Overwatch PTR Patch 1.45 Introduces Hero Pools and Workshop Updates

Blizzard introduced PTR Patch 1.45 to the Public Test Realm today. The patch includes the testing of hero pools, workshop updates and other quality of life changes.

Hero Pools

Community Manager Josh Nash, who posted the notes,  reiterated the idea that Jeff Kaplin brought to light in the most recent developer update. Nash stated:

“It is important to note that Hero Pools is a new feature that may not last past this initial season.”

The Current UI

Players are greeted with a screen, showing heroes outside of the pool for the week.

Once a player selects OK, they can choose a role just like the live servers. If players want to check the heroes not available for play, they can select the small button with the strike-through in the right corner.

As stated in the developer update and the patch notes from Nash, hero pools will start with Season 21.

Workshop Update

The patch notes do not stop there. Nash also listed a plethora of changes to the workshop. Individuals who are familiar with C++ programming and the like will see familiar statements like If, Else If, While, etc. added to the list of new workshop actions.

Quality of Life Changes

There were a number of quality of life changes announced in this patch as well. They include:

• A game mode selection in a user’s Career Profile
• Group leaders cannot select Leave as Group option in the middle of a competitive game
• The time reduced to assemble a team is now reduced from 40 to 35 seconds
• Mei’s Ice Wall has a visual representation while taking damage similar to Reinhardt’s shield cracking
• Interactions between stuns are more consistent

Nash elaborated on the last change stating:

“New stuns will only replace existing stuns if their duration is longer than the time remaining on the current stun. For example, a Flashbang stun will not apply to someone who has just been Earthshattered. We use the minimum guaranteed stun time for Ana sleep, which right now is 1.5 seconds (time to fall down + time to stand back up).”

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Featured Image Courtesy of the Blizzard Entertainment

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