Activision has finally shared official and complete details on Kiriko Kamori’s character concept and playstyle for Overwatch 2.
As tweeted by the Overwatch account, Kiriko’s dual training as a Miko, or shrine maiden, and as a kunoichi, reflect the dual identities she inherited from her mother and grandmother. She worked hard to become good at both, and so both of these roles come into play in the game itself.
Kiriko was somewhat unusual as her character concept art immediately inspired her play style. Originally planned as a PvE enemy, she has now been designed to be a damage/support hero with a high skill ceiling. If you’re a beginner, she’s a good choice to just play as a healer, but if you’re a high-level player you will want to explore how to utilize her mobility to make her a useful DPS.
Kiriko’s primary projectile is Healing Ofuda. These are the talismans you will see flying towards yourself and your allies. The longer Kiriko prepares them, the more they can heal, and the farther away she is from her teammates, the longer it takes to finish healing.
Her second projectile are her Kunai. These are the signature small knives ninja use in popular media. While Kiriko’s kunai are low damage, they can also strike with critical damage. Effective use of the kunai is what will separate the beginners looking for an easy time from the high-level players.
Her passive ability is Wall Climb, sharing this trait with Hanzo and Genji.
Swift Step is Kiriko’s teleport, and it requires you to designate a target, but it will work through walls. If you choose an ally you immediately go to them, allowing you to heal teammates stuck in a bad spot. Of course, this can be a risky proposition as she may be jumping into the line of fire.
Protection Suzu clearly looks like it was originally a smoke bomb attack. As it appears now, Kiriko throws out a small bell that has a buffer area of effect (AOE). All allies within that AOE makes them briefly invincible and also removes any negative status effects they may have. Given the obvious imbalance of this ability, it also has a cooldown period. Enemy players can anticipate when Kiriko players might use the ability.
Finally, Kiriko’s ultimate ability is Kitsune Rush. She summons a fox that opens a path for her teammates to follow. When they do, the pathway increases their movement speed, rate of fire, and speeds up cooldowns. To earn these buffs, her teammates need to be within the gateways that the fox opens up. If you step off the path, you lose the buffs.
You can actually go back to her original reveal trailer and recognize that Kiriko demonstrates all of these abilities. You can look forward to playing as her or against her when Overwatch 2 launches.
Overwatch 2 will be released free-to-play on October 4, 2022, on Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Nintendo Switch.
Source: PlayOverwatch
