Overwatch's Upcoming Bastion Changes Outlined

After teasing that adjustments are on the way for Bastion in Overwatch, Blizzard has shared some specifics about exactly what may change.

Principal designer Geoff Goodman previously said he was at work on "some changes" for the character in a post on the game's forums. In that same thread, he's now followed up to identify three key areas that may change.

In Recon mode (where Bastion walks around like a humanoid), Blizzard is looking to give him a larger magazine size and less spread when firing, which should "help with general viability in this mode." In Sentry mode, Goodman said Blizzard's aim is to focus the "mode into more of a tank-buster and barrier-buster mode, while also making it feel less suicidal to be transformed. To that end we're testing stuff like increased spread and removing headshots but taking less damage while transformed."

Bastion's Self-Repair ability has also been targeted for adjustments. Goodman described these as "a few big changes" that he said feel "really good so far." The current ones include allowing Self-Repair to be used while moving and suffering damage--he currently has to remain stationary to use the ability, and it's interrupted if Bastion takes a hit.

That obviously sounds like a tremendous buff, so it will be offset to some degree by also making a change like one that D.Va previously saw. Self-Repair will work off of a resource system, limiting how often and how much it can be used. In Blizzard's internal testing, Goodman said, "These changes have turned this ability from a more niche, rarely used ability to a much more powerful and core survivability tool."

Goodman indicated all of this is "some high-level stuff we're likely to have testable in the next PTR," so we may get too see some or all of this in action before long. He added, "We're still testing and tweaking things with Bastion but we'll hopefully have a PTR build coming fairly soon so you guys can try it out!"

Bastion has received no meaningful balance changes since Overwatch's launch last year; meanwhile, others have seen significant tweaks or outright reworks. His position in the game has taken the form of an unusual arc: Initially regarded as an overpowered, game-breaking killer by many, he's become one of the least-used characters as players discovered ways to counter him. As it stands, he's a vulnerable character who typically needs the assistance of teammates to be particularly impactful.

With these upcoming changes, that may no longer be the case.