Watch: We test out new Overwatch hero Orisa
Tanks very much.
Poor Team Eurogamer. We'd all just packed off down the pub to celebrate a well-fought Breath of the Wild embargo day, ready to smash some lovely beers, when Jeff Kaplan had the absolute gall to choose that precise moment to launch the new tank hero on the Overwatch PTR. We were not best pleased, let me tell you.
Because it's Jeff, and Bratt would be upset if ever a bad word was said against him, we decided to go easy this time. Chris and I rushed to our respective personal computers and recorded our very first impressions of Orisa, which you can watch below. I was initially very underwhelmed, to be honest, but upon closer inspection her skillset is definitely one I can see more imaginative players having a lot of fun with.
Her regular attack, the Fusion Driver, is a long-range rifle fire, which apparently gives her the longest range of any tank in the game now, although her movement is slowed while using it. Her alt-fire, a move called Halt! throws a Graviton Charge that pulls enemies towards it upon detonation. Her Protective Barrier is a throwable shield that, although only able to soak up half the damage that Reinhardt's shield can, can be deployed from afar and be left alone by Orisa once placed, meaning she can continue the fight while protecting allies. Her other ability, Fortify, reduces damage taken and means that she can't be 'booped' or shoved back by certain Ults or abilites. Wonder if it has the mettle to stand up against the likes of D.Va's Self-Destruct? Orisa's Ultimate, Supercharger, boosts the damage output of all allies within line of sight, but it can be destroyed by the enemy team. It seemed a bit boring to us. Still though, it'll be interesting to see how the community take to her.
She certainly seems like she could be useful, but going by her skins, voice lines and the like, she's a bit lacking in the personality department to me. What do you think?
If you're just catching up, Eurogamer's sister site Metabomb has an Orisa guide detailing everything in today's announcement.