The Overwatch 2: Invasion update has arrived, bringing with it the game’s long-awaited Player Versus Environment (PvE) missions, a revamped progressions system, a new competitive mode called Flashpoint, and most importantly, a new Support class hero named Illari.
Illari hails from Peru, and harnesses the power of the sun in tandem with her long-range rifle, a mix of traditional and futuristic tech that allows her to heal her teammates, and she comes with a few good utilities, too.
Here’s a rundown of what Illari can do:
Overwatch 2: Illari Abilities and Attacks
- Primary Attack – Illari’s primary attack is a long-range beam from her Solar Rifle, which makes it useful for keeping space between you and an opponent. It’s a hitscan weapon, meaning its shots do not have travel time, and will do instant damage. The damage increases the further away you are from an enemy.
- Secondary Attack – Illari’s secondary attack is her healing beam. It’s somewhat like a Zarya-style beam, only good for your team.
- Healing Pylon – Her utility ability places a Symmetra-style pylon, only instead of doing damage, it will heal allies who stay near it.
- Outburst – Her movement ability is a big launcher that sends Illari flying, and has the ability to knock back enemies.
- Ultimate: Captive Sun: Illari’s Ultimate is unleashing a big ball of solar energy that slows enemies, who then explode after taking enough damage.
Overwatch 2: Invasion – New Modes
Overwatch 2: Invasion also introduces several new modes to the first-person hero shooter. The most notable are the three new cooperative Story Event Missions, which are the first instance of active storytelling in the formerly competitive multiplayer-only game, featuring cinematics and voice lines to illustrate plot events set at the beginning of Overwatch canon.
The missions will be free to play during the season itself, but to gain permanent access, players will need to purchase the Overwatch 2: Invasion Bundle, priced at USD $15 / AUD $22.45.
Blizzard says it plans to release more Event Missions with every new season of Overwatch 2, and these missions can be played with CPU-controlled characters if other players cannot be found.
Hero Mastery Missions are also being added, acting as single-player challenge missions that will encourage players to push the limits of each hero character. Invasion will see a selection of courses released, with more to come.
On the competitive front, Flashpoint is the new mode that sees players fight to capture randomly rotating control points across two new large maps: Survasa and New Junk City. They’re described as the biggest maps in the game to date, with more to come in future.
Overwatch 2 is free to play across PC via Steam and Battle.net, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and
