All Articles: Overwatch

Blizzard unveiled the 28th Hero coming to Overwatch earlier today and there are pretty much no adequate words to describe him. But I’m gonna try.

The game’s 28th Hero is Hammond, a genetically-enhanced hamster who goes by the nickname “Wrecking Ball.” With his vast intellect, Hammond has built an armor-plated hamster ball complete with four assault cannons, a grappling hook, proximity mines, and a temporary shield. Needless to say, the character is definitely classified as a Tank within the world of Overwatch.

Hammond is currently available in Overwatch’s Public Test Region, and he’ll roll out to all platforms at a later date. In the meantime, you can view his origin story in the trailer embedded above, and you can learn more about his abilities at the game’s official website:

Quad Cannons: Automatic assault weapons.

Roll: Transform into a ball and increase maximum movement speed.

Grappling Claw: Launch a grappling claw to rapidly swing around the area. Enables high speed collisions to damage and knockback enemies.

Minefield: Deploy a massive field of proximity mines.

Adaptive Shield: Create temporary personal shields. Amount increases with more enemies nearby.

Piledriver: Slam into the ground below to damage and launch enemies upward.

You can also hear Game Director Jeff Kaplan talk more about the little guy in the latest Developer Update video. It’s been embedded after the break. (more…)

For the next two weeks, the Heroes from Overwatch will do battle against Breast Cancer thanks to a new partnership between Blizzard and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

A brand new “Pink Mercy” Skin is now available to download for $14.99 on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. All proceeds from sales of the Skin will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, as will 50% of all proceeds from sales of a “Pink Mercy” T-Shirt at the Blizzard Gear Store. Both the in-game Skin and the real-world T-Shirt will be available until May 21.

You can hear Game Director Jeff Kaplan talk a bit more about the “Pink Mercy” campaign in the new Developer Update episode embedded above.

Just in time for the Spring, Blizzard is launching the latest seasonal event for Overwatch next week. Like last year’s “Uprising” event, players will be heading back to the past in “Retribution,” a limited-time PvE mode featuring Genji, Moira, McCree, and Reaper:

Travel eight years into the past and join Blackwatch as they seek to capture a high-ranking member of the Talon organization. Fight in the streets of Venice as Genji, Moira, McCree, or Reyes (later known as Reaper) to complete the mission and unlock pieces of the past with over 100 items from last year and 60 new ones—including highlight intros, emotes, sprays, and more.

To help get fans up to speed on the events preceding the “Retribution” mission, Blizzard uploaded a new prequel comic to their website. The publisher is also giving Overwatch players who missed out on last year’s “Uprising” event another chance to relive Tracer’s first mission in the “Overwatch Archives.”

Overwatch’s “Retribution” event begins on April 10, and will conclude on April 30. In the meantime, Game Director Jeff Kaplan and Lead Engineer Tim Ford talked a bit about “Retribution” in the latest Developer Update video, which has been embedded after the break. (more…)

After a few weeks of testing, Blizzard has added Brigitte to Overwatch‘s Character Select Screen on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The complete list of updates included in this patch can be found at the game’s Community Forum, and a new trailer for the melee mechanic has been embedded above:

An engineer with peerless armor-constructing abilities, Brigitte Lindholm is a valiant squire who fights on the front line to protect her allies.

Brigitte’s armor engineering capabilities make her a stalwart support hero, capable of holding her ground in combat while also providing healing and armor for her allies. Her primary weapon is her heavy-hitting Rocket Flail that she swings in a wide arc in front of her to smash multiple enemies at once. Whip Shot enables Brigitte to fling her flail forward, striking enemies at a distance and knocking them backward. With each blow, Brigitte’s passive ability, Inspire, heals nearby allies over time.

Brigitte’s Barrier Shield deploys a frontal energy barrier that can absorb a limited amount of damage and protect any allies directly behind her. Once her Barrier Shield is deployed, she can use Shield Bash to lunge forward and stun the first enemy in her path. Drawing on her engineering prowess, Brigitte can create Repair Packs to instantly heal wounded allies or provide armor to teammates at maximum health. When Brigitte is at her strongest, she can activate her ultimate ability, Rally—a galvanizing call to arms that generates a substantial amount of armor for nearby allies and increases Brigitte’s movement speed so she can lead them into battle.

According to Blizzard, Brigitte will be available in Competitive Play starting with Season 10.

Blizzard has announced the next Hero coming to Overwatch… Brigitte. Her “Origin Story” has been embedded above, but players will be more interested in learning that she’s a Support specialist with a variety of melee attacks, as well as healing abilities and a portable shield. Within the world of Overwatch, she’s also well known as Torbjorn’s daughter.

More information about Brigitte’s fighting style can be found at Overwatch’s official website:

Overview
Brigitte specializes in armor. She can throw Repair Packs to heal teammates, or automatically heal nearby allies when she damages foes with her Flail. Her Flail is capable of a wide swing to strike multiple targets, or a Whip Shot that stuns an enemy at range. When entering the fray, Barrier Shield provides personal defense while she attacks enemies with Shield Bash. Brigitte’s ultimate ability, Rally, gives her a substantial short-term boost of speed and provides long-lasting armor to all her nearby allies.

Ability: Rocket Flail
Brigitte’s melee weapon has an extended range, enabling her to strike multiple enemies with a single swing.

Ability: Repair Pack
Brigitte throws a Repair Pack that can heal an ally. Any healing over that ally’s maximum health provides them with armor instead.

Ability: Whip Shot
Brigitte throws her flail a long distance, dealing damage and knocking an enemy away from her.

Ability: Barrier Shield
Brigitte deploys a frontal energy barrier to absorb a limited amount of damage.

Ability: Shield Bash
Once her Barrier Shield is deployed, Brigitte can dash forward to stun an enemy.

Ability: Rally
Brigitte moves faster and provides all nearby allies with armor that lasts until it’s removed by damage.

Game Director Jeff Kaplan sat down for another Developer Update video to discuss Brigitte’s introduction to Overwatch, and you can find it after the break. In addition to providing insight on her abilities and overall strategy, Kaplan confirmed that Brigitte is now available to play in Overwatch’s Public Test Region on the PC. Presumably, everyone will get the chance to play as the character soon. (more…)

Blizzard will kick off Overwatch‘s latest limited-time event, “Year of the Dog,” on February 8. And Game Director Jeff Kaplan revealed a few details about it during the developer’s most recent Developer Update video.

The “Year of the Dog” event will include a brand new map located in Thailand (known as “Ayutthaya”), as well as gameplay updates to Capture the Flag, a special Competitive Capture the Flag mode, and six new Legendary Skins:

Overwatch’s Lunar New Year celebration returns February 8! Join game director Jeff Kaplan as he talks about what to expect from this year’s festivities—including a new Capture the Flag competitive mode, new Capture the Flag map, over 50 new seasonal items, and more.

You can learn more about “Year of the Dog” by viewing Blizzard’s most recent Developer Update video, and it’s been embedded above.