Tracer (Overwatch)

Tracer
Overwatch character
250px An official render of Tracer's appearance in Overwatch (2016)
First game	Heroes of the Storm (2016)
Voiced by	Cara Theobold (English) Emiri Katō (Japanese)

Tracer is a fictional hero appearing in Overwatch (2016), a Blizzard Entertainment–developed first-person shooter video game, and its related media. Although Tracer is from the Overwatch universe, she was introduced in Blizzard's crossover multiplayer online battle arena game, Heroes of the Storm, in an April 2016 update for that game.

The character, who is of English origin, is known by her call sign: Tracer, although her real name is Lena Oxton. In Overwatch, her character design is noted for being one of the fastest in terms of speed, but weakest in terms of health. Tracer has also been noted to be a peppy and energetic character. She makes use of her speed through teleportation and time traveling abilities that are rooted in an in-universe accident that left her unable to maintain a physical form in the present, until another character invented a device allowing her to control her own time.

Tracer is arguably one of the more notable Overwatch characters, despite Blizzard not having an official outright mascot for the game. Although her profile was boosted by having prominent roles in official Overwatch media, the character was given additional media attention through online controversies—one surrounding one of her victory poses, and another surrounding her prominence in fan-produced pornography that Blizzard has made efforts to remove.

Development and design

Tracer was one of the first twelve Overwatch characters introduced at BlizzCon 2014; her character was noted to be wearing yellow and have an English accent. Scott Mercer, the principal designer on Overwatch stated that Blizzard's canceled project, Titan had a character with Tracer's abilities. Jeff Goodman, the lead hero designer for Overwatch had a "big hand" in Tracer's design; she was the first hero designed for the game. Overwatch's Assistant Game Director Aaron Keller expressed how Tracer's three abilities maintained throughout the game's development, as opposed to the game's other heroes, stating "From the beginning, she originated as a 'whole' hero." Tracer has also been noted for being a peppy character, with Hardcore Gamer describing her as a "spunky Brit," that is "full of little quips as she zips around the battlefield." Matching her English origin, Tracer is voiced by English actress, Cara Theobold. Emiri Katō voices her in the game's Japanese-dubbed version.

File:Overwatch controversy.png

Comparison between Tracer's original pose (left) and altered replacement (right)

Upon the return of Overwatch's closed beta in February 2016, victory poses, among other elements were added to the characters. In March, Tracer's over the shoulder victory pose was at the center of online controversy; the pose was initially criticized in a letter by Fipps, a gamer who commented on the Overwatch forums: "What about this pose has anything to do with the character you're building in [Tracer]? It's not fun, its not silly, it has nothing to do with being a fast elite killer. It just reduces [Tracer] to another bland female sex symbol." The post generated discussion on the forums, leading the game's director Jeff Kaplan to respond, "We'll replace the pose. We want *everyone* to feel strong and heroic in our community. The last thing we want to do is make someone feel uncomfortable, under-appreciated or misrepresented. Apologies and we'll continue to try to do better." The following week, a replacement pose was released, although it was noted to be similar to the original pose. The replacement pose was influenced by a Billy De Vorss cheesecake pin-up illustration.

Gameplay

Heroes of the Storm

Destructoid noted her unconventional design in Heroes of the Storm was similar to her Overwatch design, writing that "she has the same basic abilities, and even powers up her Heroic just like an ultimate -- by dealing damage. Her core skillset is teleportation, which includes a quick blink strike in any direction and a 'rewind' mechanic of sorts that brings her back to the location she was at three seconds ago." Chris Thursten of PC Gamer wrote that "the fact that she literally runs circles around certain heroes, coupled with the notion that she defies the rules of the game, is exactly why [he was] impressed by her design." Her seemingly overpoweredness did lead to her character being nerfed by the developers.

Overwatch

Tracer's role in Overwatch is on offense. Reflecting this, her character comes equipped with dual "Pulse Pistols", which reload quickly and are "rapid-fire damage dealers but only at short range." Her speed is especially noted among video game outlets, as she is the fastest character on the game's roster. This attribute is noted to be one of the advantages that comes with playing as her, but also an annoyance to opposing players. Her speed is supplemented through her "Blink" and "Recall" abilities—Blink, which comes with three charges, allows her to teleport a short distance in the direction she is traveling in. Using this ability may allow Tracer to "zip behind and enemy in an instant for surprise attacks, or dodge completely out of the line of fire." This ability has a cool down period, meaning the player has to wait for each Blink to recharge, although the cool down period is relatively quick. In addition, her Recall ability allows her to rewind to her position three seconds prior, as well as resetting her health and ammo. Like Blink, her Recall ability also has a cool down period. Although Tracer has a speed advantage, she also has one of the lowest health pools in the game. Finally, her ultimate ability is her "Pulse Bomb": a sticky that clings to the first surface or hero it hits, then detonating shortly after dealing area of effect damage.

Appearances

Video games

Heroes of the Storm

Tracer debuted in the video game Heroes of the Storm, through its April 2016 update, nearly a month prior to the release of Overwatch. Thursten saw her inclusion in the game as "a marketing move, for sure," but also noted that "Tracer introduces a bunch of new ideas to Heroes of the Storm that elevate her above traditional preorder bonus fluff. She's not just a legitimate addition to the roster: [He'd] go as far as to say that she feels different to any other MOBA character [he's] played, and this is a direct consequence of her FPS origins."

Overwatch

Tracer's fictional biography details her real name: Lena Oxton, age: 26, and base of operations: London, England. In Overwatch lore, Tracer is an adventurer, former Overwatch agent, and became the youngest person to be inducted to Overwatch's experimental flight program. Known for her piloting skills, she was chosen to test the Slipstream, a prototype of a teleporting fighter. During the test flight, the Slipstream's teleportation matrix malfunctioned and Tracer was pronounced dead. However, she would later reappear, having been desynchronized from the flow of time. This "chronal disassociation" disabled her from keeping a physical form in the present, until a scientist named Winston created the chronal accelerator. This allowed Tracer to have control of her own time. Even though Overwatch has dissolved in the game's lore, Tracer continues "to right wrongs and fight the good fight wherever the opportunity presents itself." These events take place during a period that included both the Omnic Crisis, an in-universe event that saw the world's omniums begin producing hostile omnics, threatening the stability of the word, as well as the formation Overwatch.

Animations

In March 2016, Tracer made had a voice-only appearance in "Recall," the first in a four-part series of animated Overwatch shorts. The short centers around the character Winston, known in Overwatch lore to rid Tracer of her chronal disassociation. In the short, he struggles with memories of the Overwatch organization, wrestling with the idea of recalling the former Overwatch agents. Early in the short, he looks at old pictures of his experiences; one of these pictures showcases the original Overwatch team, which includes Tracer. At the end of the short, Tracer responds to Winston's recall, allowing her voice to be heard.

In April, Tracer made a physical appearance in "Alive," the second in the series of animated Overwatch shorts. In the short, Tracer attempts to stop the character Widowmaker from assassinating Tekhartha Mondatta, the head of the Shambali, a group of omnics formed to bring peace between omnics and humans. However, Tracer fails to protect Mondatta, and in the process gets her chronal accelerator damaged. This event occurred during an era called the "Recall," an in-universe period in which the world is falling back into darkness.

Reception

Tracer has been cited as being the "poster girl" for the game; the gaming magazine Hardcore Gamer concurred, describing Tracer as "Overwatch's single most iconic character." This is despite Blizzard never officially announcing her, or any other character, as the mascot for Overwatch; many publications have still either referred to her as the game's mascot, or note that she essentially fills the role of one. Even prior to the game's official release, VentureBeat detailed, "if you've paid any attention to the early fan culture for Overwatch, you've likely noticed that Tracer seems especially popular." During Overwatch's open beta, Tracer was one of the more popularly used characters. Tracer's popularity compared to the other characters has had unintended effects for Blizzard; "Overwatch" related searches boosted by 817% on Pornhub after the game's open beta went live, with "Overwatch Tracer" being the top search term related to the game. Kotaku noted that Japanese gamers positively received Overwatch, finding the characters cute, especially Tracer and Mei.

On her gameplay mechanics, Inquisitr expressed that her "quick and evasive ways make her an annoyance to deal with." Mike Minotti of VentureBeat opined that "Tracer [is] a lot of fun to play. Her whole teleporting/rewinding mechanics [are] so unique and fast-paced. I feel like [Blizzard's] done a great job making a varied, relatively balanced cast."