Blizzard released a PTR patch today that will preview their season 2 ranking system. The patch also included a huge range of buffs and nerfs that are sure to shake up the current meta.
Blizzard has released a gigantic patch on their public test realm today. The changes include the massive overhaul of the ranking system and a series of buffs and nerfs that will drastically rebalance the game. Blizzard has decided for season 2 of competitive play that players will be ranked in tiers as well as skill rating. Instead of the old 1-100 rating system, it will now be 1-5000 and tiers from Bronze to Grand Master. Once you have achieved a tier, you can’t fall out of it even if your rating falls below that tier. Master and Grand Master are exceptions to this rule.
Among the heroes being buffed in this patch are Mercy and Mei. Mercy’s healing per second has been increased to cement her role as a strong single target healer and the radius of Mei’s ultimate has been increased to a huge 10 meters. These changes will certainly do a lot to make these heroes more widely used. Among the nerfs, however, are McCree, Zenyatta, Lucio and most heavily nerfed is Genji.
For the complete patch notes, click here.
Patch Notes
Competitive Play
- Skill rating is now measured on a 1-5000 scale instead of the former 1-100 scale
- Skill Rating Tiers
- Players will now be assigned to a tier, depending on their skill rating
- Bronze - 1-1499
- Silver - 1500-1999
- Gold - 2000-2499
- Platinum - 2500-2999
- Diamond - 3000-3499
- Master - 3500-3999
- Grandmaster - 4000-5000
- In Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond tiers, a player will not drop out of their tier even if their skill rating falls below the cutoff
- In Master and Grandmaster tiers, a player whose skill rating falls below the tier's minimum
- Players will now be assigned to a tier, depending on their skill rating
HERO BALANCE UPDATES
Mei
- Blizzard
- The Blizzard projectile now pierces barriers
- Radius has been increased from 8 meters to 10 meters
McCree
- Deadeye
- Now drains over a .25-second period (instead of displaying a 50% reduction on the ultimate meter when activated and 0% when confirmed)
Genji
- Double jump no longer resets when wall climbing
- Dash
- No longer deals damage to traps like Widowmaker's Venom Mine or Junkrat's Steel Trap
- No longer bypasses Junkrat's Steel Trap
- Swift Strike
- No longer interrupts quick melee attacks
- Dragonblade
- Duration of Genji's ultimate has been reduced from 8 seconds to 6 seconds
Lúcio
- Amp It Up
- The boosting of movement speed has been decreased by 30% (from a 100% increase to a 70% increase)
Zenyatta
- Orb of Discord
- The amount of damage amplified by a target with Orb of Discord has been decreased from 50% to 30%
- Orb of Destruction
- Damage has been increased from 40 to 46
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