continues.
The Overwatch Patch Notes went live and deliver exactly what they promised on the test servers. At least most of it. The planned changes for the Heal Moira have been postponed. Genji, Hanzo, Echo, and Orisa were included - although the latter only got a sound adjustment. Now you can hear their ability to "hold" better, which is more likely to warn enemies. But that was it for Orisa. So let us look at the major changes.
Three good news
Besides the buffs and an Echo nerf, there is more good news: The 2019 Overwatch League MVP Skin has arrived, the Alien Zarya Skin. It was developed in honor of Jay "Sinatraa" Won, who left the game in order to pursue a career in Riot's new tactical shooter - Valorant. For this purpose, the feature "Priority Requeue for Collapsed Games" was introduced.
If a competitive game collapses due to a player leaving early, you are now granted a priority requeue the next time you queue to play. You will see a small icon on the interface to denote this status. When you queue for a game with priority queue status, the matchmaker tries to prioritize finding an appropriate game for you. This normally results in significantly lower times waiting in queue.
Furthermore, the "Competitive Open Queue Season 2" has started. The game mode follows the usual rules, but without role restrictions, you can find it in the arcade.
Buffs in Overwatch Patch 2.91
Overwatch has tested several options on the test servers and has now released buffs for Genji and Hanzo.
Hanzo
Storm Arrows
- Damage increased from 60 to 70
This change is actually a reversal of a previous nerf where the damage was reduced to 60. It has simply been made clear that the agile archer needs extra damage. That's it, now expect a lot of Hanzo mains again.
Genji
Shuriken
General
- Damage increased from 28 to 30
Secondary Fire
- Spread reduced from 12 to 9
Deflect
- Duration increased from 1.5 to 2 seconds
- Can now be canceled manually
Genji's melee combat has been properly strengthened: more damage, more precise targeting, longer attack duration. Especially nice, however, is the manual cancel of Deflect, which offers a lot more control and makes Genji players more unpredictable.
Nerf in Overwatch Patch 2.91
Once again the new addition to the Overwatch Hero Pool takes a hit. This time the robot lady is losing range.
Echo
Focusing Beam
- Range reduced from 20 to 16 meters
This means that Echo can no longer feel as safe in fights because in order to do any real damage she has to get closer to her enemies. Besides these balance changes, there were some bugfixes. These and the complete Overwatch Patch Notes can be found on Blizzard's official website.
- READ MORE: Overwatch Anniversary Review
That's it for this Overwatch update. Echo is still playable for now, but Blizzard sure are making it hard to say that after each patch. Until the next one!
Expect further Overwatch updates and make sure to check out EarlyGame where you'll find more news and videos from the world of gaming and esports.
