The long-awaited Horizon Lunar Colony has finally arrived in the most recent update for first-person shooter Overwatch. The map will function as a multi-capture point Assault map and will include the game's first low-gravity element for players to fiddle around with - both in the Lunar Colony and in custom game modes.
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Despite the anticipation for the new map, most of what has the community talking are the changes to existing heroes. Specifically, the buffs and nerfs to Roadhog, Reaper, and McCree, all of whom have had their mechanics significantly altered in one way or another.
Roadhog, who since launch has been played as an area-denial hero who could instant kill the majority of the enemy team thanks to his hook-shoot-melee combo, had his damage reduced by 33% to compensate for a 30% increase to his fire rate and an additional round in his magazine. His head's hitbox is smaller now, too.
"Roadhog's head was abnormally large compared to similarly-sized characters, so we're reducing its size to increase his survivability. The Scrap Gun changes reduce the power of his hook combo and alternate fire burst damage potential while still keeping his DPS roughly the same."
Regardless of an otherwise unchanged damage-per-second, Roadhog players have been vocal in their criticism of the change, which they claim has majorly damaged the hero's role.
Other changes were received a little more positively. McCree, one of the least-played damage heroes, had his viability increased thanks to a significant buff to his ultimate ability. Deadeye begins locking on after .2 seconds, down from .8, and will accumulate more damage faster.
"McCree's ultimate can deal a lot of damage if it has a lot of time to build up, but it was often too difficult to get even a small amount of damage out before being stopped or killed. These changes can make it more flexible and powerful."
Reaper too received a buff. Instead of picking up health orbs off of the bodies of his slain enemies, Reaper will now receive 20% of the damage he deals back as health, as he deals it.
Finally, the Oni skin for Genji and the Officer skin for D.va are now included in the base game and can be found in Legendary loot crates.
BONUS: Speaking of Legendary skins: Sign up for Twitch Prime with your Amazon account and receive a guaranteed Legendary item and 10 standard loot boxes for free in Overwatch. Be quick, though; the offer won't last forever.
