Watchpoint: Gibraltar

Watchpoint: Gibraltar is an Escort map in Overwatch.



Official Description
At its height, Overwatch maintained a number of bases around the world, each with its own purpose: peacekeeping, scientific research, or in the case of Watchpoint: Gibraltar, providing an orbital launch facility. The base was mothballed along with the rest of Overwatch's installations, but there have been recent reports of activity within the perimeter. Could this indicate the presence of former Overwatch agents, or is this the work of organizations with more nefarious intentions?

Background
Watchpoint: Gibraltar stands on the strategic point of the Rock of Gibraltar, and was an Overwatch outpost that stood guard over the Mediterranean. The base was shut down, but the base showed signs of activity in recent times. This was from Winston, who as part of his intent to reform Overwatch, intended to bring the group's communication network back online. Constructing a satellite drone, he needed to get it to a rocket. The drone was successfully launched, and he looked on with pride.

After Overwatch was reformed, the team used the watchpoint as their new base of operations.

Gameplay
The map's gameplay is based on getting the drone to the rocket. The attacking side spawns in Winston's laboratory.

Attack
The payload moves from outside near the laboratory, to inside the rocket hanger, back to outside concluding at the base of the rocket launch site. Many defenders on Gibraltar will situate heroes on the bridge outside, across the spawn on the building, and slightly further back on the cargo area with the stairs. This makes the spawn battle ideal for turrets and snipers--lots of above ground vantage points and ducts to hide in and behind. Additionally, defenders will sometimes station a hero next to the top doorway from the spawn point. It is difficult for attackers to see them at first, making the defender's surprise attack deadly to top attackers. From the attack perspective, there are three exits. The first is the main exit on the ground level. The second is directly above that looking down at the payload. The third is to the left. With the third, attackers will exit the adjacent building. For reference, there is a health pack here and the attacker can see the back of the payload.

Two Target Strategy
Team Composition: Reinhardt, D.Va, Mei, Genji, Pharah, Mercy

First Checkpoint
Start with the Reinhardt at the bottom exit with the shield up and Mercy supporting him and Genji on hold. D.Va should be on top defense matrix activated with Pharah on hold. Have Mei go to the left exit. This strategy builds on the idea that there will be either turrets or snipers ready to attack once the game begins. The two tanks (Reinhardt and D.Va) will absorb the initial onslaught. This will let you get a sense of where the attacks are coming from. If the enemy team has stationed a turret (Bastion or Torbjorn), across from the spawn then the tank will draw attention. If the turret is Torbjorn's, then Reinhardt will be targeted automatically. In this case, use Genji to deflect. At this point, use Pharah on top to fire shots towards the turret. Once the turret is destroyed, look for snipers and other heroes around (who will likely be firing at you). If there is a Bastion firing at D.Va on top, use Genji to start firing shuriken if fire returns to Genji, deflect and have Pharah start firing at Bastion. Drawing fire to the two tanks is imperative to the strategy working. Mei, who should be in the left exit, should move to the door to the left of the payload, hopefully unnoticed by the defenders, as they are focused on the tanks. Mei should put up an ice wall at this spot. If defenders have retreated into the building, they cannot fire back. If they are outside, they cannot get to the inside health pack. This is a good spot to be in. All defenders on the outside should receive freezing from Mei. Use the Reinhardt to start to push to the payload with his shield activated. Snipers should be aiming for the other heroes, so start to clean up the snipers or heroes who have been pushed back with your attack heroes. Start to push the payload with Reinhardt on top intercepting damage with the shield. Placing Pharah above the payload on the bridge structure facing into the entrance to the hanger and Genji on the ground level with D.Va and Mei attacking the defenders is effective to making sure the payload moves. This should cleanly move you to the first objective (no guarantee that you won't have a few eliminations, but as long as your Mercy is healing then you should have a resurrection ready by this point).

Second Checkpoint
The next push gets trickier. There are a lot of places to hide in the hanger where enemies will use to flank you. Try and use the tanks to absorb as much damage as possible with Mercy supporting them. Be careful not to chase defenders into crevices, ducts, and hiding spots too much. Use your Pharah here to flush people out by flying above obstacles and firing down. When people are exposed, fire at them with Genji and D.Va. Keep in mind also that Mercy can only be in so many places, so try to locate the health packs around the hanger. This is likely the point that gets trickiest on the map because of the hidden spots for defenders. As long as you keep on the payload and pick off enemies, you should be in a good position to advance to the final checkpoint.

Third Checkpoint
The final push is always the most difficult. Most team battles occur at this point and people tend to unleash their ultimates very liberally. The first challenge is moving out of the doorway. After getting the payload through, back outside, the hanger doors will shut. This means that there are only a few exits from the building you will be able to leave from making it very easy for defender to pick you off. With the same team composition, use Genji to exit from the door closest to the spawn point (the right door) and start deflecting attacks. Have Pharah boost above to ensure people cannot get situated and comfortable in one spot. Use D.Va to boost into enemy territory to disrupt and Mei to freeze enemies as much as possible. Use the ultimates in a coordinated fashion. Reinhardt's Earthshatter stuns enemies in the path. You can use Pharah to Barrage or Genji to use the Dragonblade. The same goes for Mei's ultimate (much more powerful and stunning for enemies). Ultimate abilities like Mei's (or Zarya's) that hold the enemies in place make attack ultimates very deadly. save Mercy's ultimate for the last push if need be. If used too early, the team runs the risk of not being able to hold the point and losing. Use her ability only when necessary to ensure a strong final push to win the game.

Defense
You must escort the item to a drop off point, while under fire, and thus Torbjorn will be handy here. Also Orisa, with her shield. Eliminate Sombras on sight, especially if they have their ultimate ready. A single EMP will severely cripple the defense if they enemy takes advantage.

Trivia

 * In a beta patch released on March 8, 2016, the map was altered to have a hole broken out of the glass in Winston's office. This was done to reflect the events of Recall which was released later that month.
 * The largest indoor area, Hanger 18, stores a OSS-7 Aurora craft.
 * The Tracer vs. Widowmaker and Watchpoint: Gibraltar LEGO Overwatch sets both take place here. The former contains the Satellite Drone XR-9, while the latter contains the shuttle from the end of the map. They were revealed by Target in 2018.