Let’s Speculate What Overwatch’s Next Defense Hero Could Be Like

The latest Overwatch hero Doomfist has just arrived, and despite previous speculation, it turns out he is an offense hero. The three other new characters released thus far have been support with Ana, offense with Sombra, and tank with Orisa. Many believed Doomfist would be placed under the tank class since in-game teases made him out to be a larger and crowd-controlling type character, or defense since it the last remaining category that’s yet to receive a new character post-launch.

The defense class itself is extremely fickle, as the main description for their role revolves around specializing in area denial, utilizing long-range weapons, and creating machine-like turrets to guard critical points. Overwatch heroes like Hanzo and Widowmaker can easily take down foes from a distance, while Mei and Junkrat can create walls or deploy traps that can disrupt opponents from entering a certain area.

In spite of this, defense heroes can also act as offensive units since most of their kits are quite versatile. While most players might rage at a Widowmaker on attack, there’s no denying that a skilled sniper could easily take down squishier heroes on a control point to create some leeway for their team. Similarly, if players can work together and make an opening, a Bastion or Torbjorn can set up their defenses on the payload and, in turn, create a weaponized vehicle.

Keeping this in mind, Blizzard has a wealth of options to choose from when creating a new defense hero. Here are a few ideas on how that character could function if Blizzard plans on releasing a future character under this category, which it undeniably will.

Area Denial

One major ability Overwatch defense heroes usually have is being able to cut off enemies from entering a certain point on the map. Mei is the only hero that can block choke points with a physical ice wall that can also be extremely useful during other situations, if not being used to troll other players trying to leave the span. Similarly, a new defense hero could have some sort of skill to create a physical gap between critical choke points. This could be done through methods like creating barricades, walls, or chasms.

Moreover, this ability could also punish foes who try to go through it. This Overwatch hero could have a skill that can deploy multiple beacons on the ground which could then form some type of electrical gate(s) if they are within range of each other. Enemies will not be able to pass through this wall and will even get electrocuted if they attempt to do so.

Blinding Skills

One concept Blizzard hasn’t explored yet in Overwatch is the ability to blind enemies. This would be a useful addition to a defense hero’s kit by utilizing some form of non-lethal smoke bombs. By throwing it, the weapon would emit some kind of hazy substance that lingers in the field for a few seconds. Enemies who pass through it will be blinded for a short period of time after leaving the smoke-filled area.

Overwatch players can use this skill defensively as another temporary area denial tool or as a means to escape a chasing enemy. In fact, deploying a large smoke bomb in an area would make a great ultimate ability in Overwatch. This would help during major team fights or when the attacking team is making their final push. Apart from acting as a great distraction, it would also give your team a few seconds to score some free hits as the opposing forces fumble in the darkness. It wouldn’t necessarily have to be compete blindness either, just enough that a pro-Genji or close-range Reaper would have a hard time locating the critical points of enemies but still know their general location. Think less blindfold and more the squid-ink item from Mario Kart.

Wall Hacks

So far, only Overwatch heroes Hanzo and Widowmaker have a skill that allows them and their teams to locate enemies through walls, minus Sombra and her ability to see low-health enemies of course. This is a great way to help allies position themselves for an attack, see what their opponents are trying to do, or discover flanking enemies. However, Hanzo’s detection ability is extremely limited and Widow’s ultimate ability only lasts for a few seconds. The concept itself is pretty overpowered if abused, but it can be used a bit more offensively if given the right situation.

A future Overwatch defense hero could have access to a deployable item that scans for enemies in a clockwise pattern. Like a submarine scanner, if it finds a target then their silhouette will blip into view for a second or so before continuing on with its rotation. To keep things fair, the deployable item can be destroyed and has a fairly moderate cooldown so enemy attacks could not be monitored at all times. Moreover, the item can scan a fairly limited range so as to encourage its use in defensive situations such as holding the point on control and assault maps or maintaining choke points. To balance its use even further, the deployable item would have to make a noise so the enemy team could know it was in use and they were being monitored. A submarine sonar sound going off every time the item detects someone close would be a great way for the defensive team to know when someone is nearby and the enemy team to know their location is compromised. Overall, this would pressure enemies to risk being detected or find a new route altogether.

Lorewatch

Whenever a new character is added to the playable roster, they are also added to the ever expanding world of Overwatch. During the recent developer update, game director Jeff Kaplan mentioned that Talon is not simply operated by one person, but a council of people with Doomfist being one of them. Seeing as how the terrorist group still lacks prominent characters when compared to the heroes in the game, the new defense character could fit in as the arms dealer and tactician of the group. Naturally, he/she would have a high position in Talon’s organization and could even be one of the people Reaper freed from prison alongside Doomfist.

This person’s kit would comprise mainly of using various illegal weapons or items they amassed through deals with corrupt leaders or people in power. In battle, they have the option to cut off their opponents and manipulate the battlefield to their liking. By making use of their traps, they can control team fights by denying certain routes and blinding enemies while handling flankers with the special wall hack in a high-tech, espionage sort of way.

In terms of where this character could be from, since Blizzard added the Oasis map that’s located in Iraq it would be awesome to have a new Iraqi character linked to that area. Eichenwalde has connections to Bastion and Reinhardt while Horizon Lunar Colony is where Winston was raised, so it’s only natural to assume that eventually Oasis will have connections to a new character in the foreseeable future.

While Overwatch defense heroes are often overlooked, they can provide some good support out in the battlefield. Seeing as how the meta is slowly leaning towards the dive composition following the Reaper and Winston buff, a hero that can manipulate the map to prevent enemies from storming in a point should be a good way to balance things out. Maybe after Blizzard finally creates a new defense character, they can focus on adding another support hero to the roster…