Starting April 10th the long-awaited spring event will launch. Titled ‘Overwatch Archives: Retribution‘, the story takes place eight years before the present in-game time (and one year before Uprising). The event is filled to the brim with so much content, loot, and lore. So to keep you grounded, Miso’s got the rundown of what you can expect in Overwatch: Retribution.
New Comic, New Trailer, New Lore, Oh My! [Warning Spoilers]
Cited as the first mission Blackwatch goes public, this new event holds way too much lore to contain. As presented in the new comic, the event takes place shortly after an explosion at an Overwatch Headquarters leads to the hospitalization of Gerard Lacroix. The suspected mastermind: a lead figure and arms dealer in the Talon organization. Unsatisfied with the red tape of international affairs that binds Jack from taking action, Commander Reyes decides to take matters into his own hands. Together with his Blackwatch strike team, he plans to infiltrate a high security Talon base and apprehend the suspect.
Within the trailer, the gamemode is still in a similar PvE . However, the amount of diversity within the security bots you will have to combat appears much more expansive than in the previous archives installation. Players can expect an original story mode where they can select from either Reaper, Moira, Genji, or Mccree. Or they can play in a “no-limits” PvE, allowing players to create a team out of any 4 of the current 27 heroes.
New Assault Map : Venice
With the new PvE game, the Overwatch team has created a whole new map to go with it. As the stage is set in beautiful Venice, play-style within the trailer looks to be an assault-control hybrid map (think Volskaya). Players will be on the offense, looking to apprehend and chase down the Talon kingpin guarded by an army of omnics. Since the same location was featured in the comic alluding to Moira’s appearance, fans can safely assume that Venice will become a permanent fixture in map rotations post-event.
New Skins: Moira, Winston, and… Hanzo?
Previous developer updates place Moira and Winston in line for new skins. As the trailer proved, Moira will be getting her Blackwatch Combat skin as loot for the event. It is predicted that Winston will also be getting an Overwatch based skin. In the most recent update, Overwatch creative director Jeff Kaplan said “one of the Shimada brothers will be getting a skin” but didn’t say who. Since Genji has his Blackwatch skin, and Widowmaker got a Talon skin last year, despite having no connection to the Uprising event, it’s safe to bet that Hanzo is getting a new skin. Not much is known about what the stoic archer was up to in the timeline. Was he a Yakuza, still trying to manage the Shimada clan? Had Talon already taken over their home in Hanamura? Frankly, we just don’t know. Yet, a new skin might help answer those burning questions.
Relive Uprising
Additionally, the uprising PvE mode will be available to play in the arcade for the duration of the event. Fans will get a 2nd chance to unlock all those achievements and sprays. Not to mention re-live the frustration of Legendary difficulty. Both the story mode and the “no limits” mode will be available to play until April 30th.
If you’re unable to wait for the event, try fulfilling these challenges in Overwatch to get five free sprays!
Want the inside scoop on all the lore? Wondering what else Retribution has in store? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
