Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, StarCraft II updates revealed at Gamescom

Blizzard revealed huge updates for “Overwatch,” “Heroes of the Storm,” and “StarCraft II” at Gamescom 2016.

Overwatch to get new map

Blizzard’s competitive multiplayer shooter, “Overwatch,” is getting a new map this September—the first to be released for the game since its launch on May 24, 2016.

The map is called Eichenwalde, and features the eponymous German castle and a nearby rural-looking village. It is, as expected from “Overwatch,” gorgeous and painstakingly detailed. Eagle-eyed fans will notice a “Diablo III” reference, among other Easter Eggs.

The map is an Assault/Escort hybrid. One team is tasked with escorting a battering ram to the castle, while the opposing team has to stop said battering ram from arriving at its destination.

The map also boasts a “very vertical” middle portion, and a drawbridge that serves as a great spot for Widowmaker.

Blizzard provided a background story for Eichenwalde:

“The site of one of the most famous battles during the Omnic Crisis, it was here that the leader of the Crusaders, Balderich von Alder, and a handful of his best soldiers made a last stand against an advancing automaton army. Outnumbered and outgunned, they were ultimately slain during the resulting combat. However, thanks to their valiant efforts, the German military was able to push back the omnic offensive and win the fight.”

Later this week, Blizzard will also reveal a new “Overwatch” animated short called “The Last Bastion.” It stars the robot Bastion, who is said to have been born at Eichenwalde.

Blizzard’s description of the short reads:

“The Last Bastion tells the origin story of the inquisitive transforming robot, Bastion. In this episode, we follow the forgotten battle automaton as it unexpectedly reactivates after laying dormant in the wilderness for over a decade. Fascinated by its unfamiliar surroundings, the curious omnic begins to investigate, but quickly discovers its core combat programming may have a different directive...”

New Heroes, 'StarCraft' maps

Blizzard’s hero brawler “Heroes of the Storm” is getting a massive update called Machines of War, which comes with two “StarCraft” maps, two new Heroes, and a bunch of skins.

The two “StarCraft” maps include Braxis Holdout and Warhead Junction.

In their attempt to weaponize the Zerg, the Terran Dominion once used the planet Braxis to perform experiments on the ravenous monsters. In “Heroes of the Storm,” Braxis Holdout consists of two lanes. Its map objective involves seizing beacons and filling holding cells with all manner of Zerg horrors. Completing the objective unleashes a tsunami of Zerg on the enemy.

Another Terran-themed map, Warhead Junction is a ruined nuclear weapons testing facility. It has three lanes, and its map objective involves gathering nuclear warheads and calling down a strike on the enemy’s structures. The warheads spawn around the battlefield on a periodic basis, and are dropped upon death, allowing the enemy to steal them from you.

The new Heroes are Alarak the Tal’darim Highlord, and the Russian Defense Force soldier Aleksandra “Zarya” Zaryanova.

Alarak, who appears in “StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void” as the Tal’darim leader, is a vengeful Protoss bent on freeing his people from the corruption of Amon, the fallen Xel’Naga.

In “Heroes of the Storm,” Alarak is a Melee Assassin. Blizzard has yet to provide detailed descriptions of Alarak’s Abilities, but so far, they include the short-range Discord Strike, which causes Silence; Telekinesis, which allows him to push or pull a target enemy in any direction; and Lightning Surge, which is a quick medium-range attack. His first Heroic, Deadly Charge, has him dashing through his enemies, dealing damage along the way. With his second Heroic, Counter-Strike, Alarak seems to absorb an enemy’s attacks, then returns the favor by unleashing a more powerful attack on them.

Alarak comes with his Master Skin, and a Cthulu-inspired skin called Herald of N’Zoth.

The second Hero, Zarya, is the second “Overwatch” character to come to “Heroes of the Storm” after Tracer.

In the game, she is a Ranged Warrior. Similar to Tracer, Zarya plays exactly like her first-person shooter incarnation. Her Abilities include Particle Grenade, which she lobs at enemies; a self-applied shield called Personal Barrier; and Shield Ally, which encases allies in a protective energy cocoon. She has two Heroic Abilities: Graviton Surge, which draws target opponents into a selected area and temporarily robs them of mobility; and Expulsion Zone, which knocks opponents back when they cross into a designated area.

Zarya also comes with her Master Skin and a special skin called Thunder Guard Zarya.

The new skins for some of the other characters range from the brilliant to the bizarre. Kerrigan gets a fantastic Terran makeover with the Queen of Ghosts skin, while the Butcher and Rexxar get turned into a Zerg and a Terran respectively.

There’s even a new mount called Ghost Speeder, which looks perfect for Queen of Ghosts Kerrigan.

Additionally, Machines of War will run a special in-game event called Xel’Naga Artifact Hunt. This tasks players with finding artifacts at each match’s start, and fending off SCVs programmed to complete the same objective.

Another new feature is an awards system that occurs after every match, which gives the best player the MVP title—similar to “Overwatch’s” Play of the Game.

'StarCraft II' to get new co-op commander

After announcing several balance changes to “StarCraft II’s” multiplayer, Blizzard unveiled the new commander, Alarak, for the game’s cooperative mode.

As the game’s ninth commander, Alarak can be used on the battlefield, where he can harm enemies with a powerful dash that hurls them into the air. He can also call forth air units to aid him in battle. Despite superior damage output, Alarak is on the frail side, so players will have to be judicious when using him.

Alarak also brings with him a horde of Tal’darim Protoss units.  We don’t know yet what they’re capable of, but expect more news from Blizzard, soon.

Blizzard has yet to announce the launch dates for all these updates to “Overwatch,” “Heroes of the Storm,” and “StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void.” — BM, GMA News