Ahead of the upcoming update V1.41, Blizzard has confirmed there will be an upcoming tide of nerfs, balancing changes, and gameplay upgrades, which include a heavy-handed focus on Support turned DPS character Symmetra.

If you’re an Overwatch fan, you already know that nerf’s seem to be a regular issue with the game. Balancing fixes are a big part of the patching criteria, allowing Blizzard to attempt to find a middle ground for fans to enjoy, giving them something to look forward to as each update rolls out in a rather frequent basis.

However, this latest one is the biggest yet. In many ways, it’s being viewed as a “Remaster” of Overwatch. The developer is attempting to find a way to make the game what they had ultimately envisioned for their fans, giving them new heroes, new maps, and plenty of new content to enjoy as each year comes and goes.

While there are many nerfs that are well intended, such as a small cooldown on Sigma’s Experimental Barrier, one nerf that has us confused is headed in the direction of Symmetra, the one character who seems to be unable to catch a break no matter what patch the Overwatch community manages to get.

While the nerf could be seen as minor by many, it still has the community torn in half whether or not she should get the changes she will be getting. Let’s take a look at these changes really quick:

Photon Barrier

• Duration reduced from 15 to 12 seconds
• Health reduced from 5000 to 4000

Sentry Turret

• Damage per second reduced from 50 to 40

Photon Projector

• Players impacted by the primary fire beam should now hear a louder impact sound

As seen above, Symmetra’s nerf isn’t the worst out there, but for many, it could be problematic. She’s already an easy character to control once teams begin to tear down any offensive capabilities she actually has. Her sentry turrets are easy to destroy, making them easy to reduce her overall damage by a rather large margin.

Her Photon Barrier is easy to move past with a well-coordinated team, which allows players to choose what side they want to fight on, when on the opposite team. After all, you can wait out her ultimate, making it almost impossible for her or her team to take advantage of.

Sigma isn’t coming out of this unscathed either. In fact, he could be seeing one of the biggest nerfs yet, which could very well see a change in how players use him as he is one of the most capable of shield-tanks yet.

The change comes in the fact that Sigma will see his Experimental Barrier get a 1-second cooldown, making it so that Sigma mains will have to coordinate their shield withdrawals a bit better than before. The cast time, however, has been removed from its original 0.2 second timer.

Along with the change to his Experimental Barrier comes Kinetic Grasp, which can no longer block abilities such as Whip Shot or Roadhog’s Chain Hook, making it so Sigma players will once again, need to learn how to time their ability usage a little better than before.

For those wondering what kind of changes are headed to Sigma, you can see the full changelog for Sigma as released by Blizzard down below:

Kinetic Grasp

• No longer blocks Chain Hook and Whip Shot

Gravitic Flux

• High gravity effect duration reduced from 1.2 to 0.9 seconds

Experimental Barrier

• Regeneration rate reduced from 175 to 150 per second
• Now has a 1-second cooldown after recalling the barrier
• Initial 0.2 second cast time removed

While many of the changes to two of the primarily played characters at this time do seem a bit harsh, you still have time before the patch actually goes live, which is said to be the biggest yet for the game. You can read the full patch notes today as V1.41 is now live on the PTR for testing.

Overwatch is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One today, with a Nintendo Switch version launching on October 15th, 2019. You can pre-order today via the Nintendo eShop or a local retailer for $39.99 USD.

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About the Writer(s):

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the borders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter or Facebook.