March 19 Overwatch update significantly buffs damage against armor for some heroes

Joe O'Brien

An Overwatch player has put together a series of comparisons to demonstrate exactly how the latest update affects the game.

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On March 19, one of the biggest patches in recent memory hit Overwatch, not only introducing a new hero but also making a huge swathe of balance adjustments.

It can be hard to visualize exactly what a change might look like in-game, however, especially for some of the more abstract or ambiguous updates such as the change to armor. To help clarify exactly what this update means in-game, u/itsjieyang put together some comparisons between the previous patch and the new state of the game.

The update made two significant updates to the way armor works. In an effort to improve the consistency of how beam-type and damage-over time damage interacts with armor, the former is now reduced by 20% in all cases, while the latter is no longer mitigated by armor at all.

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Blizzard EntertainmentThe latest update also introduced Baptiste, Overwatch’s 30th hero.

The change to beam-type damage is negligible in the cases of Symmetra, Zarya, and Moira, but it constitutes a significant buff for Winston and Mei, who were previously unduly punished by armor because of how their weapons interacted with it.

via Gfycat

The damage-over-time change is more straightforward in its impact, a direct buff to all damage-over-time effects. Naturally, this benefits the more powerful abilities, like Ashe’s Dynamite or Widowmaker’s Venom Mine, most significantly.

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via Gfycat

This isn’t the first time armor has been updated, with Blizzard also fairly recently adjusting it so that non-replenishable armor, such as the armor provided by Brigitte’s ultimate ability, Rally, always sits above recoverable health, shields, or armor, rather than being protected by recoverable shields and therefore lasting longer than it otherwise should.

The armor changes come amid a huge variety of other balance updates, so what the overall affect on the game’s meta will be remains to be seen.

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About The Author

Joe O'Brien was a veteran esports and gaming journalist, with a passion and knowledge for almost every esport, ranging from Call of Duty, to League of Legends, to Overwatch. He joined Dexerto in 2015, as the company's first employee, and helped shape the coverage for years to come.