Gaming

Teasers and an accidental tweet point to Overwatch’s newest hero, Brigitte

Overwatch’s 27th hero looks to be arriving any day now.

February 27, 2018

The speculation around the newest Overwatch hero has spread like wildfire across the Overwatch community and Blizzard just added more fuel to the fire. But before I break down the latest news for you, let’s start at the beginning.

On February 22nd the Overwatch Twitter account gave us some unexpected backstory in the form of a declassified mission report. Take a look for yourself.

[DECLASSIFIED] After-Action Report: Operation “WHITE DOME” pic.twitter.com/fvnUQQEFDC

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) February 23, 2018

The report labeled “After-Action Report: Operation ZX24AL, ‘White Dome'” provides us with the story of Torbjörn’s (Lindholm) injury that left him with a mechanical eye and hand. So while this isn’t anything conclusive yet, we know there’s a focus on Reinhardt, Torbjörn and possibly the mysterious Private First Class Emre Sarioglu.

Two days later on the 24th of February Blizzard took things further with a story update that included the aforementioned tweet and a letter from Torbjörn to his wife, Ingrid. In the letter Torbjörn tells his wife of his injuries, how Reinhardt saved his life, his plans to let Reinhardt name their soon to be born daughter and make him the godfather.

By this point it’s clear that Blizzard has focused our attention on the relationship between Reinhardt and Torbjörn. It’s not the first time we’ve seen these two and their families cross paths, either — in the animated Overwatch short “Honor and Glory” that was released in November of 2017, we see Brigitte for the first time. Brigitte is trying to convince Reinhardt to ignore Winston’s call for mobilization, arguing that he gave Overwatch everything and was then pushed out.

Yesterday, February 26th, the Overwatch Twitter account sent out the following tweet.

“I'll knock some sense into you!” pic.twitter.com/WIg2xCQZ0h

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) February 26, 2018

The tweet contains the quote “I’ll knock some sense into you!” which we can only assume to be a voice line from the newest hero. Above the quote is a drawing that contains a blueprint of what appears to be a hammer weapon, labeled Slaga 3.0. Slaga is Swedish for ‘flail’, which is a weapon similar to a mace, except that the head is attached to a long chain. The last clue to be found here is the language on the right side of the drawing, which is also Swedish.

Swedish language and a hammer that’s reminiscent of both Torbjörn and Reinhardt. We know Torbjörn has a daughter and we’ve seen her with Reinhardt. It’s an easy assumption at this point that Brigitte is the next hero coming to Overwatch. But stay with me, because the clues don’t stop there.

Yesterday, the Japanese Overwatch Twitter account followed suit with the American account and tweeted a clue, except there was a minor mistake. Did I say minor? I meant humongous. Instead of posting the image of the hammer blueprint, the account tweeted the following image.

Teasers and an accidental tweet point to Overwatch's newest hero, Brigitte

“Brigitte Tease”

If that isn’t proof that Brigitte’s the next hero, then I don’t know what is. While I’m excited that we’re getting a new hero, I can’t help but feel bad at the same time. I can only imagine that whatever employee or intern accidentally sent out that tweet is no longer be employed with Blizzard today. Fingers crossed Blizzard is a forgiving god.

But even after that massive unintentional spoiler Blizzard isn’t slowing down with the hints. Just today they sent out yet another hint from their Overwatch Twitter account:

“Last minute check! Everyone squared away?” pic.twitter.com/67cBBvIgzs

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) February 27, 2018

The tweet reads, “Last minute check! Everyone squared away?” Say hello to another voice line?

We’ve got ourselves another blueprint here and this time it’s of a shield. While it’s similar in aesthetic design to Reinhardt’s shield, it differs in function and classification. This shield is a tower shield, also known as a scutum. The tower shield was first made famous by the Roman legions. What made it stand out was its oblong shape and extreme vertical length that’s almost the height of the wielder. Unlike Reinhardt’s shield which is meant to protect others, this shield is meant to solely protect the wielder.

Along with the shield, there are several other notable items. The first is a coffee mug, which sports a logo that doesn’t quite match Brigitte or Torbjörn’s tattoos, but is incredibly similar in its design. Sticking out from underneath the left-hand side of the main drawing is what appears to be the backside of a suit of armor similar to Reinhardt’s and it’s sporting a tail. Next is the orange cat who we first saw in Blizzard’s tweet two days ago for Slaga 3.0. We know from the “Reflections” comic that Torbjörn’s family owns a cat (hint hint). Lastly, there’s little Swedish language dabbled in.

So let’s assume that all of these clues point to Brigitte and recap what we can expect. There’s got to be an emoji and a skin themed around this orange cat; I can’t see how they could involve it this much and not do anything in-game. Two voice lines, “Last minute check! Everyone squared away?” and “I’ll knock some sense into you!”. As for our hero I think we’d be surprised if we didn’t see a bad-ass Brigitte swinging around a flail from behind her enormous tower shield.

I have my fingers crossed that the jetpack we see on the hidden drawing will give us a unique spin on Reinhardt’s charge ability. We’ll just have to wait and find out. Though with how fast Blizzard is dropping these hints, I don’t imagine we’ll be waiting very long.