Blizzard Entertainment has released a new teaser for what seems to be Overwatch’s 28th hero. After showcasing posters for Horizon Lunar Colony’s potential escaped experiments and then a giant metal ball rolling around, the next hero seems to be…a hamster in a giant mech?

This mech rolls in a ball for faster movement but can deploy legs and machine guns for attacking. Once again, we must stress that there is a hamster at the helm. The odd metal piece on its head could mean it’s another experiment from Horizon Lunar Colony, not unlike everyone’s favourite tank Winston. Could this be the rumoured Hammond?

As it stands, if Blizzard is being serious, then this is the most outlandish hero to hit Overwatch yet. We expect the developer to announce the its deployment on the Public Test Region server soon. It will then undergo testing for the next month or so before heading to live servers on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Make sure to download the PTR build via the Battle.net launcher on PC just in case.

The champion revealed. pic.twitter.com/0Fdpg2iBcs

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) June 28, 2018

Overwatch’s recent Public Test Realm update had a number of unpleasant changes to heroes like Moira, most especially the lock-on for her offensive Biotic Grasp. While Blizzard noted that this was a bug resulting from introducing a new lock-on system, it seems that bugs have unintentionally buffed Mercy and Symmetra as well. The key word is “unintentionally” however.

Symmetra, for instance, has increased lock-on range which can be deadly as her damage ramps up over time. Mercy’s Resurrect ability also had greater range, which further decreased the risk of reviving a fallen ally. On the official forums, lead engineer Tim Ford revealed these were both being caused by a “defect” that affected a number of area-of-effect abilities.

“The inconsistencies with Moira are unrelated to Symmetra’s increased lock on range. That is a separate defect that is also affecting Mercy Rez and a few other AoE abilities. We’ll get a fix for those up on PTR next week. Again, thank you all for your help. Hopefully a thorough dose of tryptophan over the weekend will improve our math skills,” said Ford. Tryptophan is a reference to chowing down on Thanksgiving turkey, for those who don’t know.

Expect to see changes to Moira’s aiming go live either this week or early next week. As Ford noted above, fixes for Mercy and Symmetra will be coming next week.

Fans of Overwatch who are desperate to play the newest Support hero Moira, who was showcased at BlizzCon 2017, can finally get their hands on her. Well, those who are on PC at least. Blizzard has announced that Moira is now playable on the Public Test Realm server for PC players.

Moira is an interesting Support hero who can use her main ability Biotic Grasp to either heal teammates or attack an enemy and drain their life to replenish her own. Healing players will drain biotic energy that can replenish over time but that can be recharged faster by attacking a foe as well.

Biotic Orb sends out a bouncing sphere that can either heal nearby allies or damage foes until it disappears. Fade allows Moira to disappear quickly, giving her a sprint function while also making her invulnerable. Her Ultimate is Coalescence, a concentrated beam that can heal allies and damage foes while passing through barriers and shields.

Time will tell how overpowered she is but what do you think of Moira thus far? Let us know in the comments.

Along with adding Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, certain heroes of Blizzard’s Overwatch have received buffs in the latest PTR update. It’s currently accessible for PC players so you can have a gander at it by downloading the PTR client separately.

For everyone else, the update essentially buffs Junkrat, the long-neglected Defense hero. Along with being able to hold two Concussion Mines, Junkrat’s RIP-Tire now has 30 percent increased movement speed. Furthermore, when climbing up walls, RIP-Tire’s timer won’t be expended. This has already resulted in hilarious highlights where players are killing enemies from across the map in Eichenwalde.

Roadhog has also received a decent buff. He can now self-heal on the go and while doing so, damage taken is reduced by 50 percent. To perhaps buff Orisa’s playtime, Blizzard has increased her projectile speed and barrier size while also changing the barrier’s shape. Finally, Widowmaker’s grappling hook is now on an 8 second cooldown instead of 12 and enemies hit by Venom Mine are visible through walls (but only for the player).

For the rest of the patch notes, see below.

GENERAL

• A number of data format changes have been implemented

Developer Comments: Over the past few months, we’ve been working on a number of significant under-the-hood changes that will help us streamline the patching process. This will allow us to reduce the download size in future patches, but it does mean that today’s patch is larger than a traditional patch.

HERO UPDATES

Junkrat

• Concussion Mine
  • Junkrat can now hold two mines
• RIP-Tire
  • Tire’s movement speed has been increased by 30%
  • There is no longer a time limit when wall climbing

Developer Comments: Giving the Junkrat the ability to store two concussion mines adds some much-needed flexibility and versatility to his kit, particularly when using the mines for mobility. RIP-Tire’s damage has always been very good, but it was often difficult to steer the tire into position before it was destroyed. Increasing its speed will allow players to effectively detonate the tire more often and decrease the amount of time that Junkrat is vulnerable while controlling it.

Orisa

• Fusion Driver
  • Projectile speed increased by 20%
• Protective Barrier
  • Barrier size increase by 20%
  • Barrier shape has been changed to allow for more coverage from enemies that are below the barrier

Developer Comments: The projectile speed increase helps Orisa’s consistency, especially at medium ranges (or further). Her barrier size has been increased to better protect her team, and the new shape makes the shield more effective when it’s used on slopes or on top of objects (such as a payload).

Roadhog

• Take a Breather
  • Can now be used while moving
  • Damage taken while healing has been reduced by 50%

Developer Comments: These changes help Roadhog be much more aggressive when looking for hook targets or blocking for his team. The combination of these effects significantly increases Roadhog’s sustainability and survivability.

Widowmaker

• Grappling Hook
  • Cooldown has been reduced from 12 seconds to 8
• Venom Mine
  • Affected targets are now visible through walls (to you as Widowmaker only)

Developer Comments: Widowmaker is extremely powerful in the right hands, but her abilities often felt a little weak. The Grappling Hook cooldown reduction means she is more likely to have it available when she needs to escape. Venom Mine is intended to be an early warning system, uncovering enemies that are attempting to flank her or her team. With this change, she can see enemies when they trigger the mine, even if they’re on the other side of a wall.

USER INTERFACE

• Added an “Outline Opacity” option under the custom reticle settings (found under Controls > Options > Advanced), which allows players to control the opacity of the black outline surrounding the reticule

BUG FIXES

General

• Fixed a bug that occasionally required the Capture Point progress bar to progress past the second tick mark before being activated

Heroes

• Fixed a bug that could cause D.Va’s black ejection screen to briefly reappear after being ejected from her mech
• Fixed a bug causing D.Va’s Light Gun to use the wrong texture while outside of her mech when the Junker skin was equipped
• Fixed a bug that caused D.Va’s hair to stand straight up on the Hero Select screen when her Cruiser was equipped
• Fixed a bug causing the lights on the back of Doomfist’s gauntlet to incorrectly indicate full ammo when his Hello emote was activated
• Fixed a bug that prevented the area-of-effect circle for Doomfist’s Meteor Strike from being visible to all players
• Fixed a bug preventing the height from Doomfist’s Meteor Strike from being high enough to reach certain locations
• Fixed a bug that was preventing Doomfist’s Rocket Punch from connecting with enemy players that were moving up an incline
• Fixed a bug that caused Hanzo’s arrow to disappear when his Meditate emote was active
• Fixed a bug preventing Orisa’s “Overclocked” achievement from being granted, even after the criteria was met
• Fixed a bug causing Sombra’s teeth to be visible while her Stealth ability was active when her Los Muertos skin was equipped
• Fixed a bug causing Sombra’s reload animation to play even when interrupted

Maps

• Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Ecopoint: Antarctica
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to see past the map’s background on Black Forest
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Black Forest
• Fixed a bug that caused the announcer to say “Traveling to Dorado” when joining Castillo
• Fixed a bug that prevented some equipment (vents, pipes, etc.) from properly connecting to the walls of the power plant on Dorado
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Hanamura
• Fixed an issue that caused sprays to display incorrectly on the crane on the Horizon Lunar Colony
• Fixed a bug that could cause A.I. heroes to get themselves stuck while traveling to the Well Capture Point on Ilios
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Ilios
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations on Oasis
• Fixed a bug that prevented Pharah’s Jump Jet from recharging while perched on doorframes in Oasis
• Fixed a bug that prevented doorframes from being visible and lacking collision on the Practice Range

User Interface

• Fixed a bug in the Options > Controls menu that prevented the asterisk (which normally indicates that changes have been made) from being removed from the hero’s dropdown after controls have been set to default
• Fixed a bug causing the Back button to disappear when scrolling through the list of available games in the Game Browser
• Fixed a bug that prevented grouped players from appearing linked in the tab menu during a Custom Game

Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch saw a significant update on the Public Test Realm server lately that introduced a highly requested feature – the ability to save and export Highlights.

The new Highlights system allows you to keep any highlights for 24 hours and they remain even if you exit the game. Along with the top five highlights of a game, players can also record their own highlights in the middle of a match. If you want to keep the highlights permanently, it’s possible to download them on to your system, tinkering with the resolution, quality and frame rate to improve the final video.

But perhaps the more significant change is that to the Loot Boxes. Duplicates gained in Loot Boxes will be reduced significantly and to compensate for Credits that you’d otherwise get from dupes, the amount of currency earned will also increase. This should assuage many complaints about the Loot Box system, especially in light of the Anniversary Event.

What are your thoughts on these changes? Let us know in the comments.

Pretty much out of nowhere, Blizzard Entertainment has released its newest map for Overwatch on its Public Test Realm server for PC. The Horizon Lunar Colony is essentially a moonbase where Winston originated from. A new map preview video has been released showcasing the interiors with Winston providing some background on what happened.

Horizon Lunar Colony is an Assault map, which means there will be two checkpoints for players to capture/defend. Blizzard hasn’t really discussed where the apes that took over the Colony have gone but it’s probably best to see it for yourself.

It’s also worth noting that the map could remain in the PTR for some time while Blizzard works out the bugs. If you’re a PC player, simply opt into the PTR version (which needs a separate client download) from the region tab in the Blizzard app.

What are your thoughts on Overwatch receiving its newest map so quickly? Let us know in the comments below.

The Winter Wonderland event has finally come to a close in Overwatch but Blizzard Entertainment surprised players with a new addition – Control map Oasis, which was previously available only on the Public Test Realm for PC, is now live for all platforms.

Oasis is set in a technologically advanced city with cars that can annihilate players and jump pads for reaching greater heights. The map’s vertical nature gives an advantage to heroes like Pharah and D.Va but we imagine death by car collision will dominate most memes.

Oasis is only one of the new maps that Blizzard has promised to add to its hero shooter – director Jeff Kaplan teased new modes, maps, heroes and even a custom games browser in the coming months. However, there won’t be any Valentine’s Day or Easter’s events. At least some sweet Diablo-themed content is out later this month.

What are your thoughts on Oasis? Let us know in the comments below.

Though Blizzard announced that Oasis, Overwatch’s brand new Control map, would be hitting the Public Test Realm in December, it seems Christmas has come early for PC players. Yesterday’s maintenance led to a new patch which saw the PTR updated with Oasis. Those on PC who want to check it out simply need to download the PTR version and hop right in.

Oasis is an intriguing map. Set in the Arabian Desert, it’s a city devoted to scientific research and advancement. It’s also fairly interesting since players can be killed by environmental hazards like speeding cars. Watch out for the Lucio boops there.

It’s not yet confirmed when Oasis will be ready for full release but given how Symmetra will also be on the PTR for the time being (not to mention the upcoming Christmas event), it’s highly likely that it hits all platforms by December end. Time will tell though so stay tuned for more information.

Blizzard Entertainment has temporarily shut down the Public Test Realm server for Overwatch. This usually occurs when the developer is readying a major patch for testing – which has already led many to speculate on the arrival of Sombra and the Halloween event – but it’s not yet known when it will be online.

Furthermore, the developer said on Twitter that, “When we have things to share you can be sure we’ll post it here.”

Details of Sombra and the Halloween event, which seems to include a new Horde-mode like Brawl where players will combat Zombie Omnics and Dr. Junkenstein while defending a castle, leaked over the weekend. Since then, there have been theories of when the Brawl could go live, especially since Halloween-themed Loot Boxes have also emerged through online retailers.

Stay tuned for more information in this space – Sombra and a new things to do could be closer than many of us think. What are your thoughts on all the Overwatch happenings? Let us know below.