Double confirmed – Echo is now live on PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch! Load additional skill modules and play the new multirole evolutionary robot damage hero. In addition, Blizzard will be launching a new Competitive Mode, Competitive Open Queue in the Arcade. There are some important changes to Hero Pools and Map Pools systems to make both systems more straightforward and consistent.

ECHO NOW LIVE

The 32nd hero in Overwatch, Echo, a Damage category hero is now live on PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch! Echo is a multirole evolutionary robot programmed with a rapidly adapting artificial intelligence and represents the cutting edge of technology. Echo was the creation of Singaporean scientist Dr. Mina Liao, who was one of the earliest members of Overwatch. Prior to joining the organization, Dr. Liao was widely considered one of the prominent experts in robotics and artificial intelligence. Below please find her abilities:

COMPETITIVE OPEN QUEUE
A new Competitive Mode will be launched, Competitive Open Queue in the Arcade. Competitive Open Queue will run for roughly four weeks. This mode will use standard Competitive Play rules, including hero pools and one hero limit, but will have no role restrictions or role queues.

Unifying the Hero Pools

We implement a unified Hero Pool, allowing both the Overwatch League and Competitive Play to mirror each other as closely as possible and making a more consistent viewing and play experience. Here’s how this works:

• To determine a week’s Hero Pool, Blizzard compiled hero play rates from high-level Competitive Play matches from the preceding two weeks. Heroes with play rates above a certain threshold will be eligible to be removed; the higher their play rate, the more likely they are to be removed. Based on that, one Tank, two Damage, and one Support will be randomly removed from play. (Note that heroes will not be removed two weeks in a row.)

• At the end of each Sunday’s Overwatch League matches,  the Hero Pool that will be used that upcoming week for both live Competitive Play and the Overwatch League. That pool will go into effect in the game Monday morning.
• This process will occur every week of the Overwatch League regular season; during weeks that there are no Overwatch League matches, the same data will still be used to determine the Hero Pool and you will find out Monday morning.

Retiring Map Pools

To simplify the competitive experience, it no longer have rotating Map Pools. Instead, Competitive Play will include all of the maps, with the exception of Paris and Horizon Lunar Colony. When Blizzard will make updates to those two maps to improve their play in the future, it will be addedback into the pool at that time.