Overwatch's Orisa Is Live In Quick Play And Arcade Matches

Orisa, Overwatch's 24th playable character, is now live—but don't expect to see her pop up in competitive matches, at least not yet. On the game's official forum, principal Overwatch designer Scott Mercer says that Blizzard is going to "give players some time to learn about and play Orisa before she's placed into the crucible of Competitive Play."

For the first week, Orisa will only appear in Quick Play, Arcade, and AI matches, including custom games. After that, the training wheels come off, and the Overwatch community will be able to take the rebuilt battle-bot for a test drive in Overwatch's frantic, high-stakes competitive mode.

Orisa's staggered release is a new strategy for Blizzard, which previously had no problem releasing new characters right in the middle of an Overwatch competitive season and letting them join the fray immediately. Ana, the support sniper, arrived during Overwatch's first season, while the hacker Sombra made her debut near the end of the third. Overwatch is currently in the midst of its fourth season, which started last February.

Still, Orisa has the potential to really mix up Overwatch's competitive meta, and giving players a few days to get used to playing her—or, in many cases, playing against her—isn't necessarily a bad thing. According to Blizzard, Orisa is intended to be an alternative to the shield-wielding "anchor tank" Reinhardt, who often provides a central point for other teammates to rally around. While the centaur-Omnic-fighter has been available for a while on Blizzard's Public Test Realm servers, her abilities have been tweaked based on feedback from Overwatch's community, and it's going to take a little while for dedicated players to glean a full understanding of Orisa's capabilities.

Mastering Overwatch's heroes takes practice, and be sure to keep these common mistakes in mind while playing with Overwatch's newest (and youngest) hero. Avoiding common pitfalls might not turn you into an esports pro overnight, but at the very least, it'll keep your teammates from yelling at you. Be thankful for the small things.