Step aside, Roadhog – there’s a brand new monster in Overwatch 2. If you’ve sunk time into Blizzard‘s shooter in recent weeks, you probably know who I’m talking about: Orisa. The robot horse girl turned war machine is dominating matches and tier lists overall, now that Roadhog’s finally been removed a peg by the balance team, it’s Orisa’s time to shine.
As a long-time tank player who’s remained at the side of Reindhart and Roadhog because the first Overwatch beta, Orisa managed to win me over recently – ironically, when Roadhog was the go-to pick for everybody else. Rusty from years away, I had been getting frustrated with Roadhog’s reliance upon his hook and wanted something a bit more consistent. My definition of consistent meant more sustained damage, or perhaps a few more choices for tanking – however when I started playing Orisa, the phrase consistent became appearing in virtually every Play From the Game.
What’s not to love about Orisa? Having a chunky health pool, an ability that deflects attacks and another that helps soak them up, she certainly satisfies her duties as a tank. But lean in, and I’ll tell you a secret: I don’t care about tanking. If you play Orisa aggressively, you’re going to be a relentless robot meatshield regardless of what you need to do, so you may too dish out some pain – particularly when she makes it so easy.
Orisa’s main weapon is an infinite-ammo chain gun that will get more powerful the closer you're able to its target. It can fire just about endlessly, should you focus on its temperature to prevent overheating. Turning a squishy Junk Rat to Swiss cheese is a joy in its own right, but there’s more: Orissa also offers a javelin that sends its victims hurtling backward, pinning these to a wall if they hit one, as well as an ultimate that transforms the hulking robo-horse right into a thermonuclear whirlpool, pulling enemies toward her for any devastating explosion. You can charge this explosion up for even more damage, but it runs the danger that your would-be victims will escape its blast zone. Instead, it might be a game title of chasing that sweet spot – letting it charge up for as long as possible, and releasing the blast just like its desperate targets think they’re about to escape.
There are few heroes that may survive Orisa’s ultimate – meaning that barring an annoying counter-ult from supports like Lúcio or Ana, the odds of killing the majority of the enemy team having a well-placed ult are generously stacked inside your favour. At first, seeing your Orisa ult replayed in Play Of The Game is really a giddy ego rush, however it becomes so commonplace that it’s genuinely surprising when someone else’s achievement upstages you.
Yes, I understand. Orisa is broken. Like Roadhog, she shouldn’t really be doling out that much damage while still shrugging off every bullet, bomb and blast that hits her. It’s unfair. However when you’re playing on the dark side, unfair is delicious. It’s like giving your pal the dodgy controller to play GoldenEye – you know you possess an unfair advantage, but that doesn’t mean a thing when you’re nine kills up and tripping by yourself ego. Even just in a fair state of play, Orisa’s kit is a few of the most fun you could have in Overwatch. Landing a javelin with an infuriatingly flighty Mercy so your team can tear her to shreds is immensely satisfying, out of the box deflecting a Roadhog ultimate’s barrage of minigun fire using the flick of Javelin Spin.
Before I had been an Orisa convert, Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller told me she was strong. Now, I’m a true believer. Who wins out of this balance of power? Not the enemy team, who're put through several minutes of oppressively one-sided shootouts. Sometimes, even my very own teammates don’t win. I’ve were built with a few angry teammates who, despite winning a match, think Orisa out-damaging our DPS means something is (in additional colourful language) inherently wrong beside me. The real winner, selfishly, is me: Orisa is fun as hell, and feels much more fun than Reindhart holding up a shield for a couple of ungrateful teammates.
Balance in Overwatch 2 is really a hydra – stop one overpowered pick like Roadhog, and the other beast will take their place. Sometimes, that flavour of the month is infuriating – remember Bastion’s reign of terror in the first game? However in cases like Orisa, her number 1 spot features me to my new favourite kit – one that a large number of Overwatch players love. Balance may change, and something day there will be a new tank around – however in my heart, Orisa will be the centaur of attention.
Overwatch 2 is available on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC.
