Katia Lunsford

When attackers outnumber defenders while taking a control point on Assault, Escort and Assault/Escort maps, the defenders’ respawn time will slowly increase until it hits a maximum value or the defense manages to gain the upper hand.

Developer Comments: Until now, stalling an attack by repeatedly throwing yourself at the point has been a common defensive strategy on Assault, Escort and Assault/Escort maps—even when the attackers have a decisive advantage. Typically, this tactic doesn’t change the outcome of battle; it simply delays the attackers’ progr

Healing boost on allies has been decreased by 50%

**Developer Comments: ** The healing boost from Ana’s Biotic Grenade was providing too much healing, especially when used on targets with large health po

Bastion takes 35% less damage while in Configuration: Sentry or Tank

Developer Comments: The goal of these changes is to move some of Bastion's power from Configuration: Sentry to Recon, while keeping its sentry mode a strong option, especially versus tanks and barriers. Overall, Bastion should feel stronger and more flexible with these chan

The time it takes to hack a target has been decreased from 1 second to 0.8 seconds

**Developer Comments: ** Sombra often had difficulty hacking enemies, even when she surprised the target. This change should help her execute hacks more eas

The update also brings the usual slab of hero changes, including a lot of love for Bastion. Aiming to make the character more self-sufficient, Blizzard have buffed the character heavily. For example, when in sentry mode or in Ultimate, he takes 35 percent less damage, he can enter Sentry Mode quicker and has a larger magazine in that form. However, it's not all love and buffs for the guy. Blizzard have also dealt him an increase in bullet spread, and he now can't deal critical hits while in Sentry Mode. His Ultimate also no longer provides bonus ar

Early in the year, Firewatch immersed me in one of my absolute favorite stories of the year in the American wilderness, while Far Cry Primal took me back to a more brutal time period. In the spring and summer, DOOM brought me into a roaring rendition of Hell that I will never forget, and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End concluded an epic adventure that came once in a generation. For the fall and early winter, Gears of War 4 brought high-octane action, Dishonored 2 gave me contemplative stealth action, and Watch Dogs 2 provided __ open-world action in a vast, colorful setting of San Franci

Allows players to adjust targeting sensitivity on Mercy’s Caduceus Staff beams

Developer Comments: Mercy’s Resurrect has always been very powerful, but it often forces her to sacrifice herself to use it well. There have been changes in the past that attempted to help her in this area, but haven’t done enough to solve it. This change means that once she uses the ability, she will always survive long enough to be with her team ag

Enemy shots no longer need to travel a minimum distance before they can be blocked

Developer Comments: Previously, there was a minimum distance a projectile had to travel before it could be destroyed by Defense Matrix. This made it nearly worthless in situations where an enemy was right next to your teammate, such as when Roadhog hooks your ally. This change removes that restriction so Defense Matrix should now reliably destroy projectiles regardless of how far they have trave

As Blizzard's first foray into a first-person shooter -- and built from the remains of its long-gestating MMORPG Project Titan -- Overwatch is both classically "Blizzard" and yet an entirely new and fresh experience from the company's previous franchises: especially as the first company's first new franchise since StarCraft debuted in 1998. With that kind of history and development behind it, Overwatch is as much a title that honors the numerous games and genres that influenced it, while forging ahead a path as one of the most exciting and fresh multiplayer titles I've played in quite some time. Coming from the house that built games like Warcraft , Diablo , and StarCraft this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, though (in my eyes) Overwatch 's key attribute comes down to one thing: accessibil

Skill ratings below 500 will no longer be displayed.

Developer Comments: We’ve noticed that some players have been deliberately throwing their matches in an effort to reach the lowest attainable skill rating. We obviously don’t want to incentivize this behavior, because Competitive Play works best when everybody is try

BEST TECHNOLOGY Battlefield 1 (EA DICE / Electronic Arts) No Man’s Sky (Hello Games) Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment) DOOM (id Software / Bethesda Softworks) Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Honorable Mentions: Inside (Playdead), Pokemon Go (Niantic), The Last Guardian (JAPAN Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment), fps game story Guide Dishonored 2 (Arkane Studios / Bethesda Softworks), The Witness (The