[Update]: The experimental update has gone live, and with it a heavy nerf to Roadhog.

While there is very little randomness in Overwatch's gameplay, shotguns are one of the few exceptions. Their bullet spread follows somewhat of a pattern but is mostly random, which means the actual damage you deal can significantly differ from shot to shot. Nowhere is this more noticeable than on Roadhog given that sometimes you can one-shot characters like Ana, and sometimes do barely 50% of their health.

Thankfully, all of this nonsense is looking like it will soon be coming to an end. As a part of the current experimental update, Blizzard has reworked all of the shotguns so they have a set and predictable spread, which should make them a lot more potent in the hands of skilled players.

The update has also brought in a rather questionable balance change to Roadhog. His recent damage buff was reverted, while all of his complementary nerfs have remained just as they are, thus leaving him in a worse position that he has been in quite a while.

On the other side of the coin, Torbjorn's alternate fire has been slightly buffed so it now deals more reliable burst damage, though at a slower rate. Great for up-close battles and precise shots, but really suboptimal if you're just trying to spam it wildly. In other words, it's a pretty solid change!

Here's the full list of tweaks, and Blizzard's comments on each one:

General

We’re making weapons that utilize shotgun patterns more reliable by removing the random rotation applied to each shot. Individual pellets within the shot will still have a tiny amount of variance to their firing angle for the sake of the shotgun weapon feel, but this change will provide significantly more control over aiming these weapons.

• Shotgun patterns no longer apply random rotation. This will affect the following heroes: Ashe, Doomfist, D.Va, Reaper, Roadhog, Torbjörn

Roadhog

When combined with the changes to shotgun patterns, we’re looking to keep Roadhog’s Chain Hook combo reliable, but not overly powerful against heroes with higher health pools.

• Scrap Gun

- Projectile damage reduced from 7 to 6 (150 total per shot)

Torbjörn

This change to Torbjörn’s secondary fire is aimed at giving it a stronger role at close range. We’re hoping this change allows each shot to feel more impactful, since it has a larger burst. To keep this change in line, we’ve also reduced the damage-per-second.

• Rivet Gun Secondary Fire

- Recovery increased from 0.6 to 0.8 seconds

- Damage increased from 10.5 to 12.5 per projectile (125 total per shot)

It's well worth mentioning that all of this is currently a part of an experimental update, and as such is not guaranteed to make it into the live game. So make sure to test out the changes, give Blizzard some much-needed feedback, and I'm sure everything will work out just fine in the end. Have fun!