While Overwatch players are used to getting trapped by abilities, a spreading glitch means they must now also get used to Hanamura’s new controlling overlords: the trees.
Trees are great. People love trees. They turn carbon dioxide into oxygen, make for great Instagram backdrops and can be climbed for adventurous fun. But, like ’s Ents, the trees in Overwatch’s Hanamura map are proving to be particularly dangerous.
Following in the footsteps of an earlier bug that saw Hammond get trapped atop a tree adjacent to Hanamura’s Point A choke, former Overwatch League player, Scott ‘Custa’ Kennedy, has found more glitched branches.
Like Hammond, Custa tried capitalizing on Baptiste’s vertical mobility to jump above a tree. Unlike Hammond, once trapped among the branches, he could not use any downward-momentum mechanics to get out. Instead, the support main was forced to freak out and continue playing from his new home until an enemy Hanzo forcefully (and graciously) evicted him.
As the glitch appears to work, players who are able to fling themselves skyward can land atop the trees and then become stuck there among the treetops. It’s unclear whether or not other vertically blessed heroes, like Pharah and Echo, can get stuck there, but we do know that both Hammond and Baptiste can.
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Another point of uncertainty is whether or not this bug will melt away once Winter Wonderland finishes on January 5, 2021. For the seasonal event, Hanamura’s branches have, like much of the map, become enshrouded in snow. And it could be possible that the player restrictions are solely caused by that icy grasp.
If so, then Blizzard Entertainment may not even feel a need to fix this bug just yet. Thus far, they haven’t addressed the issue on the game’s official online forums or through social media, so it may end up left in the past much like 2020 shall be.
Most importantly, Overwatch players now know that none of the plants in Hanamura should be messed with during the colder months. If you can go vertical, feel free to do so, but try to avoid any Hanamura trees until winter passes.
Fans are probably hoping that Blizzard are working on Overwatch 2 instead of fixing this small bug anyway, as it’s presumed to be a consequence of Winter Wonderland and likely gone by January 5.