Everything we know about new Overwatch hero Baptiste

Overwatch’s 30
hero, Baptiste, has been revealed, but much about him remains a mystery.

Full name Jean-Baptiste Augustin, the next Overwatch hero was revealed with a video explaining his origin on February 25, just days after the name had first appeared in a letter teasing the new hero’s arrival.

Unusually, however, much remains unknown about Baptiste. A new hero reveal usually comes with a full explanation and the chance to get hands-on and test them immediately, but so far the origin story is all that’s been released.

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While we wait for more information about Baptiste and what he’s capable of, here’s everything we know about hero 30 so far.

Backstory

Left orphaned by the Omnic Crisis, Baptiste was forced to fight for survival, becoming a combat medic and joining Talon simply as a means of escaping his plight.

Baptiste later came to realize that he couldn’t in good conscience fight for Talon, however, and defected – dispatching, as the letter in which he was first mentioned revealed, an entire Talon strike team sent to retrieve him afterwards.

Now, Baptiste has decided that he will “fight for a better world. For some that means a bandage, for others a bullet.”

Role and abilities

Though nothing is confirmed regarding what Baptiste is capable of, it’s fairly safe to assume that as a medic, he’ll fall into the Support category – especially as the last two heroes released, Ashe and Wrecking Ball, added to the DPS and Tank ranks respectively, so a Support is due.

Baptiste’s abilities are more of a mystery, but there’s still been speculation about what his kit might entail. Baptiste carries what appears to be a grenade launcher, and on closer inspection it seems to have two separate triggers, indicating alternate firing options. Exactly what those will be remains to be seen.

UPDATE: Players have discovered several comments from this video written by the official Polish Overwatch YouTube channel that appear to give a few hints at Baptiste’s abilities.

The comments, translated from Polish, read:

“Don’t worry – Baptiste has definitely other arsenal than Soldier’s: 76 and playing him is totally unique. :)”

“Maybe he wont’t giveaway health packs literally but his healing is quite huge.”

Fan theory: “biotic grenade launcher heals teammates and hurts enemies. Like Ana’s biotic grenade”

Overwatch PL: “You’re near true ;)”

Comment: “I am betting that his weapon is a machine gun with a big clip but it also looks like a grenade launcher”

Overwatch PL: “It can always be two in one…”

Comment: “Seems to be an interesting character. […] I have a feeling that another doctor is coming.”

Overwatch PL: “Definitely a doctor but also able to provide fire support and increase the team’s potential. More info soon!”

Comment: “My theory – an S76-ish rifle but a lighter version of it (something better than Sombra’s weapon but not as good as S76’s)”

Overwatch PL: “Very interesting theory – there’s a grain of truth there! Soon you will find out which of your leads was a good one.”

(Credit: u/Luc78as)

In his origin story video Baptiste is also seen holding something that looks fairly similar to Ana’s Biotic Grenade in his left hand. It’s possible that he may have a similar ability, although this may also be a lore element that may not carry into the game.

Given that Baptiste’s story highlights his combat skills perhaps even more so than his medical ones, and he states he’s happy dealing out both bandages and bullets, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Baptiste be capable of dishing out notable damage, more in line with the likes of Zenyatta or Ana than Mercy or Lúcio.

Release date

Unfortunately, there’s no word on when players can expect to get their hands on Baptiste. Blizzard have broken their usual protocol this time around – ordinarily, the hero reveal would come alongside a Developer Update explaining the new character and they would simultaneously be released on the Public Test Realm (PTR).

This time, however, Blizzard have only released Baptiste’s origin story, and haven’t yet confirmed when more can be expected. Given that players will now be clamoring for the new hero, however, it seems likely to be a matter of days at most before he’s available on the PTR.

Assuming Blizzard stick otherwise to their typical schedule, Baptiste should be expected to reach the live servers towards the end of March, with previous March releases having taken place on the 21st and 20th in 2017 and 2018 respectively.