Overwatch is a 6 vs 6 multiplayer online first person shooter being developed by Jeff Kaplan’s team at Blizzard. Originally under the development using the code name ‘titan’, Overwatch has had a very long and complicated history. The game was revealed at last year’s BlizzCon and hype for the game is starting to grow leading up to today’s beta live stream event on Twitch.TV at 10 A.M PST. If you’ve been out of the loop completely or missed some of the reveal trailers, Broken Joysticks is here to catch you up before this morning’s big announcements.
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Announced Gameplay Modes
Two gameplay modes have been revealed so far:
Payload – Teams are split into two, either attacking or defending. The attacking team’s goal is to deliver a payload to a specified objective point. The defending team can win the match by keeping the attacking team away from the delivery point until time runs out.
Point Capture – Just like Payload teams are split between attacking and defending. The attacking team must gain control of critical points on the map while the defending team’s goal is to stop the attackers until time runs out.
The Story Thus Far
Overwatch takes place in a futuristic society where humans and robots known as the Omnix existed together in peace until a faction of Omnix malfunctioned and began attacking the human population. In response the nations of the world put together specialized taskforces known as Overwatch to deal with the ever pressing threat. After decades of prosperity and technological advancement the world is once again thrown into chaos as Overwatch’s role in society diminishes.
Watching The Livestream
Blizzard will be streaming a pre-determined gameplay match from two different vantage points, Haylinic and Ellohime, Blizzard is also promising that today’s livestream will include 90 minutes of never before seen gameplay. It starts on those two channels starting at 10:00 a.m. PT today!
Here’s How To Sign Up For The Beta
Signing up for the Overwatch beta is pretty simple. You need to create a battle.net account and then head over to your “beta settings” and opt-in. You can get more information on opting in either at this battle.net support link or on the official Overwatch website. The beta is set to begin on October 27th for selected players!
How Many Maps Are There?
As of current six different maps have been introduced for Overwatch:
- Hanamura
- Kings Row
- Numbani
- Temple of Anubus
- Volskaya
- Watchpoint: Gibraltar
Who Are Our Heroes?
Here’s a rundown on a few of the confirmed heroes for Overwatch:
Roadhog
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Role: Tank
Abilities:
| Scrap Gun | Short range damage via shrapnel or alt fire that delivers a small ball of shrapnel at a longer distance. |
| Take A Breather | Heals a small portion of health over time. |
| Chain Hook | Throws a chain at enemy and grapples them in towards Roadhog. |
| Whole Hog (ultimate ability) | Using an ammo extender Roadhog is able to unleash an increased amount of shrapnel at enemies. |
Junkrat
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Role: Defense
Abilities:
| Frag Launcher | Launches a grenade that bounces until making contact with an enemy or reaching its destination. |
| Concussive Mine | Once placed this mine can be detonated remotely to destroy enemies or propel Junkrat through the air. |
| Steel Trap | Lobbing a small bear-trap like device on to the ground Junkrat waits for his enemies to take target with his little toys. |
| Total Mayhem | Upon death Junkrat will drop several armed grenades. |
| RIP Tire | Junkrat sends a tire bomb spinning across the battlefield. He can either remote detonate it or wait for it to explode. |
Lucio
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Role: Support
Abilities:
| Sonic Amplifier | Attack enemies with a wave of sound |
| Cross-Fade | Cast two different buffs on nearby team-mates and self: healing or movement speed. |
| Amp It Up | Increases range of Cross-Fade Buffs. |
| Sound Barrier (ultimate) | Give self and nearby teammates temporary personal shields. |
Soldier: 76
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Role: Offense
Abilities:
| Heavy Pulse Rifle | Unleashes a steady stream of fire with little recoil. |
| Helix Rockets | Fires a stream of rockets at your enemy with a small blast radius. |
| Sprint | Allows Soldier 76 to rush forward at an increased movement speed. |
| Biotic Field (ultimate) | Soldier 76 throws a health regeneration field onto the ground healing himself and nearby friendly units. |
Zarya
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Role: Tank
Abilities:
| Particle Canon | Short ranged beam of energy or a concentrated charge. |
| Particle Barrier | Decreased weapon damage in exchange for a protective shield around. Zarya |
| Projected Barrier | Gives a protective shield to friendly units and increases the amount of damage that Particle Canon does. |
| Graviton Surge (ultimate) | Zarya unleashes a graviton bomb that pulls enemy combatants towards it and then deals damage. |
Other heroes include:
- Tracer ( Role: Offense)
- Reaper (Role: Offense)
- Widowmaker (Role: Defense)
- Winston (Role: Tank)
- Pharah (Role: Offense)
- Reinhardt (Role: Tank)
- Symmetra (Role: Support)
- Torbjorn (Role: Defense)
- Bastion (Role: Defense)
- Hanzo (Role: Defense)
- Mercy (Role: Support)
- Zenyatta (Role: Support)
We’ll have more coverage of Overwatch as the October 27th beta inches ever closer and of course we will bring you the full rundown of today’s livestream once it finishes!