Overwatch rolls out its rum-scented, sun-bleached Havana map
Where's all the objective gone?
After a relaxing stay on the public test realm, the latest competitive Overwatch map makes its way to the regular leagues. Released yesterday, Havana is an Escort map set on the anachronistic but sunny streets of Cuba. Befitting the location, the attacking team are trying to get a truck full of rum barrels to the Don Rumbotico distillery, presumably to be filled with delicious dark booze. In centring the map on rum, perhaps Blizzard have finally found a foolproof way to keep players on the objective? Probably not. Either way, there's a map trailer below, full of Latin American style.
The Havana map is a lovely piece of architecture, although more overtly retro in style than a lot of what we've seen in Overwatch. There's very little modern to be seen, except for the 1950s-styled cars having hover-gubbins instead of wheels. Our expert on all things Overwatch (including its failings) Jay Castello picked apart the implications of this back in April, and it's well worth a read. Were it not for the cars and the largely faceless (but still frequently moustachioed) Omnic heads on posters, this could almost pass for a historical environment, old sea-fort and all.
Blizzard have made a few tweaks to the map during its time in testing. Their Spanish was apparently a little bit rusty, as several posters and other detail objects needed re-writing. Beyond that, it's the usual map-tuning stuff, with some oddly slippery pillars and wall-corners no longer allowing players to frictionlessly slide along them. Presumably they borrowed the excess friction from the Yucca plants, which could snare players and refuse to let them go. The patch also includes a pair of time-limited Overwatch League 2019 skins for Mercy & Lúcio, which are available only until May 22nd.
The Havana map is now live in Overwatch, with official update notes here. If you want to keep up with the Overwatch League, check out Jay's Know It OWL columns here.