Meet Ashe, Overwatch's Newest hero

60 minutes ago

You thought Blizzard was done packing in more content for Overwatch? Get out of your sad place and perk up a smile on your face, because a brand new hero was just introduced, bringing the total character count to 29. The new playable character was announced at this year's BlizzCon during the opening keynote, where gamers got their first glimpse at Ashe, a cowgirl with a penchant for chaos who leads the outlaws known as the Deadlock Gang.

The full reveal trailer was rolled out today at Blizzcon. It features Ashe explaining that there is honor among thieves just until you cross her, and then there's going to be hell to pay. After the short introduction we then get to see Ashe kicking butt and taking names using her lever-action rifle, which is custom made and looks oh-so-sweet. The appearance of Ashe and her weapon loadout made a lot of Youtube commenters joke that Blizzard updated Overwatch with Red Dead Redemption 2 DLC.

Ashe has access to an iron sight on her rifle. She's also given ample leeway in her aiming, so you don't have to have pinpoint accuracy when taking your shot, but you do have to keep the enemy within the targeting reticule. You can also fire from the hip and get some good results from the rifle, but it's not a one-hit kill weapon, so you'll have to put in some work to rack up some kills using Ashe.

This puts Ashe in the odd place between McCree and Widowmaker, where she doesn't have to pepper opponents quite as much as McCree with his six-shooter, but she doesn't get the instant-kills like Widowmaker. I imagine you might rank Ashe as an intermediate hero given her skill scale, and the fact that while she has some long-range capabilities, she's not quite as explosive as some other characters.

Speaking of explosives...Ashe does have the special ability to toss a bundle pack of dynamite at enemies. The dynamite is an AOE attack with some minor burn damage over time. For characters with low HP it'll likely clear them out right quick, but the DOT will help whittle down the defenses of beefier characters like Reinhardt and Roadhog. I would imagine this would make Ashe more of a support character in Overwatch's ever-expanding roster of heroes, given that she requires a tactical touch before jumping into the fray, and requires a little bit of planning to make the most of her skillset.

She can also get out of tight spots using her secondary weapon, a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun. Not only can she use it to blast down opponents who are within close range, but she can also use the double-barrel shotgun to propel herself into the air. Yes, she can basically perform the infamous Quake rocket-jump... with a shotgun.

What's funny is that the trailer ends with a glimpse at a completely different character named Bob, a large Omnic with wrist-guns and a heavily armored shell. I wasn't sure if Bob was Ashe's ultimate or if Bob was a completely different playable character, but based on Ashe's Hero page, Bob is Ashe's ultimate special ability.

Blizzard didn't announce when Ashe would launch, but she's obviously coming down the developmental pipeline for Overwatch soon.

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