So periodically I’ll post a huge thread like this as an update to whatever concepts I’ve been working on. Usually they will be just tweaks to already-existing concepts, but occasionally a completely new one will make it in. I actually finished working on these nearly a month ago, but I had to update them for the new “Damage” category and the Sym rework.
And yes, at the time they took me nearly a month to make in total. Here they are:
Liao (Xi Liao)
5’11”
Age: 52
Occupation: Soldier (formerly)
Affiliation: Overwatch (formerly)
Base: Beijing, China (Birthplace), Tibet
Relations: none
Nationality: China
Damage
100 health
150 shields
M1(a)- Tactical Burst Rifle
21 rounds per clip
1.5 sec reload
22-6 damage per round
3 rounds per shot
6 rps
Falloff: 40-65 m
Hitscan
Headshot: yes
M1(b)- Personal-use Light Coilgun
1 round per clip
4-second reload
1 sec spin-up
155 damage per round
Falloff: none
Hitscan
Headshot: yes
M2- Scope
Burst Rifle: 2x zoom
Coilgun: 3x zoom
Mouse wheel- swap weapon
LShift- Antipersonnel Grenade
Arcing Projectile
150-15 damage
Projectile speed: 20 mps
Instant cast
5 m blast radius
Bounces off walls
8 sec CD
E- Homing RPG
Linear Projectile
3 sec lock-on
160-10 damage
Instant cast
Projectile speed: 35 mps
3 m blast radius
Chases target
10 sec CD
Passive- Biomedical System
Liao regains up to 70 health after 2 seconds of not taking damage.
Ultimate- Orbital Bombardment
Select 5 locations to fire an orbital heavy munition upon.
10 m blast radius
250-20 damage per round
Instant cast
Liao becomes immobile while selecting targets with overhead UI
“All heroes must fade away; all villains must persist.”
With the Omnic Crisis well underway, many nations tried, and promptly failed, many strategies to ward off the robotic menace. One such strategy was China’s super-soldier program, which piggybacked off the earlier American Enhancement Program. Few were chosen for the program, nevermind the even fewer who completed it. One such successful individual was Xi Liao, who would go on to become the youngest member of the original Overwatch strike team, joining the group at only the age of 22. Quiet, cool, and collected, Liao was ironically the only member of the original strike team who was proficient with heavy weapons and explosives. Soon after the obvious rift between Overwatch and Blackwatch began to form, Liao simply disappeared, taking his equipment and voice of reason with him. Now, with the collapse of Overwatch, Liao watches his old comrades from afar, and while not nearly as bitter as Morrison or vengeful as Reyes, he knows all too well that he will have to rejoin the fight one day, an inevitability he has great disdain for. In the meantime, however, he remains a simple recluse.
Comments:
The initial idea in terms of gameplay for Liao was to make him somewhat of a counterpart to Soldier. I have a lot of experience with many different FPS titles, and it is apparent that while Soldier certainly is the “generic shooter” character, he doesn’t cover all the bases (nor could he, as that would be a nightmare to design) that a player coming from any other FPS game would need to comfortably transition into Overwatch. In my mind at least, Soldier is specifically very reminiscent of CoD and CSGO. Liao on the other hand was designed to be more reminiscent of GoW and Halo, which make you feel like you’re playing as a human battle tank instead of just a normal soldier. To achieve this distinction I sacrificed mobility and utility for sheer damage output and resilience by making 150 of his 250 health shields, giving him two very powerful hitscan weapons, two explosives-based abilities, and a moderately-powerful self-healing passive.
In terms of intended function and playstyle, Liao is designed to be a relatively flexible hitscan hero with sniper elements who excels at choke breaking and holding from a relatively long range. While lacking any proper CC capabilities, Liao does counter flankers well, and has the firepower to additionally pressure tanks from a distance. That said, Liao’s weakness is intended to be close-range burst damage, as he has no consistent way of dealing with enemies in his face and his impressive longevity is negated if it doesn’t have the time to come into play.
I imagined Liao as sort of like a mediator between the conflicting yet complementary personalities of Morrison and Reyes, and I wanted to put that on display with this concept. Narratively, Liao is relatively obscure, although his intended role in the story of Overwatch is to act as almost an outside spectator looking in at the happenings of a world he left behind long ago. His character is very much intended to be largely dry and rather uninteresting, with occasional signs that the lively and caring young man he once was still remains to a certain extent.
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Maximilien
6’1”
Age: 21
Occupation: Talon Council Member, Businessman
Affiliation: Talon
Base: Monaco
Relations: none
Nationality: Monaco
Damage
200 health
Passive- Nanobots
45 damage per second per swarm
3 swarms total
10 m range
Any undeployed swarms protect Maximilien
M1- Silenced Light Handgun
45-9 damage per round
10 rounds per clip
1 sec reload
2 rps
Hitscan
Falloff: 20-40 m
Headshot: yes
M2- Set Target
Send one of your nanobot swarms to swarm an enemy or protect an ally until relocated or target is out of LOS for more than 3 seconds.
Projectile speed: 120 mps
Instant cast
No CD
40 m range
Reload- Reset
Calls a deployed nanobot swarm back to Maximilien.
Instant cast
No CD
LShift- Time Modifier
Any foes being swarmed by nanobots have all ability cooldowns frozen; any allies being protected by nanobots have all ability cooldowns decreased by 2 seconds.
8 sec CD
2 sec duration
Instant cast
E- Sonic Ping
Any enemies being swarmed by nanobots and any other enemies within 10 meters of them are visible through walls to Maximilien and all allies for 2 seconds.
6 sec CD
Instant cast
Ultimate- Puppet Master
After selecting a currently swarmed enemy, Maximilien takes complete control over his target, although with some drawbacks.
5 second duration
1 sec cast time
Maximillian becomes immobile
Target’s movement speed decreased by 50%
Target’s ultimate is disabled
“What is luck but an excuse for inexcusable showings of foolishness?”
Currently the owner of a casino which Talon works out of, Maximilien is one of the most wealthy Omnics on Earth, owing his success to his literal supercomputer-level ability to predict trends and act upon money-making opportunities. For the same reason, he is also the tactical mastermind behind Talon’s most successful operations, such as the assassination of Mondatta. The perfect manipulator, Maximilien is capable of convincing and using anyone to do his bidding while still maintaining their illusion that they are in control. While a stark skeptic of the concept of luck, mostly due to his awareness of all relevant factors and variables, he is more than willing to use luck as a tool of manipulation and justification. Using nanobots developed for him by Sombra, Maximilien now takes to the battlefield so that he may help more directly in Talon’s plans. That, however, does not mean he will be in the line of fire, as he much prefers to fight as he lives: through manipulation. His motives for helping Talon- even becoming a Council Member- are unclear, as Talon very obviously wishes to pit humanity against the Omnics once again, although the simple prospect of accumulating more wealth is a distinct possibility.
Comments:
Maximilien’s kit is very much inspired by the “Ivon” leak from awhile back. Considering the “leak” described the character as a tall, lanky man wearing a black and red suit, I thought Maxie fit the bill too perfectly. He’s meant to be a rather hands-off character, sorta like an even more DPS-oriented Zenyatta. That said, he’s no Bastion; you’re not going to be tank busting with Maxie. Getting good at Maxie revolves around good management of his nanobot swarms and abilities, as while the swarms can be relocated at any time, his abilities only effect players with nanobots on them, whether they be allies or enemies. Do you put all three swarms on enemies? Allies? Keep them for yourself? His design also makes him inherently anti-dive.
Maximilien’s role is, as said, anti-dive DPS/Support hybrid. An ally with a swarm gains an automatic 45 DPS that they don’t have to aim, making them an undesirable dive target. Maxie can do the same, but with a maximum of 135 DPS if all 3 swarms are on him. Deploying a swarm on an enemy flanker basically makes it impossible for them to dive you, as unless they leave your LOS they’re going to be taking a free 45 DPS while diving you. Maxie’s abilities also offer some substantial utility, like the ability to manipulate CDs, briefly reveal enemy positions, and his ultimate, which quite literally gives him the ability to almost take complete control over an enemy player for a brief period of time. Maximilien’s counters are plentiful. His biggest counter is range, although just being able to physically get at him is another huge one, as without nanobot swarms he can’t really defend himself.
In terms of lore and narrative, I designed Maximilien to be like a cross between James Bond and Don Vito Corleone. He’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse, and if you do somehow refuse he’s gonna kill you with some crazy tech. He’s charismatic, he’s manipulative, and he’s got a nice suit. He doesn’t like to get his hands dirty, instead manipulating and bribing his way out of situations. He’s kinda like a more refined and humble Sombra in many ways, but without the cyberpunk vibe and a very much more mobster vibe. I’d imagine the two of them get along rather… interestingly.
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Kindler (Louis Trudeau)
6’2”
Age: 54
Occupation: Soldier (formerly)
Affiliation: Canadian military (formerly)
Base: Charolettetown, Canada (Birthplace), Toronto, Canada
Relations: Sam Trudeau (brother), Ana Amari (sister in-law), Fareeha Amari (niece)
Nationality: Canada
Damage
200 health
50 armor
M1- Flamethrower
Linear Projectile
10 damage per unit of fuel
10 units of fuel (rounds) per second
50 units per clip
2 sec reload
15 m range
Projectile speed: 20 mps
Headshot: no
Ignites enemies for 3 sec
Enemy takes 25 damage per sec while ignited
Fire deals 1.5x as much damage to armor
M2- Napalm Infusion
Temporarily infuses fuel with sticky napalm, allowing for the ignition of the ground when fired upon. Enemies who walk across ignited ground become ignited as well.
Ignition duration: 5 sec
3 sec duration
5 sec CD
Instant cast
LShift- Smoke Bomb
Arcing Projectile
Grenade-style projectile that releases a large plume of smoke when detonated, obscuring enemy vision.
8 sec CD
5 m plume radius
Enemies within the plume are unable to see any indicators of teammates’ positions, as well as enemy outlines.
5 sec duration
Instant cast
Projectile speed: 20 mps
Bounces off walls
Detonates when it strikes the ground
E- Full Blast
Temporarily increases range by 2x and damage of Flamethrower by 50%.
Instant cast
10 sec CD
4 is sec duration
Can be combined with Napalm Infusion
Passive- Fireproof
Kindler is immune to the Ignition status effect.
Ultimate- Firestorm
Arching projectile that detonates and leaves a 30 m diameter area of ignited ground.
Projectile speed: 25 mps
Ignition duration: 10 sec
“Let’s mix things up a little.”
The Canadian military was just as ineffective against the Omnics as the much larger and more powerful American military, and even with their forces combined not much could be done to slow the robot onslaught. One of the most effective strategies against the Omnics, however, was the use of the Incinerators: a group of demolitionists specializing in the use of flamethrowers. They made quick work of the Omnics, as the ambient heat generated by the extremely powerful flames was enough to fry their circuits. As his brother worked with Overwatch to coordinate an attack on the Detroit Omnium, one Louis Trudeau led the Incinerators into battle after battle, becoming a legend among residents of North America as a sort of superhero who would save entire towns from an Omnic assault. This image of Louis was only partly true. While a valiant combatant, Louis was truly traumatized by what he saw on the frontlines, and even after the Crisis came to an end, he still remains terrified of Omnics. This has resulted in an intense amount of paranoia for Louis, and as a result he is never far from his armor and flamethrower. Many who are close to Louis wish he would get over his fears, but it would seem that he has a long way to go before that happens.
Comments:
People are begging for a fire-based Hero; people are begging for a Canadian Hero, so here’s two birds with one stone. The general idea behind Kindler doesn’t really go any deeper than that, so let’s just move on to role and writing.
As far as Defense heroes go, Kindler has the shortest effective range. He’s an anti-dive hero by design, as he can set flankers alight with just a glancing blow from his flamethrower, can deny an area to grounded enemies, and can break coordination using the smoke bomb. That said, he’s certainly not unusable on offense. His range can temporarily be increased to 30 meters using his E ability, making him not only a threat to snipers but also to tanks due to the 50% damage increase. He’s countered by anything outside his range.
In terms of backstory, I wanted Kindler to be kinda this paranoid old veteran who can’t get over the past. He tells a very relatable story to many veterans, and kinda serves as a reminder of why violent conflict shouldn’t be the first solution. To tie into this, he’s related to the very militarized Amaris, who have been in the military for generations. He’s not a whiny character, but he certainly shares concerns often, and for good reason. I imagine him as being sorta timid, but not helpless.
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The Queen (Samantha Wilson)
6’0”
Age: 27
Occupation: Survivalist (formerly), Mech Fighter, Queen of Junkertown
Affiliation: Junkers
Base: Junkertown, Australia
Relations: Mako Rutledge (adopted father)
Nationality: Australia
Damage
150 health
50 armor
-Stamina
Resource meter that depletes with every use of M1 or M2
25% per sec recovery rate
Recovery begins after 0.25 sec without using M1 or M2
M1- Lightning Axe
65 damage first swing
85 damage second+ consecutive swing
Consecutive hit bonus reset after 1 sec
2 swings per second
3 m maximum range
25% stamina used per swing
M2- Heavy Swing
105 damage first swing
120 damage second+ consecutive swing
Consecutive hit bonus reset after 1 sec
0.4 sec wind up
1 swing per second
3 m maximum range
50% stamina used per swing
LShift- Homing Lunge
Lunge towards an enemy target within LOS up to 25 meters.
Instant cast
30 mps movement speed
4 sec CD
Immobilizes target for 0.5 sec
E- Lightning Slam
Slams axe into the ground and generates a shockwave that stuns and knocks enemies back in all directions.
100 damage
1 sec cast time
0.5 sec stun
10 m radius
5 m knockback
8 sec CD
Passive- Bloodlust
Every time the Queen gets a finishing blow movement speed, stamina recovery rate, and damage resistance is increased by 15%.
3 sec duration
Maximum 45% buff
Ultimate- Galvanize
20% damage increase, 15% movement speed and damage resistance increase, infinite stamina, all CDs removed.
6 sec duration
“When I settle a score, only ashes remain”
Orphaned during an Omnic attack on Australia, Samantha would eventually find herself in the Outback, where she grew up surviving off what she could find alongside others displaced by the violence. She eventually was taken under the care of one Mako Rutledge, a farmer and mechanic from New Zealand. Mako would become the closest thing Samantha had to family, and from him she learned many things, from the construction and upkeep of a motorcycle to the herding and maintaining of a group of pigs. After the Omnic Crisis came to a close, she and Mako would become members of the Australian Liberation Front, fighting to keep the land they had made home in the Outback after the Australian government gifted a large portion of it to the Omnics and the Omnium in the region. Their efforts would be rewarded with only more cataclysm, as the Omnium’s fusion core eventually detonated and left the region an irradiated wasteland. In the wake of this tragedy, Samantha and many others decided to form a cutthroat society among the wreckage, forming the Junkers and constructing the settlement that would become known as Junkertown. After construction finally finished, Samantha began to notice that Mako was beginning to change. He was becoming more quiet and distant. His kind heart was beginning to darken, and to top it all off he was developing numerous physical problems such as a genetic obesity disorder, a severe respiratory illness, and a malformed face. He didn’t smile anymore when Samantha was with him. He began becoming violent and apathetic, solving his problems with fights instead of words like he used to. He built a new farm outside of Junkertown so that he could isolate himself. He donned a mask so that no one may see his face. The kind and caring Mako was gone, and in his place stood the sociopathic murderer Roadhog. He had truly lost more than his home; he had lost his sanity as well. Heartbroken, Samantha also began to change, dealing with the grief in much the same way as Mako: violence. She developed a harder, more apathetic personality, and began participating in mech fights for superiority and riches. She began to hate Mako. She called herself “the Queen”, and the queen she would become, taking on the role of Junkertown’s ruthless and arrogant dictator. She had lost everything: her home, her family, Mako, and now her own humanity, and she intends to get even with the world for it, by any means necessary…
Comments:
In terms of overall design, the Queen is intended to be reminiscent of RPG and beat-em-up games, although the specific inspiration was Dark Souls III (which is one of my favorite games of all time) and the Dragonslayer Greataxe (my favorite weapon in the game). She lunges from target to target, pulling off quick combos and becoming stronger with each kill. While not a dive, anti-dive, or deathball-based hero, the Queen has attributes which can be fitted into any of these compositions.
I intended the Queen to be a flexible melee hero based on snowballing, and I think I’ve accomplished that goal. She doesn’t do particularly well against flankers, but is certainly a viable option against dive as a whole, especially if given the opportunity to snowball. She can absolutely wreck low-mobility squishy heroes, and can even pressure tanks to a certain extent. She’s countered by range, CC, and burst damage. Her lack of escape abilities is also of note, so don’t take any fights you think might result in a need to retreat. You either go in and kill everyone by snowballing, leaving no need for escape, or get stuck with no way out. While this may seem reminiscent of Doomfist, she’s intentionally much more “all-or-nothing” in terms of playstyle.
I wanted the Queen to act as sort of a tool to humanize the Junkers, considering that Junkrat is quite obviously comic relief and Roadhog is a sociopathic murderer. Speaking of Roadhog, I almost had a sort of redemption arc for Roadhog in mind while writing the Queen’s backstory. She knew him when he was Mako, a kind and intelligent man, and not a murderous pigman. She plays off of the very obvious Mad Max inspiration for the Junkers, as she’s this all-powerful matriarch who rose to power via vanquishing enemies in the arena. She’s also interesting in that, despite her history and role in Junker society, she’s not overly-cruel or abusive to her subjects. Greedy? Yes, very much so, but not blatantly abusive.
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Sanjay (Sanjay Korpal)
5’10” (no suit)
7’4” (with suit)
Age: 31
Occupation: Lead Architect of Vishkar, Talon Council Member
Affiliation: Vishkar Corporation, Talon
Base: New Delhi, India (Birthplace), Utopaea, India
Relations: none
Nationality: India
Tank
200 health
400 shields
M1- Hardlight Cannon
Linear Projectile
100 damage per round
6 rounds per clip
2 sec reload
1 rps
Projectile speed: 25 mps
Projectile size: 3 m diameter
Passes through barriers
M2- Fortress Barrier
4500 hp
Sanjay becomes immobile and unable to attack while activated, but Overshield can be used.
Essentially an Orisa barrier but MUCH larger and attached to Sanjay’s arms
0.3 sec cast time
500 hp per second recharge after being deactivated for 2 seconds
When destroyed, begins to recharge 3 seconds later and can be reactivated at 1000 hp
LShift- Hardlight Restraints
Immobilizes and stuns target for 3 second duration, then decreases target movement speed by 10% for 2 seconds after release.
50 damage
Instant cast
25 m range
15 sec CD
E- Overshield
Gives all allies within 20 meters 75 additional shields for 6 seconds, and recharges Fortress Barrier by 1200 points over 6 seconds.
8 sec CD
Instant cast
Ultimate- Hardlight Augmentation
All allies within 20 meters when activated become immune to CC and receive a 500-hp frontal hardlight barrier.
4 sec duration
Instant cast
“Destroy the rot of hope. That is how to achieve perfection.”
Sanjay Korpal was not born into a life of luxury. Much like many of the other Vishkar architects, he was pulled from a life of poverty in India from a young age. Unlike many others in the program, however, he was not readily accepting of Vishkar’s ideals and methods. He was easily one of the most promising children in the program, and so, instead of returning Sanjay to his home, Vishkar broke him. They broke his mind to the point where he could imagine Vishkar as nothing but the savior of humanity, and when he graduated from the architect program, he quickly became the face of Vishkar: a perfect person with perfect ideals and a perfect morality. Once Vishkar finally began creating entire cities to great success, it became apparent to the head of the corporation that more money could be made through more questionable methods than merely rectifying cities destroyed by the Omnic Crisis, and so they offered the controversial Talon organization assistance in their plans in return for funding. As a result Sanjay was made a Talon Council Member, and has fully bought into the idea that Vishkar’s perfect world can only be obtained through the conflict and strife that Talon aims to bring to the world. Now, armed and armored with a suit of hardlight, Sanjay intends to bring the world to ruin so that it may be reborn as the perfect world he so desires.
Comments:
The original idea behind Sanjay was “REALLY big, REALLY immobile barrier.” I can’t really say I missed the mark. This gargantuan barrier was heavily inspired by the everlasting meme that is Dark Souls 3’s Giant Door Shield. He’s a master of hardlight? Well now he’s borderline indestructible because of it. His LShift is a rather interesting CC ability, as it can be used to instantly shut down various heroes from a safe distance, even leaving them somewhat vulnerable after being released. His E is a very important tool as it can allow your team to move past your barrier and clean up, while recharging Fortress Barrier while it’s still up, so you can continue to protect your poor Bastion, for example. Speaking of Bastion, it takes exactly one full clip from Sentry mode to destroy Fortress Barrier.
Sanjay’s role is that of a main tank (surprise!). He’s a god-tier pick for siege comps, and can defend a point from one direction for an effectively indefinite amount of time. He’s far less mobile than Winston, far less flexible than Rein, and far less damage-oriented than Orisa, but he has much more durability than any of the other main tanks. He can put any bunker comp on steroids (as long as you’re willing to sacrifice damage and the last minuscule amount of mobility you have), and can make pirate ship hilariously unstoppable if the enemy can’t get behind you. Combine with Orisa on the payload to create what I would describe as “Bastion-based physical and emotional torture.”
In terms of lore, I intended Sanjay to be a sort of sociopathic zealot as opposed to a distinct individual, as he’s meant to represent what Vishkar, at its core, is really about: perfection through oppression. He kinda acts as a foil to Symmetra, as she is much more of an individual who actually thinks and has doubts about the actions of Vishkar. He’s not meant to be a plain old scheming villain, however. He has his reasons, his hopes, his dreams. He really does want a better world for everyone, but he’s devoted to the questionable methods of achieving that better world that Vishkar has used. A rather tragic villain, if you would.
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Soundquake (SST Laboratories Authorities Support Automaton G17 “Soundquake”)
8’2”
Age: 40
Occupation: Police Support Automaton (formerly), Talon Operative
Affiliation: Omnic Rebel Army (formerly), Talon
Base: none
Relations: none
Nationality: none
Tank
300 health
400 armor
Crit hitbox on back (2.5x)
M1- Stun Cannon
0.5 sec stun
25 damage per round
100 charge total
Each round uses 25 charge
Instantly begins recharging
12.5 recharge per second
1 rps
Falloff: none
Hitscan
Headshot: no
M2- Threat Scanner
Displays ammo count, ability CDs, ultimate charge, health, location, etc of targeted enemy.
4 sec duration
4 sec CD (after ability ends)
Instant cast
1 sec scan time
30 m range
LShift- Ultrasonic Grenade
Arcing Projectile
20 damage
10 m blast radius
Instant cast
Deafens for 2 sec
Projectile speed: 20 mps
Bounces off walls
6 sec CD
E- Chest Missiles
Linear Projectile
80-8 damage per round
4 rounds per shot
Projectile speed: 40 mps
5 m blast radius
8 sec CD
Instant cast
Soundquake is immobilized while firing
Passive- Heavy Frontal Armor
30% damage resistance from the front.
All incoming CC from the front is negated, instead decreasing movement speed by 50% for 1 second.
Ultimate- Ultrasonic Boom
Ultrasonic blast that ignores LOS and deafens all enemies within 40 meters for 5 seconds.
1 sec cast time
“(various low droning sounds)”
Before the Omnic Crisis, before Overwatch, and when the Bastions were but in early prototype phases, there were the Soundquakes. Developed and manufactured by the then-new SST Laboratories, the Soundquakes were designed to assist in police operations such as riot control via stun cannons, ultrasonic blasts, and threat scanners. They were a massive success, and millions of units were sold to public and private entities alike. Notable in both durability and sheer size, Soundquakes helped save thousands of lives. They were, however, rather clunky and unwieldy, and their power cores were too large to fully fit internally, and so were exposed from the back. When the Omnic Crisis began, Soundquakes were rarely utilized, as they were simply too easy to focus down and destroy given their lack of lethal power. When they were used by the Omnics, it was often as bullet sponges to shield other units. One Soundquake unit, however, was not destroyed in battle against the humans, instead being captured by Overwatch in an attempt to discover any weaknesses the Omnic army’s structure may have. The search yielded no conclusive results, and so the unit was deactivated and left to rust in a storage room of the Swiss Overwatch headquarters. Years later, after the Crisis ended and Overwatch began to fall apart, Soundquake was taken by Talon agents as the fight that would destroy the headquarters broke out. Now in possession of Talon, Soundquake would be refurbished and repaired, and would be given a more sophisticated personality core. Now used as a “problem solver” for Talon, Soundquake has found a new purpose, and it will serve that purpose no matter the consequences, regardless of whether its target be human or a fellow Omnic.
Comments:
“The tankiest tank that ever tanked.” That was the idea behind Soundquake at the most basic level. Beyond that it was “sound”, “quake”, and “chest missiles”. Needless to say, there were a lot of gaps to fill. As such, I made Soundquake a giant, lumbering, and indestructible CC machine. It’s primary fire is literally just a hitscan hard-CC beam, albeit on a charge so it doesn’t become instantly and infinitely oppressive. Secondary is essentially just a 4-second-long, constantly-updating rundown of everything the targeted enemy is doing. Beyond that it gets more interesting. It has a grenade that deafens enemies, and 4 giant missiles it can fire from its chest. Congratulations, you’re now essentially unstoppable. You can’t do much damage (even less than any support), but unless you’re incompetent, the objective is now your permanent home.
The role and playstyle of Soundquake is interesting in that you can function as an off-tank, but position like a main tank because it’s not like you’ll be dying anytime soon. Unless there’s a Bastion or someone gets behind you. Or both. Yes, your only serious counter is Bastion because only 450 DPS from a decent range can take you out from the front consistently. Flankers (or anyone who gets behind you) are a problem because you have a huge crit hitbox on your back that has a multiplier of 2.5x instead of just 2x, and you don’t have the 30% damage resistance from the back, but the insane CC capabilities can help remedy this. Speaking of CC, you’re immune to it from the front, instead only receiving a temporary speed debuff, so don’t be afraid to slowly and menacingly walk up to a McCree or Doomfist. Soundquake’s ultimate can be used to essentially remove any audio cues for the enemy, meaning that for the duration, you can, for example, pop Dragonblade without the enemy knowing about it unless they actually see it. The same goes for hearing their teammates, so don’t be afraid to use this ult just to disorient the enemy for a few seconds to prevent a push.
I wanted Soundquake to act as the closest thing to a foil that you could realistically have for Bastion, in that Soundquake is an omnic that has reawakened not to begin a new life like Bastion, but to serve its old purpose with even more fervor. It beeps, boops, and whirs like Bastion, but in a MUCH lower register. The sound I intended Soundquake to make was that of the OR-14s from the Reinhardt animated short. The narrative significance of Soundquake is to show that Omnics aren’t as black and white as Zenyatta vs Maximilien; that sometimes they do things just because it IS in their programming, and that, like humans, they are susceptible to their inherent nature regardless of whether what they do is for good or not. Soundquake, in essence, doesn’t know what it’s doing. It may very well want to make the world a better place, but it’s just following its programming.
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Sirius (Dr. Vincent Ciociola)
6’8”
Age: 76
Occupation: Scientist, Philosopher, Author, Politician, Science Communicator
Affiliation: Overwatch (formerly), United Nations
Base: Boston, USA (Birthplace), Monterey, USA
Relations: Harold Winston (nephew)
Nationality: United States of America (formerly)
Tank
250 health
250 shields
M1- Gamma Ray Emitter
When heat reaches 120, weapon shuts down and must cool for 4 seconds before being able to fire again.
90 damage per round
1 rps
120 max heat
40 heat per round
40 heat lost per second cooling
Cools whenever not in use
Hitscan
Falloff: none
Headshot: no
Passes through barriers
Movement speed decreased by 30% while firing
M2- Gamma Ray Burst
180 damage per round
2 sec charge time
Can be canceled by releasing M2 before done charging
120 heat per round
3 m beam diameter
Hitscan
Falloff: none
Headshot: no
Passes through barriers
Movement speed decreased by 30% while charging
Immobile while firing
Reload- Venting
Fully cools weapon at a rate 2x faster than normal, but leaves Sirius unable to attack or use abilities for the duration.
Instant cast
No CD
Can be canceled with melee
LShift- Relativistic Charge
Generates a sphere of warped spacetime that slows movement, healing, CDs, ult charge, animations, etc of any enemies inside it by 60%.
Arcing Projectile
5 m diameter
10 sec duration
10 sec CD
Instant cast
Projectile speed: 25 mps
Activates upon impact
E- Entanglement Generator
When the targeted enemy deals damage, they receive an equivalent amount of damage to the amount they dealt.
8 sec CD
2 sec duration
Instant cast
25 m range
Passive- Cumulative Armor
For every ally within 10 meters, Sirius gains 10% damage resistance. (Maximum 50%)
Ultimate- Cumulative Burst
Sirius becomes immobile and impervious to direct damage for 3 seconds, and during that time any damage taken by allies within 30 meters is instead taken by Sirius with a 75% damage resistance. After 3 seconds Sirius releases a 30 m radius shockwave that ignores LOS and deals damage equivalent to the amount of damage that would have been taken by allies.
“Science becomes more powerful the more people understand it.”
Born in a bygone age when robots weren’t sapient, buildings couldn’t be constructed out of hardlight, and gorillas didn’t design rockets, Dr. Vincent Ciociola is still not fully used to the technology the world now possesses. A brilliant scientist and writer, Dr. Ciociola led a generation to peace and prosperity through scientific understanding and an honest and genuine personality. He brought about a revolution as he inspired others to do the same, including his nephew Harold. When the Omnic Crisis began, Ciociola was devastated by the pain and fear the conflict brought to the world. It seemed that all he had worked for, a world without poverty, without war, without borders, was all coming down around him. For the entirety of the Omnic Crisis Dr. Ciociola vanished, leading many to believe he was killed in the conflict. They couldn’t have been any more wrong. Using experimental technology, Dr. Vincent Ciociola transferred his mind into a robot body, and reemerged after the Omnic Crisis ended as Sirius. He then went on to help the world heal with the help of Overwatch, even helping the Shambali in their effort to promote equality for both humans and Omnics. He began anew his plans to bring peace to the world, and despite setbacks, Sirius will stop at nothing to achieve that goal. It may be a different time with different problems, but the world could always benefit from hope for a better tomorrow.
Comments:
First of all, if you’re an avid fan of Halo like me, you may be thinking “wait, I feel like Gamma Ray Burst sounds really familiar”. You’d be right; it’s literally just the Spartan Laser. Sirius is a little bit of everything minus mobility and healing when it comes to tanks. You have your sizable damage, your CC, your utility, and your survivability, but none of them to an extreme extent. Sirius in specific has been on my concept list for by far the longest amount of time, and as such has been through numerous adjustments, changes, and complete overhauls.
Gameplay-wise, Sirius is a deathball/anti-dive focused off-tank. No barrier to be spoken of, but plenty of other nifty tricks to complement that large health pool. He becomes more resistant to damage the more teammates are in close proximity, and his kit is pretty much built around this. Being dove by the enemy Genji? Lock him in a bubble of distorted spacetime and blow him away with a Gamma Ray Burst. Tracer ambushing your supports? Use Entanglement Generator to make it so any damage she does to them, she also inflicts on herself. Entire team about to get wiped? Pop your ult and save them from the incoming damage, and if you survive kill the entire enemy team.
Sirius is the Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Alan Watts, Bill Nye, and Neil deGrasse Tyson of the Overwatch universe; a benevolent leader who wishes to revolutionize humanity and the world via science and civil discussion. Sirius is a wise old man inside a very modern and advanced robotic body, and despite the tragedy and setbacks he has endured, he still manages to retain a positive outlook and a healthy sense of humor. He is meant to be the embodiment of hope for the world, and a source of inspiration for others. Both open to and skeptical of new ideas, Sirius is a symbol of what humanity could one day become: peaceful, cooperative, and without borders.
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Hammond (Hammond S08)
3’8”
Age: 29
Occupation: Test Subject (formerly)
Affiliation: Lucheng Interstellar (formerly)
Base: Horizon Lunar Colony (formerly)
Relations: Winston S28 (Fellow Test Subject)
Nationality: none
Support
200 health
Passive- Chimpin’ Around
Hammond is able to freely cling to and scale walls and ceilings while still being able to use abilities. Jumping off walls allows for a longer jump.
M1- Clawing
40 damage per swing
3 swings per second
2 m max range
Can be used while clinging or climbing
Hitting enemies from behind 1.5x damage
Dropping on enemies from above 2x damage
M2- Cling
Lunge forward and cling to an enemy for 2 seconds or a wall.
10 m range
Instant cast
Movement speed: 23 mps
2 sec CD
LShift- Healing Nodes
Tosses a small healing device that attaches to any surface that heals all allies within an area
Arching projectile
30 mps projectile speed
10 meter radius
4 maximum
35 healing per second (stacks)
10 health
1 sec cast time
2 sec CD per unit
E- Energy Wall
Place 2 anchors that generate an energy barrier between them.
2 walls maximum
600 hp barrier
Can be placed up to 20 m away
Recharges at a rate of 100 hp per second after not taking damage for 2 seconds
Begins to recharge 4 seconds after being destroyed
Deals 30 damage to enemies who pass through
5 sec CD per unit
10 m maximum height
10 m maximum length
1 sec cast time per unit
Ultimate- System Upgrade
Healing Node healing increased by 2x
Energy Walls become indestructible, deals 1.5x damage
10 sec duration
“In life, all you have is yourself.”
The only chimpanzee to be a specimen on the Horizon Lunar Colony, Hammond was extremely responsive to the genetic therapy that was being tested, and as a result developed an impressive intellect, which he used to tinker with machines that he found around the colony. Hammond was also notoriously mischievous and carefree, although that would all come to an end when the other specimens rose up and killed all the scientists aboard the station. Days before the uprising, Hammond learned of the other’s plans and tried to warn the scientists, but due to a lack of speaking and language capabilities doing so was impossible. Saddened by what was about to happen, Hammond escaped the station on a small orbital shuttle and landed on Earth, where he remained in hiding for years after contact was lost with the Horizon. Hammond now has learned to speak and write, although he is rarely able to utilize these skills due to his reclusive existence. He now wanders the world in hiding, tinkering, learning, and most of all trying to find a way to exist in a world where chimpanzees don’t speak.
Comments:
Hammond is a mischievous character, so I reflected that in this concept. He’s heavily based on the “Bria” leak from awhile back. The character was described as small and nimble with a knack for building helpful structures, so here we are. He climbs, clambers, and clings to walls, ceilings, and the enemy Genji like glue. He doesn’t actually spend much time on the ground, and you can take advantage of that with his other abilities. He’s effective at ambushing, denying mobility, and healing teammates.
Hammond is a builder/healer character. His incredible mobility allows him to place healing nodes on literally any surface, create barrier gates almost anywhere, and ambush an enemy from any angle. You should keep out of sight of the enemy as much as possible, though, only engaging them with surprise attacks or when the rest of your team begins to fight. Your primary job is to be a general nuisance to the enemy and a helpful support for your team, so place nodes where your team either is or will be, and place walls to control where the enemy team goes and fights. You essentially have the power to control the flow of the map in your hairy chimpanzee hands.
As a part of the Overwatch universe, Hammond is a rather obscure character, but he has a lot of connections to a character with a lot of influence: Winston. Hammond is curious, mischievous, and fun, but he certainly isn’t lacking in intelligence. He can make a makeshift device out of pretty much any random junk he finds, and has used this to survive during his time on Earth. He’s a lot more sociable than Winston, but somewhat lacks the maturity and wisdom of Winston. That’s not to say he can’t get the job done when it matters most, but he’s certainly one to mess around.
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Athena (Omnica Corporation Deity-class Artificial Intelligence “Athena”)
5’2”
Age: 32
Occupation: Artificial Intelligence
Affiliation: Omnica Corporation (formerly), Overwatch (formerly)
Base: Watchpoint: Gibraltar, Gibraltar
Relations: Anubis (Fellow Artificial Intelligence), Mars (Fellow Artificial Intelligence), Freyja (Fellow Artificial Intelligence), Shiva (Fellow Artificial Intelligence), Amaterasu (Fellow Artificial Intelligence), Kukulcan (Fellow Artificial Intelligence), Amma (Fellow Artificial Intelligence), Winston (caretaker)
Nationality: none
Support
25 health
175 shields
M1- Energy Blade
40 damage per swing
2 swings per second
10 m maximum range
M2- Transmit
Instantly teleports Athena to whatever location is currently being looked at.
20 m range
Instant cast
4 sec CD
LShift- Give Camouflage
Makes targeted ally invisible and masks their sounds for 5 seconds.
Camouflage removed if ally takes damage, performs and attack or ability, or Athena is killed
6 sec CD
20 m range
E- Shield Absorption
Any incoming damage is negated and instead converted into personal shields for Athena and any allies within 10 meters at a rate of 1 point of shields per 2 damage.
2 sec duration
6 sec CD
Shields begin to decay after 0.5 seconds at a rate of 15 points per second
150 shields maximum
Instant cast
Passive: Hardlight Body
Gives all allies within 10 meters of Athena 50 shields.
50 shields per sec charge rate
Shields wear off at a rate of 50 shields per second after being outside of passive’s range for 7 seconds
Ultimate- Feedback Boost
Increases the ult charge gain of all allies within 20 meters by 30%.
4 sec duration
1 sec cast time
“Why do we bring such destruction to our world?”
Before it’s collapse, the Omnica Corporation was a leader in not only robotics, but artificial intelligence as well. Their ultimate achievement in the latter was the Deity-class AIs (or “God Programs” as they would come to be known during the Omnic Crisis), which were proven to be far more intelligent and powerful than any AI before them. Omnica created eight such AIs, naming each with the name of a deity that would fit their specialized functions. Athena was one such AI. Specializing in intelligence gathering and assistance in intellectual fields, Athena was named after the Greek goddess of wisdom. When Omnica was shut down, all the Deity-class AIs were as well, and so it came as a great surprise when they suddenly reactivated and began leading a campaign of genocide against humanity. Overwatch would be tasked with locating and shutting down these God Programs, and while they would succeed in this, they were unable to figure out why or how the Deity-class AIs had reawakened with such grim intentions, as the AIs themselves seemed to be unaware of what they were doing. Athena was the only God Program to voluntarily join Overwatch after her defeat, and while she may now be a non-threat, the other God Programs have begun to malfunction again, and this time they don’t have Overwatch to stop them…
Comments:
Athena is the first concept for a dive hero that I’ve ever actually liked enough to continue working on and actually finish, and is my first concept for a non-healing support ever. She’s definitely no Tracer, but I think her kit makes her a candidate for a staple of dive. She’s quick, she’s utilitarian, and she’s reliable. Athena also has remarkably powerful survivability due to 175 of her 200 health being shields. She can support flankers in numerous ways, and can even work in compositions other than dive quite well.
As I said, Athena is the ever-controversial non-healing support. The problem with Symmetra in this role was that she lacked the mobility and flexibility to make up for the lack of healing, but I’ve made sure to steer clear of that unfortunate fate with Athena. Just from her passive, it’s evident what kind of hero she is; she can give flankers a free 50 shields as long as they’re nearby and within LOS, can get in and out of battle quickly and consistently, can negate incoming damage to herself and create tons of shields for herself and her allies, and has a decent range on her primary weapon. She can even make her teammates temporarily invisible, and her ultimate boosts her team’s ult charge speed.
Narratively, Athena is a big player in the Overwatch universe. She’s one of the notorious God Programs, and has direct experience fighting on the side of the Omnics during the Omnic Crisis. She’s an ally now, and she’s invaluable to humanity in that she can help figure out how to fix the other God Programs and prevent them from attacking again. We all know what she’s like from the other Overwatch media, and I wanted to build on that intelligent and almost motherly personality of hers. One major source of inspiration that I used for what Athena is like as a character is Auntie Dot from Halo Reach, but more human. She wants peace for humans and machines alike, and she’s intelligent enough to make sure her goal is achieved.