‘Overwatch 2’ unveils Ramattra, its newest tank hero

Blizzard has revealed the newest hero to join the Overwatch 2 roster – tank hero Ramattra.

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Ramattra was announced during the Overwatch League Grand Finals, and Blizzard has released a short origin story video for its newest hero, which is available below.

Overwatch 2’s newest tank hero will be joining the roster at the beginning of season two, which begins on December 6. While they provided no exact details as to when we’ll hear more, Blizzard has promised to provide more information about Ramattra in the weeks leading up to season two.

Speaking during a media roundtable (via IGN), Overwatch 2 hero designer Alec Dawson shared some early information about how the newest hero will play. According to Dawson, Ramattra will apparently have two forms that players can switch between during combat.

“He does have two forms,” said Dawson. “He has an Omnic form and his Nemesis form. Part of the skill we’re testing is when to switch between those forms. Because the Omnic form, you’re playing this poke game, you’re protecting your team, a little bit at range. And then the Nemesis form you’re rushing down the enemies, you’re charging in there and you have these punches.”

While we don’t have any gameplay to go by as yet, we do have some insight into his backstory. In a blog post on the Overwatch website, Blizzard described Ramattra as having a “complex and multifaceted” story, with an ultimate goal to “protect his people—but the cost of that goal is still to be determined.”

In the lore, Ramattra is a former war machine, who has “shed his munitions for a shield” in order to help protect his people by promoting peace and tranquility. Given that he’ll be joining the team to cause chaos, it seems his peaceful ambitions have been somewhat frustrated. Indeed, Ramattra has apparently begun to take a more “pragmatic angle” to his convictions, and has decided to use any means necessary in order to defend his fellow omnics.

As a fellow Shambli monk, Ramattra initially seems similar to the support hero Zenyatta, one of the game’s original heroes. However, Blizzard states that “Ramattra’s story is one of hardships, trauma, and a magnified view of humanity’s harsh realities.”

In other gaming news, Final Fantasy 16 director Naoki Yoshida has defended the lack of diversity in the game.