Widow Bug/Issue Megathread w/ Video Examples (updated? 25 January 2019)

General Discussion
1

First posted on Reddit on Nov 2017

Sniping issues

  1. Double bullet trail hitreg/netcode misprediction bug
    1.1 GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat
    1.2 GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat
    1.3 GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat
    1.4 Aim At Floor, Get Headshot GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - with net graph
    1.5 doubleshot - YouTube (play at half or quarter speed)
    1.6 Weird Hitreg GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat
    1.7 GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat
    1.8 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jk3jGHpEa61qDvsFRpdJsrB5caBUdwsW/view - player Rohansh11/Triforce
    1.9 When Mercy Has Lag GIF by mariamilissa | Gfycat - /u/MariaMilissa
    1.10 Twitch - /u/felmatias

Blizzard has acknowledged it in Sept 2017, but has not given any further updates.

Overwatch Forums

Whenever your input doesn’t make it consistently to the server because of connection inconsistency, there’s a chance that the server will not replicate your aim synchronized with when you pressed the fire button. This error is exacerbated by recoil-based weapons, since your aim will certainly have changed the frame after you fire a recoiling weapon. If the server doesn’t honor your aim direction at the moment you fired because of packet loss, you will very likely mispredict. We are actively investigating a fix for this, which we hope to deploy with the next major patch.

  1. Overaggressive occlusion culling, enemy and map “pop-in” (thanks to Reddit user /u/klasbo)
    2.1 you need to turn your FPS settings higher in Overwatch... here's why - YouTube
    2.2 Enemy Pop-in GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat
    2.3 Popin3 GIF | Gfycat
    2.4 Popin GIF | Gfycat

More detailed post with an acknowledgement from Bill Warnecke here, but no further updates

https://www.reddit.com/r/Competitiveoverwatch/comments/7bkm63/overwatchs_overaggressive_optimization_set_your/

  1. Bloom and enemy effects with bloom/red colors significantly reduce Widow’s scope visibility
    3.1 Bloom Orisa Barrier GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat
    3.2 Can Wallhacks Be A Different Color Than Red 17-12-17 02-39-23 GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat

  2. Hitbox issues
    4.1 Sad Training Bot (mismatched Animation/hitbox) GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - head hitbox does not align with model (not just training bots, occurs during stuns, https://redd.it/6km9bz )
    4.2 Hanzo head hitbox is weird - YouTube - hand/arm/shoulder/non-head hitboxes block headshots and turn them into bodyshots
    4.2.1 - YouTube - another, more in-depth example, Reddit user /u/Landing_headshots
    4.3 [Overwatch] The Weird World Of Custom Games - YouTube - Squash and stretch animation on sliding ledges deforms Widow’s body… she’s the one character that will be on sliding edges the most (video from Muselk)
    4.4 Venom mine hitbox issue. - YouTube - Reddit user /u/Impr3ss1v3
    4.5 Widow poisonous mine bug - YouTube - Reddit user /u/Impr3ss1v3

5) Midair jump inputs cause descope
Pressing jump while you’re already airborne causes Widow’s sniper rifle to descope. Very inconvenient if you use scroll wheel jump. If you’re airborne, it shouldn’t descope.

Undocumented in patch notes, but confirmed to have been fixed 05 Apr 2016. Video evidence here;

6) Sniper Rifle 0% damage does not match SMG bullet damage (not a bug, but still an issue)

  • SMG deals 13 damage per bullet
  • 0% sniper deals 12 damage per bullet
  • Descoping takes 0.33s.
  • Widow’s sniper rifle firerate cap is 1 shot every 0.5s

With the current damage and scope timer values, if any enemy survives with less than 10 health, it is ALWAYS better, faster, and more damaging to descope and fire an SMG burst, than it is to fire a follow up 0% shot with Widow.

This is unintuitive… the sniper consumes 3 ammo, requires 0.33s to scope-in/out, and slows your movement speed. At the very least, a 0% sniper shot should have equal damage to an SMG shot.

This wasn’t the case before she received her damage nerf in June 2016, which used to have 15 damage at 0%.

Admittedly, the circumstances in which a 0% sniper shot would be used are very niche to begin with, but the existence of this opportunity cost creates scenarios where experienced players (who know of this unintuitive trick) have an advantage over inexperienced players… something that was intended to be removed from the game back in 2016.

This is for consistency’s sake, if nothing else.

  • Update - As of the July 2018 patch, Widow has been given falloff to the SMG. Instead of making them match damages, they just nerfed the SMG damage so it has its own damage table now. I guess this fixes the qualms I have of being a remnant oversight, but it still feels kinda cheeky to have added falloff in this manner.

Grappling Hook Issues

Super-cut of the grappling hook monstrosity - fix the grappling hook - YouTube

Another one - Widowmakers hook is working as intended - YouTube by Reddit user /u/xShadowWulfx

  1. Grappling Hook does not connect to certain walls, at all
    7.1 GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - Chateau Guillard
    7.2 Gibraltar Rock Face GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - Watchpoint Gibraltar
    7.3 GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - Ilios Ruins
  • Update - Grapple Hook has received a bugfix, all above locations are now able to be hooked to

  1. Grappling Hook auto-aim is a nightmare
    8.1 Map Prop Autoaim GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - Ilios Ruin floodlight
    8.2 Picket Fence GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - King’s Row picket fence
    8.3 Phone Booth Grapple GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - King’s Row phone booth
    8.4 Phone Booth Again GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - King’s Row phone booth 2
    8.5 Defender Spawn Kings Row Grapple GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - King’s Row Defender final spawn
    8.6 Building Kings Row Grapple GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - King’s Row building
    8.7 Floaty Platform Route 66 GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - Route 66 floating platforms don’t have autoaim
    8.8 Floating Platform Volskaya Grapple GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - Volskaya floating platforms don’t have autoaim
    8.9 Traincar Grapple GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - Route 66 boxcar
    8.10 GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - Oasis Garden spawn door
    8.11 Hollywood Grapple GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - Hollywood streetlight
    8.12 Overwatch 11 30 2017 1 01 14 PM (2) GIF | Gfycat - Hollywood Saloon roof
    8.13 GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - Hollywood General Store roof
    8.14 GIF by brokenstyli | Gfycat - Horizon catwalk (not typically an issue, but happened to run into this while recording another clip)
    8.15 https://gfycat.com/SleepyFittingEkaltadeta - Hollywood streetlight/lamppost has 5 auto aim spots in such close proximity that they could potentially conflict with someone’s intent to reach the balcony next to it Reddit user /u/MayaDementhia

  2. Grappling Hook just gives up
    9.1 https://gfycat.com/DifferentOrnateEwe

  1. Grappling Hook does not pull up-and-over ledges, it just drops Widow instead
    10.1 https://gfycat.com/DeterminedOnlyGalapagosalbatross - from Reddit /u/MariaMilissa
    10.2 https://gfycat.com/OccasionalBetterIchidna - taken from YouTube Carlos Chavez
    10.3 https://gfycat.com/ExcitableBouncyChrysomelid
    10.4 https://gfycat.com/MeanEnchantedIchidna
    10.5 https://gfycat.com/NeatFirsthandBorderterrier - Horizon Lunar Colony Point B crane, the one thing that should probably have auto-aim doesn’t… it just drops you every time

  2. Grappling Hook will unintuitively slingshot Widow in the wrong direction
    11.1 https://clips.twitch.tv/SoftGracefulHeronDoritosChip
    11.2 https://clips.twitch.tv/FaintFastWormSoBayed
    11.3 https://gfycat.com/QuarterlyLinedKilldeer - Reddit user /u/namdo
    11.4 https://gfycat.com/HorribleAdvancedGoldeneye - Reddit user /u/moussan

  3. Not exactly a bug, but the Grappling Hook whip animation was removed
    As of Lunar New Year 2018, the Grappling Hook whip animation has been reintroduced into the game.

  4. Grappling Hook animations will very rarely redirect mid-cast
    13.1 https://gfycat.com/SoggyDismalConey

  5. Grappling Hook auto-aims to sliding ledges… what’s the point of autoaiming to the sliding battlements of Eichenwalde, if you can’t stand on them? (shown with Pharah because of hover jets)
    14.1 https://gfycat.com/GleefulCharmingGyrfalcon - Eichenwalde
    14.2 https://gfycat.com/DisloyalBoldHellbender - Hollywood Street Lights
    14.3 https://gfycat.com/AllFantasticFreshwatereel - Numbani Street Lights

  6. Point blank Grapple Hooks are supposed to reset the cooldown… they sometimes don’t
    15.1 https://gfycat.com/FrighteningJauntyAfghanhound
    15.2 https://gfycat.com/DeterminedWildAdmiralbutterfly

  • Update - As of 20 Jul 2018, stealth change has made it so that point-blank casts of grapple hook no longer refund cooldown

    15.3 https://gfycat.com/RipeSmartFish

Infra-Sight Issues

  1. Infra-Sight does not properly give wallhacks in FFA
    As of Lunar New Year 2018, the Infra-Sight not giving wallhacks in FFA has apparently been fixed. The below two bugs, however, may still be in the game.
    16.4) Whenever a teammate walks between you and an enemy, teammate bodies block/prevent the red silhouette from being visible.
    16.5 https://streamable.com/qvsdz - If you ult while an enemy Widow ults in FFA, sometimes your wallhacks persist after the ult timer ends (Reddit user /u/Guppypid)

Other Bug/Issues

  1. Parented Floating Reload Canister Bug
    17.1 https://gfycat.com/FrightenedConventionalAfricanhornbill - Widowmaker’s reload magazine-canisters will sometimes hover and float around defying laws of physics
    17.2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMZf_PDw3y8 - The motion of the reload magazine-canister is parented to Widow’s gun’s world position, enemies are able to see the canister floating around, and can use it against her to locate Widow’s location (from /u/RedDyeNo5)

  2. Audio Bugs
    18.1 https://youtu.be/0xY-gRdBXkI - Enabling “Limit client/server send rate” sometimes doesn’t play hitmarker sounds (disabling these options does not fix it immediately, you must start a new match session)
    18.2 Rarely when dying, the SMG firing sound plays on loop. Requires you to fire again to stop the sound.

  3. POTG/replay camera does not match raw inputs performed live, making unnatural snapping to heads in the replay (leading to hack-cusations and sometimes misfiled reports)
    19.1 https://youtu.be/AuJ9blVPvWw - this was made 03 Nov 2017
    19.2 https://youtu.be/-dzHA9VTAr0 - this one was made at launch period (01 Jun 2016)

Standing on Destructible Railings

  1. Despite Widow’s grappling hook often pulling a player directly to them, railings are hugely inconsistent as standable platforms for Widow to jump on.

    There are three types of railings you can encounter;

    • spotty collision - running along these railings, can cause your body/aim to bounce like crazy
    • rock solid collision - running along these railings, is a smooth experience
    • sliding collision - you can’t stand on these railings at all

    With certain railings being placed next to bottomless pits, you might plummet to your death if you don’t know which type of railing you’re dealing with, which you can only learn by trial and error.

    20.1 https://gfycat.com/FoolhardyEnormousGrackle - Volskaya railings are spotty
    20.2 https://gfycat.com/AromaticDarlingHoatzin - Horizon railings are spotty
    20.3 https://gfycat.com/OpenCriminalAttwatersprairiechicken - Ilios railings are spotty
    20.4 https://gfycat.com/DeadlyRewardingFox - Gibraltar railings are spotty
    20.5 https://gfycat.com/TeemingFittingLice - Route 66 railings are spotty
    20.6 https://gfycat.com/HarshBiodegradableGarpike - Numbani railings are spotty
    20.7 https://gfycat.com/TemptingElegantBeetle - Oasis railings are spotty
    20.8 https://gfycat.com/JollyInsignificantAndalusianhorse - Nepal, both types of railings (stone and wooden) are spotty
    20.9 https://gfycat.com/SentimentalThirstyFlyingfish - Junkertown railings are spotty
    20.10 https://gfycat.com/InexperiencedAdolescentGander - Eichenwalde railings are rock solid
    20.11 https://gfycat.com/OrganicCheerfulDegus - Hollywood railings are rock solid
    20.12 https://gfycat.com/FarAridBufeo - Hanamura, you can stand on the posts, but not the actual railings
    20.13 https://gfycat.com/TornBeautifulBoilweevil - Ayutthaya, you can’t stand on these glass railings at all

Miscellaneous

  1. It’s hard to identify which ledges are able to be stood on, because there’s no concrete visual pattern consistency that tells you which ledges ARE able to be stood on.
    21.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLDp0ty5ApY - highlighting the visual inconsistency on Eichenwalde of which ledges can and can’t be stood on
    21.2 https://gfycat.com/VastVelvetyEland - here’s a comparison of Ilios: Ruins where some bricks are able to be stood on just fine, and other bricks slide you off immediately… then there’s a ledge that is visibly smaller than the bricks directly adjacent to the ledge, that CAN be stood on…
    21.3 https://gfycat.com/LeftReasonableIberianemeraldlizard - a bunch of props, like this Volskaya lamp post, appear like it’s possible to stand on them… but you can’t… these map props tease potential sniping spots for Widowmaker, ones that might or might not be powerful, yet the only method of determining if you can stand on something is through trial and error

  2. Collision doesn’t match art assets
    22.1 https://gfycat.com/UnsightlyMistyAbyssiniangroundhornbill - Training Range railing is not able to be shot through
    22.2 https://gfycat.com/ImpeccableEnchantedHarborseal - Training Range wall hitboxes aren’t matching art assets

  3. Map design discourages sightlines with vision of spawn doors, prevent places from being stood on (that may or may not have a strong sightline), and doesn’t convey clearly what objects are allowed to be stood on.
    Except sometimes it does the exact opposite, and then we get a “Fixed a bug that allowed Widowmaker to reach unintended locations with Grappling Hook” in the patch notes.
    23.1 https://gfycat.com/IllustriousDecimalAndeancat - graphical bugs like this one on Ayutthaya, are super distracting (and this sightline shouldn’t even exist)
    23.2 https://imgur.com/a/bunor - Ayutthaya has a sightline that is one-sided, and this will end up being patched (like the Ilios tree several months ago)

24. Widow’s sniper rifle scope graphics (chevrons/percentage for damage charge) disappear after each shot. Previously, the scope graphic stayed visible even after you shot. Examples provided.
24.1 https://gfycat.com/PoliteRedArmednylonshrimp - Percent charge and chevrons, circular elements of scope disappear and reappear between each shot, recorded 03 Apr 2018
24.2 https://gfycat.com/SharpSnarlingKiskadee`- Percent charge and chevrons stay on-screen between each shot, recorded and uploaded 29 July 2017
24.3 https://gfycat.com/UnsightlyMistyAbyssiniangroundhornbill - Percent charge and chevrons stay on-screen between each shot, uploaded 1 Sept 2017

The Lunar New Year Event fixed a few issues plaguing Widow. Here’s to hoping that more issues are squashed so playing Widow doesn’t feel so frustrating.

If you have any bugs that you encounter while playing Widow, please try to record them and post them here. I’ll be updating this thread frequently.

changelog
  • 8 Feb 2018 - some bugs were finally fixed! list updated removed #12 and #16
  • 20 Feb 2018 - posted thread onto new Overwatch forums
  • 3 Apr 2018 - new examples 1.11, 1.12, 1.13 added for #1
  • 3 Apr 2018 - new bug identified, added as #24
  • 3 Apr 2018 - escalated Railings to new category, added a bunch of examples for #20
  • 5 Apr 2018 - bug squashed (unannounced), list updated removed #5
  • 18 Apr 2018 - bug slated to be squashed (in PTR currently)
  • 4 May 2018 - clickable links!
  • 20 Jul 2018 - added 15.3
  • 22 Jul 2018 - updated 2.5, 2.6, bug still present in game
  • 24 Jul 2018 - 6 crossed off
36 Likes
2

This needs wayyyy more replies, really well constructed and I’ve run into most of these issues myself. :ok_hand::ok_hand::slightly_smiling_face:

3 Likes
3

Same – I’ve had many dead-on head shots that fail to register as hits. :frowning:

2 Likes
4

Really thank you for the effort. King Jeffrey please help us… :sob::sob::sob::sob:

3 Likes
5

Her grappling hook feels soooo unreliable sometimes.

6

At least half of the time.

  • I’ve even noticed OWL Widows spending half a second to line up the grapple hook to get up to perches.

  • As an escape ability, OWL pros would rather intentionally aim a few feet away at the floor and use the slingshot mechanic to get further distance than leave it up to chance with the auto-aim.

And people who don’t even play Widow, don’t know how unreliable it is that they think the sensitivity slider fixes all of its problems.

It doesn’t.

1 Like
7

This is great! I hope Blizz won’t ignore all of the effort you put into this post. You literally did someone’s job for them. The perfect bug report. Haha

8

I already got their attention on Reddit. A community manager made a response there, and said that they’d pass it along.

That was in November.

9

Well all we can do is take their word for it. Speaking from experience these things do take awhile. As they have to confirm the issue exists, find a way to fix it without breaking anything else and then test that it’s fixed, etc. Honestly it’s likely at the bottom of a long list of things to do. Would be nice to get an update though.

10

A smooth Widowmaker would be so sick to have. Please look at this, Dev Team.

11

Because there’s no more self-bumping in these forums, threads asking for updates typically get buried.

12

And apparently, Level 3 is capable of self bumping.

Hi.

These are still issues prominent in the game. I’ve tried to get an update, multiple times, but to no avail.

13

I do know that Blizz does pay attention here.

Recently Blizz mentioned that Ana would be getting a few buffs but otherwise provided no specifics. A short while ago I posted a reply stating that Ana’s rifle shots should pass through fully healed team mates to address her ongoing targeting issues. Lo and behold, that suggestion is now slated as one of her upgrades, including an increased 16-round rifle magazine.

Hopefully Widow sees similar treatment with her Ultimate – I’ve mentioned that is needs more than just wall-hax. Bonuses like skill reset on activation, reduced rifle reload time, and reduced AR spread while Infrasight is up would make Widow’s Ult feel like a genuine power-up.

14

Except that specific change actually introduces problems by making Ana the only healer in the game that can’t pocket pre-heal… which could have been completely avoided if they just made a fast switch toggle (without the use of menus) that you can press between “pierce” and “explode-on-first-contact”.

For context, that’s just one of many changes they’ve rolled out without considering possible problems they hadn’t thought of behind closed doors. Off the top of my head… Lucio still can’t wallride small objects because of his blanket dismount speed boost, Reaper’s Wraith cancel being bound to M1 caused issues with muscle memory which also could have been solved with a toggle (this time with menus), and Sombra’s interrupted hack hurt her incredibly so…

It feels like Blizzard barely tunes in, if at all. And it’s felt this way for years… literally.

15

As a regular Ana player, I find being unable to heal front line targets more infuriating because my fellow full health Road Hog or other big hit box team mate decided to block my rifle at the worst possible time, thereby eating the heal that was meant for another near dead team mate.

Believe me, no-pre-healing is OK if I can hit the opponent behind my full-health team mate, or save the near-dead team mate despite my shots being body blocked by friendlies.

16

Also as a regular Ana player, I find that being unable to heal front line targets my own damn fault for being out of position.

The frequency at which a teammate accidentally walks in front of you, doesn’t happen nearly as much as pocketing a teammate. Pocketing a teammate happens all the time, for every healer.

Healers do it without even thinking. Zen will throw orbs on diving teammates while they’re still at full health. Mercy will keep healing beams on teammates even though she doesn’t have to.

Brigitte’s armor mechanic at full health is literally Blizzard acknowledging how often pocket heals occurs, and they turned it into an actual mechanic.

Making it impossible to pocket a teammate now makes and adds stress, to be wholly based on reaction time.

Regardless, it doesn’t matter because the toggle itself would fix both problems without sacrificing either.

And they should have used the toggle instead, but despite 10+ threads in the PTR forum asking for a toggle, I’m convinced they won’t implement it because they don’t regularly engage their audience.

17

Keeping the code simple makes it easier to trouble-shoot – this is probably why Blizz takes the path of least resistance.

Ana is also the only sniper healer in the game. Other snipers shoot through friendly targets all the time, so pass-through ballistics for Ana isn’t unreasonable.

18

The code already exists.

  • Fast switch toggles exist in the form of Lucio’s Aura
  • Other hitscan characters pierce, allowing you to shoot through teammates
  • Ana’s healing on a teammate already exists
  • Character specific toggles already exist
  • Second weapons already exist on Mercy and Torbjorn

It’s not a matter of keeping it simple. It’s a matter of their closed-door testing not weighing possible complications.

You’re missing my point. I agree that piercing isn’t unreasonable, but it shouldn’t replace pre-heals.

They should co-exist, and a toggle would make them co-exist. And people are saying to use the toggle as a QOL buff, because then you get the choice and control and benefits of both… instead of removing pre-heals entirely.

Like, point for point, this is the same thing as closed beta Mei’s 90 degree wall rotation. Give the player the control to choose which one they want… and so far, they are not doing that with Ana and pierce/pre-heals.

19

You are essentially asking for a new secondary weapon for Ana – one with the new pass-through ballistics with healing. That’s still a lot more code to implement as opposed to modifying the collision check code of her current weapon. Sure it can be done, but how long are you willing to wait?

I think the pass-through ballistics change will make Ana more efficient because the update will allow spam fire into CQC where her shots will always heal friendlies or damage targets. There will never be a situation where Ana wastes heals on a 100% health character that isn’t damaged at the moment.

IMHO, I think pre-healing is wasteful and inefficient for Ana, but that’s just personal opinion.

20

Waiting for a bit to get piercing is better than completely ruining a long-established mechanic.

You can deal with the promise of a change on the horizon.

You can’t deal if they remove that feature entirely.