Overwatch April 6 update adds Archives event, nerfs Mei: patch notes

❘ Updated: 2021-04-06T18:32:14

Blizzard Entertainment

A new Overwatch patch has just gone live on PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Nintendo Switch bringing in the 2021 Archives event, new skins, a new competitive mode and a decent nerf to Mei with a bug fix.

The Archives event is considered one of the best Overwatch has to offer with three PvE missions: Uprising, Retribution and Storm Rising. While the three missions have been the same for over a year now, players now have more reason to play through special skin unlocks.

The big theme for this event is history, and while the past events dug into Overwatch lore, this time, the skins are meant to be historical themselves, such as having Soldier take the role of a soldier from the year 1776 or Cavalry Tracer.

Additionally, this patch is bringing back Competitive 6v6 Lockout Elimination with season 4, so players looking to finally earn that Top 500 player icon will have their chance.

There are three missions to choose from with Archives.

While this event may not have any major buffs or nerfs, there is a pretty big bug fix that should make Mei a bit more bearable, even as she remains a strong hero in the current meta.

Read More: College Overwatch team shows the craziest Widowmaker counter yet

Prior to this patch, players who were frozen by Mei’s Blizzard ultimate would remain frozen even when they were unlocked out of it. This change fixes that bug, which is actually a pretty nice nerf to the annoying ice hero.

Zarya was also hit with a bit of a fix when combined with Winston. Previously, a Primal Raging Winston would be knocked back when affected by a Zarya Projected Barrier. This patch fixes that problem.

Full patch notes:

Overwatch Archives 2021

Experience the past. Fight for the future.

Find out how heroes made history as we take another trip through the Overwatch Archives from April 6 – April 27. Dive into story-driven co-op missions from pivotal moments in the past, test your mettle against new deadly new Challenge Mission modifiers, and earn historically-inspired loot along the way!

Competitive Update

Season 4 of Competitive 6v6 Lockout Elimination has begun!

General Updates

Nvidia Reflex

Added Nvidia Reflex support for PC users with supported Nvidia GPUs. Enabling Reflex from the graphics options screen can reduce input latency. Reflex enabled GPUs can also enable the flash indicator option to aid in measuring input latency when using Reflex Latency Analyzer equipped monitors, more details can be found in our technical support forums.

Bug Fixes

General

Fixed a bug that caused specific ability effects to persist on targets after a player swaps off the hero that applied the effect
Fixed a bug that prevented players from using the escape menu to leave a custom game under certain circumstances
Fixed a bug that would cause heroes to become stuck against some buildings in midair
Fixed a bug with the Bounty Hunter game mode that caused Sombra to be detected when invisible if the Bounty Target buff expires
Fixed a bug that caused player ragdoll models to fall through the terrain when skipping kill cam playback
Fixed a bug that caused heroes knocked back by Doomfist’s Rocket Punch to not always break railings
Fixed a bug when calculating the “Weapon Accuracy – Best” stat

Maps

Dorado

Fixed a bug that allowed players to grapple to an unintended location

Heroes

Echo

Fixed a bug that caused Echo Duplication visual effects to not appear properly in high resolution screenshots

Mei

Fixed a bug that caused enemies to remain frozen during Blizzard after they were knocked out of the area of effect

Symmetra

Fixed a bug that allowed her turrets to be placed in unintended locations

Winston

Fixed a bug that allowed Winston to be knocked back during Primal Rage while being affected by Zarya’s Projected Barrier

Workshop

Fixed a bug where the Create Dummy Bot action did not work for slots 13 through 23 (when the Spawn More Dummy Bots extension was enabled)