As many had suspected, following Blizzard’s tease earlier this week, a new map has arrived for Overwatch, moving the action off-world to Earth’s moon instead. Horizon Lunar Colony, as it’s so-called, has been made available on the shooter’s PTR (Public Test Region) server as part of the latest patch, which also brings with it a raft of changes for a handful of heroes.
But first things first. In case you missed the teaser, Horizon Lunar Colony was originally established as an institute of scientific discovery and a “first step” towards renewing humanity’s interest in exploring space. While yielding promising results, life on the station took an abrupt turn, with communications between itself and Earth subsequently breaking down. Find the official lore description, courtesy of Blizzard, below.
Built as a first step towards humanity’s renewed exploration of space, the Horizon Lunar Colony’s goal was to examine the effects of prolonged extraterrestrial habitation—on human and ape alike. The scientists’ research proved incredibly promising…until, suddenly, all contact and communications with the base were lost.
As per usual, PC players who have access to Overwatch‘s PTR server can try out the new arena before it arrives on the live servers, but that’s not the only thing that needs testing. Significant adjustments have been made to McCree, Reaper and Roadhog in order to make for a less frustrating experience whilst piloting them, one of which includes a total rework of Reaper’s passive healing ability. You can find the specific tweaks to each hero below, or head over here for the full list of patch notes.
McCree – Deadeye
- Targets now begin locking after 0.2 seconds, instead of 0.8 seconds
- Damage accumulated over the first 1.0 seconds increased from 20 to 80 (damage per second after the first 1.0 seconds is unchanged)
Reaper – The Reaping (Passive)
- Removed health orbs
- Now regains 20% of all damage done to heroes as health
Roadhog
- Head hitbox size reduced by 20%
- Scrap Gun bullet damage decreased by 33%
- Fire rate increased by 30%
- Clip size increased from 4 to 5
Blizzard has yet to indicate when all of the above is likely to make its way to the live servers, but, judging by how these things usually go – and barring any unforeseen issues – we’re probably looking at a couple of weeks. Chances are, it will coincide with the conclusion of Overwatch‘s current Anniversary event, which ends June 12.