The Heroes of the Storm Global Championship is in full swing, and Blizzard is taking advantage of the current hype to announce more Overwatch content for Heroes of the Storm. Two new heroes, a new map, new skins, and mounts await us!
New Heroes: Ana and Junkrat
After the last two heroes from the Overwatch universe, Genji and D.Va, Blizzard has made significant changes, and each of the existing universes is being addressed. A new Overwatch hero was quite likely, and surprisingly, two are joining. The roster will include the long-range healer Ana and the demolitions expert Junkrat.
The exact abilities and talents are unfortunately not yet known. However, looking at the counterparts from the hero shooter, some characteristic abilities can at least be inferred. Ana will likely be equipped with a Sleep Dart and Biotic Grenade, while Junkrat will almost certainly have Mines and his Kamikaze Tire. Whether the skills will change as significantly as with D.Va’s hero variant remains to be seen.
Ana will already appear in the Volskaya patch along with the new map, while Junkrat will join the Nexus a bit later.
New Map: Volskaya Foundry
In addition to the two new characters, more from Overwatch is coming to Heroes of the Storm. The map “Volskaya Industries” will be integrated into the MOBA in the form of “Volskaya Foundry.” The factory set in Russia will be a medium-sized map with three lanes and a map mechanic that is derived similarly to Hanamura from Overwatch.
At certain time intervals, control points will be activated at the top end, bottom end, or centrally on the map. The teams will fight for dominance over the three points, comparable to Braxis Holdout. The difference is that, just as with control point maps in the shooter, a point can only be brought to 100% if no opponents are in the area to defend it.
If a team gains control over a point, a huge Triglav Protector is summoned, which must be controlled by two players: one for movement and melee, the other for attacks with the weapon systems. The player who enters first has access to movement and the control and siege attacks with the fist. The second player can decimate opponents with the massive cannon.
Another feature of the map, which does not directly belong to the mechanics, is conveyor belts reminiscent of airports. The belts lead in one direction and accelerate movement in the same direction while stopping characters who are moving against the flow.
Skins and Mounts
No patch without cosmetics. To not only lighten the mood but also the wallets of players a bit, new skins for Varian and D.Va as well as two new mounts will be released around the Volskaya patch.
- Destroyer D.Va
- Commander Varian
- Celestial Raptor
- Invisible Horse
WHEN exactly the Volskaya patch will be deployed is still unknown. However, since Blizzard is known to tease such things only shortly before, we assume that the update will reach the PTR within the next two to three weeks.
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