Whispers of a leader based astir the cunning and mischievous fox spirit, oregon kitsune, person been swirling successful the Overwatch community for years. Developers person sprinkled beardown hints passim Overwatch 2’s betas astir the imaginable inclusion of different Japanese hero, and present it’s yet clip for the protector of Kanezaka to officially marque her debut.

Kiriko, a young pistillate who trained alongside Hanzo and Genji Shimada and carries the powerfulness of the fox tone into battle, volition beryllium Overwatch 2’s adjacent hero.

She’ll beryllium the archetypal enactment leader released successful the crippled successful over 3 years and brings with her an highly almighty kit based astir mobility and team-wide buffs. 

Related: Introducing Esperança, Overwatch 2’s newest Push map

A protector of the shrine successful Kanezaka similar her grandma earlier her, Kiriko uses the fox tone to facilitate mobility and powerfulness for her team. Her mother, a storied ninja who trained the Shimada brothers, instilled successful her a warring spirit. Kiriko has banded unneurotic with a radical of teens who telephone themselves the Yokai to support Kanezaka assemblage members threatened by the Hashimoto, an evil clan that moved successful aft the Shimada clan disbanded. 

Players who already person Overwatch volition person Kiriko unlocked for escaped erstwhile Overwatch 2 launches successful aboriginal entree connected Oct. 4 arsenic agelong arsenic they log successful earlier the archetypal nine-week play is up.

She’ll beryllium instantly unlocked if a premium Season One conflict walk is purchased; otherwise, caller Overwatch players volition person to unlock her done the escaped pass.

All Kiriko Abilities successful Overwatch 2 

Developers picture Kiriko arsenic a “single-target hybrid healer” that tin get into a skirmish and assistance retired successful immoderate mode possible. Her almighty kit reflects this part betwixt healing and dealing damage. 

Primary Fire: Healing Ofuda 

Kiriko is capable to people allies and propulsion ofuda–paper talismans imbued with powers–in their absorption to heal them. This is simply a bid of 5 projectiles that volition hone successful connected an ally. The Healing Ofuda is simply a precise slow-moving ability, truthful there’s an accidental for players to propulsion them up of clip if they expect damage.  

Secondary Fire: Kunai 

Not contented with sitting backmost and letting everyone other person the fun, Kiriko throws kunai with her secondary occurrence to woody damage. They’re precise accelerated and inflict much harm erstwhile they deed critically, making the quality much invaluable to players who are utilized to aiming projectiles.  

Swift Step 

Kiriko’s main question quality is the Swift Step, which allows her to people a azygous ally–in the vein of Mercy’s Guardian Angel ability–and teleport to them instantly. This teleport tin adjacent spell done walls, making it invaluable erstwhile trying to drawback up with a squad oregon prevention allies from a skirmish elsewhere connected the map. 

Protection Suzu 

Possibly Kiriko’s astir invaluable ability, the Protection Suzu is simply a tiny “bell” that tin beryllium thrown connected the crushed oregon into allies that gives a abbreviated burst of immortality and cleanses each debuffs.

Though different abilities (like Zarya’s barriers) tin cleanse definite debuffs; this is the archetypal quality successful Overwatch that tin adjacent afloat region Ultimate-based debuffs. In a property conference, developers confirmed this cleanse includes effects from Reinhardt’s Earthshatter and Sombra’s EMP. Protection Suzu volition besides region mean debuffs, similar Ashe’s Dynamite occurrence damage, Ana’s Sleep Dart and anti-heal grenades, and more. 

It reportedly has a agelong cooldown, though, truthful players volition person to beryllium mindful of erstwhile and wherever to formed it.     

Ultimate: Kitsune Rush 

This vibrant ocular ultimate–which was teased successful 1 of the Overwatch 2 trailers–sees Kiriko formed a “path” that gives monolithic buffs to teammates. According to the Developer Update, Kitsune Rush gives allies “movement speed, onslaught speed, reload speed,” and a cooldown reduction.

For example, an state Ana deed by Kitsune Rush would spot her cooldowns for Healing Grenade and Sleep Dart reduced dramatically, making those abilities disposable sooner. 

This seems to beryllium a fantastic quality for rushing successful and engaging fights, making it much of an violative enactment eventual successful the vein of Brigitte’s Rally and little of a antiaircraft 1 similar Zenyatta’s Transcendence. 

As a passive ability, Kiriko tin besides ascent walls the aforesaid mode Genji and Hanzo can.

All of this sounds incredibly almighty for a enactment hero, but developers are alert of the overpowered imaginable of her kit and are moving hard to equilibrium it. 

In a property conference, Hero Designer Piero Herrera said that the invulnerability of her Protection Suzu is 1 of the things they’re “certainly watching for” successful playtests. 

“We person processes successful spot to marque definite we tin execute equilibrium adjacent aft she’s released, successful the archetypal mates of weeks,” helium said. “She’s packed up with a batch of inferior but I deliberation we nailed the equilibrium truly well.”

Kiriko volition beryllium disposable from Oct. 4 erstwhile Overwatch 2 launches successful aboriginal access.