Major Torbjorn Rework Is Live, Pharah Gets Buffs on Overwatch PTR
Overwatch’s test server got an update on Friday, bringing in a long-awaited Torbjorn overhaul as well as some changes to Pharah, other hero adjustments, and bug fixes.
Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan talked about Torbjorn’s major rework in a new Developer Update on Friday. Multiple abilities are being changed, with Torb’s armor packs and scrap system being replaced entirely.
“The goal with all of these changes is to make Torbjorn a more acceptable pick on both attack and defense and less map or role dependent than he was previously,” Kaplan said. “Hopefully we’ll see Torbjorn being played in a variety of new ways.”
Overwatch lead designer Geoff Goodman talked at length about Torb’s changes on the game forums, but here’s a breakdown of the engineer’s rework.
Rivet Gun
Torbjorn’s Rivet Gun has received a buff, which increased the primary fire projectile speed from 60 to 70 and reduced the reload time from 2.2 to 2 seconds.
Rivet Gun’s alternate fire has also been rebalanced by decreasing the recovery time between shots so that it matches the same cadence as the primary fire. Players should find the secondary fire more responsive and powerful now, despite its damage being slightly reduced.
- Recovery lowered from 0.8 to 0.6 seconds
- Total damage per shot lowered from 150 to 125
- Reload time reduced from 2.2 to 2 seconds
- Spread pattern adjusted and random spread reduced by 50%
Deploy Turret
Torbjorn’s turret is now a thrown projectile that will automatically build upon landing. Turret levels have been removed, so now the only reason to hammer the turret is to repair it. The turret will also now assist you by firing at enemies damaged by Rivet Gun’s primary fire, but it will not attempt to target enemies out of its line of sight.
The turret now takes up less of the player’s time to set up, allowing you to just toss it into position and get going. Now, the player also has more control over who the turret targets.
- Deploy Turret is now a thrown projectile
- Half cooldown begins upon deployment
- Full cooldown begins when the turret is destroyed
- A new turret cannot be placed if the turret has taken or dealt damage within the last three seconds
- New Interact input ability added to manually destroy your turret
- This gives players the ability to start the cooldown earlier if the turret is stuck in combat
- No longer explodes if Torbjorn dies while it is still building
- Turret levels removed
- Turret automatically builds over three seconds
- Deals the same amount of damage as the previous level two turret
- 250 health
Overload
Overload is a new ability that replaces Torbjorn’s Armor Pack ability. Overload bestows Torb with temporary armor along with improved movement, attack, and reload speed for a short period of time.
- Adds 150 temporary armor
- Temporarily grants 30% increased movement speed
- Temporarily grants 30% increased Rivet Gun and reload and attack speed
- Temporarily grants 30% increased Hammer attack speed
- 5 second duration and 12 second cooldown
As you can probably tell, Overload borrows from some of the functionality we remember from the old Molten Core ultimate ability and repackages it into a cooldown ability that can be used often throughout the match. This provokes a new question, though. What about new Molten Core?
Molten Core
Torbjorn’s reworked ultimate ability gives him the power to create pools of magma that will continuously deal damage to enemies. These “burning pools of molten slang” can be used in a variety of ways to control choke points, objectives, and to separate enemy players from their allies.
When the ultimate is used, Torb powers up his claw arm and enters a new weapon mode for six seconds.
- Launches up to 10 molten projectiles that spawn a damaging pool where they land
- Deals extra damage to enemies with armor (e.g. enemies affected by Brigitte’s Rally or Repair Pack)
- Bounces off walls and ceilings until coming into contact with the ground
- Base damage increases from 130 to 190 against enemies who have armor (Bastion, Brigitte, D.Va, Orisa, Reinhardt, Torbjorn, Winston, Wrecking Ball)
Torbjorn’s overhaul isn’t the only new thing on the Overwatch PTR. Blizzard also decided to roll out some anticipated Pharah adjustments this weekend. This includes a reduction in her concussive blast by three seconds, an increase in her attack speed, and a redistribution of her explosion and impact damage. Explosion knockback has also been reduced 20 per cent and Pharah’s self-knockback range has been increased by 25 per cent.
Other hero changes include:
- Brigitte – Barrier Shield health dropped from 600 to 500
- McCree – Combat Roll cooldown reduced from eight seconds to six
- Orisa – Fusion Driver spread got a 0.3 decrease
- Soldier: 76 – Heavy Pulse Rifle will have slightly more consistent damage, per developers, thanks to an increase in the amount of shots it takes to reach its maximum spread