Overwatch 2 has revealed its newest helpful ninja, Kiriko, a support character who can actually keep up with the Shimada brothers Genji and Hanzo.
It’s been three long, hard years since we had a new support character – so excuse my excitement at seeing one that can CLIMB UP WALLS.
Kiriko fits into the range of ‘battle support’ characters like Moira, Baptiste, and Zenyatta – striving in the thick of the fight. If played well she is capable of slapping out some real damage, all while throwing out her Ofuda healing charms.
The Healing Ofuda is a no slouch when it comes to healing ability, with a reserve of ten charges and firing two at a time to restore health. An interesting quirk is their travel time, meaning a good Kiriko player will need to be mindful of her distance to allies.
To make Kiriko even more mobile, she has an amazing short range teleport in the form of Swift Step. Target allies and teleport to them – even through walls. Used effectively, you can turn an isolated player into a scary pocket as you appear and start blasting out healing power and additional damage pressure.
Coupled with her passive wall climb ability, it’s crazy to think of places Kiriko CAN’T get to.
She also has also a fairly niche, and high skill cap ability in the form of her Protective Suzu – an AoE buff that will render allies invulnerable for a very very short duration. Coupled with a long cooldown, this is going to be an ultra-clutch ability in the hands of true gamers.
Just don’t whiff it, obviously. Your team will likely have a word or two.
Oh, and did I mention her ultimate ability summons a fox spirit to create a haste tunnel for your entire team? Seriously, Kitsune Rush feels like someone took Hazno’s Spirit Dragons and made them into a helping hand. While inside it’s glowing magical zone, everyone will benefit from additional movement speed, attack speed, reload speed, and cooldown reduction. Awesome.
Kiriko is the final character to be unveiled before the full release of Overwatch 2, with the ongoing commitment from Blizzard being that new characters will be added to the game at a regular pace – in case fox ninjas aren’t your style.
Overwatch 2 is releasing on Windows PC and Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch consoles on 5 October.
Are you a Genji main looking to start actually helping your team? Wanna give Kiriko a try? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
