Overwatch player creates perfect improvement for Genji’s dash
Blizzard EntertainmentAn Overwatch player has used the Workshop to create an epic animation adjustment for Genji’s Swift Strike.
Genji’s Swift Strike, more commonly referred to simply as his ‘dash’, sees him dart swiftly forwards, dealing damage to any players he passes through. The ability cooldown resets whenever he gets an elimination, allowing him to potentially dash back and forth with a well-timed use among an enemy group.
Prominent Workshop creator DarwinStreams has now used the feature to create an updated version of the ability that would give players a greater sense of what Genji is actually doing when he dashes forward.
The Workshop doesn’t give players the ability to truly adjust hero animations, as there’s no way to edit character models or movements. What is possible, however, is to adjust the camera angle, which Darwin used to improve Genji’s dash animation.
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In the Workshop version, instead of remaining in first-person view for the ability, the camera quickly shifts to a third-person perspective, allowing players to see the dash being performed rather than just experiencing the camera moving forward, before returning to first person to allow play to continue seamlessly.
The adjustment is purely visual, as players can’t perform any other action during the dash and therefore aren’t prevented from doing anything during the new animation that they would otherwise be capable of.
The change would also technically be a minor buff for Genji, as the brief third-person perspective switch would give the player a slightly better view of their surroundings. For a hero who is so heavily based on movement and positioning, allowing for better target acquisition and planning their next moves could be quite valuable.
Darwin is one of the Workshop’s most prolific creators. Since the feature’s release to the Public Test Realm (PTR), he’s developed everything from fun modes like D.Va Racing, to training modes for heroes like Ana and Reinhardt, and even introduced interesting mechanics like target-seeking and steerable variations of rockets.
Blizzard haven’t announced whether they’ll ever add support for making map or character edits to the Workshop, but changes like this for Genji demonstrate that it’s already possible to make some updates with a bit of creativity.