Blizzard Entertainment is finally releasing a hero that will have an impact on the core narrative of the Overwatch franchise. As interesting as recent additions such as Junker Queen and Kiriko are, they are peripheral characters. Filling out the world of Overwatch without necessarily playing a major part in the central overarching narrative. Ramratta is the leader of Null Sector, the robotic army rising up against humanity in Overwatch 2. Tall and imposing, Ramratta was built to fight in the first Omnic Crisis as a common soldier. Tired of war, Ramratta sought peace and became a monk. There he met Zenyatta and the pair developed a brotherly bond.  He is a leader and protector, and his design is "heavily inspired by a sphere or nomadic figure".

Ramratta comes very well-equipped with offensive and defensive capabilities, as well as "many tools to help him command space." As a temp tank, Ramratta's ability to shift between forms, and the different abilities they give him, will allow him to dictate the speed of matches and lead counterattacks on objectives.

His primary weapon in his Omnic form is his staff. "Initially designed to have a reservoir of nanites, almost like a lantern" which has been redesigned to be "more of an orb with a rotating belt of nanites around it", Ramratta's Void Accelerator fires a steady stream of nanites that does large amounts of headshot damage. The fire rate is slow but there is no damage falloff as it travels. Void Barrier meanwhile is a shield that "has a lot of health, but it only lasts briefly" and is used to "close the distance" to the objective and enemies. 

His Nemesis form adds "size and mass" to Ramratta by giving him large robotic arms and legs, giving him a much bigger frame. "Inspired by early Zenyatta concepts that showcased religious archetypes of a multi-armed figure", Ramratta's Nemesis form grants him bonus armor and two new moves. Pummel is a punch arrack that "creates a wave of energy with every swing." This attack uses piercing damage to hurt multiple enemies behind shields. Block is another powerful ability that "blocks and significantly reduces damage taken from the front" but his movement speed is slowed and he takes more damage from behind. In both forms, Ramratta can use his Ravenous Vortex ability. This ability "projects a ball of nanites... that slows enemies caught in its vicinity", it pulls enemies to the ground and is good for stopping rushing enemies. Lastly, Ramratta's ultimate ability is Annihilation, "a wide energy swarm" that deals constant damage in a large area-of-effect attack. It acts similarly to Zenyatta's ultimate ability Transcendence except it focuses on damaging enemies. It transforms him into his Nemesis form and while doing damage the ability's timer won't run out.

Aside from occasional appearances in events such as the Overwatch Archive limited-time mode Uprising, Null Sector has been sorely absent from the games considering they are a major antagonist in the series. Ramratta is finally giving a face to the omnic forces. Humanity never forgot the Omnic Crisis and while the conflict was over, they never forgave the robots. Humanity's hatred for the omnics grew and peaceful omnic religious leader Tekhartha Mondatta was assassinated by Widowmaker (as seen in the Alive cinematic short). Ramratta has decided to make a stand, shedding his spiritual lifestyle and arming himself once more. Vowing to defend his people and make the world a safer place for them.  A highly intimidating figure, his Omnic form is "highly tactical" and demonstrates "Ramratta's ingenious mind", while the Nemesis form "is huge, imposing, and violent: a physical manifestation of his rage."

Ramratta is an exciting addition to Overwatch 2 and is a sign that Blizzard is finally embracing Overwatch's fantastic, often under-utilized lore and forgotten central narrative. His powers are varied but he appears a bit too powerful currently and it's going to take a lot to balance Ramratta properly.

Ramratta releases alongside Overwatch 2 Season 2 on December 6th on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

Alex Johnson (@AlexJohnWriting)
News Editor, NoobFeed