Overwatch 2’s New Hero Kiriko Has Arrived!
| Tags: Overwatch
| Author Paul Goño
Blizzard finally confirms their latest Overwatch 2 heroine: Kiriko. Check out everything 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 to release a hero for all three categories (Sojourn for Offense, Junker Queen for Tank, and Kiriko for Support.) Expectations are also high for the new-age ninja after Blizzard said they would put more care and focus into the Support category going forward.
Overwatch 2 Kiriko Abilities
From what we can connect between leaks and what the “Introducing KIRIKO” video confirms, it appears that she is well-connected with the Shimadas and has received training of her own. She's a spunky trendsetter looking to blend veritable tradition and modern progress together, and the voice line heard in the trailer suggests familiarity between her and the two scions of the criminal clan. As confirmed in the video's description, she also shares wall-climbing abilities with Hanzo and Genji. Though in terms of hero abilities, that's where similarities end.
Similar to Moira's game mechanics, the way Kiriko wields her trust kunai and her healing talismans suggest that we'll get another alt-mouse heal/attack playstyle from her. Although the respective reload and recovery durations are unknown, the other skills on her kit will require one to have good skill and a dependable sense of discipline when you pick her on character selection.
Kiriko controls the flow of battle by ensuring her team's survivability during critical moments. In the trailer, we're shown that she not only lays down an AOE ability that marks nearby allies with short-term invulnerability that travels WITH them (similar to Baptiste's), but her ultimate ability also unleashes her Kitsune, which lays a path of spectral Torii gates that buff your allies!
Oh, and she also teleports through walls. Positioning won't be much of a problem for Kiriko, as one of the abilities showcased in her hero video allowed her to teleport through a thin wooden wall in the deathmatch map “Kanezaka”. This has a considerable casting time, so people wanting to use her effectively will still find a bit of a high skill ceiling.
As to where she got her knowledge of mystical healing abilities, it still remains a mystery. Many speculate that her spirit fox plays a big part in her backstory and how she came about her powers. The reveals to come about her character are intriguing and not only serve as a welcome addition that builds on the more mystical side of the lore, but also lets enjoyers of Overwatch's continual story look forward to another fun and relatable hero in the mythos.
Her invulnerability AOE provides close allies a small, yet much-needed window of opportunity, especially in the on-going dive meta. Severely lacking in offensive capabilities, players will have to be smart with their engagements. With that said, one could see her playing close behind agile hard-hitters like Genji or Sojourn, providing immediate healing to counter chunks of momentum-killing damage.
This announcement comes in part of Overwatch 2's plan to implement a free and premium battlepass, both of which will reward players the new heroes. On top of that, players paying for the monthly premium will be able to unlock upcoming playable characters immediately. This has created much discussion and criticism amongst the community, but such changes are to be expected when big titles go free-to-play.
All this and more will be available for players to try once Overwatch 2 comes out free-to-play on October 4, 2022, with Kiriko being free to Overwatch 1 owners or those who purchase the new Battle Pass.