The 30th hero, Baptiste, was added to the Overwatch Public Test Region (PTR) on February 26th.



Baptiste is the first hero to be added in 2019 and the 7th support hero in Overwatch who uses a rifle similar to Ana’s to heal allies from a distance.



His weapon, the Biotic Launcher, is a hitscan rifle that can inflict damage on his target with 3-round-bursts, but it can also fire healing biotic projectiles; the projectile heals all allies within an AoE.



Unlike Ana and Brigitte who have rather restricted mobility, Baptiste can jump to higher ground with his passive ability, ‘Exo Boots’, and can attack and heal in mid-air.

▲ You can restore your allies’ health with AoE healing projectiles.

He has two skills, ‘Regenerative Burst’ and ‘Immortality Field’. ‘Regenerative Burst’ continuously heals Baptiste and nearby allies over time, similar to Brigitte’s Inspire or Lucio’s Amp It Up.

When you use ‘Immortality Field’, Baptiste deploys a special device like Mei’s Blizzard; once the device hits the ground, it is lifted up into the air and creates a hemispherical barrier like Winston’s Barrier Projector. Allies inside the barrier will become immune to death - their health will not fall under 20% of their full health until the generator is either destroyed or its duration ends. This will be a powerful counter to skills that instantly kill targets within AoE like D.Va’s Self-Destruct or Junkrat’s R.I.P Tire.



Lastly, Baptiste’s ult, ‘Amplification Matrix’, builds a matrix that resembles a window in an area that doubles the damage and healing effects of all ally projectiles (both hitscan and projectiles) that pass through the matrix. This will be extremely effective in certain maps where players are required to pass through certain chokepoints.

▲ ‘Immortality Field’ is the first immunity mechanism to appear in Overwatch.

▲ Baptiste’s ult, ‘Amplification Matrix’, is especially more effective in certain maps.

In the Overwatch lore, Baptiste is depicted as a hero with a complicated history. He was born in Haiti right before the Omnic Crisis took place, which he was orphaned by. There were limited opportunities and resources in his devastated hometown so he chose to join the army to become a combat medic and help other people who are suffering.



After he left the army, Baptiste moved onto working as a mercenary for Talon. He didn’t know what the true Talon was like at first; when he found out that Talon’s goal was quite different from his own, which was to make the world a better place, he deserted Talon. However, Talon was unforgiving and dispatched a team to eliminate Baptiste.

Baptiste, the new hero added to Overwatch, is now available on PTR and the further details on the character’s lore can be seen from the video below.