Baptise’s origin story reveal had fans speculating what abilities this new support hero would have. Luckily, developer Jeff Kaplan made his first appearance since November to reveal the test kit just a day later.
“We heard your pleas for more support hero variety,” Kaplan said as he introduced the 30th Overwatch hero.
Baptise’s main weapon is the Medic SMG, a mid-range gun that shoots in three-round bursts. It also has a Biotic Launcher, an ability that lobs healing grenades with a splash radius. Kaplan said that the Overwatch team expects Baptiste to be a primary healer due to the strength of his splash heals.
His other healing abilities include Regenerative Burst, which activates a surge that heals himself and nearby allies over time, and Immortality Field, a visible wall that protects his allies from damage after a threshold is reached. While the device powering the wall can be destroyed by the enemy team, Kaplan said used Reinhardt as an example of someone who could use a shield to further protect the field.
“The Immortality Field creates exciting moments like when Junkrat’s Riptire is coming. If you put it up at the right time, everyone in the radius will be prevented from dying,” Kaplan said.
Baptise will also have great mobility in the form of his Exo Boots. After crouching to build a jump meter, players can press the jump key to jump high up into the air depending on how far they charged the meter. This not only disengages Baptise from enemies, but also gives him the perfect height to drop down some effective healing grenades from his Biotic Launcher.
Baptise’s ultimate is the Amplification Matrix, a precision ability that requires tactful placement. Since it doubles the damage dealt to Baptise’s enemies behind the matrix’s area, this ultimate can be powerfully combined with other hero ultimates to potentially clear out an opposing squad.
Kaplan suggested pairing Baptiste’s ultimate use with Ana’s Nano Boost or Orisa’s Supercharger to further stack damage output.
“As we’ve been playing, we were getting really excited because he’s not only a great healer, but he can really help take an enemy team down,” Kaplan said.
Baptise is currently available to play on the PTR.Â
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