Overwatch 1.14 patch is live with Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch

News by Stephany Nunneley-Jackson Former News Editor

Published on Aug. 29, 2017

Blizzard has released patch 1.14 for Overwatch, and the update includes Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch.

In Deathmatch, eight players will fight it out until one player scores 20 points. Landing the final hit to an opponent will earn the player one point, and they will lose one point whenever they die to environmental or self-inflicted damage.

All scoring will be tracked via a new scoreboard, and a new map specifically for Deathmatch called Chateau Guillard is also available.

Chateau Guillard is located in southeastern France near Annecy, and has basically fallen to ruin. It is owned by Widowmaker, as the chateau is her ancestral home.

Team Deathmatch pits two teams of four against each other until one team scores 30 points. Like Deathmatch, players will earn one point for their team when landing the final blow, and loses a point when dying from environmental or self-inflicted damage.

Should a player be resurrected before respawn, the point for their death will be deducted from the opposing team's score. This will be tracked on the default scoreboard.

Both Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch will be available on the following maps. Modifications to many such as restricting play to a specific area have been added, along with a special respawn system. Both modes are also available for play in Custom Games.

Dorado
Eichenwalde
Hanamura
Hollywood
Horizon Lunar Colony
King’s Row
Temple of Anubis
Volskaya Industries

Only Team Deathmatch will be available on the following maps:

Black Forest
Castillo
Ecopoint: Antarctica
Necropolis

Match-wide voice chat has also been added for Deathmatch and Custom Games.

Along with the two new modes, the Overwatch patch enables player reporting on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Other changes include data format changes to help streamline the patching process by reducing the download size in future patches.

Also, an option called Aim Ease has been added under the Advanced tab in the Controller menu. This allows players to customize their turn rate acceleration.

Full patch notes along with developer comments are posted below. We have also re-posted the developer video featuring Jeffrey Kaplan discussing Deathmatch below.

Overwatch 1.14 patch notes, August 29

Hero Updates - Junkrat

Concussion Mine: Junkrat can now hold two mines
RIP-Tire: Tire’s movement speed has been increased by 30%; There is no longer a time limit when wall climbing

Developer Comments: Giving the Junkrat the ability to store two concussion mines adds some much-needed flexibility and versatility to his kit, particularly when using the mines for mobility. RIP-Tire’s damage has always been very good, but it was often difficult to steer the tire into position before it was destroyed. Increasing its speed will allow players to effectively detonate the tire more often and decrease the amount of time that Junkrat is vulnerable while controlling it.

Hero Updates - Orisa

Fusion Driver: Projectile speed increased by 20%
Protective Barrier: Barrier size increase by 20%; Barrier shape has been changed to allow for more coverage from enemies that are below the barrier.

Developer Comments: The projectile speed increase helps Orisa’s consistency, especially at medium ranges (or further). Her barrier size has been increased to better protect her team, and the new shape makes the shield more effective when it’s used on slopes or on top of objects (such as a payload).

Hero Updates - Roadhog

Take a Breather: Can now be used while moving; Damage taken while healing has been reduced by 50%

Developer Comments: These changes help Roadhog be much more aggressive when looking for hook targets or blocking for his team. The combination of these effects significantly increases Roadhog’s sustainability and survivability.

Hero Updates - Widowmaker

Grappling Hook

Grappling Hook Cooldown has been reduced from 12 seconds to 8
Venom Mine - Affected targets are now visible through walls (to you as Widowmaker only)

Developer Comments: Widowmaker is extremely powerful in the right hands, but her abilities often felt a little weak. The Grappling Hook cooldown reduction means she is more likely to have it available when she needs to escape. Venom Mine is intended to be an early warning system, uncovering enemies that are attempting to flank her or her team. With this change, she can see enemies when they trigger the mine, even if they’re on the other side of a wall.

Competitive play - General

The length of Competitive Play seasons has been reduced to 2 months (formerly 3)
The winner on Control maps will now be decided based on a best-2-out-of-3 series (formerly 3-out-of-5)
Due to the shortened season length, fewer Competitive Points will be rewarded at the end of each season
Playing a match now increases the time till decay by 36 hours (up from 24 hours). The maximum number of days remains set at 7
Players who place in Diamond or below can now lose their place in that tier if their Skill Rating drops below the minimum requirement. However, they’ll still earn their end-of-season rewards for their highest skill tier placed
Player Skill Ratings will no longer be temporarily lowered at the beginning of a season (after placement matches)
Changes in Skill Rating that occur after each competitive match have been adjusted to address some anomalies, especially with certain heroes
Skill Rating earned during players' placement matches will now more accurately reflect their true Skill Rating
The calculation system for personal performance contributions has been improved

Competitive play - General - Points

More Competitive Points will be rewarded for wins or ties in Competitive Play

15 Competitive Points for a win (formerly 10)
5 Competitive Points for a win (formerly 3)

Competitive play - General - Skill Rating

Periodic Skill Rating decay has been reduced

Previously inactive players (in Diamond tier or above) lost 50 Skill Rating per day. This has been reduced to 25 Skill Rating per day
Playing a match now increases the time till decay by 36 hours (up from 24 hours). The maximum number of days remains set at 7

Gameplay - General

Anti-stall timers for control points have been reduced to negate stalling as a viable tactic.

User Interface - General

Added an “Outline Opacity” option under the custom reticle settings (found under Controls > Options > Advanced), which allows players to control the opacity of the black outline surrounding the reticule.

Bug Fixes - General

Fixed a bug that occasionally required the Capture Point progress bar to progress past the 2nd tick mark before being activated.

Bug Fixes - General

Fixed a bug that occasionally required the Capture Point progress bar to progress past the 2nd tick mark before being activated.

Bug Fixes - Heroes

Fixed a bug that could cause D.Va's black ejection screen to briefly reappear after being ejected from her mech
Fixed a bug causing D. Va’s Light Gun to utilize the wrong texture while outside of her mech when the Junker skin was equipped
Fixed a bug that caused D. Va’s hair to stand straight up on the Hero Select screen when her Cruiser skin was equipped
Fixed a bug causing the lights on the back of Doomfist’s hand to incorrectly indicate full ammo when his Hello emote was activated
Fixed a bug that prevented the area-of-effect circle for Doomfist’s Meteor Strike from being visible to all players
Fixed a bug that prevented Doomfist’s Meteor Strike from reaching certain high-altitude locations
Fixed a bug that was preventing Doomfist’s Rocket Punch from connecting with enemy players that were moving up an incline
Fixed a bug preventing Orisa’s “Overclocked” achievement from being granted, even after the criteria was met
Fixed a bug causing Sombra’s teeth to be visible while her Stealth ability was active when her Los Muertos skin was equipped
Fixed a bug causing Sombra’s reload animation to play even when interrupted

Bug Fixes - Maps

Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Ecopoint: Antarctica
Fixed a bug that allowed players to see past the map’s background on Black Forest
Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Black Forest
Fixed a bug that caused the announcer to say “Travelling to Dorado” when joining Castillo
Fixed a bug that prevented some equipment (vents, pipes, etc.) from properly connecting to the walls of the power plant on Dorado
Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Hanamura
Fixed a bug that caused some projectiles to go through the ground on the last point of Horizon Lunar Colony
Fixed an issue that caused sprays to display incorrectly on the crane on the Horizon Lunar Colony
Fixed a bug that caused pink lighting to appear in some areas of Ilios
Fixed a bug that could cause A.I. heroes to get themselves stuck while traveling to the Well Capture Point on Ilios
Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Ilios
Fixed an issue that caused the lighting to appear dark in Genji’s room on Nepal
Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Oasis
Fixed a bug that prevented Pharah’s Jump Jet from recharging while perched on doorframes in Oasis
Fixed a bug that prevented doorframes from being visible and lacking collision on the Practice Range
Fixed a bug that caused some players to get stuck behind a plant near the second point on Route 66
Fixed a bug that allowed Doomfist to reach unintended locations on Volskaya Industries

Bug Fixes - User Interface

Fixed a bug in the Options > Controls menu that prevented the asterisk (which normally indicates that changes have been made) from being removed from the hero’s dropdown after controls have been set to default
Fixed a bug causing the Back button to disappear when scrolling through the list of available games in the Game Browser

Overwatch update 1.14 is now live on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.