'Overwatch's 32nd Hero Can Transform Into Enemy Characters (UPDATE)
She can also use their abilities.
UPDATE (March 20, 2020): After unveiling its 32nd hero yesterday, Overwatch has now released details regarding the characters abilities and play style.
Using energy-based attacks, Echo’s primary skill is called Tri-shot, which as the name suggests allows her to fire ranged attacks in the shape of a triangle from her hand. Focusing Beam allows her to dish out higher amounts of damage for several seconds, while her last standard ability grants her numerous sticky grenades to throw, exploding after a short timed delay. With wings on her back, Echo also has a passive fly or glide ability that allows her to hover in the air for while, similar to Mercy.
The most interesting aspect of the character however is without doubt her ultimate ability, described by the game devs as “the most game-changing ultimate we’ve ever added to Overwatch.” Named Duplicate, Echo can basically transform into any enemy hero, at the same time gaining their abilities for the duration. From tanks to damage characters to healers, Echo can take on any role, becoming a crucial player in the team at times of emergency. The only hero she can’t become — unsurprisingly — is the enemy Echo.
ORIGINAL STORY (March 19, 2020): After teasing the character with two separate Tweets earlier this week, Blizzard has finally unveiled Overwatch‘s 32nd hero, along with a new clip shedding more light into its origin story.
Named Echo, the new playable character was created by an omnic scientist named Dr. Mina Liao and first debuted in the Overwatch universe in Ashe’s reveal trailer. She’s described as an “evolutionary robot” which has been “programmed with a rapidly adapting artificial intelligence” and was “the cutting edge of technology.” From the short clip above, we learn that Dr. Liao had created Echo as her reflection and legacy, hoping to aid the Overwatch team and change society’s distasteful attitude towards omnics.
“Why can’t we see that artificial life is still fundamentally life?,” wrote Dr. Liao in one of her log entries. “Instead, we’re going the opposite direction. Violence against omnics is on the rise, and even more governments are cracking down on their rights and freedoms. I can only hope that this project can change the conversation: that people can understand that the potential of artificial life is so much greater than whatever we have to gain by treating them as our property, or our servants.”
There’s currently no information for what Echo’s abilities and playstyle would be or a concrete release date, so gamers should definitely be on the lookout for more updates to come.
Elsewhere in gaming, GameStop is releasing DOOM Eternal one day early.
> Accessing…
> Fragment Recovered: Personal Log of Dr. Mina Liao
> File status: Complete pic.twitter.com/8pNW3RO1sp
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) March 16, 2020
> Accessing…
> File decryption: Complete
> Displaying image pic.twitter.com/pSZUJV9q7W
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) March 18, 2020
