Overwatch 2has made some significant reworks to the hero roster to make all the characters viable in a 5v5 format. Mei’s freeze and Cassidy’s stun have been removed, Winston has been given a ranged attack, and Doomfist has moved from the Damage category to the Tank role. However, the characters who have received the biggest changes of all are theOmnicsBastion and Orisa, with Orisa’s changes in particular being worthy of discussion.
Though Bastion’s artillery mode and turret form upgrades can be explained by his relationship with Torbjorn, Orisa’s are a bit more complex. Her original kit was built to reflect her story as the Protector of Numbani, with most of her abilities built to subdue foes instead of kill them, or to protect and boost her allies. Now, Orisa is essentially a killing machine, with most of herOverwatch 2abilities centered around dealing damage instead of defending against it. Though the main reason for this adjustment was making her more fun to play, there might just be some lore behind the change too.
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Potential Story Reasons For Orisa’s Ability Changes
Given Orisa’s prominence in theOverwatch 2Season 2meta, many players will surely be familiar with her moveset. While she used to have a shield to protect herself and her team, she now pushes forward aggressively by blocking projectiles with her javelin. Said Javelin can be used to violently spear enemies into walls, which is a big change from the green orb that once pulled them together. Orisa’s Ultimate has also changed from a hands-off Supercharger to a damage-dealing Javelin spin. When all this is put together, the result is a more violent version of Efi’s robot.
Those that know about the lore of theOverwatchuniverse and Orisa’s story in particular will be aware of Efi Oladele, a genius 11-year-old girl who is gifted in AI and robotics. In response to Doomfist’s terrorist attacks in Numbani, Efi crafted Orisa out of an old OR15 unit - one of the OmnicsDoomfistdestroyed when reclaiming his gauntlet. With Efi admiring Overwatch and figures like Lucio, their influence was felt when crafting Orisa’s personality, and Efi’s own views helped shape who Orisa would become.
With Efi being Orisa’s creator, it is obvious that the two care deeply about each other. As such, Efi’s potential death would undoubtedly spark change in Orisa. Obviously, this is just speculation, as there has been nothing to indicate that Efi has died at this point in the story. However, withRamattra’s uprisingseemingly spanning the entire world and having the support of Talon - and Doomfist attacking Numbani multiple times - the nation could fall victim to another attack. Perhaps Orisa will not be strong enough to stop this one, and it could lead to Efi’s death - causing her to become a more violent protector in the process.
Alternatively, another attack could see Efi losing family members or friends. As a result, she could reprogram Orisa to have her offensive abilities, believing a protector bot is not enough to repel an entire Omnic invasion. One final option would see Ramattra himself reprogramming Orisa, as he hinted that he would find a way to make every Omnic join his cause in theReflections short story. A form of brainwashing could be a route he takes, forcing Orisa to attack her creators against her will. However, with Orisa’s personality inOverwatch 2’s conversations being mostly the same, it seems like she still has full control over her actions.
With characters like Brigitte on the path toward tragedy, it would not be surprising if there were a few sad moments inOverwatch 2’s campaign. For the narrative to move forward while also keeping fans invested, there have to be proper stakes, and every character cannot make it out of the Omnic uprising unscathed. Efi dying, or Efi reprogramming Orisa after seeing some death firsthand, would be solid ways to help explain why her abilities are entirely different in the sequel. Though her new kit is excellent from a gameplay standpoint, her original kit brilliantly reflected her origin story. As such, it would be great if Blizzard provided a narrative reason for Orisa’s increased aggression, and an incident involving Efi is the most obvious route to take.
Overwatch 2is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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