Overwatch‘s Anniversary event has just gone live for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, bringing with it, as you should expect by now, a whole bunch of new character skins, emotes and other cosmetic items just ready and waiting to be pulled out of the shooter’s mystery Loot Boxes. Whether you’ve been ferrying payloads, capturing points or acting as a guide for teammates over the last 12 months, weeks or days doesn’t matter – Blizzard’s welcoming everyone to the party over the three-week period, so there’s no reason not to jump right in and enjoy the new content on offer.
There’s a lot of it, too. Besides the 11 new Legendary skins (several of which we’ve seen already), three new maps also come as part and parcel of the patch, all of which can be found in the Arena playlist. Necropolis, Castillo and Black Forest are the names of the new battlegrounds, descriptions for which you can find below, courtesy of Blizzard.
NECROPOLIS: Ana Amari has made Necropolis her personal hideout—and an impromptu field base where she can keep an eye on things. Head to Ana’s preferred vantage point at the top of the ruins, and use the high ground (and the element of surprise) against the enemy team. Or walk the stone corridors below, and take the fight to them directly—just watch out for pits.
CASTILLO: Castillo is an old fort looking out over Dorado’s bay. It’s the location of Calaveras, a bar frequented by questionable patrons; a graffitied Los Muertos hangout; and Sombra’s hacking den.
Test your skills against the enemy team throughout Castillo’s multiple levels, and use its winding stairs for cover and strategic advantage.
BLACK FOREST: On the outskirts of Eichenwalde, the misty Black Forest map wraps around a long-overlooked battlefield dotted with the wreckage of Bastion units.
Flank your opponents on pathways between the castle and woods, and use the wooden balconies to move between the second stories of houses throughout the forest.
For those unfamiliar with the rules of Arena, Blizzard says the mode is geared towards promoting “intense action” by way of smaller, more intimate maps that pit two teams of three players against each other in an elimination format. If you bite the bullet, you’re out – no respawns are allowed until a fresh round starts, so be sure to protect your comrades while getting to grips with each of the new maps.
As for the new Legendary threads, you can head straight over to the event’s official page here to feast your eyes on each one and, once again, my money’s on Genji’s new outfit being the most sought after. After all, who doesn’t want to flit around as a katana-wielding Power Ranger lookalike?
If you’re not too busy grinding out Loot boxes until the event’s conclusion on June 12, drop a comment below to let us know which new items you’ll be chasing first!