Overwatch gets a game browser and boosts Bastion

Overwatch [official site], aka The Shooter For Whom You Write Poems Which You Never Send, has been given a game browser as part of its most recent patch. This will let players scroll through weird and wacky game modes invented by others, or host strange custom games of their own devising. The patch brings some other stuff too. Capture the Rooster (the CTF brawl they recently offered as part of their Lunar New Year event) is now a permanent fixture and robot good boy Bastion is getting a decent buff.

First, the game browser. Here’s a video showing off all the glory of MENUS.

Watch on YouTube

There are some silly modes taking root on this menu. So far I’ve seen a ‘hide and seek’ mode where one team is made up of Sombras and Tracers only, who have to run and hide, while the other team are a bunch of frightening Reinhardts hunting them down. ‘Boss mode’ is a popular one, pitting 6 normal players (or with slightly decreased damage) against a single ultra-buffed Tank player. ‘Yeti vs Hunters’ is a similar spin, with Winston as the pumped up singleton, facing off against four others on the Nepal map. Of course, you can always go and make your own weird cocktail. A 2v2 'Buddy Cop' mode. A three weak Pharah vs one strong McCree 'Clay Pigeon Shooting' mode.

Meanwhile, in patch notes land, Bastion is getting some changes to make him a stronger character more generally. The full patch notes are here with other heroes getting some small tweaks. But the changes to Bastion in particular are as follows:

Configuration: Sentry
Reconfiguration time decreased from 1.5 seconds to 1.0 second
Bullet spread increased by 50%
Bullet spread is always at maximum (it no longer increases as the weapon is fired)
Magazine size increased from 200 to 300
No longer deals critical damage

Configuration: Recon
Bullet spread decreased by 25%
Magazine size increased from 20 to 25

Self-Repair
Can now be used while moving
Now bound to secondary fire (formerly Ability 2)
No longer interrupted by taking damage
A new resource meter has been added that depletes while Self-Repair is active and recharges when not in use

Configuration: Tank
No longer grants bonus armor

New Passive Ability: Ironclad
Bastion takes 35% less damage while in Configuration: Sentry or Tank

“Self repair can now be used while moving” and “no longer interrupted by taking damage” are quite significant changes for anyone familiar with the robot bird-lover’s strengths and weaknesses. That he also takes over a third less damage while in his turret mode is also a hefty alteration. I often pull Bastion out toward the end of the match if things are looking rough as a defender but these changes make me want to take him for a spin all match long to see how he fares.