Blizzard finally confirms its latest Overwatch 2 heroine: Kiriko. See all about Kiriko below.
After several months of waiting (and 4chan leaks that looked too good to be fake), Overwatch 2 finally unveiled the announcement video for its new support character. The Hero release fulfills Overwatch 2’s promise of releasing one hero for all three categories (Sojourn for Offense, Junker Queen for Tank, and Kiriko for Support). Blizzard said they would care more and expectations are even higher for New Age Ninja. Focus on the help category going forward.
Overwatch 2 Kiriko Abilities
From what we can add between the leaks and what the “Introducing Kiriko” video confirms, it appears that she is well connected to Shimadas and has received training of her own. She’s a daring trendsetter trying to mix veritable tradition and modern progress together, and the voice line heard in the trailer suggests a familiarity between her and the criminal clan’s two descendants. As confirmed in the description of the video, she also shares the ability to climb the wall with Hanzo and Genji. In terms of hero abilities though, the similarities end there.
Similar to Moira’s game mechanics, the way Kiriko uses her Faith Kunai and her healing talismans suggests we’ll get another alt-mouse heel/attack playstyle from her. Although the associated reload and recovery periods are unknown, the other skills on his kit will require a good skill set and a dependable sense of discipline when you pick him up on character selection.
Kiriko controls the flow of the battle by ensuring her team’s survival during critical moments. In the trailer, we are shown that she not only grants an AoE ability that marks nearby allies with a short-lived impenetrability that travels with them (similar to Baptiste), but that her ultimate ability also unleashes her kitsune. , which gives a path to the spectral Tory Gates your allies like!
Oh, and she teleports through walls, too. Positioning won’t be much of a problem for Kiriko, as one of the abilities shown in her hero video allowed her to teleport through a thin wooden wall in the deathmatch map “Kanezaka”. It takes quite a bit of casting time, so those who want to use it effectively will still find a bit of a higher skill limit.
Where he acquired the knowledge of mystical healing abilities still remains a mystery. Many speculate that her spirit fox plays a large part in her backstory and how she comes about her powers. The upcoming revelations about her character are intriguing and serve as not only a welcome addition to the more mysterious side of the lore, but also a more fun and relatable take on the mythos for those who enjoy Overwatch’s continuing story. Lets wait for the hero.
Her impenetrability gives AoE close allies a small, yet much-needed window of opportunity, especially in the ongoing dive meta. Seriously lacking in offensive abilities, players have to be smart with their engagements. Additionally, one could see him playing behind an agile hard-hitter such as Genji or Sojourn, providing instant healing to counteract speed-killing damage.
The announcement comes as part of Overwatch 2’s plan to implement a free and premium BattlePass, which will reward new heroes to both players. On top of that, players who pay the monthly premium will be able to instantly unlock upcoming playable characters. This has generated a lot of discussion and criticism among the community, but such changes are to be expected once the big titles become free-to-play.
All this and much more will be available to players after Overwatch 2 arrives free-to-play on October 4, 2022, with Kiriko becoming free to Overwatch 1 owners or those who purchase the new Battle Pass.
