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Overwatch's New Arcade Offers Loot Box Rewards and New Modes
During the Overwatch portion of BlizzCon's opening ceremony, it was revealed that a new Arcade section is coming to the game. This was more fully detailed during the subsequent Overwatch panel, revealing exactly what it consists of.
Arcade is a new area of the Play menu, taking the place of Brawls (which are now housed inside of the Arcade). It's home to a variety of new modes, including a 1v1 mode and one that allows teams to have multiple people playing as the same character--something that won't be permitted in Quick Play for much longer. Here's what will be available in the Arcade when it launches:
In the future, whenever seasonal modes like LucioBall or Junkenstein's Revenge are introduced, they'll be located in the Arcade.
The Arcade will also offer new Loot Box rewards. Playing and winning three matches will reward you with a Loot Box. This can happen three times during a given week, with your progress being reset on a fixed day. Blizzard will also sometimes offer Loot Box rewards for winning a match in a specific mode.
During the panel, Blizzard also shared additional details regarding Sombra--read about those here--and a tidbit about the new Oasis map. Oasis features the game's first jump pad, which director Jeff Kaplan said allows for some interesting possibilities when combined with characters' abilities (like McCree's Ultimate).
The Arcade is due out on the PC version's Public Test Realm next week alongside Sombra and Echo Point Antarctica. Oasis will hit the PTR in December, with the current goal being to launch it in full in early 2017.
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Arcade is a new area of the Play menu, taking the place of Brawls (which are now housed inside of the Arcade). It's home to a variety of new modes, including a 1v1 mode and one that allows teams to have multiple people playing as the same character--something that won't be permitted in Quick Play for much longer. Here's what will be available in the Arcade when it launches:
- 1v1 Mystery Duel: A best-of-nine mode where the game randomly chooses a character that both participants will play as each round. Games take place on the new Echo Point Antarctica map.
- 3v3 Elimination: A best-of-five mode with no respawns. You can choose a new character each round, but once you've chosen, you're locked in for the round. Games take place on the new Echo Point Antarctica map.
- 6v6 Mystery Heroes: This is played on standard Quick Play maps, but all players are randomly assigned their character.
- 6v6 No Limits: With a one-hero limit coming to Quick Play, you'll be able to come here if you want to stack teams with more than one of the same character.
- All Brawls: This will include a rotation of Brawl game types, both new and old. At the end of each round, the game will move to a different Brawl. Two new Brawls that were mentioned include one that limits teams to choosing Reinhardt or Lucio, and another that only allows Lucio or Roadhog on the portion of Ilios with the well in the middle.
In the future, whenever seasonal modes like LucioBall or Junkenstein's Revenge are introduced, they'll be located in the Arcade.
The Arcade will also offer new Loot Box rewards. Playing and winning three matches will reward you with a Loot Box. This can happen three times during a given week, with your progress being reset on a fixed day. Blizzard will also sometimes offer Loot Box rewards for winning a match in a specific mode.
During the panel, Blizzard also shared additional details regarding Sombra--read about those here--and a tidbit about the new Oasis map. Oasis features the game's first jump pad, which director Jeff Kaplan said allows for some interesting possibilities when combined with characters' abilities (like McCree's Ultimate).The Arcade is due out on the PC version's Public Test Realm next week alongside Sombra and Echo Point Antarctica. Oasis will hit the PTR in December, with the current goal being to launch it in full in early 2017.
More...