Lucioball, aka Rocket League minus cars, but plus Lucio, is coming back to Overwatch on August 8. This time around, though, it’s a little different.
The most unexpected change? Competitive Lucioball. There’ll be placement matches, rankings, and all the other trappings you’ve come to associate with hell— I mean, competitive Overwatch. Players will be able to unlock special sprays for their efforts. The season will last three weeks, and Blizzard is apparently considering special three-week ranked seasons for other modes, as well. Total Mayhem top 500, here I come.
In addition, there’ll be new skins to unlock throughout the event, and you’ll also be able to nab old ones from last year’s Summer Games, but for fewer credits than they costed the first time around. If, for instance, a skin went for 3,000 credits before, it’ll be 1,000 in this year’s edition of the Summer Games. Sounds like that’ll be Blizzard’s policy for annual events in general, to hear Jeff “You Know, Jeff? From The Overwatch Team? Heh Yeah, You Know Jeff (From The Overwatch Team)” Kaplan tell it:
Blizzard’s also tweaked a few gameplay mechanics based on feedback from last year. Most significantly, Lucio’s ultimate is different. Previously, it’d pull the ball to you like you were some kind of soccer-playing DJ Jedi. This time, though, using your ultimate will make you faster and better at jumping, transforming you into “Super Lucio,” as Kaplan put it. You won’t be able to boop enemy goalies out of goals anymore, either. Combined, those things should cut down on “cheesy strategies,” Kaplan said.
Lastly, there’ll be two stadiums this time around, with Sydney joining last year’s Rio. Here’s a teaser shot of Sydney: