At their annual convention Blizzcon, which took place over the weekend, Blizzard released details of Overwatch’s latest playable hero, Moira, along with a teaser trailer showing her in action. Here’s what we know so far:
Moira is a support hero, meaning that she joins the ranks of fellow healers as Mercy, Lucio and Zenyatta et al. Her skills include Fade, which allows Moira to teleport short distances out of harms way, and Biotic Orb, a sphere of energy which damages all enemies within its small radius of effect, but also heals all friendlies it encounters. Her standard gunfire ability, a close-quarters attack similar in style to that of Symmetra, is also able to both heal friends and damage foes.
Her abilities, then, lend themselves well to both offensive and defensive situations – according to the game’s executive producer Jeff Kaplan, she is truly a ‘hybrid hero’. As with all of Overwatch’s healers, her offensive powers won’t hold a candle to, say, Tracer’s, but it looks like Moira might at least challenge Zenyatta for the title of most offensively capable support.
What has us me most excited, though, is Moira’s ultimate ability, Coalesce. This preposterously powerful-looking ability shoots a concentrated beam of energy across the map, healing teammates and destroying enemies, even penetrating protective shields. Coalesce undoubtedly has the ability to swing matches in clutch moments, allowing Moira to execute a team heal whilst simultaneously wiping the opposition, if used at the perfect moment. Mastering Coalesce will be the key to mastering Moira.
Being relatively fragile, Moira is perhaps likely to struggle in one-on-ones with tankier heroes, but her teleportation and life-leech abilities should also mean that she enjoys at least moderate survivability. Where Moira will shine, it seems, is in situations where she can support a number of friendly heroes at once, making her a sensible addition to any team composition.
I’ve enjoyed both of Overwatch’s previous hero additions-Orisa and Doomfist-particularly Orisa, whose shield combines perfectly with Bastion’s high-power turret, and whose ability to pull fleeing enemies back into the fray creates opportunities for some beautiful trolling. However, Moira has me really excited to jump back into a game I’ve put down for over a month now. It’s almost as if Blizzard knows exactly how to keep me hooked”¦
Written By Joel Khalili
Joel is a Londoner born and bred, with a passion for gaming, and a particular fondness for indie titles. He cherishes a stand-out aesthetic, tight gameplay and a unique take on story-telling.
