‘Overwatch’ Update Live: Blizzard Hints Doomfist, Efi Oladele Release?
The Season 4 Overwatch update is live, and Blizzard may have just dropped a couple of hints regarding the highly rumored releases of Doomfist and Efi Oladele.
Overwatch’s 24th champion has been teased for quite some time, with cryptic hints and obscure references hidden within various artworks and maps indicating something big is coming. With the release of the Season 4 update, Overwatch now has a new pair of hints indicating that Doomfist and/or Efi Oladele may be the next champion to play.
The biggest news is a change to the Numbani map. The airport where one of the teams starts at has been thoroughly wrecked, with major damage to several OR-15 robots designed to help protect citizens of the city. One of the robots has been smashed into a wall with such force, it just hangs there.
As can be seen from one of the photos, the Package from the Doomfist Gauntlet escort mission has been shattered, and Doomfist’s weapon is no longer visible. Coupled together with the robot in the wall, it looks like someone has picked up the gauntlet for their own purposes.
Interestingly enough, there is no indication from Blizzard that the attack was carried out by Talon, the main evil organization in the series. Usually, any operation carried out by the group would be labeled as a terrorist attack by the in-game Overwatch news organization. Could there be a third party at play?
The other character besides Doomfist the Overwatch update seems to tease is Efi Oladele. Efi is a genius child robotics inventor who has been the focus of several lore pieces Blizzard has released over the past couple of months.
[UPDATE] Genius grant recipient and Numbani local Efi Oladele posts curious image on her holovid channel, declaring: "Time to get to work!" pic.twitter.com/lQSzzD5ZT5
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) February 27, 2017
The picture from the above Tweet appears to be aimed at the update and the events therein, especially considering the OR-15 models have only been referenced fairly recently in the Overwatch universe. Based on the list, it sounds very much like Efi is building a robot of some sort. The Tolbelstein reactor comment on the list is actually a reference to the power source of Zarya’s particle cannon.
One of the concerns Overwatch players have raised even before the Season 4 update has been the addition of a child to a violent FPS. While League of Legends has a child (Annie) and various child-like creatures (Yordles), LoL lacks the same type of fast-paced killing and mayhem associated with Overwatch.
Efi Oladele may not actually be the champion players will use. The update’s lore accompaniments seem to indicate it may be a robot she builds that will do the fighting for her, perhaps with Efi being the controller, kind of like a drone pilot.
As Overwatch’s project leader Jeff Kaplan pointed out, “We have multiple new heroes being worked on right now plus numerous events and event-related content. We’re always asking ourselves ‘what would make the biggest impact for the most people’ when we prioritise. Right now, we feel like introducing a new hero to the line-up would be more impactful to the game.”
Of course, at the time Kaplan was apparently trying to deflate the fan conception that Doomfist would be the next character released in Overwatch. Blizzard’s adjustments to Numbani certainly indicate Doomfist may be coming soon.
Overwatch players no doubt hope that all the changes and lore accompanying the update mean that both Doomfist and Efi Oladele will make appearances fairly soon. Who will take the coveted 24th character slot remains to be seen, but not likely for long.
So what are your hopes and dreams for the next Overwatch character? What do you think of the Season 4 update? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below!
[Featured Image by Overwatch/Blizzard]
