Overwatch 2recently added its 43rd playable hero in Season 16. As a crossbow-wielding bounty hunter and a former Overwatch search and rescue agent, Freja has been generally well-received by lore-enthusiasts and players. However, though Blizzard has already given fans a glimpse of hero 44 duringOverwatch’s Spotlight eventin February, the latest potential teasers for hero 45 have raised more questions than they’ve answered.
Since Mauga’s launch in Season 8, the release order for heroes has been tank, damage, and support. Before this,Overwatch 2released two support heroes, Lifeweaver and Illari, in back-to-back order to fill out the support roster a bit more. Notably, after Freja’s release, followed by the support hero currently code-named Aqua set to arrive in Season 18, there is no word on what category hero 45 will fall into.
Overwatch 2 Is Already Teasing Another Hero, But One Massive Question Remains
Details on Hero 45 Remain Scarce
Prior to Season 16, there were only a few clues as to who hero 45 might be. During the Spotlight event, while senior narrative designer Jude Stacey was introducing Freja,Twitch streamer andOverwatchcontent creatorChristalRaine noticed a doodle of an armor-clad character wielding a massive sword. Much like the placeholder developer doodles of Mauga shown at BlizzCon 2023, it appeared to be an intentional hint left behind by Team 4. Later, fans also noticed placeholder text on Brigitte’s hero page that cryptically read “Gladiators Gonna Gladiate."
After the release ofOverwatch 2’s new Stadium mode, a more concrete hint was found on the control map known as Arena Victoriae. On one of the banners, eagle-eyed fans spotted a silhouette holding a high-tech sword or spear, alongside the Roman numerals XLV, which translates to 45. Beneath this, the words “La Lupa della Ritorsione” can be seen, which translates to “The Wolf of Retaliation” in Italian. Alternate translations could also be “The Wolf of Retribution” or “The She-Wolf of Retribution.”
While fans initially thought Blizzard might introduce gladiatorial combatants like Magnus as playable heroes from theHall of Champions on Colosseo, the female connotations surrounding the phrase “La Lupa della Ritorsione” suggest otherwise. Furthermore, the silhouette is distinctly different from that of Camilla, Titus, or Magnus, which could mean that hero 45 will be an entirely new character. However, the odds of the new hero being melee-based remain high, especially after game director Aaron Keller mentioned during Frogger’s stream that Team 4 is “definitely looking at” this type of hero, and that they are working towards a way to overcome the challenges of introducing one in a mostly first-person game.
Setting Identity Aside, What Role Will Overwatch 2’s Next Hero Play?
As one of three heroes planned for 2025, there is a great deal of speculation surrounding what category hero 45 will fall into. SinceAqua is already designated asOverwatch 2’s next support, it seems unlikely that Blizzard would release another support hero right after them, though it has happened before. What’s more interesting is that a sword-wielding support doesn’t make much sense, though Brigitte’s melee-based mace and shield show that it can work. The case still stands, though, that the support roster already has a close-range character in Brigitte, and as long-termOverwatchfans know, she hasn’t been the easiest to balance across the meta.
Considering thatFreja was released with Season 16, it’s possible that hero 45 could belong to the damage class by the time Season 20 rolls out. After all, a close-combat melee hero has been on some players' wishlists for a long time. Still, if Blizzard were to stick to the formula established in Season 8, it’s also very possible that the gladiator is going to be a tank. Hopefully, as the release date draws nearer, Team 4 will continue to leave behind clues for fans to piece together.
