Summary
In anticipation ofOverwatch 2’s Season 10, Blizzard has released its 40th hero: Venture, a Damage hero armed with an excavator. This archaeologist from the Wayfinder Society uses a drill to both battle and burrow underground, proving to be a highly mobile character. During their trial weekend, players described Venture as an extremely entertaining hero to play, but couldn’t help but make some comparisons to another formidable Damage dealer.
Mei has been a controversial character since the days ofOverwatch 2’s predecessor,Overwatch. Her Ice Wall and Cryo-Freeze abilities make her a persistent, nearly unkillable DPS in the hands of a skilled player. Given Venture’s ability to burrow beneath enemies' feet, they may be compared to Mei in terms of displacing, inconveniencing, and frustrating the competition.
Overwatch’s Mei and Venture Are Disappearing, Displacement Pros
Mei and Venture are both scientists, but the similarities don’t end there. They share the unique ability to attack and then prevent any kind of retaliation: Mei can pop herself into Cryo-Freeze to heal and avoid damage or else erect an Ice Wall to cut off any attacks. Venture can attack and then retreat underground, where not even Reinhardt’s Earthshatter ultimate can affect them.
With their specially developed weapons, both Mei and Venture get up close and personal with their enemies. Mei’s abilities often slow down and block the enemy team; her Blizzard ultimate can slow and then totally freeze enemies.Venture’sOW2kitis filled with knock-backs: their melee ability, their ultimate, and their bursting out of their burrow will displace enemies. Sometimes, this is better than causing damage. Strategically knocking the enemy team off their game–or in Mei’s case, blocking their path–can utterly disrupt an enemy team’s push.
Weapon
Venture Is Fun, But Perhaps Overpowered in OW2
Venture can be invulnerable for a surprising amount of time. But this kind of gameplay begs the question of whether this burrowing ability is too powerful. The same discussion about Mei’s abilities has been had time and again:Mei’s Ice Wallscan throw a game into chaos, blocking damage, healing, and movement. This is a game changer, one that has persisted despite complaints from players who wish Mei’s disruptive abilities were nerfed.
Venture may be nerfed after their official release on April 16. Players have noticed that once Venture is underground, they are utterly invulnerable until they pop out. This means that they can dig underconstructs like Torbjorn’s turrets, and avoid most ultimate attacks like Reinhardt’s Earthshatter or Zarya’s Graviton Surge. Venture can dig from high ground to low ground, which will leave them vulnerable for the few seconds that they are exposed, but once underground, they have incredible freedom of movement.
Venture’s Drill Dash ability can be used in any direction, even underground. When underground, this ability takes Venture further and has a shorter cooldown than it does above ground. Emerging from Burrow gives Venture some serious air, making them the kind of hero who can dash all over the map with ease.
Basically, in the same way that Mei can hide behind Ice Walls and protect herself via Cryo-Freeze, Venture can rely on Burrow to save their skin in any situation. The weekend is meant to stress test Venture so that Blizzard has a little bit of time before the start ofOverwatch 2’s Season 10to work out the bugs.
Overwatch 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Power up your railgun and disrupt the battlefield as Sojourn, or yield your axe and command attention as Junker Queen. Battle to take control of a robot and move it toward the enemy base in the new Push Mode. Bring the fight to new destinations across the globe in iconic locations like New York, Rome, Monte Carlo and Rio. Daily challenges and frequent updates mean there is always something new to play.
