Yeti Hunt is a game mode exclusive to the Winter Wonderland seasonal event. It is a 5v1 fight taking place on the Village section of Nepal where five players (all playing as Mei in her Yeti Hunter skin) must hunt down the Yeti (Winston in his Yeti skin), at the risk of the Yeti powering up and killing them in turn.
Yeti Hunter is described to be Overwatch's version of Evolve.
Gameplay[ | ]
Upon beginning Yeti Hunt, players are given the option to play as a Hunter or the Yeti. Players who have played consecutive games as Hunters are more likely to be assigned the role of the Yeti. Open fireplaces located around the map will spawn pieces of meat over time at random, which the Yeti must collect to activate his ultimate ability; selected fireplaces will be indicated with a countdown timer before spawning meat. The game ends in the Hunters' favor if they successfully deplete all of the Yeti's health, or in the Yeti's favor if he kills five of the Hunters.
If too much time has elapsed with no victory, the capture point in the center of the map will activate.
Mei[ | ]
Mei's abilities remain unchanged aside from Cryo-Freeze restoring her health over two seconds instead of four, allowing for faster restoration in exchange for reduced invulnerability. Instead of Blizzard, Mei's ultimate is replaced with Yeti Trap, which spawns a metal-toothed trap that functions in the same way as Junkrat's Steel Trap, albeit requiring a charge time of several seconds to get ready.
Yeti[ | ]
To compensate for the disadvantageous numbers, the Yeti is given an enlarged health pool of 5,000 hit points. In order to charge his Ultimate ability, the Yeti must consume pieces of meat that will spawn at designated locations throughout the map, marked by open fires. Each piece of meat will charge his ability by 25%, after which he automatically goes into Primal Rage. Besides this, the Yeti's abilities remain unchanged from standard Winston's.
If the Yeti falls off the edges of the map, he will respawn back at his starting point with a health penalty.
Tips and Tricks[ | ]
Playing as a Hunter[ | ]
- Teamwork is especially emphasized in this mode. The Yeti's large health pool will be difficult to take down alone, and it's easy for him to shred your 250 hit points. Conversely, a group of Hunters blasting the Yeti from multiple directions will freeze him in place more quickly, allowing you to pelt him with icicles.
- Even when in a group, it's advisable not to be reckless with your health. The Yeti's Tesla Cannon can still strike multiple targets and kill them off, especially if they're already weakened.
- Cryo-Freeze is a lifesaver ability, allowing a Hunter to recover almost all of her health. The reduced charge time means that you'll be able to recover health more efficiently and reduce the odds of it being on cooldown at crucial moments. If the Yeti isn't nearby, consider using it early to ensure your health is high enough to withstand ambushes.
- Lay an ambush for the Yeti by placing the Yeti Trap on fireplaces where meat has spawned or is going to. Note that if a Yeti Trap has already been placed on the map, using your ultimate again will despawn it from where you originally placed it.
- There's very little headway you can make when the Yeti's Primal Rage is active. Cryo-Freeze will only protect you for 2 seconds while Primal Rage lasts for 10. Use the Ice Wall to force the Yeti to get around it before he can attack you or your teammates, wasting precious seconds for his ultimate. This becomes especially effective when you're in one of the narrow passages.
- If the Yeti already has eaten three pieces of meat, consider switching to evasive tactics - move away from places where meat is about to or has spawned, ensuring that you're as far away from the Yeti when his ultimate activates. This will also waste his ultimate as he's forced to look for your team.
Playing as the Yeti[ | ]
- Unlike the Hunters, you won't be able to recover any health in this mode; while a greatly increased health pool makes up for it, the numbers are not in your favor.
- When you're not in Primal Rage, focus on eating meat instead of going after Hunters. Chances are they're going to freeze you in place before you can kill one or two with your Tesla Cannon, especially if they've healed up.
- When the game begins, head up the hill on your right to grab the first piece of meat on the nearby bridge for an early start.
- Use the Jump Pack liberally to get around the map and put distance between you and the Hunters, and also to grab meat placed at bridges on higher elevations. If a piece of meat has a Yeti Trap underneath it, stand a short distance away and use the Jump Pack while aiming forward to grab the meat without triggering the Trap.
- While the Barrier Projector won't be able to protect you at close range, it remains useful for blocking stray icicles - you'll want to prevent as much damage as possible. If you can't avoid running into a Yeti Trap, deploy a Barrier so you can't be pelted with ice spikes while you wait out the trap.
- If you're about to go ultimate, look for a piece of meat (preferably one without a trap) and hang around - several Hunters may come looking for you, at which point you pick it up and start attacking.
- Ice Walls are the biggest obstacle you will face when in Primal Rage - Hunters who try to blast you with ice can be quickly killed in two hits before you're frozen, while Cryo-Freeze will only protect them for two seconds before deactivating. If a Hunter goes into Cryo-Freeze, consider waiting until their protection fades instead of switching to another target that can easily put up her own Cryo-Freeze.
- If you can't find any Hunters and your ultimate is about to expire, consider looking for new pieces of meat and start charging up your ultimate again.