Overwatch's Update 1.9 Is Now Live On All Platforms, Includes New Hero Orisa, Balance Changes
Joe Pring Mar 21, 2017 3:27 pm 2017-03-21T16:07:33-05:00
Overwatch's update 1.9 is now live on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, bringing with it new roster addition Orisa as well as a raft of adjustments to existing characters. Tackling the biggest news first, Orisa joins the likes of Reinhardt, Winston and D.Va as the sixth tank hero for the shooter and has access to all kinds of neat tricks and abilities with which to defend her teammates.
Built from the scraps of Numbani's OR15 defense robots by child genius Efi Odalele, Orisa is still in the process of learning how to optimally perform her role as a guardian, says Blizzard, although she makes up for her inexperience with a "steadfast dedication" to keeping both her creator and her city safe. Helping her to do that are abilities such as Fortify, which boosts Orisa's personal defense, reducing the damage she takes for a period of time, as well as Protective Barrier, a device that can be thrown in front of teammates and deploys into a curved barrier that shields them from harm.
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Complementing her defensive kit, Orisa's also able to churn out an alarming amount of damage quickly thanks to her Fusion Driver, a rapid-fire gun with good range and accuracy even at long distances. To balance out that frightening combat efficiency, the quadruped bot's movement speed while firing is reduced, and the time required to reload means players will need to time their engagements wisely. Rounding out her moveset is the ultimate ability Supercharger, a high-powered device that provides buffs to all allies within its range, increasing their damage. To see all of the above in action, check out the trailer above.
As for the rest of the update, various tweaks have been made to existing characters in order to reduce or improve their effectiveness, including a damage reduction on Ana's Biotic Rifle, a slight reversion of Bastion's previous buffs and putting a halt to Junkrat being able to harm himself with his own explosives.
Most of the changes are final iterations of those Blizzard has previously tested via Overwatch's PTR servers, so don't be surprised if you've seen a lot of them before. Regardless, you can head over to the official site to peruse the notes at your leisure. Enjoy!
Source: PlayOverwatch