Blizzard reveals Overwatch 2’s new support hero, Kiriko

Overwatch 2’s new hero — the first of three new characters that will be available when Blizzard’s sequel launches in October — is Kiriko, a support-type who blurs the line between damage dealer and healer. Kiriko will be the first character who can be earned through the free-to-play game’s battle pass.

Kiriko was created with Overwatch 2’s new 5v5 team compositions in mind, associate narrative designer Kyungseo Min said in a developer update video revealing the new ninja’s abilities. Kiriko can be described as a single-target, high-mobility hybrid healer. “She is fast,” Min explained, “and she can get to your little skirmishes, which happens a lot more often in 5v5 now, so she’s super effective.”

Qiu Fang is the lead concept artist Overwatch 2, called Kiriko “a battle healer” who gets into the thick of action, jumping in and out of combat. She’s “not a sit-back-and-heal type of hero,” Fang said.

“A lot of DPS players will love her,” Min said. In a separate roundtable interview, Min noted that Kiriko’s design was heavily inspired by a popular Overwatch hero: Genji. “In fact,” Min said, “one of the starting points of this character was [asking], What can be done to create support heroes for DPS players? [who]Like Genji, would you enjoy playing?”

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

But Kiriko’s main role and function in an Overwatch 2The team’s primary purpose is to protect and heal her fellow allies. Her main ability is her Healing Ofuda. This allows her to throw paper talismans that are imbued in healing power and target other allies. This should allow her to quickly help heroes such as Genji or fly teammates like Mercy and Pharah. Supporting that is another ability called Swift Step, which lets Kiriko teleport quickly — and through multiple walls — to close the distance to allies who require healing.

“She plays really well with flanking characters, and mobile characters in general, such as Tracer [or] Genji,” said Piero Herrera, senior hero designer on Overwatch 2. “She’s just going to be able to jump in there and help them out with a cleanse or the invulnerability frames. You can imagine crazy combos to come up because of that interaction.”

Her ability to climb walls gives her more mobility just like Genji, Hanzo and Hanzo.

Kiriko’s secondary ability is her kunai, a blade projectile that she can very quickly throw at enemies. Although her kunai do a lot of damage, they are very fast. Still, critical hits with the kunai deal “a ton of damage,” Fang says. “It’s very powerful in the hands of an accurate player.”

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Kiriko can also grant herself and her allies temporary invulnerability — not unlike fellow support character Baptiste — by throwing her Protection Suzu, a small bell, at them or on the ground. Protection Suzu can save allies from ults like Junkrat’s RIP-Tire or damage from a Bastion blasting in turret mode. The bell will also cleanse allies of debuffs like Ana’s Biotic Grenade or Junker Queen’s Rampage.

But Protection Suzu comes with a lengthy cooldown — currently 14 seconds — so players will have to use it wisely.

Kiriko’s ultimate ability, Kitsune Rush, summons the spirit fox and ghostly torii gates that Blizzard has been teasing for more than a month now. Kitsune Rush is a “huge buff” that gives Kiriko and allies “a ton of movement speed, attack speed, reload speed, and cooldown reduction.” It’s very, very powerful, Fang said, and great for initiating an attack on an objective.

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Kiriko’s design derives from a character that Blizzard originally created for Overwatch 2’s PvE component. Her original weapon was a huge, fidget spinner-inspired throwing stick. She had an older, more traditional appearance. Blizzard merged this with the Shinto shrine maiden-inspired miko dress and contemporary streetwear aesthetics.

Narratively, Kiriko is a young woman who hails from Kanezaka — one of Overwatch’s existing maps — and was raised by a “fierce ninja” of a mother, who also trained Genji and Hanzo. Kiriko was raised in a Shimada household and had a long history of fighting with Genji at Hanamura arcades. Min described Kiriko as “a close family friend” of the Shimada brothers, but said that they also think of her “as a cute little niece.” But she’ll apparently redirect any disrespect or sass sent her way, and not just from the Shimada brothers.

“She has this sort of drive-by humor that she does for everyone,” Min said. “I’m really excited for everyone to see sort of, like, how she interacts conversationally with [other heroes]. And regarding her abilities, there’s a ton of reactivity as far as, if she heals the Shimada brothers, she’ll definitely take a dig, because, you know, she expects better [of them]. She’s super funny in a very tongue-in-cheek way.”

When Kiriko is in action, players will be able to witness her. Overwatch 2October 4th, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 are available for purchase on Windows PCs, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5.