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Overwatch June 20 Patch: 5 things to know

Here’s what you need to know before you queue up for a game on the new patch.

Blizzard has just released a new Overwatch patch for June 20, also known as Patch 1.12.0.2. We here at Heroes Never Die have collected the five most important things that you should know before jumping in.

This patch adds a new map and re-balances some of our favorite heroes. There are also some great quality of life changes to the user interface, and of course, some changes to loot. If you had your eye on the Heroes of the Storm skins but really didn’t want to play it, have I got good news for you.

For a full list the Patch 1.12.0.2 changes, check out our post here.

1. New map: Horizon Lunar Colony

Overwatch has a new map! This is an assault map (meaning 2 capture points, like Hanamura) that takes place on the damn moon. There are tons of interesting lore things going on in this map that are definitely worth checking out. Blizzard was also kind enough to give us a look-see into the development process for Lunar Horizon. If you love Winston, space or peanut butter, this map is probably for you.

Tougher targets can’t be one-shot anymore.
Roadhog can still eliminate Zenyatta reliably.
Blizzard Entertainment

2. Roadhog nerfed ... kinda

Overwatch has always struggled with the Pig Man. He is one of the game’s most iconic characters and beloved by everyone who hates playing against Pharah, Tracer and Lucio as much as we do. But Roadhog has always been a little on the OP side, and his hook was a death sentence for anyone who got grabbed. Blizzard has messed with his hook before, and with that under control, it’s time to take a look at the rest of the one man apocalypse.

With this patch, Roadhog has been nerfed. His bullet damage on his scrap gun has been reduced by about a third. However, his fire-rate has been increased by 30%, his head hit-box has been reduced (making it harder to hit) and his scrap gun can hold five shots instead of four. He should do less instant damage now while still remaining competitive.

3. McCree and Reaper might get played again soon

McCree has long had one of Overwatch’s easiest to counter ultimate abilities. A one shot ability sounds strong, but Deadeye often took far too long to charge up to ever get meaningful damage out, which instead led to a dead McCree as soon as he let everyone know what time it was. Thankfully, Blizzard is making amends to this by allowing McCree to do 60 more damage over the first second of Deadeye than he used to. This should help the Cowboy lock onto targets faster, while not going overboard or making it too easy to use a fully charged ultimate.

On the Reaper side of this patch there’s a whole new way to heal as everyone’s favorite Shotgun Wraith gets 20% of all damage done to heroes back as health. This replaces Reaper’s old orb based healing mechanic — which was feeling a little stale anyway. This change should catapult Reaper back to the top of the tank killer rankings, and maybe back into more competitive games.

4. Career stats got a lot easier to read

Overwatch’s career stats page was always a fun look back through how your games had gone since you started, but it was always better for warm feelings than it was for real information. With that in mind Blizzard has found a healthy middle ground in the latest updates to the stats page.

Perhaps the most major change is throwing out the old “Damage Done” stat and replacing it with two categories, “Hero Damage Done” and “Barrier Damage Done,” this split should help tell you where your damage is going and how useful it is.

Similarly simplified categories include a new tab for “All Modes” and “All Competitive Seasons” that will allow you a better overview of your performance in those modes.

Officer D.Va is on the case.
Do you know how fast you were opening those loot crates?
Blizzard Entertainment

5. Officer D.VA and Oni Genji available to all

Turns out Blizzard has discovered that these two skins were too dang cool to hide away in a Heroes of the Storm event. As a result, Officer D.VA and Oni Genji have been added to classic loot boxes. This means that you should be able to get them through traditional means, including gold. Now can laugh at all your friends who spent hours playing 15 minute bot games in Heroes of the Storm. Silly MOBA people.

Update: We were wrong when we wrote you’d have to wait a week to get the new map in ranked games; Horizon will be available in competitive play without the week wait time.