Overwatch 2‘s season 12 battle pass is themed around Egyptian mythology, but it’s receiving heavy scrutiny from the player base after one hero supposedly tied to the theme is notably absent from the celebrations.
This season’s battle pass transforms various Overwatch 2 heroes into famous Egyptian gods, including the Mythic Reaper skin themed around Anubis, the god of the afterlife and protector of funeral rites. Fans quickly reacted to this strange choice, since Ramattra was previously tied to Egyptian mythos within the game’s universe, and would have fit a lot better for an Anubis skin.
When the Egyptian-themed battle pass was shown off in a trailer this week, Ramattra was noticeably missing from the roster of heroes who received skins. Instead, fan-favorite characters such as Reaper, Echo, and Kiriko were front and center, causing many to share their thoughts about the “misstep” in the trailer’s comments.
One viewer noted that “having nothing for Ramattra in an Egyptian-themed season when his concept was literally Anubis is criminal.” While it appears the developers overlooked the concept art, the issue reaches even further. The Temple of Anubis, a fan-favorite map from Overwatch, was designed to imprison an AI named Anubis who is responsible for starting the first Omnic Crisis and creating Omnics like Ramattra. Players are angry that the developers missed the opportunity to create a mythic skin that combines aspects of Egyptian and Overwatch lore.
Ramattra was first introduced during Overwatch 2‘s announcement via concept art, which showcased some Omnic enemies players would have encountered in the scrapped PvE game mode. These Omnics were designed around Egyptian mythology, including an Anubis-themed Omnic that looks like Ramattra holding his iconic staff.
While this design was not used by developers, it served as a starting point for Ramattra’s development which eventually saw the Omnic—revealed to be Zenyatta’s spiritual brother—added to the game in 2022. Since the original concept was never used, fans of the character were hopeful that it could be turned into a skin down the line.
Another player jokingly mentioned the player base “really needed more Genji, Mercy, and Kiriko skins.” These heroes already have a plethora of skins and no feasible ties to Egypt, so almost every fan is wondering why these heroes are on the battle pass roster. To make matters worse, the pass has no content for Egyptian native Pharah or the archaeologist Venture, the latter having never received a Legendary skin.
While it is too late for Blizzard to change any of the skins, the developers have stuck behind their decision according to Overwatch Cavalry on X/Twitter despite massive community complaints. With just about everything revealed for the expansion, it seems those eager for an Egyptian-Ramattra crossover are going to have to wait a while.
Published: Aug 16, 2024 08:20 pm