Overwatch player discovers long-hidden Diablo reference by punching barrels
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For as much as Blizzard players love loot, it took them a hot minute to find this hidden Overwatch easter egg. But after idly punching breakable barrels during a round on Blizzard World, one Overwatch player discovered a legendary drop of their own - a years-old Diablo reference that may have lay undiscovered by the community since the map debuted in 2018.
While Overwatch's Blizzard World map is one massive navel-gazing reference in itself, it seems one of its quieter easter eggs went undiscovered until this weekend. During a match on the stage, Redditor Owlero accidentally discovered that if you start smashing barrels in the Diablo portion of the map, you might just chance upon the familiar orange glow of a legendary loot drop (cheers, DotEsports).
If you break the barrels in the final area of Blizzard World, you'll rarely get a "legendary drop" (Diablo 3 easter egg) from r/Overwatch
Granted, it's just an effect. Punching barrels won't get you anything concrete for your troubles. But Overwatch has Legendary loot of its own, and I reckon Blizzard missed a trick by not giving you a one-off cosmetic for being a dedicated barrel-smasher. Sure, maybe that'd go against their monetisation model, but it'd be neat as hell, yeah?
Mind, Blizzard World has been in the game for two years now. Principal level designer Dave Adams even spilt the beans to Polygon in 2017, saying: "there's another Diablo reference hidden in that game's section of the map. Players who destroy some of the barrels there might hear a legendary item drop sound now and then."
While it's perfectly possible someone may have discovered this reference before now, this appears to be the first evidence of it appearing online. Remarkable, really, that the habitual spawn-room scenery smashers in the Overwatch community may not have spotted this easter egg in all that time.
Bastion mains did, at least, get some welcome "loot" of their own this week, as Blizzard started experimenting with changes to make the walking turret more viable. Yes, that was a stretch.