Breaking Down The Overwatch Developer Update

This new Overwatch Developer Update had one focus and that’s Torbjorn. Torbjorn is a character that has been in the game from the very start. Jeff Kaplin shared some news on his first major rework since the game released back on May 24, 2016. According to the video uploaded to the PlayOverwatch YouTube Channel, Jeff Kaplin says

“Torb isn’t going to drastically change, he isn’t going to do wildly new things but he is going to do a few new things.”

So no, maybe Torbjorn isn’t going to be able to finally ride his turret like one of his highlight reels but he won’t be the same old Torbjorn. Now that you have the build-up, let’s break down this developer update. That’s totally some Torbjorn wordplay by the way.

Anyway, the first thing Kaplin mentions without question in this developer update is that armor packs are now going to be a thing of the past. The armor pack is Torbjorn’s second ability next to building a turret of course. And since the armor packs are gone that means the scrap will be too. Torbjorn will no longer be able to get scrappy.

In its place, Torbjorn will now possess an ability called “Overload”. Jeff goes on to say that this ability will be similar to his “old ultimate”. Yes, you read that correctly, Torbjorn will have a new ultimate, read further to find out more. His new “Overload” ability will give him bonus movement speed, damage resistance, and a firing rate increase.

Now, as I just mentioned old Torb will be getting a new ultimate but Blizzard has decided to keep the name of it “Molten Core.” According to the developer update, his new Molten Core ultimate lets him use his claw to shoot out pools of lava that will deal area of effect damage. These pools of lava will also do extra damage against heroes with armor.

Next, Kaplin goes on to say Torbjorn’s turrets will no longer have three levels. Instead, it will immediately be a level two turret that he can now chuck with a little distance. When it’s deployed, it goes through a fast build time. Ultimately, Kaplin says the main goal is to make Torbjorn a more viable pick on both offense and defense.

Torbjorn aside, there is another main change within this developer update and that’ making the game more colored blind friendly. Jeff Kaplin says there will be options to change the color of say, character silhouettes to make it easier.

Besides usual character patches, Kaplin doesn’t give too much away. He mentions a change to Orisa’s gun and he talks about making Pharah playable again. The last big thing he really gets into is the Halloween event.

Junkenstein’s revenge will make a return, with little to no changes. Furthermore, he mentions Junkenstein’s getting a bride and that will be one of the skins. Finally, Jeff starts talking about a new social feature that he wishes he could’ve added earlier.

Your guess is as good as mine on what that could be. For more Overwatch news, stick around on TheNerdStash.

Jabari Walker

Jabari doesn’t usually talk in the third person but he’s doing it for this bio. He’s a Broadcast Journalism student studying at SUNY Plattsburgh and his interests go well beyond what’s learned in the classroom. Of course, he loves video games but Jabari also enjoys watching films and dabbling in film making. One of his favorite shows is The Walking Dead and he’s been watching the show since day one of its release! When Jabari isn’t being a total nerd he’s playing Ultimate Frisbee or hanging out with friends.