Blizzard has revealed the first full trailer for Overwatch 2 Season 12: New Frontiers, promising a correct debut for new help hero Juno, a Reaper Mythic pores and skin, and a tease for what appears to be a World of Warcraft crossover.
It’s a two-and-a-half-minute video that exhibits off the upcoming seasonal replace and its historic Egypt theme together with an assortment of new skins that shall be accessible each by way of the Battle Go and within the in-game store. Some of the cosmetics embody new outfits for Mercy, Doomfist, Sigma, Illari, and extra, with highlights together with a Dorothy/Tin Man pores and skin for Ashe and a smooth, golden look for Echo. Juno is the true star of the present, although, as Blizzard teases her return following a weekend trial interval that allowed gamers to go hands-on final month. Overwatch 2 Season 12 launches August 20.
Reaper is the Hero to win the Mythic pores and skin for Overwatch 2 Season 12. His Anubis outfit comes with three distinctive kinds and what look like particular voice traces and animations. That marks two seasons in a row {that a} Harm Hero has gotten the Mythic pores and skin, however that doesn’t imply Blizzard received’t have extra cosmetics to disclose as New Frontiers rolls on. Particularly, towards the top of the trailer, we get a sneak peek at a big, blue broadsword that appears remarkably just like Frostmourne, the large melee weapon that belongs to World of Warcraft’s Lich King. It appears Blizzard is teasing a full-on World of Warcraft collaboration following final season’s Transformers crossover, with (*2*) noticing that the sword’s rockets counsel that Reinhardt shall be one of the characters to get some love but once more.
Blizzard additionally oversees World of Warcraft, and with so many nods to it already polluting Overwatch 2, it’s no shock to see the studio doubling down. What’s a shock is Overwatch 2 Season 12’s new sport mode: Conflict. In a post on its website, Blizzard describes Conflict as “an adrenaline-pumping sport mode that pits groups towards one another in a relentless battle for dominance over a number of seize factors.” It’s a simple, fast-paced mode that comes with new maps Temple of Anubis and Hanaoka, which is perhaps acquainted to followers who’ve been enjoying since 2016.
The previous carries the identical title as Overwatch’s first Assault (a.okay.a. Two Seize Level) map, whereas the latter is clearly impressed by one other fan-favorite location, Hanamura. They’re each undeniably just like areas followers have begged to see return since Assault was eliminated with the launch of Overwatch 2, however as a substitute of merely plopping them again in, Blizzard has reworked them from high to backside for Conflict.
Overwatch 2 Season 12: New Frontiers can also be bringing well being reductions for a number of Harm and Assist Heroes, with updates coming for Lifeweaver, too. Gamers may also count on new Hero Mastery Missions for Zarya and Pharah, with the 2024 Anniversary Occasion scheduled to launch quickly, too. Whereas Blizzard continues to tweak Aggressive, it’ll quickly introduce a particular Xbox promotion for Sport Go holders that nets subscribers a goodie bag come September 17. Included within the providing are 30 Mythic prisms in addition to the fan-favorite Cardboard Reinhardt, Turtleship D.Va, Cyberdragon Hanzo, Avenue Runner Genji, Bee Mercy, and Cleric Lifeweaver. The corporate encourages gamers to hyperlink their Battle.internet accounts because it guarantees further rewards sooner or later.
Overwatch 2 Season 12 goals to take the strategic group shooter to new heights, and it’s half of a wider objective to regain participant curiosity with a quantity of foundational modifications. These embody plans for Blizzard to start testing a return to 6v6 with out impacting queue instances and on-screen litter. For extra, you’ll be able to learn our unique Overwatch 2 evaluation. We gave the sport an 8/10, saying, “Overwatch 2’s swap to a 5v5 format breathes new life into what was as soon as the sharpest shooter round. It simply hasn’t fairly recaptured all of that glory – but.”
Michael Cripe is a contract contributor with IGN. He began writing within the business in 2017 and is greatest recognized for his work at shops resembling The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
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