Overwatch Feb 6 PTR patch notes: massive Brigitte nerfs & Symmetra buffs

Michael Gwilliam

A new Overwatch patch hit the Public Test Realm on February 6 featuring some major nerfs to Brigitte and a sizable buff to Symmetra’s damage.

With Hero Pools scheduled to hit the live version of the game in Season 21, Blizzard promised more frequent balance changes in an attempt to radically alter the meta quickly.

In this PTR patch, three heroes were hit with nerfs: Wrecking Ball, Brigitte and Widowmaker. Meanwhile, Symmetra had her alternate fire damage increased from 120 to 140.

Bad news, Ball mains. Hammond’s pile driver has been nerfed.

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With this buff, Symmetra now has the highest damaging non-headshot projectile in the game. The second are Junkrat’s grenades, which deal 130 upon impact.

For Wrecking Ball, his pile driver ability has gotten a big nerf with players now gaining back control after half a second. Previously, players lost control for one second.

Brigitte’s over-heal from repair pack was changed from 75 armor to 50, which will make flankers a bit easier to kill when the repair pack is applied to them.

Brigitte’s healing suffered a major blow.

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With Overwatch League teams preparing for their season debuts on February 8, rumors are suggesting that Brigitte is very strong when paired alongside a Lucio and that teams have been running this combo in scrims. This could be why the developers have chosen to nerf the shield-based support a bit.

Of course, no nerf or buff is set in stone. As we saw recently, McCree’s health increase to 250 HP never hit the live servers after being tested on the PTR.

For fans of Brigitte, you can only hope that the same doesn’t happen to your hero, while the opposite can be said for Symmetra mains wanting to inflict even more damage on their adversaries.

Widowmaker players will take a bit longer to fully charge their shots.

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Here are the full February 6 patch notes:

HERO UPDATES

Wrecking Ball

Piledriver

  • Loss of air control reduced from 1 second to 0.5 seconds

Brigitte

Repair Pack

  • Armor over-heal reduced from 75 armor to 50 armor
  • HPS decreased from 60 to 55

Symmetra

Photon Projector (Secondary Fire)

  • Damage increased from 120 to 140

Widowmaker

Widow’s Kiss (Primary Fire)

  • Full charge time increased from 0.83 sec to 1 sec

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About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam