List of Overwatch characters

Overwatch is an upcoming multiplayer first-person shooter in development by Blizzard Entertainment. The game is character based, meaning at the beginning of each match players must select a preexisting character to take into battle.

The game takes place in a universe where an army of sentient robots waged war against humanity. In the wake of this "Omnic crisis," an elite group of heroes known as Overwatch was formed. The game takes place many years after the crisis' end, where many of Overwatch's operatives became mercenaries.

Playable characters

Bastion

Formerly one of the robots of the opposition, the Bastion line of units were made to reconfigure their shape and use in the midst of battle. Bastion was damaged in some of the last battles of the war, laying dormant surrounded by nature. After years of this, it was somehow reactivated with its base assault programming forgotten, developing a curiosity for the natural world. However, its defenses reactivate upon sensing danger, causing it to be perceived as a threat to any populated areas it encounters, and now favors more desolate places to explore.^[1]

Bastion is a defense character, specializing in protecting objectives. It has the ability to switch between a mobile robotic recon unit and a powerful shielded sentry turret. It may also self-repair, allowing it to heal whenever possible. Its ultimate ability is to transform into a small mobile tank unit, armed with a cannon that can easily take out large groups of enemies.^[2]

D.Va

Hana Song/D.Va was a professional gamer from South Korea when 20 years ago, a massive Omnic rose out of the sea and threatened the East Asian coast. In order to combat the threat, the South Korean government developed a project of heavily armored remote-controlled machines, called MEKA, to protect the humans should the Omnic attack again. However, due to its learning capabilities, the Omnic was able to learn from its previous battles with the humans and become stronger the next time. Eventually the Omnic learned to jam the remote-control communications link, so the government was forced to upgrade them so pilots could operate them. They chose professional gamers to be the pilots, due to their quick reflexes, with Song among the many to be conscripted. D.Va now fights alongside fellow gamers-turned pilots to protect her home, seeing her mission as a game that must be completed at all costs.^[3]

D.Va is a tank character, contributing from her bulking MEKA suit. It is equipped with arm-mounted cannons, rocket boosters, and even a defense mechanism that protects her from incoming attacks. If need be, she can also leave the suit and detonate it to take out enemies. Without the suit, she's armed with a quick-firing handgun; she's also able to call for another MEKA suit in order to continue the fight.^[4]

Genji

Genji is a descendant of the Shimada family, and while he thrives in his ninja training, he loathes his clan's criminal activities. The rest of his clan saw him as a threat to their reputation, but they were quiet because of his father. After his father's death, his older brother Hanzo wanted him to step up his game. Genji's refusal led to a battle of brothers, with Hanzo coming out as the winner. Genji was presumed dead, but with the help of Dr. Angela Ziegler, he recovered in a cyborg body, and became an ninja-agent for Overwatch with the task of dismantling his family's corruption. However, he soon became a threat to himself due to the change, so he left shortly after completing his mission. He came across Omnic monk Zenyatta, who provided him with wisdom to accept himself as both human and machine. Genji now roams the earth, searching for his destiny.^[5]

As an offensive ninja, his weapon of choice are his pair of swords and shuriken, with the smaller sword also able to defect attacks, quickly slice through an unsuspecting opponent. His ninja reflexes and new robotic body also grant him enhanced agility.^[6]

Hanzo

An archer from Japan, Hanzo is another descendant of the Shimada family, who have built a vast criminal empire over the years. After the death of his father, Hanzo was next in line to succeed in taking over the clan. His younger brother, though, was different, and when his brother showed no sign of changing for the benefit of the family, Hanzo was instructed to kill him. Heartbroken from having to do this, Hanzo abandoned the family, and chose to go across the world in hopes of redeeming himself and putting his mind at ease.^[7]

A more skill-based defense character, Hanzo's has three different types of arrows he can loosen. The first is a default with an arch, forcing the player to take into account distance for their aim. The second one is known as the "scatter arrow," which may bounce off surfaces to hit multiple enemies at once, mostly useful in small corridors. The final arrow releases a sonic pulse, showing the location of enemies in the area to the entire team. He may also climb up walls for better shooting angles. His ultimate ability allows him to summon an enormous dragon-like projectile that may travel through walls, killing any enemy that stays in its path for too long.^[8]

Junkrat

Roadhog's partner, Jamison Fawkes was a victim of an attack on Australia's omnium fusion core, which devastated the Outback, turning it into a hellish wasteland. Due to his insanity from the radiation, Jamison (now known as Junkrat) became an explosives-obsessed maniac, and one day discovered a dangerous secret about the omnium that had become such a precious resource in the wastes. Now pursued by all kinds of people, Junkrat made an alliance with Roadhog, who became his loyal bodyguard and friend, and the two are now embarking on an international crime spree.^[9]

Junkrat, through defense tactics, may use a grenade launcher and trigger explosive mines which, when used on himself, allows for great vertical leaps. He also has a beartrap for stopping enemies in their tracks, and a remote-controlled rolling bomb, that may jump and climb walls to reach enemies and destroy defenses. He also leaves behind a small set of explosives when he dies.^[10]

Lúcio

Lúcio was born in a poverty-ridden favela of Rio de Janeiro, its financial instability due to the aftermath of the Omnic Crisis. Hoping to cheer up those around him, he began utilizing his ear for music, eventually growing into a near-legendary musician. When the Vishkar Corporation promised to redevelop Lúcio's city for the better, the population found themselves exploited under totalitarian law and abused as a cheap labor force. Lúcio ended up stealing Vishkar technology and utilizing it to lead a rebellion, eventually freeing his people. He then toured the globe as a world-renowned musician, hoping to make a change for the better via his music.^[11]

Being a support character, Lúcio is more effective aiding his team rather than getting kills and securing objectives. He may run-along walls for mobility, and has two "songs" he can play during a match, one to give allies a speed boost, the other to heal those around him.^[12]

McCree

Once a criminal dealing weapons in the American Southwest, Jesse McCree's gang was eventually captured by Overwatch. However, his outstanding marksmanship skills allowed him the opportunity to join their covert ops team, Blackwatch, and he chose to join them in hopes of making amends for his past sins. As Overwatch's influence began to wane, he left Blackwatch hoping to avoid the inner conflicts of the decrepit organization. He now works as a gun-for-hire, though he only takes jobs if the objective is something he believes in.^[13]

As an offense fighter, McCree's only gun is a revolver, which automatically reloads when he uses a combat roll. He also utilizes a flashbang to stun enemies. His ultimate ability allows him to kill any enemies he is locked onto in one shot, though he must be looking at them without breaking sight for a few seconds.^[14]

Mei

As the world was brought to a new environment of ever-changing climates, Overwatch was tasked to find a cause of this new problem via its scientists. Mei-Ling Zhou was an acclaimed climatologist assigned to the Watchpoint: Antarctica, where a monstrous blizzard cut its residents from the outside world. The scientists were left with only the choice of preservation through cryostasis in order to survive. Mei was the only one who survived, and she found herself in a world where everything she achieved was undone. She now travels the world, seeking the cure to her suffering home. ^[15]

Mei's primary weapon of defense is her research: a small ice blaster that shoots icicles and a stream of concentrated ice that affects her targets to the brink of freezing; the latter can be used on herself, as well, to protect her from damage. She can also project walls made of ice to shield herself and allies from an opponent's sight and attack. Her ultimate ability comes in the form of a drone that shoots out a cold wind and snow into the vicinity. Whoever's around will take damage, and eventually freeze over.^[16]

Mercy

Dr. Angela Ziegler was the brilliant head of surgery at a prestigious hospital in Zürich, making a breakthrough in the world of medicine with her expertise in technology. Overwatch wished to recruit her, though she was reluctant as her parents were killed in the war. Choosing to view it as saving lives on a massive scale rather than being a soldier, she created the Valkyrie swift-response suit, and became Overwatch's head of medical research. After the war, she travelled the world, and is currently helping those whose lives were affected by the conflict, keeping her Valkyrie suit in order to continue defending those in need.^[17]

Mercy is a support character, whose main piece of her arsenal is a staff that can emit a beam to either heal an ally or boost an ally's damage output, though she also has a pistol for self-defense purposes. Her Valkyrie suit allows her to fly across the battlefield to swiftly come to the aid of allies. Her ultimate ability resurrects fallen allies around her.^[18]

Pharah

Rising quickly through the ranks of the Egyptian army, Fareeha Amari dreamed of following in her mother's footsteps and joining Overwatch. However, just before she could enter the global peacekeepers, the organization was disbanded, and Fareeha left the army. She then joined Helix Security International, where she was tasked to don the powerful Raptora Mark VI suit in order to defend an artificial intelligence research facility beneath the Giza Plateau. Though Overwatch is gone, Fareeha, with her new mantle, Pharah, still dreams of one day making a difference on a global scale for peace.^[19]

Designed as an assault/offense character, Pharah's offensive weapons include a rocket launcher and a concussive blast fired from her wrist, which pushes enemies back. She is also equipped with a jetpack to gain a height advantage over enemies, which goes well her ultimate ability that fires a barrage of rockets to her targeted area.^[20]

Reaper

An unknown assailant, Reaper is a terrorist whose attacks across the world show no allegiance towards any nation or cause. His victims are shown to have been drained of life from intense cell degradation. Because of this, it is speculated he is the byproduct of a failed genetic experiment that has caused his cell to simultaneously decay and regenerate at rapid speeds. The only pattern found in his attacks makes it appear that he is hunting former members of Overwatch.^[21]

It has been revealed that his name is Gabriel Reyes, and that he used to belong to Blackwatch, the covert ops team of Overwatch.

Reaper is an offensive character armed with dual-wielding shotguns. He has two movement abilities, one that gives him a speed bonus and makes him temporarily invulnerable (though he cannot fire during this state), and a teleport that can send him anywhere on the map in view. His "Death Blossom" ultimate ability causes massive damage to those around him, though he is very vulnerable while performing this.^[22]

Reinhardt

A prestigious German soldier, Reinhardt Wilhelm was one of the original members of Overwatch, being one of its most vocal supporters and harshest critics, only wishing to assure the institution's success. Forced to retire in his late fifties, he watched from the outside as Overwatch fell. Not wanting the world to once again fall into disarray, he donned his old armor and weaponry and began traveling across Europe, becoming a symbol of hope to all those he has encountered and saved.^[23]

Reinhardt is a tank character, and as such has a massive amount of health, though is quite slow. He mainly uses a hammer, both swinging it as a melee attack and firing projectiles from it for ranged capabilities. He also has a massive shield to defend allies with, and may charge forward to smash enemies into walls. His ultimate ability knocks down all surrounding enemies by slamming his hammer onto the ground.^[24]

Roadhog

Junkrat's partner, Mako Rutledge was outraged, along with many other Outback residents, when the Australian government gifted the robotic omnics large tracts of their land and a large deposit of omnium, hoping to establish peace with their one-time opponents. Mako and many others formed the Australian Liberation Front, hoping to drive the omnics out of their land, eventually triggering an explosion that turned the Outback into a savage wasteland. Mako changed that day, and went on the road as a legendary and ruthless criminal, teaming up with fellow criminal Junkrat on an international crime spree.^[25]

Roadhog is a tank class-character with a shotgun, which has a secondary firing mode that can give it longer range, but won't hit enemies too close. He also has a healing ability and a hook-chain, which can drag far away enemies straight to him. His ultimate ability lets him gain a rapid machine gun, which has a knockback on enemies.^[26]

Soldier: 76

Anonymously making his way across the world while attacking corrupt corporations and institutions, Soldier: 76 is rumored to be a former member of Overwatch, hoping to expose the forces that brought down the organization in the first place. Using his training from the American "soldier enhancement program", he is peak physical condition, along with other augmentations that made him an outstanding soldier.^[27]

It has been revealed he is the former head of Overwatch, Jack Morrison.

Using an assault rifle, Soldier: 76 has a secondary mode on his main weapon that acts as a grenade launcher. He also has a healing field, and his sprint is the only movement ability in the game that has no limit. His ultimate ability automatically locks his weapons onto anyone in his field of view. This all marks him as an offense character.^[28]

Symmetra

With much of Southern India affected by the Omnic Crisis, the Vishkar Corporation began to rebuild the country using new hard-light technology, allowing architects to build entire cities in seconds. Satya Vaswani was shown to be one of the few people able to properly use this technology, and was quickly inducted into Vishkar's architect academy, utilizing the hard-light in innovated ways no one else had thought of. The Vishkar Corporation then gave her the moniker of Symmetra, and sent her across the world to help their corporate initiative, though Symmetra often questions if what she's doing is truly for the greater good.^[29]

As a supporter, she may build small turrets at several locations at once for defensive purposes, and has a gun that may shoot slow-moving yet powerful energy blasts, along with a heatseeking laserbeam. Her ultimate ability creates a teleporter linked to one at her team's spawn, allowing quick movement across great distances for her entire team.^[30]

Torbjörn

A dwarven man from Sweden, Torbjörn Lindholm was one of the world's most intelligent inventors, though he had a large paranoia of sentient machines. When the machines did indeed rebel, he joined Overwatch, and found his technology instrumental in ending the long war. He remained one of Overwatch's most important members until its downfall, though afterwards much of his technology was stolen and used for dastardly purposes. Swearing to right his wrongs, he began quest to stop his inventions and keep anymore of them from falling into the wrong hands.^[31]

Torbjörn is a defense character, and can build one large, stationary turret at a time that laser-focuses on enemies. He may upgrade it and dispense small armor packs to protect allies. He also has a short-ranged but powerful molten gun.^[32]

Tracer

The youngest member of Overwatch's experimental flight program, Lena "Tracer" Oxton's teleporter matrix malfunctioned, and she disappeared. When she somehow came back, she found herself not tied down by the timestream, slipping in and out of the present for large amounts of time. Eventually, the scientist Winston was able to create a device that allowed Tracer to not only stay in the present, but also travel time at will. After Overwatch disbanded, the optimistic fighter teamed up with Winston to continue fighting injustice across the world.^[33]

Tracer, an offensive soldier, is the fastest character in the game, with her movement ability which allows her to quickly dash in any direction. Her dual-wielding pistols allow for quick damage, and she may rewind her timestream to go back to her position a few seconds ago and undo all the damage she sustained, no matter where she is. She may also use her ultimate ability to plant a mine on a spot or enemy, combined with her speed and recall ability to quickly get out of the vicinity.^[34]

Widowmaker

Amélie Lacroix was the wife of esteemed Overwatch agent Gérard Lacroix. After the organization known as Talon attempted to kill him multiple times, they then focused on Amélie. After kidnapping her, they broke her will, brainwashing her into the perfect weapon. When Overwatch finally found her and put her back into her normal life, it was too late, and Amélie killed her husband. She then returned to Talon, where she was further trained and biologically augmented into the assassin known as Widowmaker.^[35]

As a sniper-type defender, Widowmaker excels at killing enemies at long distance, and uses a grappling hook to reach high up crows' nests. Her sniper may also act as a low-power sub-machine gun for close-ranged defense. She can launch small poisonous venom mines for defense that alert her when they are triggered, and her ultimate ability allows her and her allies to see through walls to locate enemy positions.^[36]

Winston

When the human race created a lunar colony as the first step into space exploration, they sent genetically enhanced gorillas up to test the effects of long-term lunar living. One of these gorillas looked up to his scientist caretaker, Dr. Harold Winston, who told him tales of the human race's achievements and heroism. When the gorillas rebelled, Dr. Harold Winston was killed, and the gorilla he cared for took on his name and escaped the others by crafting a homemade rocket to Earth, where he joined Overwatch as one of their most brilliant scientists, eventually going into seclusion after its dissolving.^[37]

Winston utilizes a short-range electric attack against nearby enemies, and has a jump pack for mobility and a large spherical defensive shield for his allies to protect themselves in. His ultimate ability throws him into a primal rage, proving why he's been ranked as a tank and allowing him to attack anyone with a barrage of powerful melee attacks.^[38]

Zarya

Born in a small Siberian village, Alexsandra Zaryanova was exposed to the horrors of the Omnic Crisis's frontline. Training hard in the post-war destruction, Zarya became outstandingly strong through much perseverance. Seen as an up-and-coming star in the athletic world, she was soon a participant in the a world championships, where she was expected to win easily. However, when she got word that her village was under attack on the eve of the tournament, she instantly dropped out and rushed home to fight for her people. She is now a renowned soldier, using her strength to defend those she loves.^[39]

Zarya has a large particle cannon that can fire a laser and shoot an explosive charge for massive damage, hence her tank status. She may also shield herself and her allies in a protective barrier, and she can use her ultimate ability to create a gravity field that entraps her enemies.^[40]

Zenyatta

Zenyatta was an outcast from the omnic robots when some of them experienced a "spiritual awakening". Believing they possessed souls the same as humans, the robots, led by Tekhartha Mondatta, became global celebrities, hoping to spread their ideals of peace and right the wrongs of their robotic ancestors. Zenyatta, however, believed that peace should be achieved through personal connections rather than merely religious teachings, and became a traveling monk, going across the world and helping those he encounters in need.^[41]

Zenyatta may fire a series of spheres at opponents as an attack, and may also charge his main attack to fire multiple spheres at once. His support abilities allow him to send a sphere to an ally to heal them, and a sphere to an enemy to increase damage against them. His ultimate ability makes him invincible and heals allies around him, though he cannot attack during this time.^[42]

References