Overwatch patch is live for Windows/Xbox One with Game Browser, Capture the Flag, and the ‘dreaded’ Bastion buff

Kit McDonald

This last week has been filled with buzz for the Overwatch community. The team-based first person shooter has been teasing its fans hard about the inevitable next hero reveal. Meanwhile, in the public test realm (PTR), new changes were preparing to make their way to the live game. Today, the 1.8.0 patch released bringing some fun and necessary changes to the game.

First off, we have the Game Browser. While this feature may seem a bit of an obvious choice for a game that relies on matchmaking, Overwatch’s recent additions of new Arcade and custom modes has made it a much-needed addition. With the server browser, players will be able to search, create, and join games with special rules, maps, and settings. Ever wanted to have a game where you could play teams of 6v6 Genji without cooldowns? Now you can find exactly that and more with little to no hassle.

As with the game itself, there isn’t any crossplay between console and PC. But that’s probably not going to get in the way of the thousands of players on both versions. Blizzard released an introductory blog post about the Game Browser today. It’s a pretty straightforward Join or Create with options, but perhaps the most titillating part is that the team intends to work on new features and options in the future.

Carrying on, the Lunar festival this month introduced a Capture the Rooster mode in Arcade. Apparently, fans really enjoyed it. Blizzard stated that it is “without a doubt Overwatch’s most popular brawl” netting it a permanent spot in Arcade mode. This time with more than just three maps to play in! Nepal, Illios, and Oasis will all three be joining the Lijiang Tower location giving you 12 maps to play Capture the Flag in.

Much of the changelog includes hero changes, bug fixes, and improvements across the board. Of course, what the community is addressing the most are the Bastion changes. If you didn’t know before, the robotic hero often sits in a corner unloading on the enemy until he’s found. But now instead of dropping like a pile of bullets without much defense, Blizzard has tweaked his playstyle.

  • Configuration: Sentry
    • Reconfiguration time decreased from 1.5 seconds to 1.0 second
    • Bullet spread increased by 50%
    • Bullet spread is always at maximum (it no longer increases as the weapon is fired)
    • Magazine size increased from 200 to 300
    • No longer deals critical damage
  • Configuration: Recon
    • Bullet spread decreased by 25%
    • Magazine size increased from 20 to 25
  • Self-Repair
    • Can now be used while moving
    • Now bound to secondary fire (formerly Ability 2)
    • No longer interrupted by taking damage
    • A new resource meter has been added that depletes while Self-Repair is active and recharges when not in use
  • Configuration: Tank
    • No longer grants bonus armor
  • New Passive Ability: Ironclad
    • Bastion takes 35% lepss damage while in Configuration: Sentry or Tank

In layman’s terms, Bastion’s is a little more versatile on the battlefield with a mobile self-repair and better defined modes. “The goal of these changes is to move some of Bastion’s power from Configuration: Sentry to Recon, while keeping its sentry mode a strong option,” the developer comments explained.

You can read the rest of the patch notes live on Battle.net or check out the action in Overwatch for yourself on Windows, Xbox One, and PS4. Maybe you’ll even get to explore the museum that the Doomfist gauntlet was stolen from before you have to take on a 6-man Bastion.