Overwatch Players Get Better Communication Tools In PTR Patch

Despite the fact that many people are working from home, Blizzard has managed to serve up a new PTR patch release for its Overwatch game, one that focuses entirely on communication. The team explains that Overwatch's Communication Wheel has been updated; players now have the opportunity to customize the responses they have quick access to, say new phrases, and more.

In a post on its Forums today, Blizzard said that players can now test the new Overwatch features via the PTR patch 1.48. At this point in time, the PTR patch is only available for PC, though Blizzard says that the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will also get many of these changes.

The big feature here is the Communication Wheel, which has been improved so that players can pick their favorite phrases, say new phrases like 'Sorry,' and set additional keybindings related to the communication wheel. Players get a total of 26 different phrase options for each sector of the Communication Wheel; different phrases can be added to each sector so that the best can be deployed at the right time.

All of this was explained in a new video detailing the work, which was completed by the game's team while they work from home. All 32 heroes have their own voice-recorded lines, meaning you'll hear each phrase in the character's own voice. Among other things, the options include a countdown for the voiceovers, which include phrases like 'fall back' and 'goodbye.'

This customization has been heavily requested by users, according to the company, which teases that it has more things in the pipeline. The test is available on the game's public test servers starting today, assuming you're on PC. You can find the full PTR patch notes on the Overwatch website here.