segadores-y-soldados:

Oh my god, these are INCREDIBLE. I’m side-eyeing the ones about McCree returning to Route 66 ( @freckledmccree ) and the one about Sombra finding about about Symmetra’s “employers”.



Also the Lúcio and Genji ones!!

Okay, now that I’ve stopped screaming internally, I want to highlight the ones that will be likely the most immediately relevant for Blizzcon 2018.

Seeing these new interactions have really strongly reaffirmed a lot of my predictions for Blizzcon 2018, but I was going to wait until after playing Junkenstein to really put them down. And that is because:

1. Hero 29 is likely Sanjay Korpal.

2. McCree on Route 66 is likely the next animated short.

More hypothesizing and speculation under the cut.

(Also, please do not let my speculation overhype you. I feel genuinely bad about Hero 28 and Junkenstein 2018 ideas, no matter how varying the degrees of “accurate or inaccurate.” For example, there is just as much evidence that Harold Winston is still alive as there is that Sanjay could be Hero 29. I personally find it fun to speculation and hypothesize, but I know many people do not.)

1. Sanjay Korpal

For a “minor background character”, we’ve actually “seen” Sanjay a lot, and he has a pretty massive role in the story. He’s currently: 1) some sort of high-level architect, manager, or proposal writer for Vishkar, 2) in direct contact with Portero, the CEO of LumériCo, and possibly in contact with Volskaya herself, 3) a Talon council member and a supporter of Doomfist’s intentions to create a global war, and

4) Symmetra’s boss.

It was important to see what would happen with Summoner Symmetra in Junkenstein. Part of the reason is gameplay. Three characters have had major gameplay overhauls/reworks: Mercy, Torbjörn, and Symmetra. Of the three of them, two of them are bosses in Junkenstein (Mercy and Symm).

The character that the developers have - quite frankly - been the most reluctant to rework is Mercy.

You can see the “attachment” to “Old Mercy” in Junkenstein: she still has “huge rez” as her “boss ultimate,” and it’s very clear the developers are reluctant to change the gameplay for her, even in a PVE mode.

There was a big question about if Symmetra would retain her old Shield Generator or use her new Shield Barrier in Junkenstein.

Much to my surprise, they picked the Barrier.

Again, speaking solely about the PVE mode, it makes her a ridiculously easy boss. Paired with the Torb rework, and the buffs to McCree, 76, and Ana, there are now a multitude of ways to grind out achievements in the lower and mid-range difficulties.

However, this important to Sanjay because it is extremely likely that “alternate Symmetra rework ideas” are being given to him.

I do not think the “old Shield Generator” is returning. It makes the gameplay very static and niche. Instead, according to rumors from World Cup players, Hero 29 is supposedly going to be an “anti-sniper” counter, and one way to do that (without creating yet another sniper) is to increase the health bar of teammates, either through shields or armor.

“Hard light technology” is ideal for experimentations with this as a gameplay mechanism. The concept can be as creative and as imaginative as the developers want it to be. “Bending light” to create “constructs” could easily be use to create more shields, armor, temporary barriers (as in, walls or map changes, not just Symmetra’s barrier), traps, or even some sort of anti-sniper nest. There is also high demand among the fandom for a “Talon tank”, and while Sanjay does not look like a standard tank, he could easily have the concept of “adaptive armor” (like Doomfist and Wrecking Ball) taken to an extreme.



Now, this would be mostly speculation if it weren’t for a few things:

1.1. In a very interesting r/Overwatch post from 8-9 months ago, someone found that Blizzard might have been scouting actors that fit Sanjay’s profile. They discovered that Karthik Srinivasan had some interesting social media contacts (like Andrea Toyias, Overwatch’s Senior Casting & Voice Director, and Anjali Bhimani), and speaks fluent Tamil and Hindi. The post got an official comment from Bill Warnecke, an Overwatch developer.

1.2. The new Symmetra interactions.

Sombra: What interesting things I’ve learned about your employers, Ms. Vaswani.



What interesting things I’ve learned about your employers, Ms. Vaswani. Symmetra: …What have you heard?

—

Moira: Look at this world, Symmetra - see what science has wrought.



Symmetra: Of course. Science obeys the laws of nature. It is only to be expected.



(Anniversary update)



Doomfist: Symmetra…I am familiar with your work. I look forward to seeing it in person.



Symmetra: My purpose is to create order. You are the embodiment of chaos.



—

Symmetra: Doomfist, you are mistaken. Only with order can humanity evolve.



Doomfist: Order…chaos…means to an end.



It is evident that the Talon characters (Doomfist, Moira) are not only using Symmetra’s “Vishkar codename” (Symmetra), but that Symmetra remains unaware of Sanjay’s role within Talon. The Sombra interaction, though, is incredibly tantalizing.

We have a very strong set up for Symmetra to break away from Vishkar when she eventually discovers what Sanjay is doing. Even though Symmetra has an extreme view of the world and discipline, she does not believe in using it for ill, or even using it “in tandem” with “chaos” (which is what Doomfist believes).

It is possible that Sanjay is not Hero 29, but he’s being very adeptly “arranged” in the story to be revealed soon, likely within the next 1-3 heroes. The multitude of changes to characters (Symmetra, Torb, increased DPS like 76, McCree, and Pharah) seems to hint that a damage-blocking or damage-shielding hero is coming soon.

I’ve speculated (speculated, not hypothesized) that several characters are being potentially aligned for a “recalled” Blackwatch. These characters are: Hanzo (in parallel with Genji), Sombra (in parallel with McCree), and Symmetra (in parallel with Moira). I am so excited to see that Moira finally has an interaction with Symmetra, but like Doomfist, she cannot quite seem to sway Symmetra to “Talon’s side.” All three of the above characters are very clearly interested in “doing right” but by their own rules, which is, effectively, the mantra of former Blackwatch Commander Gabriel Reyes and the current mantra of Soldier: 76.

What Symmetra needs to “push” her away from Vishkar’s hard ideology is something that shatters her world view.

The revelation of Sanjay’s actual intentions could definitely be that.

2. McCree short

Overwatch animated shorts require two main things: a playable character (obviously), but also a playable map.

This is because it is a massive waste of time, money, and energy simply to design maps of the animated short caliber without reusing those assets elsewhere. Hell, Blizzard also has several locational assets in a cycle of development: it was discovered that parts of the Busan map had been made as early as Lunar New Year 2017. Whether the wait was intentional or not - or how many of those assets were fully developed or not - it is difficult to say.

While it is definitely possible to get a new animated short set in, say, the Necropolis or Chateau Guillard or Junkertown, this is where the character part comes in.

D.Va’s “Shooting Star”, Bastion’s “The Last Bastion”, and Sombra’s “Infiltration” are exceptions to the norm: all the other animated shorts about about several playable characters answering Winston’s recall.

Torbjörn could get a short, but he currently has two comics, as well as several voicelines that imply he’s still adventuring around with Bastion.

Surprisingly, Mercy remains a very ambiguous character in the “present day” of recall: she has very ambivalent feelings about Overwatch returning, and we don’t actually know where she is. She could be in Oasis, but a short featuring her in Oasis would almost certainly involve Moira, which would likely lead to Mercy having to deal with her technology being “abused” - a topic which I personally don’t think is fully “set up” yet.

On the other hand, the new McCree interactions are ideal for a “Return to Deadlock Gorge” short:

McCree: Genji, how’d you ever get used to…you know. It was hard enough for me, and it was just the one arm.

Genji: It was a long and difficult road, but now I feel at ease in my own body.

—



McCree: Just remember, Pharah: we ain’t playing with toy guns anymore.

Pharah: Good. I’m much better with the real thing.

—



(On Route: 66)

Genji: Why have you come back to this place, McCree?

McCree: The only thing it ever is: unfinished business and unhappy history.

The premise for the Route 66 map is perfect for an actiony, shoot-out type short (an allusion to a Western train heist, of course) where McCree must grapple with his own past in Deadlock…and the one he had in Blackwatch. Like “Rise and Shine” and “Honor and Glory”, the set up is very strong for him to reflect on his trials and struggles before making a decision on answering Winston’s recall.

Now, this could be additionally off-set by whatever map will be released for Blizzcon. If the map is a Vishkar building or a Rio de Janeiro map, the short could easily be Symmetra or Lúcio focused (which would tie into a potential Sanjay reveal quite nicely). Personally, I don’t know if Blizzard is ready to make a Vishkar map: the concept would likely need the (in)famous teleporter, jump pads, moving platforms, changing barriers, etc. Utopaea has the potential to be the most structurally-challenging map. I personally think it is more likely we’ll see an underwater map next, but that’s my impression.