Overwatch’s first new post-launch hero is Ana, a ‘support sniper’

Blizzard is keeping its massively popular team shooter Overwatch fresh by periodically adding new, free playable characters and maps, and the company revealed its first such addition to the game this afternoon. Ana is a long-range support character who can heal her allies from far away, put her enemies to sleep, and use her Ultimate power to give one teammate a massive buff by hitting them with a nano-dart. She also slots into the game’s existing lore quite naturally: she’s the mother of rocket-wielder Pharah, one of the game’s other playable heroes, and has a long-running beef with one of the game’s other snipers, Widowmaker. (You can watch her origin story below.)

Ana should make a compelling addition to the game’s group of support characters because she’s the only one who’s meant to heal and help from a distance. Playing as Lúcio, Mercy, or Zenyatta — the game’s other characters with powerful healing abilities — means putting yourself at risk if you want to keep your teammates safe and healthy. Once Ana is available, support-oriented players can sneak into a spot with decent sight lines and heal their allies without getting themselves into too much trouble. (Blizzard’s rated her at the game’s highest “difficulty” level, so that may not be as easy as it sounds.) It isn’t yet clear when Ana will become playable, but Blizzard is saying she’s “coming soon.” Start drawing up those strategies!