Overwatch was the game I played constantly at university, and playing around with its existing roster while delving into each new hero was a big part of its appeal. My flatmates and I would fall in love with specific roles, or gravitate towards certain heroes because their aesthetic called out to us. I’m a filthy weeb and also very gay, so my mains ended up being D.Va, Mercy, and Lucio, with venturing into DPS territory rarely.

To me, this doesn’t feel like a reward for players who decide against spending any money, but a forced incentive to cough up the dough or get lost. Why wouldn’t you pick up the battle pass if it meant a new hero immediately and a selection of other rewards for the time you’re going to be investing anyway? Blizzard likely sees this as good business, but I really hope this isn’t how each season is going to play out, with new heroes being held hostage by the premium side of things instead of providing a way for us to test them out or toy with the wider roster without restriction. Only time will tell, and Overwatch 2 hero guide|https://overwatch2fans.com/ 2 still needs to find its feet.

That’s an issue for another day though. Today, I want to focus on the Archives skins, particularly those of our queer characters, Soldier 76 and Tracer. The Archives event is running until April 27, and brings eight new skins to the game, each designed around a given character’s cultural history. Both Soldier 76 and Tracer are included in the event, but it’s extremely telling that neither of their cultural histories includes any reference to queerness. Soldier 76 is becoming Soldier 1776 which, I admit, is a good pun. The American soldier is donning the jacket of the Revolutionaries, these days probably best known from the musical Hamil

But with the release of Overwatch 2 and its debut season less than two weeks away, we now have a concrete picture of how the experience will play out, as well as how much it differs from what came before. This isn’t a premium product anymore, but instead a free game that anyone can download, jump into, and have a reasonably good time without spending a penny. There’s a free version of the battle pass too, albeit with far fewer rewards and a focus on grinding things out over a prolonged period of time, but it’s there, and that kinda rules.

Skill and the heroes you select matter, but communicating with your team is essential to guarantee a win. You can talk to people on the mic, through typing or quick chats, and with the new ping system , which you might be familiar with if you play games like Rainbow Six Siege and Apex Lege

Meanwhile, he’ll see Tracer on the other side of the war, since she’s a Redcoat Cavalrywoman with twin Revolutionary-era revolvers in her hip holsters. I understand the logic behind this; lots of the other characters delve into their national cultural heritage too. Widowmaker is a Mousquetaire, Zarya a Polyanitsa warrior, Genji a samurai, and Lucio a Conquistador. But for a long time, the excuse held up in defence of Tracer and Soldier 76’s queerness only featuring off-screen is that Overwatch simply isn’t the type of game that allows for anything more. Well, the Archives skins do. There is so much cultural history in their queerness, in Stonewall and the earliest Pride protests, in the punk movement, in art, and through cultural trailblazers that speak to the heart of who Soldier 76 is far more than just putting him in a different soldier outfit from a few centuries

All the while, Twitch streamers are taking a stance against gambling, while Xbox brings HowLongToBeat support into its library to let you know what time investment you’re making before you dive in. Speaking of diving i

You may have a strong ability for who you are playing, but it won't be much use if not used right. Everyone has various scenarios that open them up for a strong move that can support teammates or devastate foes. When it comes to basic attacks, you should play around with heroes to see how you can tactically use their powers for easy eliminati

Regardless of the mode you select, you should find time against AI or other players to test out various characters. A real skilled Overwatch player can be flexible on who they play. If you have two or three options in each category, you won't run into a wall of not having someone to play, not getting bored of the same hero you play for every match, and you can help your team when nee

They wouldn’t even be the exception to the rule, either. Mercy’s skin is based on the history of healers, taking inspiration from Florence Nightingale, while Zenyatta’s is a deep sea diver because… well, I’m not sure. It looks cool, I gu

Chains of Damnation will also introduce a new raid, Sanctum of Domination, a new mega-dungeon, Tazavesh, the Veiled Market, and a new Covenant campaign that will see all four Covenants join together to bring the fight to the Jai

While it’s a great thing to advocate for, it’s somewhat upsetting considering that smaller streamers banded together for #ADayOffTwitch to raise awareness for the hate raids being held against marginalised creators, but no big names joined in, as Stacey not