Earlier today, the official PlayOverwatch YouTube channel gave us a Developer Update with Jeff Kaplan who went over a Torbjörn rework, better colorblind options, changes to DPS heroes (Soldier:76, McCree, Pharah), and more Halloween Terror skins.  Full details can be found on the official PTR patch notes.

In regards to Torbjorn, Overwatch Developer Geoff Goodman went into detail on Blizzard's forums on what would change.  The following is taken directly from his post:

Rivet Gun

Torbjörn’s Rivet Gun was a little unwieldy to deal damage with consistently due to its projectile speed and somewhat unintuitive trajectory. We’ve increased its offensive potential by increasing the primary fire’s projectile speed and decreasing its reload time.

- Primary fire projectile speed increased from 60 to 70
- Reload time reduced from 2.2 to 2 seconds

Rivet Gun’s alternate fire has been rebalanced by decreasing the recovery time between shots so that it matches the same cadence as its primary fire. The damage was lowered slightly as a result though overall, it’s more powerful. Not only is the secondary fire more responsive now but the spread pattern is significantly easier to predict.

- Recovery lowered from 0.8 to 0.6 seconds
- Total damage per shot lowered from 150 to 125
- Reload time reduced from 2.2 to 2 seconds
- Spread pattern adjusted and random spread reduced by 50%

While Rivet Gun’s functionality remains largely the same it has been tuned up to be more consistent when dealing damage and switching between the primary and alternate fire should feel much smoother.

Ability 1: Deploy Turret

The turret is now a thrown projectile that will automatically build upon landing instead of needing to be manually built. Turret levels have been removed and you no longer need to hammer the turret other than to repair it. Torbjörn’s turret will also now assist you by firing at enemies damaged by Rivet Gun’s primary fire, giving players some control over the AI targeting. Note: It will not attempt to target enemies not in its line of sight.

1. Deploy Turret is now a thrown projectile

- Half cooldown begins upon deployment
- Full cooldown begins when the turret is destroyed
- A new turret cannot be placed if the turret has taken or dealt damage within the last 3 seconds

2. New Interact input ability added to manually destroy your turret.

- This gives players the ability to start the cooldown earlier if the turret is stuck in combat

3. No longer explodes if Torbjörn dies while it is still building

4. Turret levels removed

- Turret automatically builds over 3 seconds
- Deals the same amount of damage as the previous level 2 turret
- 250 health

The turret now requires much less time commitment to set up, allowing Torbjörn to throw it in position and get going right away. With more control over who it targets, Torbjörn can redirect it onto exposed enemies or higher priority targets by tagging them with his Rivet Gun. From the enemy perspective, destroying a turret should feel more rewarding as it will put the ability on cooldown.

Ability 2: Overload

This new ability replaces Torbjörn’s Armor Pack ability. When Torbjörn uses Overload he gains temporary armor along with improved movement, attack, and reload speed for a short duration.

- Adds 150 temporary armor
- Temporarily grants 30% increased movement speed
- Temporarily grants 30% increased Rivet Gun and reload and attack speed
- Temporarily grants 30% increased Hammer attack speed
- 5 second duration and 12 second cooldown

Overload takes some of the functionality we loved about the old Molten Core and adds to it in the form of a cooldown ability that can be used often throughout the match. It provides both offensive and defensive advantages, giving it a good deal of flexibility depending on when it is used.

Ultimate: Molten Core (New)

Torbjörn powers up his claw arm, enabling him to create burning pools of molten slag that continuously damage any enemies standing on them. He can use this area denial in a variety of ways to control choke points, objectives, separate enemy players from their allies, cut off escape routes, or slow an enemy advance. * Enters a new weapon mode for 6 seconds

- Launches up to 10 molten projectiles that spawn a damaging pool where they land
- Deals extra damage to enemies with armor (e.g. enemies affected by Brigitte’s Rally or Repair Pack)

1. Bounces off walls and ceilings until coming into contact with the ground

- Base damage increases from 130 to 190 against enemies who have armor:

1. Heroes with armor: Bastion, Brigitte, D.Va, Orisa, Reinhardt, Torbjörn, Winston, Wrecking Ball

2. Heroes who can grant armor to their allies: Brigitte

Although some Overwatch fans online have expressed concern about a trend with Hero ultimates being turned into abilities (Mercy, Symmetra), others are excited about the changes:

Torbjoön's rework has been a long time coming. He has widely been considered one of the least competitive heroes in the game and his old design led to problematic discrepancies between the casual player base, whom his auto-aiming turrets terrorized, and the more experienced players who quickly countered his linear gameplay.