Overwatch and its community love holiday-themed events. The “Winter Wonderland” event went live on December 13th, and it is scheduled to run through January 2nd. Check out the release trailer below to get a sense of what you can expect to see during the event:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gjn0ObXWak[/embedyt]
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In addition to the cosmetic items that have been added to the game, a new mode will be available during the event, and a few characters have gone through some balance changes as well. The new map, Oasis, is still restricted to the test servers.
The bonus mode during Winter Wonderland is called “Mei’s Snowball Offensive.” In this 6-on-6 mode, everyone takes control of Mei with a modified weapon. Instead of freezing opponents in their tracks, Mei now fires a massive snowball that eliminates in a single hit.
The big balance change in this update comes with Symmetra, who now has a second ultimate to give her more viability on certain maps. In addition to her teleporter, Symmetra can now place a shield generator, which grants 75 shield hit points to any teammate within range for as long as it survives. Should help a great deal once your team has hunkered down to defend the second point. Other characters have also received some minor balance changes.
Obviously, the thing most Overwatch players are excited for are the holiday-themed cosmetic updates. Torbjorn’s Santa outfit and Winston’s Yeti skin are both some high-quality stuff, and the trailer shows off many of the highlights you can find in the update. Be still my heart, that Windowmaker animation is certainly going to appeal to a legion of fanfic writers, isn’t it?
The Overwatch Winter Wonderland update is live right now. Go check it out on Battle.net.
What are you most excited about in the Winter Wonderland update? Let us know which holiday skin you want first in the comments below.