Overwatch’s 28th hero has been confirmed as Hammond the hamster.
Fans correctly assumed that Hammond would be the game’s newest fighter, but incorrectly assumed he’d be a monkey, gorilla or similar, like Overwatch‘s Winston. How wrong we were.
“Hammond, also known as ‘Specimen 8,’ was genetically modified during his time on Horizon Lunar Colony and, like Winston, was granted increased size and intelligence as a result,” Blizzard advised in a press release.
“He is a witty and conniving creature that loves to cause mischief. During the rebellion on Horizon, he secretly attached his escape pod to the back of Winston’s ship, hitching a ride to planet Earth to save himself from imminent destruction. He crash-landed in the Australian Outback near Junkertown, and over time upgraded his escape pod into a formidable mech, soon becoming a force to be reckoned with known as Wrecking Ball. He doesn’t speak any human languages, but his mech automatically translates his voice in a fittingly menacing tone.”
We’re able to play as a hamster in a crazy tank-ball, you guys.
“Wrecking Ball brings a plethora of unique traits to the roster of tanks available in Overwatch,” Blizzard continued. “He can switch between a bipedal Combat mode with high-capacity machine guns and a Roll mode allowing him to cruise through maps and enemies alike with great speed. Entering the fray, his large health pool and shield-generating capabilities give him resilience when initiating and finishing battles.
“If that wasn’t scary enough, he can climb and swing on surfaces using his Grappling Claw and perform Piledrive, a devastating ground smash, to enemies below. In addition to setting up Piledrive, Wrecking Ball’s Grappling Claw enables him to reach top speed. Top speed increases his basic movement speed, damaging and knocking back foes in his path. His ultimate ability Minefield is just as versatile, allowing him to set a trap and control routes, or simply trigger a large area-of-effect explosion for enemies in the immediate vicinity.”
His full ability list is as follows:
- Quad Cannons: Wrecking Ball fires machine guns
- Adaptive Shield: Grants Wrecking Ball a number of temporary shields based on the number of enemies nearby
- Roll: Wrecking Ball transforms into a sphere with increased speed
- Grappling Claw: While in Roll mode, Wrecking Ball can launch a short grappling hook to attach to surfaces, swing around, clear gaps, and move upwards. Using this ability allows Wrecking Ball to gain momentum , dealing damage and knocking back enemies upon impact
- Piledriver: Wrecking Ball slams down from the air, pulling enemies towards the center of impact and dealing damage
- Minefield (Ultimate): Wrecking Ball litters the ground around him with damage-dealing proximity mines
Hammond is available now inside the Overwatch PTR on PC. We’ll let you know when he’s officially released.
Overwatch is currently available on Windows PC, Xbox One and PS4.
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