The subsequent hero coming to Overwatch 2 isn’t precisely new. Gamers acquired a glimpse of him, an Omnic activist referred to as Ramattra, greater than three years in the past, on the conclusion of an Overwatch Archives occasion referred to as Storm Rising. That occasion’s cliffhanger reveal of a menacing Omnic teaming up the villain Doomfist lastly paid off on Friday on the Overwatch League Grand Finals, when Blizzard Leisure revealed the brand new tank-class character coming to Overwatch 2 subsequent month.
Ramattra will be a part of the Overwatch 2 roster on Dec. 6, debuting alongside the sport’s second season. He’ll be the sport’s eleventh tank character, and can carry a singular mechanic to the tank group: Ramattra has two types, an ordinary Omnic type and a hulking second type, referred to as Nemesis.
In his normal Omnic type, Ramattra battles utilizing a employees that fires projectiles and may create a barrier to guard his staff. However when Ramattra hulks out, utilizing a capability on a cooldown, he turns into a big brawler able to highly effective melee assaults that can strike concern into “squishies” on the opposing staff. Overwatch builders described Ramattra’s transformation as “scary” and “menacing,” turning him from a reasonably standard-sized hero into one of many recreation’s largest. That become his extra aggressive Nemesis type makes him deadlier, but it surely additionally makes him a a lot greater goal for assaults like Ana’s sleep dart or Zenyatta’s orb of discord.
However Ramattra will provide tank gamers new gameplay alternatives, letting them determine between defending their staff with longer vary assaults and limitations, or aggressively main the cost into battle. His punches, whereas in Nemesis type, can pierce via limitations, lead hero designer Alec Dawson mentioned, offering counters to “bubbles” from heroes like Winston and Zarya.
Blizzard didn’t expose an excessive amount of about Ramattra’s capability package or his stats throughout a press briefing on Thursday, and as a substitute centered on the Omnic’s narrative place in Overwatch’s world.
Based on Blizzard’s official origin story, Ramattra was constructed as a warfare machine for the Omnic Disaster, however he put down his weapons, searching for tranquility alongside Zenyatta. For a time, Ramattra adopted that peaceable path earlier than in the end main Null Sector, and preventing for the survival of his individuals by any means obligatory.
“Omnics and people have tried to coexist, however as you’ve seen within the lore, that has not been going effectively for them,” lead narrative designer Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie mentioned. “Ramattra is uninterested in ready and has grown impatient. He has shaped this group with some allies to struggle for the liberty of the Omnic individuals and win their security at any value.”
Like Kiriko, it feels like Ramattra will roll out to gamers by way of Overwatch 2’s battle go. Gamers who pay for the premium model of that go will get him instantly, whereas different gamers might want to degree up the free model of the go to unlock him. Requested whether or not Blizzard plans to vary the required battle go degree — which was 55 for Kiriko — for Ramattra’s launch, artwork director Dion Rogers deferred, saying that the Overwatch staff is repeatedly evaluating its plans. “It’s a continuing dialog for our staff,” Rogers mentioned.
Ramattra will arrive in season 2 alongside a brand new map, one which builders mentioned has unspecified ties to the brand new hero. Extra heroes, together with a brand new support-class character, are deliberate for Overwatch 2 in 2023.