What’s higher than one particular person controlling an enormous, unstoppable killing machine throughout a science fiction battlefield? Two individuals, say Blizzard, including an enormous, two-person robotic to their interpretation of Overwatch’s Volskaya map. Volskaya Foundry, such it’s known as, has you capturing management factors to summon the Triglav Protector, then leaping inside with one in all your team-mates.
As a part of the following main replace, Volskaya Foundry will likely be bringing three lanes, three management factors and one large mech – together with a pre-game quest occasion and its personal brawl – to Blizzard’s MOBA. The main promote of the map is its distinctive mechanic, which operates like if Cho’Gall was a map goal as an alternative of a terrific bait to all inexperienced duos in every single place.
“The first person who enters the mech is the pilot and he gets to control a lot of the positioning and movement,” explains map designer John DeShazer. “The second person who enters it is the gunner, they get access to three very fun and interesting damage dealing abilities.”
Unlocking it is so simple as holding management factors throughout the map, that are lively one by one. These function a bit like Sky Temple – your staff should hold management of them to proceed progress in the direction of the Protector, with somebody at all times standing on the purpose. If two heroes from reverse groups are on the purpose it will not contribute to triggering the Protector for both, forcing staff fights round these targets.
“The pilot function is sort of the tank function for the staff. They have a number of CC fashion talents and likewise [control] the motion. One of their talents is a rocket fist that can shoot out and root an enemy participant or it should disable a construction. That can be utilized to combo and create synergies with team-mates or the gunner.
“[The pilot] additionally has the defend emitter capacity on E, that can apply armour to the mech and likewise each ally that is inside vary will get a defend. Really encourages individuals to combat across the robotic, synergise with it, to be simpler.” Other talents embrace a cost, that does big injury to buildings.
The pilot’s companion in crime is extra about meting out injury, and offering some energy to excuse having two heroes lacking off the map. “The gunner is a team fighter slot. A lot of times vehicles are used to do a lot of the siege damage to buildings and structures. The gunner has a lot of positional damage if targeting heroes. You really get to be a threat to enemy heroes in the gunner slot, so it should be something you want to fight around and never feel like a 4v5 as it can with other vehicles.”
Taking the mech down received’t take an distinctive quantity extra punishment than the Dragon Knight or Garden Terror – a bit extra well being on the final balancing go, based on DeShazer – however it’s much more threatening to snowballing a sport, mixed with being more durable to get. There’s additionally no stealing the mech, and the one option to cease individuals getting inside is to stun them, injury doesn’t interrupt the channel. If just one participant is driving, they’ll change seats at will, however this isn’t prompt and has a cooldown, so it’s removed from optimum.
Balancing, as a terrific designer as soon as stated, hardly ever survives first contact with the gamers. DeShazer thinks the mech is in place proper now, however is happy to see simply how a lot we break it. So get to it and push some cores. Lost Vikings, anybody?
Also on Volskaya are a sequence of conveyor belts. These do precisely what you’d anticipate, dashing or slowing you and different heroes relying on which means you’re travelling. There’s a set of them round every of the management factors. “Depending on the layout it really has a drastic impact on the fights at that location so we built a lot of them around each of the capture locations.”
You can see one in all them above, which is located on the north of the map, and that is the highest proper hand nook of that management level. “This configuration is really about exiting the area. So once you’ve entered that control point this is a quick escape route, but it also kinda plays the opposite where it shuts off that side of the control point if you’re trying to enter it. Fighting against the conveyor belt will make you go very slow unless you’re mounted, where you can kind of fight against it successfully – but if you’re hit by any sort of slow or CC, you won’t be able to make any progress at all.”
They additionally tie right into a returning characteristic on Volskaya – turret camps. Back from Hanamura, these reward a turret and place it on the bottom. Great for defending a management level, particularly if positioned on one of many round conveyor belts within the southern a part of the map, letting it whip across the level and take individuals out.
Volskaya would be the dwelling of two different gameplay tidbits: a brand new pre-game quest and a brand new brawl. The pre-game quest is Pachimari-themed loot field opening named Pachimari Mania, with members of your staff dashing to open containers and discover the golden Pachimari. You get a velocity increase each time you open one, making route planning necessary. Much just like the Golden Rooster occasion from earlier this yr, it received’t change your life however does include some rewards:
- Find two golden pachimari as a staff: Pachimari emoji pack
- Find 5: Pachimari banner
- Find eight: Pachimari spray
- Find ten: Pachimari portrait
Meanwhile within the brawl, Bash ‘Em Smash ‘Em Robots, two of Volskaya’s mech are positioned on the map at the beginning, one for every staff. They’ll combat it out till they’re each useless, then respawn, till someone wins. It’s on a particular battleground, formed like an enormous S, and is supposed to show gamers how the mech works.
Expect extra reveals throughout the ongoing HGC broadcast, embedded beneath.
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