Overwatch 2: Invasion, the most significant update since the release of Overwatch 2, will be launching on August 11th. Prior to the game’s release, the Overwatch 2 production team, including members such as Daniel McGowan, Dylan Snyder, Jorge Murillo, Josh Zhang, Monika Lee, Piero Herrera, Ryan Smith, Scott Lawlor, Rakan Khamash, were interviewed by 4Gamers and other Taiwanese media to discuss the various designs of the game.
During the interview, Scott Lawlor explained that the official story of “Omnic Invasion” takes place after the animation “Action Hour,” where the Zero Quadrant attacks Paris. Players will witness the heroes Winston and Reinhardt fighting against the attack, interacting with characters such as Lucio and Sojourn, and even delving into the story between Torbjörn and Bastion. The story will continue to unfold in future seasons, although further details were not revealed.
When asked about the starting point of the story, Lawlor stated that players will have access to an animation that provides background information before embarking on the first mission, “Rio.” The development team aimed to make it accessible for new players who may not have watched the animations or read the comics and novels.
Monika Lee discussed the amount of content in “Omnic Defeat,” stating that each of the three new missions has an average playtime of around 30 minutes. Additionally, several animations have been added to each mission, allowing for a more immersive and complete experience. She emphasized the ability to advance the story through new voice lines and the inclusion of more powerful enemies, making it a more expansive adventure than previous missions like “Defend the Order.”
Jorge Murillo addressed the inclusion of plot easter eggs in the game, emphasizing that these missions are part of the larger story of Overwatch 2. While players can discover many interesting easter eggs within the missions, the team chose not to reveal too much, leaving it as a surprise for players to uncover.
Lawlor clarified that the PvE missions do not have a time limit. Upon completing a mission, players unlock the next stage of the story in Winston’s lab.
Dylan Snyder spoke about the hero specialization tasks, which allow players to explore the personal stories of different heroes. These tasks are designed to challenge players and help them improve their skills.
Regarding future story missions, Lawlor could not disclose specific launch dates but assured that they would be shared with players when ready. The stories will be told through animations or other media in the future.
One question raised concerns the decision to charge for the PvE story mode in Overwatch 2. Lawlor expressed confidence in the quality of the story missions and believed that the prices were reasonable considering the experience players would receive.
Moving on to the new core game mode, Point Blitz, Ryan Smith explained that the placement of strongholds in flashpoint games would be different each time to provide players with a unique combat experience. The team encountered challenges during the development process but aimed to ensure that every hero had a role to play on each map, regardless of their playstyle.
When asked about the possibility of launching flashpoint versions of current maps and future map updates, Smith mentioned that player feedback would be taken into account, but no specific schedules or locations were available at the moment.
The game time for each flashpoint was addressed, with Smith stating that they were not significantly different from other game modes, although the map size and number of strongholds had increased. The time to capture a stronghold was reduced to 70 seconds in Blitz Point.
Smith mentioned that they learned from every map they created, and player feedback would be crucial in making flashpoint mode interesting. Flash Point will also be included in competitive battles and the professional e-sports league, “Special Attack.”
Regarding concerns about the snowball effect in flashpoint mode, Smith emphasized the importance of map knowledge and adaptability in turning the tables. The team will review player feedback and hero performance data to determine if any adjustments are necessary.
Lastly, the interview addressed the new hero, Ilari. No specific details were provided about Peru as the backdrop or the cultural inspiration behind the hero, leaving players curious about the specific connection and details.
Overwatch 2: Overwatch 2: Invasion, the biggest overhaul since the launch of Overwatch 2, launches on August 11th. Before the game was launched, 4Gamers and other Taiwanese media interviewed the Overwatch 2 production team and asked them to talk about the different designs of the game.
The development team members interviewed are as follows
Daniel McGowan Environment Artist Dylan Snyder Senior Game Designer Jorge Murillo Quest Designer Josh Zhang Story Designer Monika Lee Game Designer Piero Herrera Hero Designer Ryan Smith Level Designer Scott Lawlor Director of Sound and Technical Story Design Rakan Khamash Senior Character Art Designer
Q: Can you tell the players a little about the official story of “Omnic Invasion”? What old friends will we meet? Will the official story development continue to be released in future season form?
Scott Lawlor: The story takes place after the animation “Action Hour”, where the Zero Quadrant attacks Paris. Players will see heroes like Winston and Reinhardt resist the attack, interact with Lucio and Sojourn, and even see what happened between Torbjörn and the Bastion. We’re looking forward to seeing the story unfold in the coming seasons, but we don’t have much more to reveal right now.
Q: The story will start with “summoning”. What plot lines will be included in the current design? For new players who may not have read anime or novels in the past, will the team respond to this?
Scott Lawlor: When performing the first mission “Rio”, we will play an animation to let players know what happened before. The development team hopes that new players will not need to watch every animation, or after reading comics and novels to play these missions.
Q: The production team said that the content of “Omnic Defeat” this time is more than the content of “Defense of the Order” in the past Specifically, how much is it? Like how many tasks are there, how long is the play time?
Monika Lee: The average playtime for each of the three new missions is around 30 minutes, and several animations have been added to each mission. Quests like “Defend the Order” are small battles that showcase the history of the Defenders, but the most anticipated aspect of this new mission is the ability to advance the story through hundreds of new voice lines, while also being able to interact With More powerful enemies fighting, and the overall experience is more complete and massive.
Q: “Overwatch” has many plot details hidden in the battle map since the first generation, and it has always been a topic of discussion in the player community. Although this story mission is not a plot mode, this is also the first time to Explain the story clearly. , Is there a plot easter egg that focuses the player’s attention, and can it be used in the story mission?
Jorge Murillo: These missions are part of the larger story of Overwatch 2, and this is the first time we’ve really told the story of the Defenders through the game. Players can find many interesting easter eggs inside, but we don’t want to reveal too much.
Q: After clearing the PvE mode, what rewards are expected? Is the customs clearance activity limited or open continuously?
Scott Lawlor: These missions do not have a time limit. Winston’s lab unlocks the next stage of the story after completing the mission.
Q: Can players explore the hero’s personal story in the hero specialization task?
Dylan Snyder: Hero Specialization is a single player map where you play as individual heroes to complete challenges. These challenges are designed to help players improve their skills while showing everyone how good you are.
Q: Will there be a new story mission every future season? Will new in-game animations be able to see more PvE story content in the future?
A: Scott Lawlor, Director of Sound Effects and Technical Plot Design: We cannot reveal the time for the next launch of story missions, but we will share them with players when we are ready. These stories will be told through more animation or other media in the future.
Q: This time, the PvE story mode is launched for a fee. Many players feel disgusted by this, especially those who have bought a generation of games, and express their strong opposition. Why did Blizzard make a decision of such?
Scott Lawlor: We are very confident in the quality of these story tours, and believe that the prices are reasonable for the experience players get from the game.
New Core Game Mode: Point Blitz
Q: The flash point mode is opened randomly Is it different every time you enter, or is there a fixed rule? Why did you add this design in the first place? Did you encounter any difficulties during the development process?
Ryan Smith: The first stronghold will definitely be in the middle. To allow players to have a different combat experience in each Flashpoint game, we want to make the locations where other strongholds appear more random.
Q: The flashpoint map is bigger and random is added at the same time Will this affect players, who prefer to use output type characters, making tanks and supports useless?
Daniel McGowan: Every hero has a role to play on every map. Each map is large and uniquely designed, and a hero who is good at taking one stronghold may not be as effective in another. One of the best things about Overwatch is that players will have a variety of creativity and use various heroes in different situations, and the flash point will bring this to the extreme.
Q: Is it possible to launch a flashpoint mode version of the current map in the future? How many flashpoint maps does the officer expect to update in the next year?
Ryan Smith: These are the biggest PvP maps we’ve ever made, and we’ve spent a lot of time making them. When developing future maps, we want to hear what players like the most, so we don’t have any new map launch schedules or locations to share.
Q: How long is the game time of each flash point? Are there any special considerations and adjustments for such a period? Is there a big difference between the sense of rhythm and the current multi-target maps? Is it supposed to be set for what kind of players to play it? (leisure / pursuit of teamwork or…)
Ryan Smith: The battle time is not much different from the previous capture stronghold and hybrid map. We increased the size of the map and increased the number of strongholds, but also reduced the time to capture a stronghold, from 120 seconds in other modes to 70 seconds in Blitz Point.
Q: Are you inheriting the development experience of the previous map mode and making improvements?
Ryan Smith: Every time we create a map, we learn more about how to make it interesting for players. We are also looking forward to receiving feedback from players on the flashpoint.
Q: Are the flash points and past points calculated independently or combined? Will “Flashpoint” mode join eSports?
Daniel McGowan: Flash Point will join competitive battles during the season, and this season’s professional e-sports league “Special Attack” will also host Flash Point battles in the future.
Q: The foreign streamer KarQ shared his first experience of playing the game on the community before The snowball effect mentioned in it made many players quite worried How should the party who did not get the advantage in the period early recovery from the disadvantage? does the development team think they intend to make those adjustments? The previous orientation of the occupied mode is that the gain rate problem caused by the snowball effect has been eliminated Can the flash point be truly balanced?
Ryan Smith: One of the best ways to turn the tables on flashpoints is to know the map and team composition like the back of your hand. Every stronghold and every map is different, so being able to adapt the team and tactics in a timely manner will be key for the lagging team. After launch, we will review player feedback and performance data of different heroes to determine if any adjustments are needed.
New Hero: Ilari
Q: Why did you choose to use Peru as a backdrop this time? What cultural element in Peru is the source of inspiration? What is the specific connection or influence of Ilari’s identity with the mission of this story? Is there anything striking about Peru’s investigative location? What power does the sun really give this hero?
Piero Herrera: We like to explore new cultures and countries through heroes, and Peru is a country I’m particularly looking forward to. My family is from Peru and I have a few pictures of my grandmother that we use for inspiration and to communicate with cultural experts.
The sun is a very important symbol for the natives of Peru, and it was a good fit to design a hero who could harness the power of the sun to aid in battles and assist his team. You can feel this in her ultimate moves, her weapons are imbued with the power of the sun.
Josh Zhang: Ilari is not part of the story missions in Overwatch 2: Omnic Invasion, but we look forward to sharing her connections with The Defender and other characters in the future.
Rakan Khamash: The picture of Grandmother Piero is very beautiful. In Hilari’s original design, she only had one braid, but cultural consultants told us there are usually two. Grandma Piero’s picture was a great reference when we were making this change, as Ilari’s hair looks just like hers.
Q: What is the biggest difference between Ilari and other supporting heroes? Does his role setting tend to be more energetic and aggressive?
Piero Herrera: She is more energetic and aggressive than the other supporting characters. You can deal a lot of damage, then use her healing towers to save teammates in other parts of the map, while still fighting the enemy team.
Q: Even though Ilari is positioned as a support, he seems to be very aggressive. Does this mean that Blizzard officials have started to pay attention to the output ability of support characters, instead of letting support focus only on support like Mercy and Lucio did in the past?
Piero Herrera: Given the various hero combinations, we need to find the right balance. Hilari can be more aggressive and aggressive than other support characters, but her healing is the key ability to be a strong member of the team.
Q: Will the healing tower change with an increase or decrease in characters in range? eg answers per second
Piero Herrera: “The Healing Tower fires healing missiles to heal one target.”
Q: Ilari can place the healing tower building, is it a target that can be attacked like a machine gun? Can the enemy destroy the healing tower?
Piero Herrera: The Healing Tower has 150 health and can be destroyed.
Q: Ilari has the healing tower build, and the balance of the build has always been a problem, especially after many balances in the console version, will there be an overpowering problem?
Piero Herrera: From the recent playtests, we think her balance is great. We are always happy to receive feedback from players and make adjustments if necessary.
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