5 Tips for Mei’s Snowball Offensive In Overwatch

As part of Overwatch‘s wonderful Winter Wonderland Event, Blizzard released Mei’s Snowball Offensive, a new game mode in the Arcade that will offer more opportunities to earn Loot Boxes, and a whole lot of Mei’s throwing snowballs at each other.

Overview

Mei’s Snowball Offensive is a 6v6 mode in the arcade played on Ecopoint Antarctica (the same map for 3v3 Elimination and 1v1 Mystery Heroes), where every player can only be Mei. Mei’s abilities are altered, however.

Your gun is instead only a one-shot snowball launcher. You can reload by holding right click for a few seconds over randomly appearing snowpiles. Your ultimate ability, instead of an AOE freeze, will give you unlimited ammo for about five seconds.

Just like a snowball fight, everyone is eliminated with one hit with a snowball, and they won’t respawn until the next round. Games are won on a best-of-five-rounds basis.

But before you jump on in to sink or swim, make sure you know its ins and outs. Here is a list of the best tips for Mei’s Snowball Offensive.

5. Your Ult Charge Stays Between Rounds

This much will become abundantly obvious when you play the game, and even just by thinking about it. After all, how would anyone get their ultimate if it reset every round?

But the important takeaway from this knowledge is to know not to blow it. You may be surrounded by 3 or 4 people, assuredly going to die, and you think “why not?” before hitting Q, maybe killing one or two of them and dying anyway.

If that round will decide the match, go for it. Otherwise, save your ult for next round when you have a solid chance at making a difference.

4. You Can Look Around While Reloading

While you’ll likely have to look down to start the reloading process, as long as you’re still holding right click, you can look around while attending to a snowpile. Too many times, I see people standing in front a snowpile, unprotected and completely unaware that someone is coming right up to them with a loaded gun.

Look around the whole time, and, if someone shows up looking for blood, you can cancel your reload and take evasive maneuvers.

3. Use Your Wall Before Reloading

While not necessary 100 percent of the time, you’ll be glad you used your wall more often than not. Even if you’re looking around, why risk it? If you’re out of ammo and see a juicy snowpile, throw up an ice wall and reload without having to look over your shoulder (still look, though, just in case).

You may think you’re safe or that anyone approaching would be too far away, but underestimating your opponent can be a grave mistake. People can make long shots, shots from above or even sneak up behind you while crouching (I’ve seen it happen).

2. Use Your Wall To Disrupt A Reload

If you see an opponent reloading, but you don’t have the ammo to shoot them. You have two choices: run away, or stop them. How do you stop them? Put your wall right over the snowpile, blasting them up in the air and disrupting their reload.

If you do this carefully, you can leave enough space that you can then reload from that same snowpile. Then you have a twofer: you stopped them from reloading and reloaded yourself – much better than simply running away and hoping they don’t catch you.

1. Watch for the Snowflake

This is the most important tip for anyone joining this game mode for the first time. If an opponent has a snowflake over their head, they have ammo. No snowflake – no ammo.

Knowing this will arm you with the ability to instantly assess the dangers around you. That snowflake tells you to either kill them first or run away if you don’t have ammo. No snowflake? Attack. Don’t have ammo either? Beat them to the nearest snowpile and use your wall to throw them off if they beat you.