We had the chance to interview three members of the Overwatch 2 design team who worked on Ramattra: Dion Rogers, Art Director, Alec Dawson, Lead Hero Designer, and Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie, Lead Narrative Designer.
If you lack context, know that Ramattra was revealed this November 4th during the Overwatch League Finals. Fans were then able to view his Origin Story and understand that he was an Omniac Leader fighting for the freedom of his people. He is a Tank and the 36th hero in the current roster.
Two characters in one!
The biggest information to remember concerns the form of Ramattra or at least… its TWO forms. Nothing to do with Bastion or D.va for example which can change “form”. This is something new with a character who will possess two skill sweaters and two Ulti!
- Basically, Ramattra will be in Omniac form
- Thanks to a skill (probably the E), it will be able to change into nemesis formmuch stronger (more HP) and powerful.
A cooldown will therefore be required to change form and the one called “Nemesis” seems to have been designed to terrorize enemies. He can charge opponents or throw violent punches in Nemesis form, while he can attack from a distance in Omniac form, but we don’t know more about his skills yet.
Regarding the composition, we only know that Lucio will be a very good pocket-healer for him while Ana will be a constant threat with her sleep. Like most Tanks with the 5v5 meta, Ramattra will be able to defend his allies but above all cause heavy damage. It doesn’t seem to have a shield.
A story intimately linked to that of Zenyatta
Both omniacs, we suspected that Zenyatta and Ramattra would have a common history but it goes much further. The developers revealed to us that the two characters were close as brothers in the past, spending entire nights discussing philosophy, but that their different outlook on things kept them apart. As we know, Zenyatta rather borrowed the voice of wisdom while Ramattra became a key member of Sector Zero, working closely with La Claw (Fatal, Doomfist, Reaper, Sombra).
It would seem that today, Zenyatta and Ramattra have a relationship worthy of that of the Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto in X-Men. Old friends with the same will but not using the same methods. Many new voicelines will of course be added to the game and it will be very interesting to play both characters on the same team to learn more. If we do not yet know the French dubber of Ramattra, it is Ramon Tikaram, a Singaporean actor, who dubs him in English.
If you also want to learn more about Zenyatta, who has never really had a cutscene in his likeness, the team made it clear to us that the arrival of Ramattra would allow us to learn more about the latter. Unfortunately, we haven’t had any additional information on the future PvE mode or the potential link between the lore of the omnics and the crisis in London.
Any changes planned for the Season 2 Battle Pass?
As a reminder, Ramattra will be available from Season 2 of Overwatch 2, on December 6th. The developers do not yet know if the way to unlock the characters will be modified or not but are aware that there have been criticisms of Season 1. More information will be revealed soon, such as the new card that is supposed to accompany the hero.
Regarding the content of the Battle Pass (the rewards), they prefer to keep a system similar to Season 1 with a light theme (cyberpunk for S1) and varied rewards to try to please all players. The price of skins in the store is also a subject but we do not know if it will be rebalanced or not.
Overwatch 2 is definitely not done with the problems, just days after the last, another character has just been sidelined indefinitely!