It's confirmed: the next new Overwatch hero will be medic Jean-Baptiste Augustin - Baptiste for short - as teased last week. Blizzard unveiled Baptiste's origin story in a video posted yesterday. It shows his war-torn and orphaned upbringing, fighting for whatever scraps he could, and how alluring a powerful group could be - even a violent and harmful one - to a person in a volatile situation like that. That's how Baptiste joined Talon. A still of in-game Baptiste from the end of the trailer. But years down the road, Baptiste's conscience reared up, scrubbing delusion from his eyes until saw Talon for what it clearly was. And he wanted out. That's where we pick him up now: determined to make the world a better place. Medical associations are consistent throughout the video. Baptiste is seen early on with medical canisters attached to a bandolier, and at the end he holds a large medical canister as well as a gun with a chunky cylindrical drum, like a grenade launcher. Exactly how he plays, though, and what his abilities are, we don't yet know. There's no ironclad confirmation Baptiste is Haitian, although the character speaks with what sounds like a Haitian accent. Also, the name is fittingly French, and we know Baptiste is in Tortuga on Haiti because of the tease last week. There's talk of Haitian-Canadian actor Benz Antoine being the voice behind Baptiste, and of there being Haitian lines of dialogue. Website Blizzard Watch mentions it, without a reference to source, and so does ResetEra, again without a reference to source, so I'm checking it out with Blizzard. On Antoine's Twitter feed, there's a picture of him doing voice work for something, back in January. He's at a place called Sound Lounge in New York City, which has worked with Blizzard and, specifically, Overwatch before. Was this him recording Baptiste? He hasn't said anything else about it. It's not often I can't say what I'm working on but this time I REALLY can't say anything except that it's gonna be TOTALLY FREAKING AWESOME & I Love NY! #NewYorkActor #ActorsLife #OnLocation #HaitianActor #BigNews #OnTheWay pic.twitter.com/dZwwMPXIcu — Benz Antoine (@benzantoine) January 31, 2019 This content is hosted on an external platform, which will only display it if you accept targeting cookies. Please enable cookies to view. Manage cookie settings There's no word on when Baptiste will be playable on the PC Public Test Realm. Presumably we won't have long to wait.<doc-sep>Blizzard debuted the latest hero of “Overwatch” in a new Origin Story video, introducing the Haitian combat medic Baptiste. The video, which can be seen below, describes Baptiste as a fighter for a better world. Hailing from Haiti, he is one of the millions of orphaned during the Omnic Wars, a bloody battle often mention in the game. His skills are recruited by Talon, a mercenary group led by a collective of bad guys, but Baptiste eventually finds the group has set their sights on him. The new medic character was first teased by Blizzard earlier this week. On Thursday, Blizzard released a letter written in the voice of “Overwatch: enemy Talon squad leader D. Cuerva, which deals with a deserter. “I know better than to underestimate Baptiste,” reads part of the letter tweeted by the publisher. “I helped train him myself, and he was one of our best. I’ve never known a medic to be such a good shot, and his adaptability to new situations is a rare talent. All of us have seen our fair share of conflict, but Baptiste was built to survive. I swear he has the Devil’s own luck.” Blizzard has yet to offer an official release date, but Baptiste will be hitting the public test realm sometime soon. Read more about Baptiste’s abilities, backstory, and how the “Overwatch” team came up with their latest hero.<doc-sep>After much teasing over the past week, Blizzard has revealed Overwatch’s newest hero. His name is Baptiste, and he’s a combat medic fighting for a better world. “For some, that means a bandage,” he says in his origin story video. “For others, a bullet.” Jean-Baptiste Augustin grew up as one of 30 million orphaned children during Overwatch’s much-talked about Omnic Crisis . He implies that he had to “steal or starve, kill or be killed” when he was younger, to the point of joining the game’s de facto bad guy faction, Talon. At some point, however, it seems he had a change of heart and left. Talon, a teaser released last week revealed, is not happy about this. Advertisement For now, Blizzard says Baptiste is “coming soon.” Given the speed at which these things usually unfold, that means he’ll probably be on the PC public test server before long. Update 2/26/19 2:30 PM - And now he is!<doc-sep>Overwatch hero 30, Baptiste, has just joined Blizzard’s quirky rabble of heroes, but what abilities does he have? Oddly enough, our new hero boasts the healing abilities you would come to expect of a medic alongside a hitscan weapon that wouldn’t look out of place in the hands of DPS hero. Despite being a hybrid of both, though, he is mainly considered to be a healer. The meshing of hero roles is something we’ve seen from Blizzard before as Brigette embodies both tank and healer traits as she can top up her allies with healing while also deploying a shield that soaks up some damage for her team. Baptise’s dual nature also feeds into his back story as Blizzard typically goes to great lengths to ensure each character isn’t a mere face with a gun, but a personality with a set of abilities that suits them. Ana comes across as an ideal healer as she embodies a grandmother aesthetic that makes you believe she’s there to look out for you and prop you up when you need it. Baptiste follows in that tradition as his hybrid personality of a soldier and a healer stem from surviving a childhood spent in the omnic crisis – which leads to his desire to help those affected in Overwatch’s present day. There’s a lot going on with Baptise, but no need to worry – our Baptiste guide dives into the new hero’s abilities, who he is good against, who he pairs well with, who he doesn’t work well against, and some lore for good measure. Overwatch Baptiste abilities Passive: Exo Boots – hold crouch for a few seconds and a meter will fill-up and give you an extended jump to reach higher places. Ability One: Regenerative Burst – allows yourself and allies to heal over time for a period of time, even if they leave you. Ability Two: Immortality Field – Baptiste throws up a destructible canister that emits an area of effect that prevents allies going below 20 health points. Ultimate: Amplification Matrix – creates a shield that doubles the damage and healing of anything that passes through it. Baptiste’s tool kit focuses more on his medic duties. His Regenerative Burst gives Baptiste and everyone close to him the ability to heal over time. It’s also the only way Baptiste can heal himself so his opposite healer may need to remain on-hand to help out in a pinch. Baptiste’s Immortality Field is a huge standout as it will keep his team alive, but it can be countered as the canister that emits the aura can be broken. The ability has a very long cooldown to make up for its strength. Baptiste also boasts some unique abilities to distinguish himself as a healer. Thanks to his Exo Boots he can jump up to greater heights, which should give him some escapability should be caught out by a flanking Tracer. Baptiste’s Amplification Matrix can buff the damage and healing of any weapon that fires through it, though despite looking like a shield it does not block damage from the other team. Overwatch Baptiste weapons Primary: Medic SMG – a three-round burst weapon that is hitscan. Secondary: Biotic Grenade – projectile that heals allies but not Baptiste. Baptiste’s Medic SMG is his only source of damage but it’s easier to land shots with as it’s a hitscan weapon and therefore doesn’t have travel speed or bullet drop. The Biotic Grenade is Baptiste’s main source of healing and fires like a projectile, but it has no effect on himself. "No dying on my watch." Get your first aid on Baptiste's abilities and playstyle. Now healing on the PTR! ⚕️ https://t.co/ienbb2jo9W pic.twitter.com/pJM4M3hMfy — Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) February 26, 2019 Who is Overwatch Baptiste good against? As another hitscan character, Baptiste has an edge over other healers when taking on Pharah as it’s much easier to hit her without the need to judge the travel on projectile attacks. Baptiste will also have an easier time in duals with other projectile-based heroes for the same reason. Baptiste’s Immortality Field will also prove a nuisance to any hero whose ultimate is single damage like DVa’s Dva Bomb and Junkrat’s Rip-Tire as it will stop them from wiping out teams unless it can be destroyed prior. Baptiste team comps and synergies? When building a team around Baptiste you’ll mostly want to factor in his Amplification Matrix, who can benefit from it the most, and who won’t lose out due to playing at range and being behind the Matrix. Soldier 76, McCree, Widowmaker, Hanzo, and Ashe will likely benefit the most as they’ll get huge buffs to their damage. Ana players will also enjoy the ultimate ability as it buffs both her healing and damage. Baptiste is not the fastest hero on the roster though, and as he can only heal himself with his Regenerative Burst ability, you may want to pair Baptiste with a Lucio player who can heal and provide a speed boost for him when trouble is around the corner. Overwatch Baptiste counters? The main thing to look out for when playing Baptiste is his Immortality Field. You’ll want to try and force an enemy Baptiste into using it early so you have the all clear to go after him as it has quite a long cool down before it can be used again. Heroes in his Immortality Field are still affected by abilities, too, so a Roadhog could easily hook one of them out, or use his ultimate ability to destroy the canister or push everyone out. Orisa’s Halt attack can also pull anyone out of the abilities area of effect. When it comes to his Amplification Matrix, you can counter it with a pinching strategy, or even a “dive comp”. Due to the nature of the Ultimate Ability everyone will need to group up to fire through it so you should find some success if you can attack from multiple angles. Overwatch Baptiste lore A former combat medic for Caribbean Coalition and Talon Mercenary Unit, Baptiste now devotes his time to helping those affected by war.<doc-sep>
Blizzard recently began teasing another Overwatch story, seeming to focus on a new character named Baptiste. The company has now released a lengthy story trailer focusing on his background, and confirming that he'll be the next playable hero--Hero 30. [Update: Blizzard has now fully revealed Baptiste as Overwatch's new hero. He's actually playable right now if you own the PC version, as he's included in a new PTR update.] As detailed in the story trailer, Baptiste was one of millions orphaned during the Omnic Crisis. In an apparent act of desperation, he joined the villainous group Talon. But he came to regret his decision and abandoned them. As detailed in the initial teaser, the group subsequently sent operatives to silence him, and they went missing themselves. Now he roams the world trying to help people, whether they need a band-aid or a bullet. The first teaser was a letter signed by a Captain Cuerva, as part of one of the Talon ops to capture or kill Baptiste. Cuerva said not to underestimate Baptiste, and that he personally oversaw his Talon training. Cuerva's mission went awry and several agents went missing. At the time, it wasn't clear if Baptiste was the new hero or Cuerva. Now we know for certain that it's Baptiste, but we haven't seen his abilities or play style, or exactly when he's coming as a playable character. The attention given to his background as a medic suggests he'll be a support character. New characters are released first on the PC's Public Test Realm before moving into the live game on PC, PS4, and Xbox One sometime later. With multiple teases having now been released, the character's release could be coming soon.