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Blizzard Details Upcoming Symmetra Revamp
Just like Blizzard suggested in September, Overwatch's Symmetra is getting a hefty overhaul to make her a more valuable and less situational pick. Game director Jeff Kaplan detailed her changes coming "soon" to the Public Test Region on PC in the latest edition of the Developer Update series.
The revamped Symmetra has two Ultimates players can swap between during the match: a teleporter and a shield generator. The teleporter still allows passage for six teammates but it has been given more overall health on top of regenerative shield health to make it more durable. The new shield generator is a built object like the teleporter and gives "substantial" shields to players over a "very big radius." It doesn't operate on line of sight, meaning Symmetra players can hide it from the other team and still reap its benefits.
Symmetra can no longer apply 25 shields to her allies but it has been replaced with an ability called Photon Barrier. Photon Barrier shoots out an elliptical-shaped shield that functions like a smaller, projectile version of Reinhardt's barrier. This barrier is "projected on a track of movement," meaning it continually moves forward after it is fired and blocks enemy attacks. This helps Symmetra stay back but also help her team and gives her more complexity.
Her turrets and gun have also been slightly tweaked. She can now bank up to six turrets (as opposed to three). This change allows her to set up more easily in the beginning of a match since she doesn't need to wait for all the turrets to become available. It also helps during the match since it allows her to move with the flow of combat by letting her relocate more easily. Her lock-on laser gun also has a bit more range but Kaplan insists that she won't be a "long-range beam sniper now or anything like that."
Kaplan closed out the video with an update on Oasis, the new Control map announced at Blizzcon. Oasis will be coming to the PTR "very soon," as Blizzard wants to test it thoroughly before it hits the full game in early 2017.
[Source: Blizzard on YouTube]
Our Take
Symmetra has always been a little underpowered and far too situational, and this update sounds like it will fix that. Giving her two Ultimate abilities was a smart way to have her keep her awesome teleporter and give her more versatility.
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