Overwatch PTR Patch Notes: 3 Things You Need to Know About Patch 1.45

Overwatch PTR patch notes arrived Tuesday evening, bringing the patch to the Public Test Realm ahead of its eventual live server release.

Not all of the changes coming in Patch 1.45 will go through the PTR first. Of those changes and additions appearing on the PTR, these are the three you need to know.

Overwatch PTR Patch Notes: 3 Things You Need to Know About Patch 1.45

1. Hero Pools

The biggest single Overwatch change since the instatement of role lock, hero pools will limit the heroes players can run in competitive play. A few heroes will be removed from the active roster each week on a rotating basis. Overwatch's development team will select the inactive heroes for each week of play.

Blizzard aims to keep competitive dynamic with this change, but it is staying flexible about the system. Hero pools may disappear after Season 21 closes, or return in a new form. Game director Jeff Kaplan added context for the change on the Blizzard forums Jan. 31.

2. Workshop Additions

The Workshop received a major update Tuesday as Blizzard added three new maps on which players can build. These blank slates will open Workshop possibilities even further.

Workshop creators now have access to a script diagnostics panel, subroutines, and a bevy of new actions including If, Else, While and For Global Variables. These will make debugging and scripting easier and more robust.

3. Bug Fixes

Patch 1.45 brings an avalanche of bug fixes, including fixing the order of Competitive Seasons in the career profile, removing incorrect credit for killing B.O.B in deathmatch modes and restoring Wrecking Ball's voice line audio when opened in loot boxes.

Check out the full patch notes here.