Overwatch’s April Fools Experimental Mode is awesome, Blizzard should keep it



[ad_1]

For April Fool’s Day, Blizzard has introduced a series of changes Overwatch that makes many of the heroes on the list a nightmare to deal with. Mei is now a tank with a ton of health. Junkrat can set three of his bear traps at a time. And McCree gets an ammo refund every time he hits a headshot.

Oh, and D.Va can crush his opponents to death by summoning his mech, resulting in full team kills like this:

So when I say some heroes are now a nightmare to deal with, I really mean they’re fun to to play with (and sometimes against).

Of course, these changes are currently limited to OverwatchBlizzard’s experimental game mode, where Blizzard typically tests minor changes to the sales. Don’t expect it to be here forever, especially with a new seasonal event (Overwatch Archives) kicking off April 6.

A large number of OverwatchThe changes from “joke” to “joke” should stay or be incorporated into the main game, say many fans, because they made Overwatch fun again. Almost five years after the Hero Shooter began existence, a series of April Fool’s Day blunders breathed new life into the game. (Full patch notes for the Experimental mode are also deliciously cheeky.)

Some of the best changes Overwatch in experimental mode, solve the problem with the game’s shield. Sigma no longer has a shield at all; instead, it can fly around the map regardless of gravity. Baptiste’s field of immortality, making him another layer of armor, no longer provides his characteristic immortality, but decreases overall damage.

Zenyatta increased mobility through limited levitation (fun!). Reaper can now “fly” in his ghostly Wraith mode (that makes sense!). Mercy can now target and zoom in on enemy players using her Guardian Angel skill (which makes Mercy in Valkyrie mode even more terrifying).

Few of these changes seem “balanced”. Roadhog’s chain hook gets a shorter cooldown when it lands a little broken. I’m not sure Soldier’s Ultimate: 76 really needed a buff. And the number of characters that fly now seems unbearable in the long run. But almost everything feels fun.

Some of these changes to heroes are actually a preview of Overwatch 2, which will include character progression and hero talents. Those talents will be limited to the cooperative PvE component of the game, as far as we know, and they’ll mix up the way we play the heroes we’ve spent half a decade with now. The Experimental Patch also appears to be an easy way for Blizzard to slightly break everyone in the game and try out some dramatic changes at the same time.

With Overwatch 2 still far and no new blood in the game for almost a year (since the arrival of Echo), it’s nice to see Overwatch feel fresh again, if only for a little while.

[ad_2]

Source link