Blizzard is also overhauling capture the flag
Thursday marks the return of Overwatch‘s Lunar New Year celebration with a Year of the Dog event. As explained by game director Jeff Kaplan, the limited-time event will bring a new map set in Thailand, a rework of capture the flag, and six fresh legendary skins for characters like Mercy and Genji.
The new map, Ayutthaya, is the first one designed “specifically for capture the flag.”
Blizzard is also sprucing up the the mode’s rules and mechanics. Draws are a thing of the past thanks to a new sudden-death mechanic that, in the event of a would-be tie, pushes the teams’ flags closer to the center of the map. What’s more, flag pick-ups are now instantaneous and certain abilities (such as those providing invulnerability or great mobility) will cause the player to drop the flag.
The capture rate is “much higher,” according to Kaplan. “The games are now much more offensive, and much more action-packed. It’s actually very rare for games to even go to sudden death now.”
The Year of the Dog event will run for a full four weeks and also include a competitive season for capture the flag with sprays and icons up for grabs.
