The Overwatch Archives event is finally here! And it brings us new skins, lore and PvE game modes to play! While last year’s Uprising brawl had us playing as members of Overwatch in Tracer’s first ever mission, this time there’s a new brawl mode – Retribution. Retribution has you as a member of Blackwatch on their last mission, before Gabriel Reyes goes crazy and becomes Reaper.

I know everyone is excited to hit the ‘Update’ button on their Battle.net apps. Do note however that with the update being 15GB for PC and 21GB for PS4, it might take a while before you stare at the new skins. Since you’re waiting for it to patch anyway, here’s some info for you to make sure you know everything you need to about Overwatch Archives.

1. D.Va and Zenyatta get big nerfs

As with every patch that Blizzard puts out, there will be disgruntled fans complaining why their main has been nerfed. This time round, we’re seeing nerfs for D.Va and Zenyatta.

D.Va will be seeing her Micro Missiles’ explosive damage drop from 6 to 4. The Korean Starcraft player also sees her impact damage from Boosters reduced from 25 to 10. If you’ve every played against a very aggro D.Va, you could probably understand this change. “Prior to this change, each missile dealt 3 impact damage and 6 explosive damage. We’re reducing explosive damage from 6 to 4 but leaving the impact damage the same. The net result is a 21% damage reduction,” says Blizzard.

Zenyatta meanwhile receives a nerf to his Orb of Destruction. According to Blizzard, the Omnic monk had been dealing too much burst damage as a support. As such, his secondary fire rate of fire has been reduced by 15%. The total damage output however is the same.

As for buffs, Mei and Reaper fans rejoice! Mei’s freezing abilities now go through enemies, so you can keep freezing a target even when blocked. Her Endothermic Blaster does not penetrate shields however. Reaper meanwhile gets a buff to his escape capabilities. Wraith Form can be cancelled midway now, and the speed bonus it gives is 25%, up from 20%.

The most interesting change however is probably Moira. No nerfs to her this time round, but Blizzard have tweaked the cosmetics. Her primary fire and ultimate abilities now become more transparent the nearer you are to them, preventing clutter on screen. Youtuber Muselk famously abused this, when he and everyone else went Moira in a custom game:

To see the full patch notes from Blizzard, you can click here.

2. The ‘Avoid-as-Teammate’ option is now available

How many times have you come across a toxic player in Overwatch? If you haven’t, that makes one of us. But if you do come across a toxic and abusive player, fear not: Blizzard now let’s you choose to avoid them as a teammate.

To do so, you can go to that player’s Career Profile (you can do this by going to the Social tab) and pick ‘Avoid as Teammate’ in a drop down menu. You can have up to two people selected to avoid, and each time you use it, you won’t be drawn into a team with them for one week. Blizzard hopes that this new option gives you the ability to craft a more wholesome online gameplay experience.

Here’s Overwatch developer Jeff Kaplan with more on the ‘Avoid As Teammate’ feature:

3. Overwatch Archives brings plenty of new skins

Ohhh boy, everyone’s favourite part of any Overwatch event. There’s the return of the original Uprising skins from last year’s event but more importantly, we’re getting new Blackwatch and Talon skins too!

With Blackwatch skins for Moira, Genji and Mccree, Talon skins for Sombra and Doomfist, and even a Mei in pajamas, Blizzard really have outdone themselves with the new cosmetic content. Don’t worry if you don’t have enough credits too; you can earn the Archives Loot Box too by playing the game.

If you want to identify which skin you’re spending your money on while Overwatch Archives downloads, you can click here for the full list.

4. It’s Reaper’s time to shine

The highlight of the event is obviously the Retribution brawl mode. Blizzard had given us a few trailers already, but nothing beats playing it ourselves. This time, you play as one of Mccree, Moira, Genji, or Gabriel Reyes, who’d later become Reaper. As members of Blackwatch, Overwatch’s secret black-ops division, you go up against an army of Talon units, in what is Reaper’s last ever mission before he betrays Overwatch.

All the action takes place in Rialto, a new map based in Venice. Blizzard have confirmed that the new map will return as a permanent fixture once the event is over. It will return as a payload-mode map in the normal 6v6 modes.

In case you need a refresher, Overwatch, after stopping the Omnic Crisis, began protecting the world. Part of this protection plan was Blackwatch – a shadowy black-ops division doing more of the dirty work. Its leader was Gabriel Reyes, military veteran who had been passed over for the role of Overwatch leader, which went to Jack Morrison, aka Soldier 76. Jealous of the attention and praise Morrison gets, a feud soon ensues, culminating in the dissolution of Overwatch itself.

It’s only a matter of time before we find out if the Overwatch Archives event will be the start of more information on Overwatch’s defining moment in its history from Blizzard.