Overwatch has seen a surge in popularity even before it released. It’s free open beta had maxed out at 9.7 million participants, an unprecedented feat in the gaming industry. The main reason as to why Overwatch became so popular was that it provided a break from other mainstream shooters like Call of Duty and Battlefield, while combining elements of class-oriented games such as League of Legends and Team Fortress 2, creating a class-based team shooter, a unique category that hasn’t been seen before. Blizzard, the creator of Overwatch, constantly updates features of the game and eve introduces new characters that give players the chance to explore different classes.
Overwatch has released a new hero on the Public Test Region, or PTR, named Orisa, an “anchoring tank” that provides more of a defensive enforcement for the entire team. Her abilities consist of buffing and protecting her teammates in turns. Orisa uses a killer gun that has extreme range, but in a close-combat situation, she is pretty easy to take down. Although she is strong, Orisa cannot single-tank for her team and is dependent on her team for support. Orisa’a release shows that Blizzard wants to make Overwatch into more of a team-oriented game than what is now.
Although Orisa is available on PTR, she is still open to being nerfed or buffed, depending on how she is received by the testing population. So far, many testers have seen similarities between Orisa’s kit and Zarya’s. Her “fusion driver” gun is a long range weapon that is relatively easy to aim at long range. The damage from the gun is also pretty high, almost comparable to Bastion. “Fortify” gives Orisa temporary armor that reduces incoming damage. She can also setup a 900-HP protective barrier that shields her allies from enemy fire. Orisa’s secondary fire “Halt” is a smaller version of Zarya’s “graviton surge” that is readily available after seven seconds. Orisa throws a projectile that “sucks in” surrounding enemies and slows them.
Orisa’s “Halt” ability is very interesting in that it gives the team a much-needed crowd control effect that groups the enemy team, making it very easy to burst the enemy team down and pushing on to victory. It could be useful in a multitude of situations. When facing campers, it serves an unexpected pull that completely catches the enemy team off guard. “Halt” could also be useful for dealing with hard-to-reach snipers by pulling them from the rooftops. The only known counter to “Halt” is Reinhardt’s shield as Orisa can’t pull heroes through it.
Orisa’s ultimate is a “supercharger” that buffs team damage. With its incredible range, it provides a clear advantage for the team. The only way to deny the team buff is by destroying the physical supercharger. Orisa’s kit pushes the user to play more defensively, especially on defensive maps. The combination of long-range attacks and various abilities that buff and shield allies makes Orisa a great asset to the team.
Many people would make the mistake of playing Orisa like a flanking-DPS because of her high-damage attacks and crowd-control that allows for a much greater DPS to the entire enemy team. But the mistake that these users would make is that they wouldn’t be able to escape any crowd-control that the enemy team has. Without a movement ability, Orisa does not stand a chance at surviving. But, Orisa does offer a new meta of a high-damage team-oriented tank.
Featured Image via Wikimedia
