With a name that would make Miley Cyrus proud, not only did Overwatch’s newest hero Wrecking Ball (Hammond) get announced today but he came with his very own origin trailer too. It was only last Thursday that the official Overwatch Twitter teased about something new coming our way, but ever since then the internet has exploded with speculation after speculation. And yet, the reveal that Hammond (believed to be a chimpanzee) is, as a matter of fact, a hamster still took us all by surprise.
Thankfully the Overwatch Twitter account strikes again, this time giving out more answers than providing questions. If you’re interested in seeing Wrecking Ball’s origin trailer for yourself, you’ll be able to see it below.
Wrecking Ball’s backstory is an interesting one. As conveyed on the Overwatch website, Hammond was part of a gene therapy experiment, enhancing his and the other animals intelligence. Scientists were puzzled but amused at Hammond’s antics of escaping into different parts of the moonbase, and often returned him to his cage none the wiser of his true purpose of training to become a mechanic.
When the primates of the Horizon Lunar Colony ended up revolting, he took his chance and attached his makeshift capsule onto Winston’s escape pod. However, he ended up in a very different place than the gorilla: the wasteland of the Australian Outback. With his capsule he became Wrecking Ball, working his way to becoming one of the champions in gladiatorial combat, despite the Junkers not knowing his true identity.
Hammond’s whereabouts are currently unknown, though what we do know (thanks to a developer update video) is that he is having fun.
What are Wrecking Ball’s (Hammond’s) Abilities?
Wrecking Ball has been confirmed as being a tank, which means he’ll be soaking up quite a bit of damage from the enemy team. His abilities and weapons are:
- Quad Cannons: These are automatic assault weapons.
- Roll: Wrecking Ball is able to transform into a ball and increase maximum movement speed.
- Grappling Claw: Wrecking Ball launches a grappling claw to rapidly swing around the area. Enables high-speed collisions to damage and knock back enemies.
- Minefield: Wrecking Ball can deploy a massive field of proximity mines.
- Adaptive Shield: Can create temporary personal shields. The amount increases with more enemies nearby.
- Piledriver: Slam into the ground below to damage and launch enemies into the air.
