Overwatch’s next hero was revealed today, and its name is Wrecking Ball. Wrecking Ball is a quadrupedal mech piloted by a genetically-engineered hamster, Hammond. Wrecking Ball is a tank hero with a focus on mobility and zoning. In addition to their impact on the gameplay side of Overwatch, Wrecking Ball and Hammond also play an interesting part in the ever-expanding lore of Blizzard’s hit game.

Hammond hails from the Horizon Lunar Colony, which he escaped by attaching an escape pod of his own design to the actual escape pod used by Winston to escape the colony. Hammond’s pod became detached and he landed in Australia, just outside of Junkertown. Using his mechanical abilities and his increased intelligence, Hammond was able to turn his makeshift escape pod into a battle mech.

Going by the alias Wrecking Ball, Hammond participated in the gladiator tournaments held by the Queen of Junkertown. Wrecking Ball won several titles while keeping his true identity (and species) a secret.

Wrecking Ball’s abilities in game give it a focus on using its high mobility to get into the fray while also having the survivability to get back out in one piece. Wrecking Ball can retract its legs and roll to get around the map more quickly. While rolling, Wrecking Ball can use a grappling claw to swing across gaps, around corners, and even into enemies, causing light damage. While airborne, Wrecking Ball can come crashing down its devastating Piledriver ability. Adaptive Shields provide some extra shielding that increases based on how many enemies are around when the skill is triggered. Wrecking Ball’s ultimate, Minefield, creates a…minefield (ok, that one’s pretty self-explanatory).

Wrecking Ball is available for testing now on the Overwatch PTR, but has not been given a full release date.

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