Overwatch's newest hero is the genius hamster Hammond, who pilots a powerful mech called Wrecking Ball. Simply called "Wrecking Ball" on the field, this hero's high health and self-shield allow him to absorb damage for his team, while his fairly potent crowd control and damage potential can greatly contribute to his team's offensive engagements.
Here are three tips for using Wrecking Ball to ensure you will have the highest impact.
Line 'em up, knock 'em down
Arguably Wrecking Ball's best mechanic is his ability to grapple onto objects while in his "hamster ball" mode and pull himself to them. Doing this builds up momentum, which effectively turns your mech into a gigantic melee weapon that knocks people back and does moderate damage. If you turn your camera as you do this, it's even possible for you to spin around objects at this speed indefinitely.
Not only does this do a lot of damage if the other team is all grouped up, but it will also constantly displace them. When done on or near things like capture points or payload carts, you can deny the enemy these objectives and force them to shoot at you from range before moving in.
Look to the skies
While rolling around and smacking into people is the majority of what you'll be doing as Wrecking Ball, his dual machine guns in the mech's normal form should not be underestimated. Something many people don't realize is that, like the weapons of Soldier: 76 or McCree, the machine guns are hitscan, which means they instantly travel to where you're aiming.
Hitscan heroes are excellent against airborne foes like Pharah, Mercy, or other heroes with high mobility that can go in the air. If your team is struggling to kill foes using these characters, and you're playing Wrecking Ball, don't be afraid to whip out your firearms and blast away at them. Since you're a tank, they won't die quickly, but your contribution should be more than enough for your other damage sources to capitalize on.
Make objectives expensive
Wrecking Ball's ultimate ability, Minefield, is the pinnacle of area-denial power. Activating it spreads over a dozen explosive mines around you in a wide radius, and each one does a hefty 120 damage to any foes that walk near it. Enemies can destroy them, but they have 50 health, which is fairly high for a non-player object in Overwatch.
These mines are effective anywhere you place them, but the best place is on objectives. This can prevent the enemy from pushing the cart or capturing the point. This strategy is particularly devastating when the match is in Overtime, and the other team has to touch the objective in order to still have a chance at winning. This effectively forces them to walk into their own death, which will guarantee you the win.
Your thoughts
What do you think of Wrecking Ball? Do you have any tips you'd like to share with other players? Feel free to let me know in the comments.
Overwatch is available on Xbox One for $59.99 or less.
Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. You'll find him doing reviews, editorials, and general coverage on everything Xbox and PC. Follow him on Twitter.
