I was a fan of UT99 back in the day, and it's great to see a Shock Rifle variant make it into Overwatch. The Shock Rifle secondary fire was a slow-moving energy ball which could be detonated with the laser primary fire. Much like Ashe's dynamite. The skinning for that ability is just perfect, by the way. It's very intuitive, and fits her character like a glove.
The Ultimate ability, calling in help from B.O.B., is also unique. B.O.B, is really popular on the forums for some reason.
One of the most interesting things about this reveal is that Ashe actually loses in the animated short which introduces her character. Almost always, the hero reveal pumps up the hero, making her seem more competent. Ashe's loss is extremely unusual. And yet, I think it worked here, because Ashe is a small-time villain. It actually ginned up a lot of audience sympathy for her.
I do wonder if this would have worked with a male hero, though. Would an lower-competence male hero generate sympathy, or disdain?
Ash appears to be a high skill cap character to play. You can get a whole lot out of her toolkit if you have the skill for it. I don't.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if that's true of most weapon-based characters. After all, you have to aim your weapon, and that automatically raises the skill cap. Ability-based heroes often have a lot more leeway in targeting.
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