Overwatch News
Ana Amari's story is the latest digital comics issue!
The latest installment of Blizzard Entertainment's "Overwatch" digital comic stars the newest hero of the hit multiplayer first-person shooter -- sniper Ana Amari, a unique character who's already become a fan-favorite in just one day on the game's test servers.
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Overwatch Community
Bliz Pls: Get rid of the score screen in between rounds of KotH on Quickplay - by Notmiefault
I like the score screen in competitive; it gives the match a sense of importance, of stakes. With quickplay, however, all it adds is around 20 seconds to each game. There's only three rounds, we've got dots up to let us know how we're doing.
There's been a lot of discussion about one-hero min recently, with many people saying that it leads to people gaming the mechanics - the now infamous "two Tracer, two Lucio, two Reinhardt" scenarios. Other people, including Blizzard earlier on, have said that hero stacking is a core gameplay concept. The game is designed so that every hero has counters, so if a team is rocking three Mei, for example, there are options to counter that, and a good team would actually be at an advantage by how unbalanced the three Mei team was.
With one-hero limit coming to competitive and only to competitive, most people seem happy with the compromise, but there are some concerns. Therefore, I propose an alternative: five-hero minimum (or, to put it another way, only one hero can be used twice).
What are the benefits of this:
- It prevents people from locking out a hero that they don't want to see anyone on their team using (people picking Hanzo and switching last second to spite Hanzo mains).
- It makes it easier for teammates to swap heroes mid-match, especially in solo queue where communication might not always be that tight.
- It allows for legitimate strategies that rely on hero duplication to continue to be used (I've found two Winstons in Ilios: Ruins to be very effective, for example)
- It still prevents the 2/2/2 super-gamy combos, or three of a kind combos.
Jeff Kaplan just gave a ton of new info on Ster's stream - by MattRix
Jeff (and some other Blizzard people) played a bunch of games on Ster's stream while doing Q&A. VOD here: https://www.twitch.tv/ster/v/77919999
Some things worth noting:
In the next PTR patch, Mercy's damage boost percentage is getting reverted back to what it was (instead of 50%). Discussion of the mercy damage boost happens starting at around 10:30 in the vid.
They are looking closely at how Zenyatta feels in the PTR, and will reduce his total HP to 175 if 200 is too much.
The bug with Ana shots giving a friendly Zarya charge is getting fixed
New comic with more backstory about Ana is coming very soon
They have 4 new maps being worked on right now, but note that not all of them may see the light of day
The are working on new game modes, but the first new map (coming "soonish") will have a standard mode
New skins are coming before the end of summer
It sounded like they may want to try hero stacking again in season 2, but they didn't actually explicitly say that
For season 2 they are getting rid of coin flip (I think this was already known)
For season 2 they are also trying to reduce how long competitive matches take, which means you'll probably have shorter attack times at the very least
They are going to add the ability to see ally health bars for all heroes (but not silhouettes through walls). It isn't coming in this next patch, but it sounds like they will do it pretty soon.
I probably forgot some stuff, so feel free to let me know if I missed anything!
Ana brings a new mechanic to the game: Sleep. Do your best to learn how it works - by FragdaddyXXL
Her sleep gun is NOT a traditional stun. If the person affected takes damage, the debuff will instantly wear off. This is very important to know, as it will allow your team to get the longest disable off on key heroes like ulting genji/soldier/winston/bastion as well as any nano-boosted enemy.
This mechanic is also found in Dota 2, and fresh players often screw it up for the guy that cast a sleep ability on someone else (Echo Stomp, Nightmare).
Some things I've noticed that support the "Alejandra is Sombra" theory - by blarg552
I'm sure all of you have heard this theory being flung everywhere, and I won't bore you by rehashing all the stuff that's already been said. I've simply noticed a few things myself that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else, and I figured I may as well share them.
First, now that Ana is confirmed not to be Sombra, the only evidence we see for who Sombra is resides in Dorado. Given that Alejandra is the only named character known to hail from Dorado, this could support the theory.
Second, the intel file on Sombra is found next to two intel files on 76. This implies that Sombra has a connection of some sort to 76, and the only character from Dorado that could possibly be that we know of is Alejandra.
Third, the name of the short itself is "Hero". Of course this refers to the lines spoken near the end, where 76 insists he is not a hero, but I believe it could also refer to how Alejandra got the inspiration to be a hero herself. Also, the playable characters are called heroes, so in a meta sense it may even be saying that the short itself is a teaser for a new hero. Of course, I admit calling this one a stretch would be putting it lightly.
Fourth, and most importantly, the short follows the same directing pattern that all the others do. The previous three shorts all follow a distinct pattern of introducing the focus character first, and establishing what they are doing before they are interrupted by something involving the second character in some capacity.
In Alive, Widowmaker is going to assassinate Mondatta before she is interrupted by Tracer trying to stop her.
In Recall, Winston is contemplating recalling Overwatch before he is interrupted by a Talon attack lead by Reaper.
In Dragons, Hanzo is going to pray for Genji before being interrupted by Genji attacking him.
Now this brings us to Hero. The short opens on Alejandra, who is established to be going to the store to get some flour before her money is stolen by thugs. She chases after them, and the chase is interrupted by 76 laying a smack down on the hooligans until they break a retreat and he is forced to save Alejandra. He then makes sure Alejandra is alright, and Alejandra heads home, having transformed from a cynical young girl into a vibrant, optimistic one who believes in the heroic ideals that were demonstrated to her by 76.
There is a theme in all the shorts. The focus characters all undergo some kind of development in them. Widowmaker states that spiders, the creatures she associates herself with, feel no emotion. However, by the end of it she states she feels alive when killing people. Winston goes from being hopeless and depressed about the state of the world to being optimistic and determined to make it a better place with the help of his friends. Hanzo goes from lamenting that he killed his own brother and convinced that he had to do it to confused that he is still alive and reflecting on whether it was necessary.
The secondary characters, however, do not receive much development at all. Tracer, Reaper, and Genji are still largely the same people they were at the start of the short. The same goes for 76 in Hero. He still insists that he is not a Hero, and continues to be a grumpy old man of a vigilante.
Given all of this, I think it is fair to say that the focus of Hero is not actually on 76. It's the story of Alejandra, and how she was inspired to become Sombra and follow in the footsteps of the hero who saved her life.
Of course, I could be entirely wrong about this, as well. I most likely am. I simply find the speculation to be entertaining, and I like coming up with crack pot theories. What do you guys think?
Overwatch Highlights
Gifs
How to play Ana
New hero confirmed. :v
Mom get the camera! Finally managed to reflect a Zarya ult.
Hanzo in unbelievable sometimes
Get away from the payload Reinhardt!
I'm Sorry Moms - Pharah POTG
Nana boosted Zarya is no joke
Won't be able to do this next patch
Oh great another dragon POTG
The new patch in a nutshell
"How do you counter Bastion?" "Just go Widow."
The new Widowmaker catapult isn't very effective..
No I insist, you can go ahead
Reaper ult + Ana ult = Raiden
[PTR] It seems they have changed projectile hitboxes
Lucky timing for Tracer Ult!
When Mercy saves the day
How To Disrespect Mei
I knew I messed up when I pressed 'E' D
A quick an easy Ana combo ~ 225 damage in 2 seconds
Those "questionable" Roadhog hooks don't usually trigger me, but this one...
(PTR Bug) Your player name shows above you as D.Va while in your mech
Everything happend perfectly!
Videos
Improved hitboxes on PTR.
Jeff Kaplan(Blizzard Dev) Confirms 4 new maps in development
Ana Amari problem...
If you jump off a cliff as Ana, her screams will haunt people into her next life.
Fan Content
Shhhhh, don’t tell your mother~
Nano Boosted Genji Team Kill
Spot-on spontaneous Ana cosplay from the mother of a player who happened to see the origins video
D.Va Cosplay by Miyuki (/r/cosplaygirls x-post)
Heroes Never Cry
Meiday
Sprays
Rock 'n' Roll Angel (Mercy)
when people tell me to switch off d.va [Fanart]
No Mercy (My fan comic)
OVERWATCH: BABY HUNT
ANA and Tank by CARBON12th
that will be me when Ana officially roll out
My first comic :D "ana is a true grandma"