After a few weeks gestating on the Overwatch PTR, the newest hero joining the Overwatch roster, Orisa, went live today. She's a new tank character with defensive measures, buffs and debuffs, and a long-range cannon. Here's a breakdown of all her abilities, and how we think they'll be used.
Fusion Driver
"Orisa’s automatic projectile cannon delivers sustained damage, but slows her movement while she fires it."
This is a rapid-fire arm-mounted gun with three barrels and what looks like a pretty low spread. It seems similar to D.Va's gun, in that Orisa also slows down while firing, but it's definitely more precise. So it seems like she'll be another big, slow firehose of damage trying to keep her sights trained on more nimble characters as they bounce around. Orisa has no special movement abilities, so depending on how fast she is, she may have to rely on good aim to keep Tracers and Genjis from running circles around her.
Our thoughts after testing it: This is a powerful weapon! It feels Bastion-like with its damage and range, even, and holds 150 bullets. It deals 12 damage per shot, at a rate of 12 shots per second, which means it depletes in about 12 seconds of sustained fire before a reload of 2.5 seconds. It's a projectile-based weapon (not hitscan) so it behaves more like Mercy's pistol than Soldier: 76's rifle. And though Orisa doesn't have any special movement abilities, she jogs around pretty quickly for a tank.
Halt!
"Orisa launches a graviton charge which she can detonate, slowing nearby enemies and pulling them towards the explosion."
This ability is similar to Zarya's ult, except there's no duration to it. The energy ball, which she can detonate at will, sucks in every enemy near it, and then immediately releases them. Depending on its range, it's seems pretty powerful. Coordinated teams will pair it with any ult that benefits from bunched up enemies, or a Reinhardt charge or ult. Orisa also may be able to pull players off ledges with it, though that isn't shown in the demonstration.
Our thoughts after testing it: This is a quality ability. Even if it only bunches up enemies for a second, that's plenty of time to spray them down with bullets, and also gives teammates a chance to lay into them—Junkrats and Pharahs will especially enjoy teaming up with an Orisa, we imagine. It may also be used to pull enemies off a point, and if timed well, over the edge of the map. The cooldown is only eight seconds.
Fortify
"Orisa temporarily reduces damage she takes, and cannot be affected by action-impairing effects."
A basic self armor buff gets interesting in the second half of the sentence. In the demonstration, Orisa becomes completely immune to Reinhardt's ult, walking right through his knock-down strike. This immunity applies to sleep darts and other crowd control abilities, as well. Fortify reduces damage taken by 50 percent (the same as Ana's Nano Boost). It seems like using Fortify at opportune moments will contribute greatly to Orisa's survivability, as she has a health pool of only 400 points (though 200 of that is armor).
Our thoughts after testing it: The bots didn't pose much of a challenge with or without this buff. From what we can tell she can absorb any incoming effect outside of damage when it's active, so she could brush off a Roadhog hook, for instance. We assume the immunity applies to Lucio and Pharah boops and maybe even a Zarya ult, but haven't been able to test every scenario yet, so don't take our word on that at this point. The buff lasts 4 seconds, followed by a 10 second cooldown.
Protective Barrier
"Orisa throws out a stationary barrier that can protect her and her allies from enemy fire."
Yet another barrier! It looks like a large, stationary version of Reinhardt's shield—somewhat like a combination between Symmetra's projected Photon Barrier and Winston's Barrier Projector. Orisa's barrier has 900 health, which means it takes three rockets from Pharah to crack, and a total of eight to be destroyed. If its health holds out, the barrier lasts 20 seconds.
Our thoughts after testing it: It's clearly useful, if unexciting, and helps make Orisa an alternative to Reinhardt as a core defensive tank. The cooldown is 12 seconds, and only one shield can be active at a time. The cooldown starts from the moment the ability is used, not when the barrier is destroyed.
Supercharger
"Orisa deploys a device to increase damage inflicted by allies within her line of sight."
Orisa's ult has her plop down a little cylinder that shoots beams into herself and nearby allies, buffing their damage like a little Mercy bot. It's sort of a boring ultimate, but could be very effective if she catches a bunch of teammates in a defensive firefight. It increases damage dealt by 50 percent (the same as Ana's Nano Boost) to allies within a 25 meter radius, and lasts 15 seconds. The Supercharger itself has 200 health.
Our thoughts after testing it: Yep, still pretty boring compared to ults like Rocket Barrage and Self-Destruct which put the power exclusively in your hands. But it is effective, especially if everyone's bunched around a point or payload.
