So who remembers when this picture was circulating everywhere? Her name is Efi Oladele and it was confirmed by Michael Chu, lead writer, that she is currently 11 years old in the Overwatch present day. This meant it was probably unlikely that she would be the next playable overwatch hero, unless of course she has a mech like D.Va or a set up like that. To fortify this were told that she was an 11-year-old robotics and artificial intelligence genius and will be important to the next Overwatch roster addition story. Thus meaning she isn't the new hero just a part of the story of the upcoming hero. So who is the new hero? A community post in Overwatch that leaked on January 9th (much before this Efi announcement) stated that the next hero was not in fact Doomfist and is a female omnic quadruped codenamed ‘Anchora.’

So of course theories surfaced and came all the way back to some of the original concept art, in which people predicted that this may be the new hero. More so after the announcement that this new character (Efi) is not the new hero. However the theories about this were disproven when we finally get our long awaited hero reveal. ‘Built from parts of one of Numbani's short-lived OR15 defence robots, Orisa is the city's newest protector, though she still has much to learn.’ To explain further, these OR15 defence robots were designed to protect the citizens of Numbani from potential threats (mainly Doomfist) twenty years after the Omnic Crisis. However they were all defeated in a fight against Doomfist in the Numbani airport. As a result of this the government sold off the remaining units. The 11-year-old genius Efi Oladele purchased a decommissioned unit and created Orisa. An upgraded version of these designed as a singular unit to represent what the originals were supposed to do for her city.

Now we know who Orisa is here, let’s take a look at her. Actually before that any of my fellow Hearthstone or WoW fans notice the ever so slight Gormok resemblance? Nope? You sure?????? ...... Guess it’s just me then.

Orisas primary weapon is known as ‘Fusion Driver.’ This is a gun with a high rate of fire that holds 150 rounds. It originally held 200 rounds but from feedback from people within the PTR said this was too much and it needed a nerf. It provides medium damage and is pretty accurate even at range. The downside is that her movement is slowed slightly while firing, similar to D.Va and of course Heavy from Team Fortress 2. Note that unlike those characters Orisa’s gun does not fire hitscan bullets. For those unaware, any bullet in Overwatch without travel time is a hitscan weapon, this includes McCree, Reaper and my main man Soldier 76. Orisa's is a stream of projectiles, so much like Pharah you’ll find yourself leading your fire a little when at longer ranges. The alternate seeds shoot a miniature gravity pulse that you can detonate by hitting the same alt-fire button. Detonating it sucks enemies nearby, this means you can pull off moves like moving enemies from cover, into hazards or out of a position where they have an advantage.

Her main ability is the deployable barrier. It can be thrown from a decent distance away and is a half circle shaped barrier which you (and your team) can use for cover. Once placed it can’t be moved, it has 900HP and acts just like Winston or Reinhardt’s barrier. Meaning Reinhardt’s fire strike will go through it, but not much else. You have 12 seconds cooldown before you can send out another. Its health is shown on your display similar to Reinhardt with his shield and it cracks when it has less than half of its health left. Be warned that due to its shape you may be vulnerable to assault from the air or higher ground. Placement of this shield will be key, at good vantage points and high ground. Though don't feel afraid to place it in a situation which could save a player on your team's life.

Orisa has another ability, this one she can use to fortify herself. It avoids all crowd-control effects and she will gain a golden glow for five seconds on use. She also takes less damage while active. It recharges 10 seconds after use, you know it's active because she will hold her left arm up like in the picture above. Stuns, sleep darts, movement slowing, things that will bounce her around and disposition her, that doesn't do anything to this tank while active. She becomes a literal tank and allows you to take more risks in situations you may not with a different tank. Walking out of Zarya's legendary Graviton surge is no easy feat, and fits this new tank well.

Lastly we have the ultimate. 'Supercharger,' when ready will have Orisa take the device off her back and set it down where she's standing. It will provide all team members within 20-30ish meters a damage boost (don't quote me on that range estimation). Similar in a way to mercys damage boost. This will be the hardest thing to master, positioning is the key here. You need to make the most value out of it that you can, but you can't just place it out in the middle of a team fight because it can be destroyed. The device needs to be in line-of-sight of the team members to give them the boost as well, adding to the difficulty of mastering this ultimate. Much like the primary weapon change, this ability was also slightly modified due to PTR feedback, the charge time is now 15% more than it was previously. The device, which by the the way is basically a bongo drum will last for around 10 seconds, of course less if the enemy team destroys it.

Yeh it's definitely a drum. For more information on Orisa and her story view her page on the official Overwatch site here - https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/orisa/

As always feel free to comment your thoughts on the upcoming hero, see you on the battlefield.