The beta is back and everyone's playing once more; all is well in OverwatchLand. There are a multitude of changes this time around including hero rebalancing, quality of life changes, and two new maps with a new game mode attached! New and old beta participants alike might have a bit of trouble keeping up with it all. This guide should help you survive your return to (or beginning of) the Overwatch beta.
The Turret Trio's changes and how to counter them
If you've read the patch notes (and I highly recommend that you do) you know that the Turret Trio got some very interesting changes. Bastion and Torbjorn especially have been reworked to even their effectiveness at all skill levels. Symmetra was also changed, but much more mildly, simply making her slightly less annoying to deal with.
Bastion
Bastion was the black sheep of the Overwatch cast pre hiatus. He was laughably ineffective at high skill levels, but could wreck a pub game like no other. In order to make him more well rounded, Blizzard has allowed Bastion full range of motion while in his turret mode, while also giving him a substantial armor health pool. They've also buffed his self heal to 25% of max health per second, but removed his forward facing shield to compensate.
The power of his shots has been nerfed as well to ensure he isn't broken, but Bastion can now be a lot more flexible with his positioning. This all sounds really strong, and it is, but he can be beaten the same old way. If you're able to catch him from behind, his exposed core will take triple damage. Just like a typical boss battle, hitting his weak point for massive damage is the best way to deal with him. Characters that are excellent flankers like Genji, Tracer, and Reaper all handle him very well.
Torbjorn
Similarly to Bastion, Torbjorn was a monster against uncoordinated pubs, but fell way off in competitive play. To bring him up to the balance of other characters, Blizzard has made him more powerful by himself, and changed the way most of his abilities work. Himself and his turrets are now far stronger independently with buffs to his main weapon and his turret damage. His ult has also been changed, instead automatically upgrading the turret to level three (you can no longer build level three turrets) and giving you the armor and attack speed. It does however, no longer grant scrap or cooldown reduction.
Basically Torbjorn no longer has to straight up babysit his turret to be effective since the upgrades are free and he can rebuild them with ease. With a stronger attack, and much better support to the team with armor pack buffs, Torbjorn is a great benefit to a team trying to lock down an area. Pharah and Genji are likely the best counters for him still, since they can easily outrange both him and his turret.
Symmetra
While she didn't get a significant rework, I think it's important to note her change. Symmetra no longer generates ult charge while a teleporter is up. This not only reduces annoyance, it also makes finding one of those little red nuisances all the more satisfying. While she can still put them out frequently, this should make things a little easier for teams going up against her.
Old staples are now less powerful
Reinhardt, D.VA, and Mercy were absolutely godly in the last edition of the Overwatch beta. Over and over again players would be faced with a seemingly impenetrable wall of defense grids and earthquakes. It felt like attacking a brick wall. With changes to both of these 'conal' abilities, (read: nerfs) it should be much easier to deal with D.VA stall tactics and Reinhardt will have a much harder time turning you into paste.
But what about if I wipe half their team? Are they gonna stay dead this time? Well while Mercy can still pull off some impressive feats of medicine, she puts herself at a much greater risk while doing so. Her ult range has been reduced severely making her a lot more susceptible when using it. Mercy mains be warned: you will be hunted.
New maps, new ways to crush your foes
Both of the new maps are part of a new game mode 'Control'. It's a king of the hill style game mode where both teams are simultaneously on offense and defense. At the start, both teams rush to the point to prepare, but neither team can cap before it goes active. During this early phase, getting a few kills on the enemy is essential to securing the point for your team first.
Once it's secure, try and push forward so that you can keep the enemy away from it. If they're trapped at spawn, there's no chance they can recap it and you pretty much have an instant win. Overtime on this game mode is hectic and can last for several minutes. If both teams are at 99 and are both on top of it, the timer will not go down. Even if only one team is on it, it still takes time for them to cap it so it ends up being a back and forth slog before one team finally gets an advantage.
Heroes that are self sufficient are very effective on these maps. Reaper, Soldier 76, Roadhog, Mei, Tracer, and all of the healers can easily sustain themselves during these wars of attrition and simply outlast the other team.
Progressing towards a flashier tomorrow
During your many triumphs and defeats, you slowly rank up. with each rank comes a new crate of loot with four random cosmetics for your heroes. These are incredibly amazing. Between emotes, voice lines, sprays, and skins, there is plenty to look forward to when leveling up your account.
As I wrap up this guide, I'd like to direct your attention to what I believe is essential to success in Overwatch. Without this one thing I don't think anyone would be able to win any games. So important is it to your success, that I'm surprised Blizzard doesn't give it out to everyone:
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