After a recent tease on Twitter, Overwatch‘s Hero 30 was announced. Baptiste, a combat medic will soon join the popular game’s live servers, as he is currently only in the PTR. Baptiste’s backstory is one of hardship, falling in with Talon after being orphaned during the Omnic War. While the video backstory was enough to pump up the fanbase, it left questions as to what kind of kit the new support character would possess. Fans were not left long in the dark, as Overwatch‘s behind-the-scenes hero, Jeff Kaplan, has already put out a Developer Update detailing Hero 30’s abilities and loadout.
Kaplan begins discussing the reasoning for bringing in a support character with Baptiste, rather than another damage or tank character, like Ashe or Wrecking Ball. “We felt like there was room for a lot more choice and exploration in the support category.” Kaplan then dives into the backstory of Baptiste, explaining his motives for joining and subsequently leaving Talon. After the background information, Kaplan dives into the good stuff: Baptiste’s kit and abilities.
Baptiste will wield a weapon called the Medic SMG, which will feature a three-round, mid-range burst shot as the primary fire. The gun’s alternate fire will be a Biotic Launcher, firing healing grenades much like Ana’s Biotic Grenade ability. Kaplan does not mention that it will prevent enemies from healing should they get caught in the splash radius, only that it will heal teammates in range. He does mention, however, that the Biotic Launcher grenades will not heal Baptiste himself, which is where his first ability comes in handy.
Baptiste’s first ability, Regenerative Burst, will be a “point-blank heal over time,” affecting all teammates in the area, including Baptiste himself. His second ability, Immortality Field, will create a cylinder wall around a fixed point. Inside the confines of the area, Baptiste and teammates will not drop past a certain percentage of their health, effectively giving them immortality for the duration of the ability. Kaplan makes note of a few key points for this ability. The field will allow teammate’s health to drop fairly low, making them very easy to finish off once the ability ends, and the Immortality Field can be brought down by the enemy team by destroying the device laid in the center of the field.
Before discussing Baptiste’s ultimate ability, Kaplan reveals a passive ability made possible by Baptiste’s Exo Boots. Crouching with the hero will begin to build a jump meter, and pressing the jump button will cause Baptiste to launch into the air with height depending on how long he was crouched for. Kaplan says this will not only help disengage enemies but also to more easily use support abilities like the Biotic Launcher to heal teammates from high in the air.
Finally, Baptiste’s Ult, Amplification Matrix, will allow him to place a see-through wall, much like how Mei places her Ice Wall. All teammates shooting through the matrix will gain a significant damage boost, allowing for a quick takedown of the enemy team if placed correctly. “Now where it gets really exciting is if you have an Orisa on your team and a Mercy on your team, and maybe even an Ana who’s doing a Nano Boost on your team… All of that damage sort of stacks,” claims Kaplan.
Kaplan believes that Baptiste will be used as a main healer, citing his own team’s tendency to use him as such during testing. Currently, Baptiste is available in the PTR on PC, but no word on when exactly he will reach the live servers, though Kaplan says, “he will be coming very soon to PC and console.”