Yesterday we’ve shared some details about the latest addition to the Overwatch hero roster – fans of the game got introduced to Baptiste. We were expecting to see the latest Overwatch support in action in a few upcoming weeks but Baptiste’s debut came way sooner! Players are already testing his abilities on the Public Test Realm (PTR).
To be frank, the newest Overwatch support’s abilities might be the most daring in quite a while. Healing, immortality, and damage amplification – seems like Baptiste has every right to be called overpowered. Let’s review his tool kit in an orderly fashion.
Medic SMG is Baptiste’s primary fire weapon with a three-round-burst hit-scan. Naturally, it deals significant medium range damage if every shot hits the target.
Bionic Launcher is the alternate fire weapon which has separate ammo from Medic SMG. While mechanically it works similarly to Zarya’s alternate fire, instead of dealing damage Bionic Launcher heals allies near the impact. However, it’s worth mentioning that this ability doesn’t heal Baptiste himself.
Exo Boots is Baptiste’s passive ability that enables a boost if you’ve been stationary for a little while. While crouching, Exo Boots gains a charge which allows Baptiste to jump high up in the air upon release. A great tool for re-positioning in a dire situation.
Regenerative Burst (Left Shift) is the first active Baptiste’s ability on a fairly short cooldown. Upon activation, Baptiste heals a decent amount of his and his nearby allies health over time. However while the healing effects might seem similar to Lucio’s, Regenerative Burst isn’t an aura, so the allies don’t need to stay near Baptiste at all times.
Immortality Field (E) is the second active and, safe to say, one of the strongest abilities in the whole Overwatch if you don’t count the ultimate ones. By pressing this ability Baptiste throws out a small device that creates a field in which your allies cannot go below 20 percent health. While similarly to Orisa’s supercharger this device can be shot down and destroyed, it can be a perfect counter to some one-shot ultimate abilities such as D.Va’s Self Destruct or Junkrat’s RIP Tire. Skilled players will be able to save countless lives with this every 20 seconds.
Amplification Matrix (Q) is Baptiste’s ultimate ability which is one of the most innovative in the game. By pressing this Baptiste can create some sort of force wall that doubles the damage and healing effects of all friendly projectiles that pass through it.
Baptiste’s tool kit definitely seems interesting and might indicate a sudden shift in the game’s meta. The new hero compliments a lot of ranged characters which are played a lot less often due to current GOATS heavy meta. It will be exciting to see how Baptiste fits into the current game and how long will Blizzard wait before nerfing some of his extra-powerful abilities.
