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Overwatch is a first-person shooter video game announced by Blizzard Entertainment expected to release on or before June 21, 2016. It will be available both as the base release, and in two other releases: Origins and Collector's. Both of these will be available on Microsoft Windows as well as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Gameplay[ | ]

Overwatch features team-based combat matches between two opposing teams of six players each for it's standard modes, Quick Play and Competitive Play.

Player Progression[ | ]

Heroes[ | ]

Offense[ | ]

Offense heroes possess high mobility and are typically great damage dealers as well as excelling in scouting, harassment and pressing objectives.

Genji[ | ]

Genji is a cyborg ninja who has made peace with his body and versatile flanker with very high mobility with 200 health, boasting some of the best movement options of all the heroes. He is better suited for close quarters to make use of his mobility and spread shurikens, but can still be formidable at range. Genji can engage, escape or move between targets efficiently, and Genji should either maneuver around his opponents or deal small but quick and easy damage. He is also capable of turning the enemies' damage back towards them and even allows him to turn around entire ultimate abilities.

  • Shuriken
  • Swift Strike
  • Deflect
  • Cyber-Agility
  • Dragonblade

McCree [ | ]

As befits a gunslinger and a justice-delivering vigilante, McCree is the best duelist and is capable of eliminating almost everyone he gets up close to with blinding speed by stunning them and unloading into them. The accurate hitscan nature of his primary weapon also makes him suitable for fighting mobile targets at medium range. His damage falls off a cliff at longer ranges, and his low mobility means that he has to take conventional routes to get up close to his opponents, making it easier to outflank and kill before he has the chance to fire back.

  • Peacekeeper
  • Flashbang
  • Combat Roll
  • Deadeye

Pharah[ | ]

Reaper[ | ]

Reaper is a deadly assassin that can move like a ghost throughout the battlefield, specializing in flanking his opponents as well as draining the life from the corpses of fallen opponents with 250 health. He is most effective at close quarters, and uses his abilities to get in close. Reaper excels in ambushing and swiftly silencing targets before slipping back into the shadows. 

  • Hellfire Shotguns
  • Wraith Form
  • Shadow Step
  • The Reaping
  • Death Blossom

Soldier: 76[ | ]

Soldier: 76 is a vigilante and former soldier and the most well-rounded of attackers with 200 health, able to deal both sustained and burst damage at any range, move quickly across the battlefield and support both himself and his team. His downsides are a lack of any real specialization with his weapons or abilities or no vertical movements, being simple to play but difficult to master.

  • Heavy Pulse Rifle
  • Helix Rockets
  • Sprint
  • Biotic Field
  • Tactical Visor

Sombra[ | ]

Tracer[ | ]

Defense[ | ]

Defense heroes are great are guarding locations, creating choke points and preventing objectives from being taken, being skilled in area denial and often form the back line of the team.

Bastion[ | ]

Hanzo [ | ]

Hanzo is a deadly assassin and bowman without peer, serving as a medium-range sniper with 200 health and has strong team utility and area denial abilities. The relatively silent and hard-to-see nature of his versatile arrows makes him a stealthy sniper, able to score kills and then retreat before his enemies spot him. Hanzo is also a dangerous opponent in tight corridors, able to deny entire groups passage through an area and take out tanks with well-placed shots.

  • Storm Bow
  • Scatter Arrow
  • Sonic Arrow
  • Wall Climb
  • Dragonstrike

Junkrat[ | ]

Junkrat is an explosive-obsessed freak who lives to cause mayhem and can use a variety of explosives and traps to wreak havoc on the battlefield, excelling at defending through the use of his traps and indirect fire; being valued for his damage output and area denial capabilities as well as possessing 200 health. He has strong mobility as he blasts through the skies and deals high, yet inaccurate, damage. The explosive and hard-to-aim nature of his weapon, however, makes it challenging for Junkrat to fight at close range.

  • Frag Launcher
  • Concussion Mine
  • Steel Trap
  • Total Mayhem
  • RIP-Tire

Mei[ | ]

Torbjorn[ | ]

Widowmaker [ | ]

A cold-blooded, emotionless and patient assassin, being the archetypal sniper with 200 health .

Tank[ | ]

Tank heroes have high endurance and are good at protecting allies and disrupting enemies, with their primary role being to absorb enemy incoming fire and have generally high health pools.

D.Va[ | ]

D.Va is a former professional gamer turned militarized mech pilot and a unique and mobile tank with 400 health and 200 armor but outside of her mech, she only has 150 health. She has high damage output at close-range, making her a strong fighter, being useful in absorbing incoming projectiles and protecting her teammates from enemy fire. She is a dangerous ganker in tank class, dealing consistent damage to the enemy team.

  • Fusion Cannons
  • Defense Matrix
  • Boosters
  • Self-Destruct
  • Light Gun
  • Call Mech

Orisa[ | ]

Orisa is an omnic who strives to right wrongs built with a heart and personality and the central anchor tank with 200 health and 200 armor, meaning her team get more benefit when grouping and coordinating with her. She can perform well in defending choke points and suppressing enemies, as well as to pull enemies out of position or coordinate with other allies' abilities. She can also boost the damage output of her entire team and while Orisa has strong front-facing defenses, she is weak to flankers who can get behind her due to her low mobility.

  • Fusion Driver
  • Halt!
  • Protective Barrier
  • Fortify
  • Supercharger

Reinhardt[ | ]

Reinhardt is a highly decorated German medieval-styled soldier and the sturdiest of the tanks, boasting 300 health and 200 armor and a massive barrier that allows him to shield his team from harm. While largely defense-oriented, Reinhardt can be a deadly offensive threat to the high damaging weapon and ability to crush enemies against walls however the price this warrior pays is that his limited to short-ranged combat with a single, infrequent ranged attack.

  • Rocket Hammer
  • Barrier Field
  • Charge
  • Fire Strike
  • Earthshatter

Roadhog[ | ]

Roadhog is a wanted killer who causes destruction and a sturdy hero that can endure heavy damage and works as a great offensive tank capable of shredding enemies in his path with 600 health. His unique playstyle should focus on singling out vulnerable heroes and yanking them in the slaughter, and is also a persistent threat as he can recover health and is powerful at short-medium range. However, Roadhog's lack of any kind of barrier makes him a tank that can poorly protect his teammates and functions best as a flanker, where he can catch unaware enemies and kill them before they can react.

  • Scrap Gun
  • Chain Hook
  • Take A Breather
  • Whole Hog

Winston[ | ]

Winston is a genetically highly-intelligent gorilla and one of the more mobile tanks, capable of using his impressive inventions to cross large distances and create chaos in the enemy team with 400 health and 100 armor.. He is a persistent menace that can easily disrupt any enemy team through constant harassment and his raging power. However, Winston is only capable of fighting at short range, and he is not nearly as consistently durable as the other tanks.

  • Tesla Cannon
  • Jump Pack
  • Barrier Projector
  • Primal Rage

Zarya[ | ]

Support [ | ]

Support heroes can heal allies, enhance their team's abilities and debuff enemies; however are poor duelists and perform best when their team is around.

Lucio[ | ]

Lucio is an international celebrity who inspires with his music and actions and a versatile support with 200 health and requires good situational awareness to master, with his aura allowing him to contribute damage in fights while passively supporting and buffing his allies as well as protect against enemy ultimates and enable his team to make aggressive pushes. He can escape dangerous situations and while Lucio's damage output is lower than most supports, he can buff multiple allies at once while assisting in fights which makes him a valuable hero to the team.

  • Sonic Amplifier
  • Crossfade
  • Amp It Up
  • Wall Ride
  • Sound Barrier

Zenyatta [ | ]

Zenyatta is an omnic monk who changes anyone he crosses paths with and a potent offense-focused support who stands out from other supports due to his incredible damage power, capable of shredding through the sturdiest of tanks with debuffing abilities and well-aimed shots with 50 health and 150 shield. While not as effective in healing as others, Zenyatta is more then enough to let him keep his team alive however moves at a relatively slow pace, being vulnerable to agile flankers or large amounts of incoming fire.

  • Orb of Destruction
  • Orb of Harmony
  • Orb of Discord
  • Transcendence

Maps and Game Modes[ | ]

Overwatch features several different maps, each supporting a particular game mode and additional maps will be released as free post-launch content in future updates.

Assault[ | ]

The attacking and defending teams must attempt to take or defend capture points, and defenders always have the same spawnpoint whether protecting the first or second point, while the attackers' spawn changes depending on the point they are attempting to capture.

Escort[ | ]

The attacking team aim to escort a payload across the map to the objective while the defending team aim to stop them. At the start of each round, the defenders is allocated some time to set up defenses before the attackers are allowed out of their spawn area.

Hybrid[ | ]

A combination of Assault and Escort, starting with Assault and resulting in an Escort situation, should the attacking team manage to take the point.

Control[ | ]

Two teams fight over a series of objective areas in a best-of-three format.

Arena[ | ]

Whether it is a one-on-one mystery duel or a three on three last man standing, it has one team defeat the other to become victorious.

Summer Games[ | ]

A seasonal event that started on August 2 2016 and ended on August 23 2016. It features Lucioball which is a special brawl based on soccer, where two teams of three Lucios have a modified moveset and the objective is to knock the ball into the opposing teams' goal.

Overwatch Halloween Terror[ | ]

A seasonal event that started on October 11 2016 to November 1 2016. It features Junkenstein's Revenge, a 4-player PvE brawl where the playable heroes are The Alchemist (Ana), The Gunslinger (McCree), The Soldier (Soldier:  76) and The Archer (Hanzo) where they face off against Dr. Junkenstein (Junkrat) and his zomnic creations as well as Junkenstein's Monster (Roadhog), The Reaper (Reaper) and The Witch (Mercy) to defend the castle gates.

Winter Wonderland[ | ]

A seasonal event that started on December 13 2016 to January 3, 2017. It features Mei's Snowball Offensive, which is a 6v6 brawl and the only hero is Mei, engaging in a snowball fight.

Year of the Rooster[ | ]

A seasonal event that started on January 24 2017 to February 14, 2017. It features Capture the Rooster, a 6v6 brawl with the objective being to capture the opposing team's flag.

Uprising[ | ]

A seasonal event that started on April 11, 2017 to May 1, 2017.

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