Overwatch update brings Xbox Series X upgrade and PachiMarchi Challenge - full guide

To get the full lowdown on this week's Overwatch update, then, keep on reading and we'll lay it all out for you.

When was the Overwatch update 3.07 release date?

Overwatch update 3.07 launched into the world on 9th March 2021, and Blizzard marked the occasion with a chunky blog post. Blizzard described this update as a "rebase [that] will require a relatively large download for all platforms." If you haven't installed it already, you should be prompted to do so next time you try to open up the game on your device of choice. Just make sure you've got a lot of free space and plenty of time to spend waiting for the download.

What's new in Overwatch update 3.07?

The PachiMarchi Challenge is one of the big things that Blizzard spoke about in its blog post about this update, but this fun event isn't the only thing you'll want to have on your radar. The blog goes on to mention bug fixes, general updates and workshop updates, all of which have the potential to impact the way you play the game.

What is the PachiMarchi Challenge in Overwatch?

An official webpage on the Blizzard site sums up the brand-new PachiMarchi content in the game like so: "PachiMarchi, a celebration of the lovable, huggable, and oh-so-squeakable half-onion, half-octopus, is here! Now through March 22, win games to earn delightful new rewards and become the ultimate pachimari enthusiast—second only to Roadhog, of course. Get hooked on a slew of pachi-swag, including a Junkrat emote, pachimar-ized sprays of Overwatch heroes, and the Pachimari Roadhog skin!"

What's in the Overwatch Xbox Series X/S upgrade?

On the Blizzard forums, the company laid out some 'Optimized for Xbox Series X|S Enhancements' which have now taken effect for players on Microsoft's next-gen consoles.

The Xbox Series X/S upgrades are decribed like so: "Added 'Preferred Mode' graphics option which allows switching between three different presets: 'Resolution', 'Balanced', 'Framerate'. These modes adjust video settings to bias towards image quality, resolution, and framerate." Blizzard added this handy bullet-point breakdown of the new presets for next-gen Xbox owners:

• Resolution: This mode prefers higher-resolution output at the cost of some image-quality (Series X: 4K @ 60Hz, Series S: 1440p @ 60Hz)
• Balanced: This mode prefers image-quality at the cost of resolution (Series X: 1440p @ 60Hz, Series S: 1080p @ 60Hz)
• Framerate: This mode prefers higher frame-rate at 120 frames-per-second at the cost of both image-quality and resolution (Series X: 1440p @ 120Hz, Series S: 1080p @ 120Hz)
• NOTE: Not you must have a TV that supports 120Hz or VRR (Variable-Refresh-Rate) to fully take advantage of the 'Framerate' mode

Overwatch Update 3.07 Patch Notes

If you're looking for something lengthy to read, Blizzard has you covered. On top of describing the Xbox upgrades and the PachiMarchi Challenge, the company has shared a sizeable stack of patch notes to explain what else has changed in the Overwatch 3.07 update. In the words of Blizzard, then, here's everything you need to know:

General updates

• Added "Damage FX" options to the advanced Video options menu that will reduce the amount of impact effects seen during gameplay and replays
• Added a "Custom Spectator Options" menu for live spectating that opens when you press the "View Spectator Options Menu" button as a spectator
• Spectator camera bookmarks in live spectating and replay viewing now also save the current "Camera Field of View" (FOV)
• Added "Custom Game Invite Filter" and "Custom Game Invite Requests" settings to the Social options menu to allow players to change and save who they can receive custom game invites from
• Updated how off-screen important elements (e.g. an exploding D.Va Mech) are displayed on the screen to make them easier to find

Workshop updates

• Added Workshop Extensions
• Spawn Points now returns an array of entities rather than position vectors
• Optimized effect position evaluation

New Workshop Extensions

• Beam Effects
• Beam Sounds
• Buff Status Effects
• Debuff Status Effects
• Buff and Debuff Sounds
• Energy Explosion Effects
• Kinetic Explosion Effects
• Explosion Sounds
• Play More Effects
• Spawn More Dummy Bots

New Workshop Actions

• Enable Text Chat
• Disable Text Chat
• Enable Voice Chat
• Disable Voice Chat
• Start Game Mode
• Return to Lobby
• Restart Match
• Move Player to Team
• Remove Player
• Start Forcing Dummy Bot Name
• Stop Forcing Dummy Bot Name

New Workshop Values

• Damage Over Time Count
• Heal Over Time Count
• Text Count
• Damage Modification Count
• Healing Modification Count
• Assist Count
• Entity Count
• Local Player
• Char In String
• Index Of String Char
• String Split
• String Replace

General bug fixes

• Fixed a bug that caused specific abilities to persist on targets after a player swaps off the hero that used them
• Fixed a bug that prevented players from using the escape menu to leave a custom game under certain circumstances
• Fixed a bug that would cause heroes to become stuck against some buildings in midair
• Fixed a bug with the Bounty Hunter game mode that caused Sombra to be detected when invisible if the Bounty Target buff expires
• Fixed a bug that caused player ragdoll models to fall through the terrain when skipping kill cam playback
• Fixed a bug that caused heroes knocked back by Doomfist's Rocket Punch to not always break railings
• Fixed a bug when calculating the "Weapon Accuracy - Best" stat

Map bug fixes

• Blizzard World: Fixed a bug that allowed Tracer to blink and become stuck behind the two candelabras
• Château Gaillard: Fixed a bug that allowed Wrecking Ball to Piledrive from the ground and get stuck on certain bushes and corners
• Dorado: Fixed a bug with a collision location that allowed Wrecking Ball to unintentionally grapple upon it
• Eichenwalde: Fixed a bug that caused the UI to incorrectly reflect payload progress in rare circumstances
• Gibraltar: Fixed a bug that allowed players to place turrets in an unintended location
• Hanamura: Fixed a bug with missing player collision in various locations of the map. Fixed a bug that caused Reinhardt to hit the door frame when charging out of the second attacker spawn room. Fixed a bug that allowed Reaper to teleport through a small gap outside of the second capture point.
• Hollywood: Fixed a bug that caused players to become stuck on a specific section of rooftop
• Kanezaka: Fixed a bug with player collision that allowed heroes to move through map geometry
• King's Row: Fixed a bug that caused Mei's Blizzard drone to fall through the floor in certain locations. Fixed a bug that allowed players to travel beneath some collision but not be killed by the death plane
• Nepal: Fixed a bug that allowed players to land on some snow piles on top of buildings
• Numbani: Fixed a bug that caused lighting issues in the back of the second attacker spawn
• Rialto: Fixed a bug that allowed D.Va's Self-Destruct to go through walls causing damage to enemies

Hero bug fixes

• Baptiste: Fixed a bug where Earthshatter could be blocked by an Immortality Field that was mid-deploy
• Bastion: Fixed a bug where a stun would cancel transformation from Recon mode to Sentry mode
• Doomfist: Fixed a bug where Doomfist's Rocket Punch impact animation would incorrectly play twice. Fixed a bug where Doomfist would incorrectly maintain vertical momentum while entering Meteor Strike
• Sombra: Fixed a bug that caused her Translocator beacon to become stuck in a specific section of the Havana map
• Wrecking Ball: Fixed a bug that allowed Piledriver to be used in unintended scenarios after a successful Piledriver

Workshop bug fixes

• Fixed an issue where Continue could jump to the wrong loop in certain cases
• Fixed an issue where Brigitte would continue using Primary Fire after it had been disabled
• Fixed an issue where certain abilities would collide with walls even when environment collision had been disabled
• Fixed an issue where the Workshop Inspector would display incorrect player names
• Fixed an issue where certain buttons were ignored during flight abilities even when they were held down via Workshop
• Fixed an issue where beam effects were not rendering when going straight up
• Fixed an issue where extra D.Va's could exist in certain scenarios
• Fixed an issue where the Array value would interfere with the correct evaluation of Current Array Element and Current Array Index
• Fixed an issue where Start Facing would not correctly honor Evaluate Once values when mixed with Event Player or other context-dependent values
• Fixed an issue where Spawn Points would sometimes fail to reevaluate correctly
• Fixed an issue where Hero Being Duplicated would fail when Echo duplicated D.Va
• Fixed an issue where Player Died events wouldn't trigger for environmental deaths when Echo was duplicating another hero
• Removed the error sound that plays when attempting to use an ability that has been disabled by Custom Game settings or the Workshop

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