Retribution, the Overwatch limited-time event, introduces a new PVE game mode wherein users battle against enemy units, but a glitch apparently makes them playable.
These characters are originally intended to stay as non-playable AI-controlled assets within a certain game mode, yet it seems that some people found a way to enable their usage in PVP game modes. Footage of matches that support the claims has been shared on Twitch and YouTube, which shows the enemy units being used in matches unfairly.
How Did They Do It?
So far, the process on how to enable the glitch is not readily available online. It seems that only a small group of players are knowledgeable about how to activate the bug. What's immediately observable though is that all of the footage shows the Korean version of the team-based shooter and it appears to be exclusively on the PC copy only.
Moreover, the hack does not seem to be limited to enemy units from the latest event. The Null Sector robots from last year's Uprising event and even Junk Rat's RIP Tire were actually selectable.
Unfair Advantage
After footage of the glitch circulated online, some users felt that Blizzard Entertainment is deliberately withholding content from players. Since the enemy units are all playable with respective special skills mapped to the keyboard, the developer could make them available in custom game modes.
The Retribution enemy units being used act like the mini-bosses in the Overwatch PVE game mode. A four-man team takes on waves on enemy units and eventually encounters slightly-stronger units such as the Enforcer, Assassin, Sniper, and Heavy Assault. These characters have special skills which look like a combination of several existing abilities from existing heroes.
Additionally, their larger-than-normal health pool makes them harder to kill, which makes their presence in Competitive matches a big problem. Some players might find it a little amusing but it is potentially game-breaking for everyone else.
Blizzard Issues A Fix
The Retribution exploit looks like a short-lived problem for Overwatch as the developers already confirmed that a hotfix is on the way. They confirmed that gamers do not need to patch their existing game clients since everything will be fixed on the server side of things.
Meanwhile, players will be happy to know that the long-awaited Hanzo rework is currently live on the PTR. Likewise, Rialto, the new payload map, is available as well on the test servers. Retribution is a limited-time event that is scheduled to end on April 30.
