Seagull proves why you should always read Overwatch 2’s new patch notes before playing

Patch notes diff.

The final point of the escort map Gibraltar
Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Overwatch 2’s fifth season began this afternoon, and with a lengthy set of patch notes, it’s understandable how a player might miss a few key changes here and there.

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But during his stream today, former Overwatch League pro Seagull showed off exactly why it might be worth your while to take a few extra minutes to take note of how the game is evolving with one play on the newly renovated escort map, Gibraltar.

Having perused through the season five patch notes on Tuesday, Seagull was able to surprise a flanking Reaper from the enemy team that seemed to be a bit lost around the map’s first checkpoint. Hitting him was a flank of his own around one of the map’s new staircases, Seagull left his teammates laughing with comments of “patch notes diff.”

“He’s not ready for the flank,” he said. “I got the Reaper guy. I don’t think he knew the staircase existed.”

Watchpoint: Gibraltar underwent some construction between seasons four and five to account for how much it favored teams on the attack at certain points of the map. Anyone that’s played enough OW has gotten tilted by the choke points near the map’s first checkpoint and how difficult it is to exit the final defender spawn area at times.

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For that reason, Blizzard redesigned both areas to create a more open feel as well as adding some “covers and route adjustments” to the map’s second point in the hangar, and as a savvy veteran gamer, Seagull made sure he was acutely aware of what to expect.

Fortunately for players, Gibraltar is the only map that experienced anything more than a lighting scheme change. But for those that don’t want to get thrown off by the Overwatch base’s new layout, it might be worth it to create a custom Gibraltar game of your own and run around for a second before queuing yourself into a potentially confusing situation.

Author
Image of Max Miceli
Max Miceli
Senior Staff Writer. Max graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a journalism and political science degree in 2015. He previously worked for The Esports Observer covering the streaming industry before joining Dot where he now helps with Overwatch 2 coverage.