Overwatch's New Hero Ashe Revealed At BlizzCon

BlizzCon is underway, and as part of the annual keynote Blizzard once again announced new happenings within Overwatch. Though the studio warned that we wouldn't be seeing a new map at the event, it did take the occasion to debut its latest playable character: Ashe, who made her debut during the McCree short. [Update: We've now learned more details about Ashe's abilities and kit.]

As detailed in the animated short Ashe is the leader of the Deadlock gang and a former friend of McCree's. She looks to be a hyper-mobile hero that uses a rifle and a sawed-off shotgun, as well as dynamite, which it looks like she can shoot in mid-air to make it blow up early. Her mobility, meanwhile, comes from a Quake and Unreal Tournament-like rocket jump executed by firing the shotgun at the ground. Her Ultimate involves calling in Bob, a hulking, powerful member of the Deadlock gang who gives her support fire. According to game director Jeff Kaplan, Ashe is a super-high mechanics character, so should require a lot of time and effort to learn. Check out the gameplay video to see her in action.

Gallery

Kaplan said the team will reveal more details about how Ashe plays in the Overwatch: What's Next, which is happening later today. If you want more story context for her, make sure to watch "Reunion," the McCree animated short.

The new character joins other recent additions this year, Wrecking Ball and Brigitte. Most recently, Blizzard made balance adjustments for Mercy, Reaper, Symmetra, and Roadhog. Roadhog had the most dramatic changes, with some large buffs to his Chain Hook and better spread pattern to his Scrap Gun. It was all aimed at making him better for crowd control by making his traps work more consistently.