When a new map drops in Overwatch, it’s big news. What is the lore behind this locale? Which heroes are going to dominate the map? What game mode will it be under? Luckily, a week ahead of its release, you’ll get an idea of what to expect in Season 3’s new map coming to Overwatch 2.
The map is called Antarctic Peninsula. So, yes, while this location already exists in one of the maps in the game (Ecopoint: Antarctica), this will be a standard map in the pools. Another small milestone in the latest map’s development is that this will be the first new Control map since the release of Overwatch 2.
Like other maps with this game mode, there are three areas within this one map.
The first is Icebreaker Ship, which is the vessel that was going to save Mei when she was stranded at Watchpoint: Antarctica. This level will favor a more “boots on the ground” approach, with vertical attackers like snipers and flyers like Pharah being at a disadvantage. It’ll also be a good arena for callouts, given how unique certain parts of the map are.
The next is the Sublevel. In the underground ice mines, expect there to be a lot of verticality. To counter what the previous map is like, it’ll also push you to have a more versatile selection of Heroes to do the job.
Finally, there is going to be the Lab section. This is where Mei and her coworkers were working at the station before the storm happened. It’s going to feel more standard, but have flanking routes. Expect this map to be controlled by Reaper players, Tracer players, and cheeky Symmetra teleporting players.
Most of the maps currently in Overwatch 2’s rotation are more “city-based,” but according to the art and level design teams at Blizzard, expect this map to be more “organic.”
What makes the map more organic is that they’re going to be using more of the new technology in the game to create more realistic environments. Of course, with the icy biome that is in Antarctica, this does take things like colors and visual advantages into consideration. However, there will be some restrictions. There were plans to add some hazards like the drill in one of the three map sections, but that was scrapped.
Some other things to expect are some new subtle details on the physics because of the terrain, weather, and little interactive objects throughout the map. Antarctic Peninsula will also showcase some backstories and quotes regarding the incident regarding Mei’s rescue. The extent this will get into will be determined when the map launches in Season 3.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Published: Feb 2, 2023 01:00 pm