The Lunar New Year is upon us, and starting today
Overwatch is celebrating the Year of the Dog. From now through March 5, you can participate in the Lunar New Year festivities which come in the form of a Capture the Flag game mode, the new Ayutthaya map, a decorated Lijiang Tower, and new cosmetic items.
Blizzard
detailed some changes made to this year's Capture the Flag:
This year we’ve made some changes to Capture the Flag! Flag pickup is now instant, but flags cannot be picked up for five seconds after being dropped. Flags return after 4 seconds, and flag return is not interrupted by taking damage. Mobility and invulnerability skills drop the flag and, music plays while carrying the flag! Sudden death will now break ties at the end of a match. When time runs out, the round starts over, the flags are moved closer to the center of the map, and the first team to capture wins. All these changes will be applied to older Capture the Flag maps as well.
Also for the first time, we're getting Competitive Capture the Flag,
"which offers a more competitive experience with placement matches, skill ratings tiers, leaderboards, competitive points, and more."
Additionally, there are over 50 new seasonal items — including legendary skins like Black Lily Widowmaker, Qinglong (Azure Dragon) Pharah, Xuanwu (Black Tortoise) Zarya, and Baihu (White Tiger) Genji — for you to collect. This is all in addition to last year's items which are also available at a reduced credit cost, combining for over 170 total cosmetic items for you to find in Lunar Loot Boxes. These are highlighted in the sizzle reel and photos below.