A hero and a battleground
After the release of two other non-Warcraftheroes, we’re getting yet another one withOverwatch‘s Genji — the fourthOverwatchcharacter to hitHeroes of the Stormafter Tracer, Zarya, and Lucio.
I had a chance to test him out, and I think bothOverwatchandHeroesplayers alike are going to be pretty happy. Especially when they go at it on the new Hanamura map.
My first experience with Genji was actually on the receiving end (followed by many other first-hand tests), having played agaist HorsePants, one of the best soloHeroesplayers in the scene. Genji doesn’t dish out a lot of burst damage at first, but he’s a high skill cap character that can be devastating in the right hands. For starters his trait (read: an extra ability) lets him leap on a cooldown, which can be used to traverse over terrain, chase, or escape — you can also spec into an extra charge.
Just like hisOverwatchcounterpart he has access to a shuriken throw (Q), reflect (W), and a dash (E), the latter of which must be used at its full distance. When combined with his trait Genji can quickly get in, do some damage, and get out. He’s insanely good at chasing groups too, as his E refreshes cooldown if you kill an enemy hero. Theoretically you can use two gap closers, kill someone, close the gap again, and by then you’ll have your trait to push further or escape. He’s slippery as hell and his default attack is ranged.
Then there’s his ultimates — one mirrors the one fromOverwatch, letting Genji use his sword for a limited time with a series of small conal thrusts, and the other, as described by the game’s producer, imitates “your favorite anime,” and slices down in a “X” pattern after a short delay. He’s stylish as hell all told, and his deflection ability is going to piss off some auto-attackers for sure. I need more time with him but he’s fast and very fun, and I can’t see Blizzard nerfing his kit so badly (if he even needs it) as to ruin the fantasy of playing Genji inHeroes of the Storm.
In other news, Hanamura is coming toHeroesas a battleground — as the firstOverwatchlevel, in fact. It’s a two lane map that involvespayloads, but instead of one to fight over there can be multiple objectives for each side. Now players have to figure out if it’s worth pushing theirs (it is if you’re ahead) or stopping your foe’s payload. It’s going to be really hard for unorganized groups to figure out, as you need to know if you’re outnumbered at any given payload at any given time — communication is going to be key.
Each structure you destroy adds one point of damage to a payload, and delivering each load will fire off a cannon shot just like Towers of Doom — so once again you can’t directly damage the core. The camps are also vastly different, including the boss that can gorge (read: eat) one ally at a time. They also drop power-ups (sentries, area-of-effect heals, and turrets) instead of actually heading out in the battlefield as creeps.
As for me, sitting right next to a bunch of players during a test session, I had a blast. It was easy to talk and coordinate via voice and pings where each teammate potentially needed to go, and although the gambit of putting payloads into a MOBA was risky, it paid off. Great new heroes are always a plus, but having to learn new map dynamics with every character is even more fun. Expect all of this to launch withHeroes 2.0later this month, and the 2.0 beta today.
If you’re curious, here’s a look at Genji’s abilities and talents:
1 (1)
[E] Swift as the Wind
Hitting an enemy Hero with Swift Strike increasesGenji’s Movement Speed by 30% for 3 seconds.
[D] Agile Dismount
While mounted, the range of Cyber Agility is increased by 70%and its cooldown is reduced by 5 seconds.
[D] Pathfinder
Jumping over terrain with Cyber Agility increases Genji’s Movement Speed by 25% for 6 seconds.
4 (2)
[Q] Shuriken Mastery
Quest: Hit enemy Heroes with Shuriken.Reward: After hitting 35 Heroes,Shuriken damage is increased by 30.Reward: After hitting 75 Heroes, Cyber Ability now refunds 2 charges of Shuriken.
[Active] Dragon Claw
After Genji blocks 432 damage with Deflect, he may activateDragon Claw to deal 187 damage to all nearby enemies.
[E] Strike at the Heart
Enemies hit by the end of Swift Strike take an additional 144 damage over 2 seconds.
7 (3)
[W] Augmented Guard
When Deflect ends, Genji gains a Shield equal to 50% of the damage blocked for 4 seconds.
[W] Perfect Defense
Deflected damage reduces the cooldown of Deflect by 2 seconds, up to a maximum of 10 seconds.
[Passive] Dodge
Genji dodges 1 Heroic Basic Attack every 5 seconds. Stores up to 3 charges.
10 (4)
Deal heavy damage in a cross shape
13 (5)
[Q] Shingan
Hitting an enemy with all 3 Shuriken deals 120 bonus damage.
[E] Flow Like Water
Each enemy Hero hit with Swift Strike reduces its cooldown by 3 seconds.
[D] Double Jump
Cyber Agility stores 2 charges but its cooldown is increased by 5 seconds.
16 (6)
[E] Final Cut
After 1 second, Swift Strike deals an additional 130 damage to all enemies in the area.
[E] Steady Blade
Each enemy Hero hit by Swift Strike increases the damage of the nextSwift Strike by 20%. This bonus stacks up to 3 times.
20 (7)
[R1] The Dragon Becomes Me
Each time Dragonblade hits an enemy Hero, the duration ofDragonblade is increased by 1 second.
[R2] Living Weapon
Each enemy Hero hit by X-Strike reduces its cooldown by 12 seconds.
[W] Zanshin
Quest: Block 6500 damage with Deflect, including damage blocked so far.Reward: Deflect hits all nearby enemy Heroes.
