Overwatch's Summer Games returns next week with competitive L¨²cioball
Raisin' the volume!
It's time to get your sport on! Overwatch's Summer Games is back next week.
In the latest developer update video, Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan announced the games will return 8th August and run for three weeks.
Even better news, Lúcioball is back but this time it's a little different. Developer Blizzard has introduced a competitive option for Lúcioball called "Copa Lúcioball". Like normal Overwatch competitive mode, these games are ranked. Player's who partake in 10 competitive games get a special spray and those who make the top 500 players in their region get an additional special spray.
However, if you don't want to play competitively there will still be the option to play normal Lúcioball for fun.
Lúcioball is pretty much Rocket League without the cars or football. Players are divided into two teams and must try to score as many goals as possible. Oh, and everyone plays as Lúcio.
Unlike last year, players will no longer be able to boop the enemy goalie from his position and Lúcio's ultimate ability, in this mode, has been changed too. Rather than pulling the ball towards the character, as it did last year, Lúcio's ultimate now makes him move faster, use his alternate ability quicker and jump higher. Jeff Kaplan called him "Super Lúcio".
Player's will be able to play Lúcioball in a new Sydney stadium, as well as in last year's Rio Olympic stadium.
In the video, Kaplan also revealed player's will be able to buy last year's Summer Games skins, and this year's, using credits. Last year's skins will also be reduced to normal lootbox prices for the credit cost of those skins. In other words, the Tracer skin from last year will now be 1000 credits instead of the 3000 credits event skins usually cost. Excellent!
Talking of skins, we are, of course, getting some new event specific ones. Unfortunately Roadhog, who has been having a rough time lately, will not be getting a new skin. Adding insult to injury, Kaplan revealed Junkrat will be getting a new legendary skin and called him everyone's "favourite Australian". Sorry Roadhog, but looks like this partnership is going to be the Overwatch community's Brangelina.
Mercy is also receiving a new legendary skin, which Kaplan has called "one of my favourite skins of all time". Kaplan also said Widowmaker and McCree fans will be "blown away", so we can't wait to see what's on offer.
The updated lootbox system will definitely be put to the test in this event. Blizzard revealed last week the new Overwatch update would "drastically" reduce the number of duplicates players would get in loot boxes. This event will be the first with this update implemented and will, hopefully, work well enough to allow players to get the event skins they want more easily.