Overwatch developers have cited Quake as an inspiration for the hero shooter's design for years. It has jump pads and a hero who can rocket jump. But in its upcoming season, it'll finally have an entire map that looks like it was ripped straight out of the classic arena shooter.
Earlier this year, Blizzard held a Twitch stream where viewers helped design a map for the game's goofy arcade modes. That map, called Talantis, will be fully playable in a limited-time arcade mode starting on April 25.
Talantis is an underwater map consisting of suspended platforms and jump pads that can fling you between them. It's Quake's The Longest Yard map, but with giant fish circling around it. No matter where you go on it, you're always a few steps away from falling into the abyss. Lucio and Wrecking Ball players keen on booping enemies off the edge will surely thrive here.
Season 4 will have a space opera-themed battle pass, including a customizable Galactic Emperor mythic skin for Sigma on its final, premium tier. And to help introduce new support hero Lifeweaver, you'll be able to play him (whether you've unlocked him or not) on a team of three other Lifeweavers in B.O.B. and Weave, a team deathmatch mode where both sides get to raise and pull Ashe's robot butler around to help them score kills.
Support players will also get to try a reworked Brigitte. The shield-bearing healer has a new ultimate that increases the size and health of her barrier and allows her to bash into enemies for a short stun. The recent changes to Mercy's healing output and flying have been almost completely reverted, and Sigma, Reinhardt, and Cassidy will have their "lethality" tuned down a bit, according to Blizzard's blog post.
Along with a new space opera-themed arcade mode set on the Horizon Lunar Colony map, Overwatch 2 season 4 will see the return of the Battle for Olympus mode—this time with both a free-for-all and team deathmatch version.
The previously promised removal of rank decay from the game's competitive mode will come with the new season too. Competitive players won't start at a lower rank at the beginning of a season anymore, hopefully alleviating the discrepancy between visible ranks and the invisible MMR.
Overwatch 2 season 4's roadmap looks like this:
- April 11 - June 13: Season 4 — Overwatch 2 season 4 will run for around nine weeks.
- April 11 - 25: B.O.B. and Weave — A 3v3 team deathmatch consisting of only Lifeweavers who need to move their friendly B.O.B. around to help secure kills. (You don't have to own Lifeweaver to play this one.)
- April 25 - May 1: Talantis mode — An arcade mode set on an underwater, community-built map with jump pads and death pits.
- May 9 - 22: Starwatch: Galactic Rescue — A 4v4 arcade mode on a reworked Horizon Lunar Colony where teams battle with various objectives.
- May 23 - May 29: Battle for Olympus — The return of the over-the-top arcade mode where heroes have exaggerated abilities. It will be available as a free-for-all and as team deathmatch.
- May 30 - June 6: Gardening Symmetra Challenge — A set of in-game challenges to earn a legendary Symmetra skin and other rewards.
Overwatch 2 season 4 will begin on Tuesday, April 11 at 11 am PT / 2 pm ET.
