Overwatch will add its 28th playable hero with new character Wrecking Ball, Blizzard Entertainment announced.
Wrecking Ball is available for testing now on the Public Test Region of the PC version of Overwatch.
Here’s an overview of Wrecking Ball, via the Overwatch official website:
Biography
- Real Name: Hammond
- Age: 14
- Occupation: Mech Pilot, Mechanic
- Base of Operations: Horizon Lunar Colony (formerly), Junkertown (formerly)
- Affiliation: None
“Do not anger the hamster.”
In one of the many experiments carried out at Horizon Lunar Colony, animals were given genetic therapy to assess their adaptation to extended periods of habitation on the moon. As an unexpected side effect, several of them exhibited exceptional growth in physical size and brain function. While most of the test subjects were gorillas or other primates, there were some exceptions, including a hamster named Hammond.
Like the others, Hammond’s intelligence grew, and he became more curious about the world around him. Much to the puzzlement and amusement of the scientists, Hammond would frequently escape into different parts of the moon base. Though they’d always find him and return him to his cell, they never figured out the true purpose behind his nightly escapades. What they didn’t know was that Hammond was busy teaching himself the skills of a mechanic, which would soon come in handy.
The colony was eventually thrown into chaos when some of the gorillas rose up against the human scientists and took control. Not all of the animals participated, however, and one of the gorillas, Winston, was making a plan to escape to earth. Hammond sensed his opportunity. He built a makeshift capsule and secretly hitched it to Winston’s craft as the gorilla blasted off. As the two entered earth’s atmosphere, Hammond broke off and landed in a different location: the wasteland of the Australian Outback.
Hammond modified his escape pod to enter the lucrative mech battle arena of the Scrapyard. Working his way up the ranks, “Wrecking Ball” went from contender to champion, though the pilot’s identity remained a mystery to all. Gathering his winnings, Hammond was able to upgrade his mech enough to survive the dangerous trek out of the Junker-controlled Outback.
Now free to travel and do as he pleases, Hammond is exploring the world and finding new adventures along the way.
Abilities
- Quad Cannons: Automatic assault weapons.
- Roll: Transform into a ball and increase maximum movement speed.
- Grappling Claw: Launch a grappling claw to rapidly swing around the area. Enables high speed collisions to damage and knockback enemies.
- Minefield: Deploy a massive field of proximity mines.
- Adaptive Shield: Create temporary personal shields. Amount increases with more enemies nearby.
- Piledriver: Slam into the ground below to damage and launch enemies upward.
Combat Mode Engaged
Wrecking Ball’s tinkering capabilities and iron-clad mech make him a formidable tank hero, capable of bowling through the front line of the opposition and causing mayhem in the back line. His primary weapon, Quad Cannons, are two sets of twin machine guns that shred enemies caught in their crosshairs. No team is too much for Wrecking Ball to engage against with his Adaptive Shield, which generates more health based on the number of enemies nearby. This shield makes him incredibly difficult to kill when he bulldozes into the fray and, once he starts to get low on health, also provides him the endurance to escape. The Roll ability allows Wrecking Ball to withdraw the mech’s robotic limbs, transforming it into a ball with increased movement speed. No obstacle can stand in Wrecking Ball’s way when he uses Grappling Claw, a short-range ability that grips the environment, letting him swing across terrain gaps or around corners to smash enemies. Grappling Claw also allows Wrecking Ball to reach top speed and ram into foes, dealing destructive damage and knocking them back. While airborne, the mech’s Piledriver ability causes Wrecking Ball to slam down from the air and knock his enemies off their feet.
When Wrecking Ball is at his strongest, he can use Minefield which flings mines onto the ground that deal a considerable amount of damage to enemies unfortunate enough to trigger them.
Rolling Out
As the sixth tank hero in the Overwatch lineup, Wrecking Ball provides disruption while also being an aggressive bruiser that bullies the enemy’s backline, eliminating vulnerable heroes that are left unguarded. He excels at disrupting enemies’ positioning with his Roll and Piledriver abilities while also posing a serious threat if he’s left alone to train his Quad Cannons on key targets.
Wrecking Ball can confidently start team fights at any time by rolling into the enemy team and popping Adaptive Shield, which makes him incrementally more difficult to eliminate for each enemy nearby. If a fight is no longer going in his favor, Wrecking Ball can easily escape from the fray by using Grappling Claw to quickly swing back to the safety of his team. Minefield can prevent enemies from reaching a preferred location or can be dropped on top of them to cause an explosive burst of damage on all foes in a single location. He can also get the drop on his foes by using the Grappling Claw to swing over his enemies, showering Minefield on top of them, and then finishing with Piledriver to pull them into the mines for an explosive burst of damage.
Overwatch is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Watch the Wrecking Ball introduction and origin story trailers below.