Despite my love for hero shooters,Overwatch 2has failed to capture my interest over the years, but a new character might change that. In addition to fresh new game modes and good word of mouth, the latest Season 18 character has a certain style that harkins back to the original title that made me hooked onto this genre to begin with.
I’ve seen plenty ofnew characters get added toOverwatch 2, from Ramattra to Venture, Mauga, Illari, Lifeweaver, Juno, and Freja. However, none of these heroes (except Ramattra) had intriguing enough gameplay to entice me and my friends to return. Yet as the hype fromMarvel Rivalshas been dying down recently,the design surrounding the newest face to the game has stirred some excitement.
Overwatch 2’s Newest Hero Wuyang Makes A Big Splash
Latest Support Hero Goes Back To Basics
Overwatch 2’slatest hero is named Wuyang, a Support character who manipulates healing waterto knock around enemies and rejuvenate his allies. From the initial concept, this character interested me as someone who has always struggled to find someone in the Support role who I could flex into.
While I usually play Tank characters, Wuyang’s simple but inventive kit appeals to me as someone looking for a Support character who has more control over the battlefield.Wuyang is all about disrupting enemy positions, using explosive water projectiles to inflict knockback on his foes.
At the same time,Wuyang can apply passive healing to targets, allowing him to move around the battlefield without worrying about being attached to a specific character to keep them alive. This is similar in scope to Lucio’s area of healing, but on a much more focused scale. It reminds me of an almost identical ability fromUltron inMarvel Rivals, who happens to be the only support-adjacent hero I play in that game.
Wuyang can amplify his healing by manually applying the passive stream of restorative water to an ally. While this consumes a resource, it gives the character multiple choices when trying to support his teammates.
Wuyang also has multiple skills that allow him to control waves of water, either to dash around a map or to summon waves that pop enemies skyward. These waves even amplify healing applied to teammates who are hit by them, allowing Wuyang to support even the other Support heroes on his team.The simple and effective level of cooperation Wuyang seems to promote reminds me of olderOverwatch, in all the best ways.
Wuyang Might Be The Most Interesting New Support Hero In Years
Nuance Of Simplistic Abilities Allows For Depth To Explore
While Wuyang’s abilities may seem straightforward at first, there is a hidden level of depthto key traits thatallow for multiple playstyles. For starters, his primary fire allows Wuyang to fire a water projectile that explodes on impact with another player. On an ally, it heals them, but on an enemy, the explosion deals damage and knocks them back.
However,if you hold the attack button when you create the bubble, you’re able to make it grow bigger and exercise full control over its movements. As long as the bubble doesn’t hit anyone, you can steer it back and forth, up and down, or in any direction you please.
One great use for Wuyang’s bubble projectiles is to increase their size, then wrap them around shields if you have the right angle. They explode instantly on contact, so you almost have to guide them away from targets to let them grow first.
Thiscan help Wuyang hit flying characters, turn his projectile around corners, and lead to other creative possibilities. The larger the bubble, the more knockback it applies to enemies and the more healing it does to allies as well. As such, you are encouraged to get inventive with Wuyang’s primary fire as often as you can.
Similarly, Wuyang’s Ultimate has levels of creativity to it. The ability, calledTidal Blast, can either be applied to Wuyang himself or an ally within his line of sight. Once applied,it causes the target to be wreathed in a glowing water shell, which detonates after a short duration. When it explodes, the target is healed massively, bringing some heroes from no health back to full in some cases.
With Tidal Blast, Wuyang can give Reaper an explosive aura before the latter character uses their incorporeal ability to get close to enemies uncontested. Therisks taken inOverwatch 2by this character seem to be far beyond what some new heroes have been given before, at least in my opinion.With so many restrictions seeming to bog down new characters, it seems like Wuyang has been given more freedomthan most to increase his fun factor.
Additional Creative Hero Ideas Could Help Recapture Player Interest
Broader Playstyles With Greater Freedom Might Appeal To More People
At least for me, Wuyang seems to be a shift in thedesign philosophy ofOverwatch 2, with a character who is given a freestyle gameplan to use as they please.Instead of fulfilling a specific niche, this Support character looks easy to pick up, but perhaps harder to master, which can be an exciting challenge.
This kind of approach doesn’t always need to be followed for every new hero moving forward, but there are lessons to learn from Wuyang.If a new character is prioritized for their abilities, feeling fun first and rewarding player creativity, it’ll likely incentivize more peopleto play said character.
I intend to see if Wuyang is fun enough to fully get me to return to the game, especially with all the new modes that have brought a lot of other old players back. WithOverwatch 2, a lot can happen given its history, but this could be the start of a far fresher direction.
