A brand new help hero is coming to Overwatch, and he or she’s vigorous, cheeky remarks, and a few significantly game-changing skills. Revealed at Tokyo Game Show, Kiriko is the most recent addition to Overwatch 2’s roster, and whereas her formal title may be “Protector of Kanezaka,” she may also be essentially the most clutch participant in your crew.

First and foremost, Kiriko’s major capability is to heal. She does this by sending ofuda–paper talismans providing the wielder protection–to her teammates. These ofuda hone in on their desired recipient, making them excellent for therapeutic teammates who’re airborne or far-off. Her secondary capability sees her exactly purpose and throw her kunai, giving her an fringe of lethality that rivals precise DPS characters. In reality, Kiriko joins Genji and Widowmaker as one of many few characters who has the next crit multiplier than the remainder of the Overwatch roster, which is a formidable feat for somebody who’s mainly a help character.

Coming in with a 14-second cooldown is Kiriko’s Protection Suzu capability, which sees her ring a Suzu–or Shinto bell–and “cleanse” an space of debuffs and doubtlessly devastating assaults, together with Sombra’s hack, Reinhardt’s Shatter, Ashe’s Burn, Ana’s Sleep Dart, and Junkrat’s RIP-Tire. This paired with Kiriko’s subsequent ability–Swift Step–makes her a help hero who can rapidly change the trajectory of a match. Swift Step permits Kiriko to see her allies by means of boundaries to be able to teleport beside them, making her the primary character in Overwatch who can part by means of partitions. This capability was created so the sport would have a healer with unparalleled mobility, and who may convey the therapeutic to the struggle moderately than depend on their allies to return to them.

For Kiriko’s final capability, Kitsune Rush, she summons a kitsune–a fox possessing religious powers–to assist information her teammates and supply them with accelerated motion velocity, assault velocity, and funky down charges. This buff can stack upon different velocity buffs, although Blizzard confirmed there may be an inner threshold that this buff can’t exceed.

All these qualities make Kiriko excellent for gamers who may be extra snug enjoying DPS and nonetheless wish to pack a punch whereas enjoying help. According to Blizzard affiliate narrative designer Kyungseo Min, it’s because Kiriko was truly created with DPS gamers in thoughts, significantly those that favor Genji–and this isn’t the place her connection to the cybernetic Shimada brother ends.

According to Min, Kiriko has a really direct relationship with Genji and Hanzo in that her mom was the {powerful} ninja who helped practice them. As such, Kiriko each grew up and realized alongside the duo, changing into a type of “cute, little niece determine” to them. This a part of her backstory is mirrored in her interactions with the brothers, as she typically teases them once they want therapeutic, in addition to her skills. Just like Hanzo and Genji, Kiriko has mastered the artwork of wall-climbing, and may accomplish that to succeed in her teammates extra effectively.

Another necessary determine to Kiriko is her grandmother, a extremely religious girl whose beliefs strongly affect Kiriko and form how she fights. Much of Kiriko’s skills come from her use of religious objects related to Shintoism, comparable to ofuda and suzu. According to Min, Kiriko herself acts as a type of bridge between her grandmother’s religious considering and extra fashionable beliefs. While she respects traditions, she is “cognizant that traditions should change to replicate fashionable considering.” As such, Kiriko exerts a type of youthful vitality and intelligence that makes her extremely personable.

As for a way Kiriko will likely be concerned in Overwatch 2’s overarching narrative, Min acknowledged that whereas the crew can’t say a lot, Kiriko will likely be a “key participant within the Kanezaka space and a catalyst for the Shimada brothers.” Min additionally mentioned Kiriko will likely be a very enjoyable character to observe work together with others, as she has a really tongue-in-cheek humorousness and isn’t afraid of teasing characters no matter how intimidating they could appear.

According to Blizzard, Kiriko will likely be a very good hero for gamers of all talent ranges and can pair significantly properly with cellular tanks like Winston, Wrecking Ball, and Doomfist, in addition to flying heroes like Mercy, and heroes who concentrate on flanking like her “uncle” Genji. The crew says they’re conscious she is extremely powerful–as are all their heroes once they first enter the game–but additionally warn gamers she is a “double-edged sword.” While her capability to enter harmful conditions to offer clutch therapeutic and harm negation is {powerful}, getting into mentioned harmful conditions does not at all times bode properly for help heroes.