In Overwatch 2, Ramattra is one of the greatest leaders in the roster. This hero is the second Tank introduced to Overwatch 2, and his abilities will make some people's lives miserable (sorry, Mercy).
There are plenty of aspects that make Overwatch 2’s, Ramattra incredibly exciting. For starters, his main asset is his ability to shift into two forms. This makes Ramattra a tempo tank, somewhat similar to Bastion. This new ability makes for plenty of experimental and unique fights, as well as interesting combinations with other heroes. So be prepared to learn a new meta.
It’s not just the gameplay shakeup that will make Ramattra a great addition to Overwatch 2. Having played a critical role in the Omnic Crisis, his addition to the roster is an intriguing expansion to Overwatch’s lore.
Ahead of Ramattra’s cinematic reveal at the Overwatch League Grand Finals, we talked to Blizzard about what we can expect from this new hero and the impact he will have on the meta when he lands on December 6. Read on for everything we learned about Overwatch 2’s Ramattra and his great set of abilities.
Overwatch 2 Ramattra
Overwatch 2 Ramattra: Battle Pass
Like Kiriko, in Overwatch 2, Ramattra was available to those who purchase the premium Battle Pass. Each season you can purchase the Battle Pass, which allows you to unlock new skins, voice lines, and sprays for each level you progress. The premium Battle Pass will cost you 1000 Overwatch 2 coins, or $10/ £8.39 / AUD$15.45.
To unlock Ramattra for free, you had to reach Tier 45 in the regular Battle Pass. This could have taken you an average of 50 hours, so when it comes to the Battle Pass it's best to get started sooner rather than later.
Blizzard locked Ramattra out of competitive play for the first few weeks of the Battle Pass. This gave players a grace period to grind Overwatch 2 and secure Ramattra before he was released into the wilds of competitive play.
If you happened to miss Ramattra's release in Overwatch 2, you can still secure the character by completing hero specific challenges in game.
Overwatch 2 Ramattra: story and background
In Overwatch 2, Ramattra is a complicated character, moving away from the black-and-white heroes and villains of the past; he is cemented in the gray.
Ramattra is an omnic, a race of sentient robotic beings that inhabit Overwatch’s universe. Unfortunately, these guys haven’t had a smooth run of things. Despite trying to co-exist with humans, they were treated as second-class citizens and suffered brutal violence at the hands of the fleshy ones.
This tension between the two groups culminated in the Omnic Crisis, a war that saw the omnic extremist group Nullsector leading a rebellion against humanity. The fighting spilled into streets and cities, resulting in the loss of many innocent civilian lives – and spurring Overwatch to enter the fight.
Due to how central the Omnic Crisis is to the story in Overwatch 2, Ramattra is a very important character. He is the leader of Nullsector and, therefore, an enemy of Overwatch. So it would be easy to paint him as the main villain of the franchise, but you would be wrong.
In fact, Ramattra’s character is way more complex than that. Despite leading Nullsector, he doesn’t want to destroy humanity, he wants to secure a safe future for his people – a goal that saw him develop a dear friendship with Overwatch hero (and fellow Omnic) Zenyatta.
In the lore of Overwatch 2, Ramattra first met Zenyatta in the temples of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. Meditating on balance, and peace, Ramattra, like Zenyatta, wanted to understand his place in the universe. Throughout this time together, the two omnics became like brothers, but they eventually fell out. In a twist similar to X-Men’s Professor X and Magneto, Zenyatta and Ramattra agreed on the safety of the omnics but differed on how they would achieve this. While Zenyatta wanted to use diplomacy, Ramattra was tired of waiting and wanted to “win their safety at any cost,” lead narrative designer Gavin Jurgens-Fyhrie told me.
In Overwatch 2, Ramattra starts a new chapter as the “Omnic Crisis moves back to the forefront,” Jurgens-Fyhrie says. As Blizzard prepares to launch PVE with a more lore-centric story, Ramattra is “the beginning of answering a bunch of questions related to the ongoing story of Overwatch,” art director Dion Rodgers says.
Overwatch 2 Ramattra: abilities
In Overwatch 2, Ramattra has two forms, giving him more abilities than the average Overwatch hero. The first is his omnic form, and the second is his much bigger and scarier nemesis form. These two forms resemble Bastion's ability to switch into turret mode; Ramattra will be able to switch into each form with an ability, which will have a time limit and cooldowns.
The omnic form plays much like a traditional main tank (like Reinhart, for example). You will be playing more of a defensive game, so protecting your team and occasionally attacking to push the enemy team back and away from your support heroes.
Secondly, you have the more aggressive nemesis form, which you can use to “rush down the enemies and charge into the backline,” lead hero designer Alec Dawson says. “So you can get some of their squishies [supports]”. As a particularly squishy Ana main, this sounds wonderfully horrendous to me.
It won’t just be horrendous for me. “We have planned and strategized to extenuate the fear that enemy players feel when they see Ramattra about to change forms,’’ Jurgens-Fyhrie says. “I think people will get a real kick of how he sounds on the battlefield.”
These two forms has a big impact on the meta of Overwatch 2 and how the game is played. As Ramattra is essentially two tanks in one, a main and a flex/dive tank, I’m sure we will be seeing a lot of him at all levels of the game.
There’s still more to learn about Ramattra’s abilities, but it certainly sounds like he’ll be a game-changer.
Primary Fire: Void Accelerator
- Left click: Fires a projectile that advances in a certain shape.
- Right click: Creates a barrier at the target location.
You can think of these abilities as a crossover between two other tanks, Sigma and Orisa. While you have the defensive capabilities of summoning a shield like Sigma, you also have the offensive threat that Orisa's javelins inflict.
One of the most notable changes in Overwatch 2 was the removal of shields from many tanks. This was supposed to encourage a more aggressive dive composition in which, instead of hiding behind your tank's shield, you jumped on the enemy team for an all-out brawl.
Ramattra was meant to embody this new Overwatch 2 spirit, so the fact that he has been given a shield may signal that they will stick around for a bit longer.
Ability: Ravenous Vortex
- Press E: To launch nano spheres.
This ability is going to give Mercy and Pharah players nightmares. Honestly, anyone who can fly high in the sky is about to be grounded.
Nano spheres explode on contact with the ground, creating a damaging force field, similar to Sojourn's disruptor shot. Not only will this slow heroes who are caught in this force field, but it will also violently drag all in the sky above down to Earth. Finally, you can make easy pickings of that Phar-Mercy duo plaguing your backline.
Ability: Pummel
- Press shift: This will transform you into Nemesis form for 8 seconds.
- Left click: Attacks with fists forward, generating a shockwave that penetrates enemies in front.
- Right click: Reduces movement speed but greatly reduces damage from the front.
- In Nemesis form, you gain 150 additional defense (a total increase of 450 health to 600).
This ability is what we've been waiting for. The first of its kind for tank heroes and following in the footsteps of the lovable yet frustrating damage hero Bastion, Nemesis form will leave you wanting more or logging off.
Nemesis form allows Ramattra to be flexible, fast, and dangerous. You won't want to see this tank hero in your backline. However, this ability, along with its own attacks, looks pretty familiar. These attacks seem very similar to Doomfist's abilities. Leaving me to wonder whether Ramattra is just a better Doomfist.
Ultimate: Annihilation
- Press Q: This will automatically switch you to Nemesis form and create a damaging energy zone around you.
Ramattra's ultimate seems genuinely terrifying. The energy zone he creates will do continuous tick damage for a maximum of 20 seconds as long as he inflicts damage on an enemy hero. Instead of the time pausing when Ramattra is beating up his enemies, now it will slow down.
This ultimate does wonders when combing with movement restriction abilities. For example, Mei is a damage hero, and her ultimate can freeze everyone within a medium radius. If you combine this with Ramattra's ultimate, you are left with an enemy team that cannot move or fight back. All they can do is stand there and watch as Ramattra mows them down.
Overwatch 2 Ramattra: gameplay breakdown
Plenty of heroes are more than happy to have Ramattra on their side, it appears this tank is built for support players, much like Reinhart. Any support player able to pocket Ramattra will be rewarded with a terrifying killing machine and great protection against the enemy team.
I can particularly see Lucio players having a great time speed-boosting Ramattra into the enemy's back line when he’s in nemesis form.
While his nemesis form sounds terrifying, it may be easy to play against with certain heroes, as Ramattra “will be big and scary, but the other team can take you out” due to how big you become, says Dawson. So far, all we know for sure about counters would be Ana and her sleep dart. But really, how the hero is played with and against will be determined by players.
Overwatch 2 Ramattra: Voice Actor
If you think you've heard Ramattra's voice before, you must have a good ear for video game voice actors. Ramon Tikaram is the voice behind this menacing omnic, and he's done more than just TV and stage acting throughout his career.
You may also know this iconic voice from games like Elden Ring, Subnautica, Dark Souls III, and Dragon Age: Inquisition. An impressive roster, to be sure, so you can bet Tikaram will get the absolute best out of Ramattra in Overwatch 2.
