Symmetra will become a Hero that specializes in defense

Blizzard, the developer of Overwatch, has done an excellent job of keeping its game fresh since Overwatch launched in 2016 with major changes to both the game and the characters. More specifically, Symmetra fans will soon see a big change with their favorite hero, when Blizzard finally announced the details of the rework for this character.

The changelog details were given by Geoff Goodman, of the Overwatch development team. He posted on Blizzard’s official forum in response to let fans know how Symmetra will change.

The biggest change is in Symmetra’s turrets – the number will be reduced from 6 to 3 but the turrets will deal more damage and reduce the movement speed of characters more. In addition, their health has been increased from 1 to 30, but this number will most likely change before the official update goes live. Players also do not need to stand close to the wall to mount the turret anymore, which helps to plan the preparation faster.

Additionally, Blizzard is also fixing Symmetra’s main attack. It will no longer lock onto objects but only one, with the beam increasing in size and scope. The weapon also deals more damage by charging it, with damage also increased per tier from 30/60/120 to 65/130/195 dps (damage per second). Despite the increased damage, the weapon now takes 2 seconds instead of 1 second to jump to the next level. Furthermore, Symmetra can regenerate bullets by attacking barriers. This will make the hero more effective at breaking shields and charging his attacks.

The second attack will have a rather minor change, with projectile’s speed increased from 10m/s to 30m/s and bonus splash damage. Directly hitting the projectile will deal 130 damage, which will cause low health heroes to avoid combat.

Symmetra’s signature teleport now switches to “E” and Photon Barrier will become the new ultimate. The teleport will be the same as before, except that the portal can be placed up to 25 meters away from Symmetra. After placing that portal, the remaining portal will be placed right next to Symmetra instead of in the respawn room. The portal is short-lived, but it’s comfortable for teammates to use and Blizzard is experimenting with what teleports should be. In the current beta, the portal allows access to other ultimates such as Junkrat’s RIP Tire, and D.Va’s Ultimate Mech, helping to create unique gameplay.

Instead of being a small shield and flying forward, Photon Barrier now cannot teleport, but expands across the map with up to 5000 health. This shield will be quite similar to Mei’s Ice Wall, players can place this shield from a long distance, as well as the direction of the shield.

Finally, Symmetra will be classified as a defense hero instead of its current role of support hero. This is completely understandable, given the changes in his skill set. Blizzard also experimented with the healing turret, but they felt it was “unnecessary” because of the tempo of Overwatch matches.

Symmetra isn’t the only character getting a rework, as Hanzo also recently got a rework of his kit, and Mercy got a slight change. Symmetra reworks will continue to be tested for a while before they appear on the official server.