Overwatch‘s 29th hero is a gunslinger named Ashe.
As we saw in the brilliant Overwatch short that debuted at Blizzcon 2018, Ashe is the leader of the Deadlock Gang; a band of outlaws who seem to have a history with current Overwatch hero, McCree. She’s described as “a respected figure in the criminal underworld.” It seems that she used to run with McCree, but the two split at some point, and Ashe elected to run her gang like a business (just like her parents used to run a very lucrative business that would have given her a privileged life if she had chosen to live it).
Gameplay-wise, Ashe is interesting. Her primary weapon (a modified rifle) can either fire quick bursts of shots or can be aimed down sights for a more accurate, sniper-like shot. She can also throw a bundle of dynamite that will either explode after enough time or can be shot for an immediate explosive effect. Either way, anyone close to the blast will receive immediate damage as well as suffer from burning damage over time.
Ashe also has access to a shotgun (which allows her to either push enemies back or propel herself backward) as well as one of the most interesting ultimates in Overwatch: a robot named Bob. Bob is a companion bot that charges into enemies and then sticks around to lay down some suppressive fire. We’ve never actually seen a hero ultimate that summons a completely different character (minus things like D.Va’s mech bomb), so it will certainly be fascinating to see how this extra presence affects team strategies.
Blizzard also noted that Ashe’s character skins will include modifications to Bob. We have no doubt that will make her very popular among the hardcore Overwatch skin collectors out there who will consider this to be a 2-for-1 value. We also recognise that describing someone as a hardcore skin collector can’t be very flattering.
There’s no word on when Ashe will officially join the Overwatch hero pool, but if she’s anything like previous Overwatch heroes, she should be added to the game’s public test servers relatively soon.