A new Overwatch patch is currently in development and now available for testing on the Public Test Region. For information on how to participate and what changes are included in the upcoming patch, read on below.

Mission details:

• How to Participate
• PTR FAQ
• PTR Patch Notes

If you encounter any game-related bugs while playing the PTR, please post in the PTR Bug Report forum.

To participate in the public test, you must have an Overwatch game license for Windows PC attached your Battle.net account in good standing (i.e. it hasn't been suspended or banned). 

Step 1: Restart the Battle.net desktop app.
Step 2: Navigate to the Overwatch tab on the left-hand menu.
Step 3: Select "PTR: Overwatch" from the REGION/ACCOUNT drop-down menu.
Step 4: Click "Install" to begin the installation process.
Step 5: Once the PTR client is installed and updated, click "Play" to begin!

Note: In order to access the PTR, you must have installed Overwatch and logged into the game at least once. If the PTR is not available for you after following the steps above, trying logging into Overwatch, exiting the game client, and then launching the PTR again.

Q. On which platforms is the PTR available?
A. The PTR is available on Windows PC only. 

Q. What regions are eligible to participate in the PTR?
A. Accounts from all regions (excluding China) are eligible to participate; however, the PTR will be hosted on our Americas region. As a result, if you plan to play the PTR from a region outside the US, please anticipate lowered performance and increased latency. 

Q. Is there a cap to how many players can participate on the PTR?
A. The PTR can currently support 10k concurrent players (or players logged into the PTR at the same time). If we happen to reach this cap, any new players attempting to log in to the PTR will be placed into a queue.

Q. What languages will be supported on the PTR?
A. The PTR is available in all supported languages, though some content may not be fully localized yet.

Q. Will any account progress from the live game transfer over to the PTR with me, or do I need to start from scratch?
A. A copy of your account from the live game will be transferred over to the PTR automatically, and all progress will transfer over with it (level, unlocks, stats, etc). Please note that this copy is pre-made, though, and based on an earlier snapshot of your account.  As a result, depending on when you last played, your PTR account may not be as up-to-date as your live game account.

Q. Will any progress I make on the PTR transfer over to the live game? 
A. No. Any progression earned during the PTR—including levels, achievements, stats, skill ratings, loot boxes (including rewards from loot boxes), currency (including Competive Points), and cosmetic items unlocked with currency—will not transfer over to the live game.

Q. Will I be able to purchase Loot Boxes on the PTR?
A. No. All real-money purchases are disabled on the PTR. 

Q. Where can I share feedback about the upcoming patch content?
A. This iteration of the PTR is intended to make sure the upcoming patch is working correctly before it's released, so we'll be primarily focused on uncovering major bugs and technical issues. Though you are still welcome to share your feedback through our normal channels, it's unlikely that we'll be able to incorporate changes based on PTR feedback in this patch cycle.

Please note that the below patch notes only include changes currently available for testing on the PTR. While many of these changes will also be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in a future patch, the PTR is PC-only and therefore will only reflect changes coming specifically to that platform.

To share your feedback or report and issue, please post in the PTR Feedback or PTR Bug Report forums.

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

New Hero: Moira (Support)

Wielding both regenerative and degenerative technologies at her fingertips, Moira O’Deorain is Talon’s ambitious geneticist who seeks to rewrite the building blocks of humanity by any means necessary.

Moira’s cutting-edge capabilities make her a mobile healer and damage dealer capable of adapting to any situation. Her main attack is Biotic Grasp, which she can use to either heal allies or sap an enemy’s life force. Biotic Grasp’s primary fire sprays a cone of energy that heals all teammates within range, draining biotic energy while active, which will replenish slowly over time. Her alternate fire is a beam that tethers to the closest enemy, dealing damage and siphoning health. Draining her foes’ health regenerates Moira’s biotic energy even faster, allowing more healing for her allies.

Her Biotic Orb ability launches a sphere of energy that bounces around the battlefield, healing nearby allies or damaging enemies until it dissipates. Fade enables Moira to disappear out of sight and into the shadows, granting her a sprint and making her invulnerable for its duration. When Moira’s ultimate is ready to be unleashed, she can cast Coalescence—a powerful, long-range beam of chaotic energy that pierces through barriers to heal allies or damage enemies in its path.

To learn more about Moira, click here.

HERO UPDATES

Ana

• Biotic Rifle
  • Damage increased from 60 to 70

Developer Comment: Ana has been outshined by other support heroes lately. Boosting her damage will help her defend herself and make her more threatening to the enemy team.

Mercy

• Resurrect
  • Cast time increased from 0 seconds to 1.75 seconds
  • Mercy’s movement speed is now reduced by 75% while casting
  • Can now be interrupted when Mercy is knocked back, stunned, or hacked
• Valkyrie
  • When activated, Resurrection no longer has a cast time
  • While active, casting Resurrect does not reduce Mercy's movement speed

Developer Comment: We feel that Mercy’s recent rework has been successful, but her Resurrect ability still feels too strong and frustrating to play against. Now that it has a cast time, there is more room for enemies to counter the ability. However, casting Resurrect happens instantly when Valkyrie is active. This should make her feel powerful when she transforms on the battlefield.

Moira

• The volume on healing sound effects has been increased
• Added Biotic Orb and Coalescence kill feed icons

BUG FIXES

General

• Fixed several issues that prevented the announcer voice lines from playing correctly in Competitive, Elimination, and Capture the Flag game modes
• Fixed a bug that caused the announcer’s “player eliminated” voice line to play for the eliminated player
• Fixed a bug that caused the announcer’s attack and defense voice lines to play for the incorrect team
• Fixed a bug that prevented players from progressing past the Helix Rocket demonstration in the tutorial

A.I.

• Fixed an issue that affected the Bastion Bot’s movement when defending Objective A on Eichenwalde
• Fixed a bug that prevented bots from defending Objective A on certain maps

Heroes

• Fixed a bug that caused Genji’s Dragonblade to remain visible if he was killed after activating his ultimate and then resurrected by Mercy
• Fixed an issue that prevented Junkrat’s RIP-Tire from casting properly while jumping
• Fixed an issue causing Roadhog’s Chain Hook to latch on to enemy players for longer than intended
• Fixed an issue that made Roadhog’s Chain Hook appear to come from off screen
• Fixed a bug that caused Biotic Orb to become unusable if Moira was killed while canceling the cast
• Fixed a bug that caused Moira's Coalescence animation to play only on the first cast of each game
• Fixed a bug that prevented Moira's Biotic Orb from correctly healing bots in various scenarios
• Fixed a bug that allowed Moira to unintentionally heal or gain biotic energy by draining player abilities such as Mei's Ice Wall and Junkrat's Steel Trap
• Fixed a crash that could occur when Torbjörn was selected and used in a match

Maps

• Fixed a bug that caused some objects to uncharacteristically fly across the room when shot on Horizon Lunar Colony