Overwatch’s Bastion insane ultimate ability was removed in early development

An insane clip from Overwatch’s early development days shows that Bastion was originally planned to have a completely different ultimate ability, and proves just why it was changed.

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Bastion is one of Overwatch’s most popular damage-per-second heroes due to his ability to melt through armor and shields in just a few seconds – pair him with Orisa and Mercy, and you’ve got yourself a formidable combo.

The robot’s ultimate ability is excellent for taking out DPS and healer enemies with one hit, but did you know that he originally had a completely different move during the game’s early development phase?

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Bastion’s original ultimate ability

A clip uploaded to Twitter on November 8 by infamous Overwatch insider Naeri details the hero’s initial ultimate, and displays it in all its deadly glory.

• Read More: Jeff Kaplan hints at more competitive modes in Overwatch 2

Fittingly named “Remote Mine”, the powerful move shows Bastion deploying a small mine that is controlled and positioned by the player – think Call of Duty’s Recon Car.

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Once placed accordingly, it flattens out to appear less visible to enemies before rising up and detonating multiple small explosions to cause maximum devastation once a foe enters its radius.

While the robot’s original ultimate was undoubtedly crazy, it was canned during early development due to balance issues – AKA it was way too powerful. You can imagine the outrage if it had been left in.

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For some, the unearthing of Bastion’s initial ability will be old information, as it’s always been a known ‘secret’ amongst the most knowledgeable Overwatch fans, but many regular players were shocked by the news.

• Read More: Overwatch 2 character comparison – new hero models

There was even an ultimate icon made for the ability, and it showed a logo of the remote-controlled mine with its six deadly points.

This wasn’t the only ability that Bastion once had early in development, either. The Omnic hero once had a shield in Turret mode during the beta, though this was removed quite early on. 

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Since Overwatch 2’s announcement on November 1 during BlizzCon 2019’s opening ceremony, fans of the first-person shooter have been eager to find out what changes their favorite heroes will undergo in the sequel.

Bastion is just one of the heroes who will be receiving a new look, though his redesign was only briefly shown off in a piece of key art at the convention.