It's finally happened. Ever since the game's very first trailer, players have anticipated the arrival of the infamous villain to Overwatch's hero roster. After countless hints from the developers, repeated mentions of the character in the game's media releases, and a community-fueled petition to hire Terry Crews for the voicework, he's finally arrived. Doomfist has come to Overwatch.
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...and what an entrance he makes, too. The trailer's definitely taken on a more cartoonish design than in previous announcements, though that's not necessarily a bad thing. Doomfist seems to swat aside his opponents with an ease characteristic of animated shows, which does credit to marking him as a serious threat for the team.
Jeff Kaplan covers Doomfist's abilities and past in a follow-up developer video on YouTube. Take a look:
There's some here we already know and quite a lot we didn't. That the villain was an escaped Nigerian prisoner is old news, as is his love for melee combat. I mean, what else could a character named Doomfist really excel at?
Other tidbits yield more interesting details on the villain. Doomfist also carries a shotgun, which Kaplan admits is more to "fill in the spaces" than function as a primary ability. And by "carries," we of course mean "it's embedded within each of his metal knuckles." To nobody's surprise, the entirety of Doomfist's arsenal revolves around his gauntlet.
In addition to the shotgun, Doomfist has:
- Rocket Punch - A wind-up strike that inflicts more damage should the enemy hero be knocked into a wall by it.
- Rising Uppercut - Exactly as it sounds, this ability will knock an enemy into the air with Doomfist, where he can then follow up with...
- Seismic Slam - Doomfist leaps towards his target, slamming them with his gauntlet and pulling them slightly closer, allowing him to barrage them with secondary blows.
- Meteor Strike - Doomfist's ultimate ability. The villain leaps into the air and a targeting reticle appears, allowing him to decide where he can then land. Upon hitting the ground Doomfist stuns all nearby opponents, dealing damage and granting him the opportunity to quickly follow up with his other attacks.
This arsenal includes a passive ability called "The Best Defense," which encourages up-close-and-personal flanking maneuvers with the hero by granting him a stacking shield buff every time Doomfist lands a blow. The shield deteriorates over time however, meaning that players will have to either keep up with the offensive or be forced to retreat when it inevitably falters.
Though understandably not as important as the rest to some, Kaplan's comments on the character's background are still interesting for those lore junkies among us. Doomfist's real name is Akande Ogundimu, and he is not only a member of Overwatch's shadowy antagonists, the Talon organization, he's one of its leaders. In the trailer above we see the character escaping from the maximum security prison, having been defeated by Winston - an event that has evidently only served to fuel his hatred of Overwatch.
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Doomfist is already available to play as on the Public Test Realm (PTR) and should be arriving on the main game in the next couple of weeks. For a full description of Overwatch's newest hero's abilities and history, check out his official page on the game's website.
