BlizzCon 2017 - Overwatch - What's Next

BlizzCon 2017 - Overwatch - What's Next
A quick outline of what to expect in the future of Overwatch!

New Hero: Development of Moira

• Moira is the new Support Healer
• The geneticist of the team
• Moira doesn't allow morals to come in the way of science
• Recruited by Reyes to join Blackwatch
• Allied herself with Talon, after Overwatch was gone

The Art of Moira

• Concept art weapons included syringes, and a two handed cannon, and tentacles
• Her duality between doing damage and healing indicated by the liquid in the tubes
• Drains energy from her enemies
• Ultimate Ability: Coalescence, which is a frontal beam

Skins

• Oasis: She was invited to be the minister of Genetics in Oasis
• Glam: A tribute to Glam Rock in from the 70s

Gameplay

• Biotic Grasp: Primary fire is Regeneration, which is a healing throughput. Controlled by a meter
• Secondary fire is Decay, which does damage and fills the meter back up. Small amount of Leech
• Fade (Shift): A small dash, making her invisible, which also grants movement speed
• Biotic Orb (E): Pulls out two orbs, then the healing one can be activated by Primary fire, or damage orb by Secondary fire
• This orb does AOE healing, bounces around, slows down when it is close to a friendly target
• Coalescence (Q): Long range frontal beam that heals allies and damages enemies affected by it
• This ultimate pierces barriers

New Map: Blizzard World

• The idea has been around since before last BlizzCon
• BlizzardWorld is an amusement park, celebrating the worlds and places of Blizzard Ent.
• There is no Overwatch part of the Park
• Hybrid Map
• First is a Control Point
• Two main paths to the first point
• The first choke is a mini-arena, with multiple routes
• Several Healthpacks to gain a foothold
• After capturing the first point, it is time to move the payload
• Circular arena, with abundance of high-ground
• Multiple flanking routes, Mega healthpacks and corridors
• Push the payload to the Throne of the Skeleton King, in Leoric's Manor
• Hidden lore in the area
• The park was designed by artists from all Blizzard Games
• Lots of easter eggs, including special voicelines
• Coming to the PTR soon, and will go live early next year

New Skins: Blizzard Themed

• Immortal Orisa
• Magni Bronzebeard Torbjorn
• Nova Widowmaker
• Blackhand Doomfist
• Barbarian Zarya
• Butcher Roadhog
• Crusader Reinhardt
• Ecopoint Mei
• All the skins will be available in the Base Lootbox
• More info early next year

Q&A


Q: Will BlizzardWorld come to real life?
A: Not currently planned.

Q: Can the siege tank be used?
A: Possibly in an Arcade Version.

Q: How does Moiras healing connect to Zenyata?
A: Her healing has a connection to Mercy, there is a hint on one of the maps.

Q: Will Pharah's rockets or damage be updated like Junkrat?
A: With Junkrat it made sense to make the changes, but Pharah's kit allows her to stay at range.

Q: Will next year be an Eichenwalde PVE event?
A: Can't answer, but they really love the map.

Q: Are there changes planned to Symmetra?
A: Not likely to have healing abilities added, but the categories might be changed. Always looking at heroes to make changes.

Q: Was Moira a scrap class from Titan, and what other features are planned from that game?
A: Moira was not inspired by Titan, but there are guns from Titan which influence weapons.

Q: How is mobility being looked at when designing new heroes, and balancing the game?
A: Mobility is a big topic, and a main theme to watch out for when designing new heroes.

Q: Can we expect more LGBT identified heroes?
A: Representation is definitely important, but characters personalities need to be revealed through story.

Q: Quickplay has some issues with it not being competitive enough, is this being looked at?
A: Quickplay is always being looked at, and some more restrictions might be included in the future to find more like players.

Q: Will there be any interest in using old assets or locations for new map modes?
A: Yes, this has been done in the past with maps such as Chateou. In the future this can be expected to continue.

Q: Could a new competitive scorecard be added with more detail?
A: This is definitely something being looked at. Currently this is done by third party websites, but it is an idea they are interested in.

Q: There is so much lore potential, can there be more added in single player mode?
A: More frequent lore bits can be expected in the future.

Q: Is there plans to bring a more social aspect to Overwatch, such as a general lobby before or LFG system?
A: This has been discussed, but there are a lot of challenges implementing it.

Q: Are there voiceline interactions between Magni Bronzebeard skin and Moira?
A: Haven't though of this yet, but Moira definitely inspired by Wizzard and Mage .

Q: What is being though of when it comes to diversity in the game?
A: Ovewatch is a very diverse team, and it is important to have diverse characters.