BlizzCon is without a doubt one of the most exciting gaming events of the year, so when we got the opportunity to take part via a virtual ticket watching at home for BlizzCon 2017, you can bet we jumped at the opportunity! One of our favourite Blizzard games, Overwatch has of course been showcased at the event, with developer Jeff Kaplan telling players they can expect the addition of new hero Moira in the near future. But who is she?
Moira O'Deorain is coming to Overwatch
Her Story
At 48-years-old, Moira O’Deorain is one of the oldest members of the Overwatch roster and hails from Dublin, Ireland. Also basing her operations in Oasis and Iraq, she’s obsessed with science and is a brilliant geneticist, but it’s her incredible mind that has turned her into such a controversial figure.
Over a decade ago, Moira published a controversial paper that detailed a methodology for creating custom genetic programs. Able to alter DNA at a cellular level, it looked like one of the best steps to stamping out diseases and disorders that had ever been researched, but her peers weren’t happy with the findings. In fact, they thought the ideas she had come up with were unethical and packed full of danger.
In moments, her work had done the complete opposite of what was intended, turning her into a controversial and hated figure, rather than somebody to be admired who would change the world for the better. Fortunately, she found a new home in Overwatch’s covert ops division Blackwatch, who came to her with an offer she couldn’t refuse.
Slinking into the shadows, the public believed her to have retired, but Moira would continue on with her work, creating weapons and technologies for Blackwatch whilst keeping her employment there a secret. Eventually however, her legion with them was unveiled, but high-ranking Overwatch officials lied and said they had no knowledge of her ever being a part of their organisation.
After Overwatch’s disbanding, Moira would move her operations to Oasis so that she could continue to fund her research and workings. Rumours suggested that Talon had been funding her for some time already, helping her out wherever they could, but demanding the results as compensation so they could go on to use them for their own shady purposes.
Desperate to make scientific breakthroughs, Moira always wanted to make a name for herself, but so far, she’s unknown to most of the world. Now freed from her constraints however, she’s set to break out into the spotlight once and for all in the very near future…
Her Abilities
As a support hero, Moira is of course first and foremost a healer, and her Biotic Grasp proves that. Using her left hand, she can give out biotic energy and heal allies that stand in front of her. Of course, with all of the research she’s done, this ability also allows her to use her right hand for a long-range beam weapon, sapping health from enemies which both heals Moira and replenishes the biotic energy she sends out to allies.
Moira also has a Biotic Orb ability, which sees her launch a rebounding sphere which can either heal the allies it reaches, or steal health away from enemies that stand in its path.
Fade is a fairly simple ability that sees Moira teleport a short distance. It looks like a mash-up of Reaper’s Teleport ability and Tracer’s Blink, so it could prove extremely useful in dangerous situations.
Finally, her ultimate ability is named Coalescence, and sees Moira combine both her healing and damage talents, channelling a long-range beam that bypasses all barriers and works with or against anybody it comes across.
-
So what do you think of Moira? We think she could be a pretty great addition to any team composition in Overwatch! It’s certainly going to be interesting to see how her inclusion in the game changes everything moving forward! No word yet on when she’ll be officially released, but we imagine more news is right around the corner…