Remember Blizzard’s tease from earlier this week, the one that set the internet to speculating on whether a wrecking ball might be Overwatch’s next hero? Blizzard is adding more fuel to the fire today with a tweet that implies the wrecking ball is inhabited by the most adorable little woodland creature ever. No one is even sure whether Blizz is just trolling us at this point, but I am here for the lil’ guy.
So let the hamster ball jokes begin. Or droideka jokes. Whatever. Reddit has them all.
The champion revealed. pic.twitter.com/0Fdpg2iBcs
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) June 28, 2018
Be warned, heroes: “Do not anger the hamster!” Rolling into the fray with his newly upgraded battle mech, the champion of the Scrapyard—Wrecking Ball—our newest Tank hero, is ready to flatten foes and bulldoze frontlines on his way to victory!
Overview: 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. 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.
Wrecking Ball brings a plethora of unique traits to the roster of tanks available in Overwatch. 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.
Abilities
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
