No matter what the current state of Overwatch ranked may be, there’s at least one thing Blizzard Entertainment consistently delivers on: seasonal events. This fall will likely be no exception, as the Overwatch Halloween Terror event is likely right around the corner. However, one common complaint from the community has always been the repetitiveness of these events. While some changes were made for the Summer Games event, the theme is usually to have a single unique game mode brought back for the limited time frame, on top of themed skins. Junkenstein’s Revenge has been the sole attraction of this event for three years straight, and the community could do with some fresh, Autumn air. With that in mind, here are some possible new ideas to bring back the spooky holiday spirit into this event:
A New Map
In the game’s lore, Junkenstein’s revenge is a fairy tale that Reinhardt tells about the fictional land of Adlersbrunn; this is to stand in for the map Eichenwalde, who’s bridge section has been modified for this specific game mode. This has been the premise for three years now, but that might not be the only tale Reinhardt knows. If this year, Reinhardt tells a different fable, it might set the narrative well for using a new map to have a PvE fight on. While many maps in the game could have segments that work, here are a few of the top choices:
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
Gibraltar may seem like an odd place to start off this list, but the second point of the map, in particular, would work very well for this sort of game mode. Both the beginning and end have tiny doorways as the only entrances, both on the ground floor and an upper level, and this segment is one very straight portion of the map. This gives the enemy several spawn locations and allows for fighting on two different levels. Setting the event here would give a lot more 3-dimensional play and more ways to kill lots of enemies at once.
Paris
While many in the community despise Paris as a map, the second point here would also provide many good opportunities. If the players are required to stay in the plaza and defend the archway in the center-back, the heroes will be fighting in an open area for the most part, and the enemy has plenty of places to spawn in the doorways from which attackers from Point A usually approach. Paris also would provide a very good story base, as it could be Widowmaker telling a French folk tale. The enemies could be based on a French story instead of the story of Frankenstein, with a new type of grunt enemy; though the premise of zombiebots with curly mustaches is a fun thought indeed.
Any Control Map
Control maps are designed to be easily accessible from many angles at any given time. This is to allow teams to have an easier time reclaiming the point during normal control games. However, this could pose an extra challenge for a Junkenstein’s Revenge sequel. Most control points in the game have many doors near the point itself, providing a ton of places for grunts to spawn. Being faced on all sides with enemies trying to hold a point like the drum on Busan or the Lighthouse on Ilios would be quite the harder game mode to contend with.
New Enemies
By now, most of the Overwatch fandom knows the pattern of Junkenstein’s Revenge. Players fight mostly grunts, but are tasked with killing Reaper, Roadhog, Symmetra, Junkrat, and finally Mercy. Symmetra was a 2017 addition, but these other four have been the enemies for years now. With the devs adding so many new Halloween themed skins over the years, they’ve supplied an abundance of new possible enemies to face. Demon Hanzo, Bride Sombra, Banshee Moira, Undead McCree, even Pumpkin Wrecking Ball. These all could be potential villains to defeat to switch it up from the typical cycle players have grown to dread.
New Challenges
In a similar vein to Summer Games of 2019, Blizzard could attempt to put in a new set of weekly challenges to get skins or sprays. However, rather than the simple “Win Games” challenges so far, they could be more event-specific. Examples include: “Stun X number of Zomnics with McCree’s flashbang,” “Deal the final blow on the Reaper X number of times” or even “Win a game of Junkenstein’s revenge without any player suffering a death.” These challenges might be simple, but it will at least give players a goal in mind while playing the mode, and could be fun to try and tackle different roles to achieve them.
While it is likely players will only see small changes if any, Blizzard could always throw the fanbase some new content this year. It’s entirely possible a new type of event could be appearing, especially after the success of the workshop thus far. Having new Halloween content for the first time in three years would be a success for the community as a whole, and could help restore faith in Blizzard as a whole over the issue of listening to the fans of their highly successful shooter. Regardless, here’s to hoping for some changes for Overwatch Halloween Event 2019
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