A lot of Overwatch fans had an expectation that the next hero going to be announced for Season 2 would be Mauga – especially since it was confirmed long ago that the new hero would be a tank. But you shouldn’t be disappointed because the new hero 36, Ramattra, is as badass (if not more) than Mauga and while Blizzard has not released the official gameplay video yet with his abilities, we’ve got good enough information from the developers (and the in-game screenshots circling around the web) on his abilities, roles, and origin.
If you still remember, there is this masked, omnic figure being revealed at the end of the Storm Rising event animation back in 2019 – who apparently is the leader of Null Sector, an omnic extremist/terrorist group fighting for the omnic rights with violent methods. So yes, it is that same figure that we all get to play next, and soon.
Here is Ramattra’s Origin Story trailer:
During the media interview with the Overwatch team, Alec Dawson (Lead Hero Designer), Dion Rogers (Art Director), and Gavin Jurgens Fyhrie (Lead/Principal Narrative Designer) a couple of days before the new hero was revealed during the Overwatch League 2022, we all had a good grasp about Ramattra (and kept the secret until the reveal). The Overwatch team did say that designing a new hero and seeing him or her in the live game can take years – which is why we already saw Ramattra back in 2019 (and the team had most likely had him designed and developed to be played at some point).
Ramattra – Overwatch Hero 36
Similar to Bastion, Ramattra has two forms that you can switch (using the SHIFT ability) to: from Omnic to Nemesis – and they both have different abilities and uses. From the screenshots, this looks like an ability that has a cooldown so he’ll switch back to the Omnic form after some time has passed (like Bastion’s tank configuration).
The design for Ramattra is that he is a tank that can be useful for poking and protecting your teammates (he’ll use his staff that shoots projectiles) in the Omnic form, but can switch to the more menacing Nemesis form to get up close and personal for attacking the enemies. In his bigger, more menacing Nemesis form (which you can see from far away), he’ll throw big punches to lay waste to the enemy team. Having a Lucio in your team will benefit him like playing Reinhardt.
In the Omnic form, from the screenshots we see circling around the web, he has 450 health and can throw some kind of a vortex barrier. It’s not clear what happens to the enemies inside this barrier – I don’t think it will trap them inside as it’s against the philosophy of Overwatch 2 design. I’d say it traps all incoming projectiles within that barrier and it’s tall enough that it can reach for the sky (to block Echo and Pharah). There’s also a possibility that the ability might drop all flying enemies to the ground (as the ability icon has a down arrow) – but this is just speculation at the moment. It is also possible that this ability keeps all enemies on the ground which includes Tracer not being able to blink and recall, or Reaper not being able to go to his wraith form (this is my own speculation by the way – as you can see Echo, Pharah, and Tracer being included in the screenshot).
In Nemesis form, he seems to also have that same Vortex barrier ability but he now has an extra 150 armour on top of his health (600 health in total). There is a new Block/Guard ability where he covers his face a la Doomfist.
It’s unclear if this totally blocks all damage but I’d say it’s probably more like an Orisa or Doomfist abilities that reduce incoming damage, making him tankier and well, being a tank. And in Nemesis form, the developers said you don’t want to be standing next to him as he’ll throw his mega punches on your face and they hurt.
How about his ultimate ability? The Overwatch team didn’t say what it does unfortunately but they did confirm that he only has one ultimate ability. If you trigger the ultimate while he’s in Omnic form, he will also transform to the Nemesis form automatically. So I guess it’s something that he can do in the Nemesis form – maybe some really powerful punches?
I also get to ask some questions during the media interview with the Overwatch 2 team and here are my questions:
[Q] Has there been a discussion on what would be the maximum hero limit/pool in Overwatch 2? i.e when you should stop adding new heroes.
So far, there is no limit being discussed and they want more heroes to be added to the Overwatch 2. I think it’s good but I get scared if they add too many heroes, it will scare new players away. I had this same feel when I jumped into DOTA 2 the first time. There were so many heroes to choose from and when I played, so many unknown heroes I met in the game – and usually got surprised by what he/she could do, and I ended up dying. But for Overwatch players, more heroes are always better and new players play first with limited sets of heroes, so this sounds achievable in Overwatch 2.
[Q] As you add a new hero, you have to record new voicelines for the interactions. Are the voice actors signed up “for life”?
According to the team, these voice actors/actresses are like family to them so they always like to keep in touch with one another (not just for business reasons for sure). The team are constantly working with them and I guess each time you add a new hero, imagine the work needed to record all the new interactions with the other characters (which is called “match conversations” internally by the team).
[Q] What’s the next Mythic skin planned? Will there be a Cassidy one where the in-game time of day turn to noon with the sun moving above when he’s High Noon-ing?
The team seemed to be excited about this idea (so if you really see this in the game, you know who was behind the idea, hey?). They didn’t exactly answer the question about what Mythic Skin is planned next, but they do want the skin coming to every Overwatch 2 hero. It’s more like exploring a fantasy idea (rather than just customisations) and making it into reality. I guess this takes time as it’s not just a matter of creating a better-than-Legendary skins – it’s the idea and exploring how it works, plus if it’s exciting enough.
The new hero, Ramattra will be available in Overwatch 2 Season 2, coming on December 6. And for Overwatch 1 players, this is also the first season where you have to unlock the new hero before being able to play him. He will be available on Tier 55 to be unlocked, but you can play him straight away if you purchase the Battle Pass Premium next season.
