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Overwatch 2’s Kiriko might be a better sniper than Ana or Widowmaker

Overwatch 2's newest support hero Kiriko might just be the free-to-play shooter game's most effective sniper - and she doesn't even have a sniper in her kit

Overwatch 2 Kiriko sniper headshot multiplier: an image of a woman with her hand up

We know there’s quite a lot to look forward to when it comes to Blizzard’s free-to-play hero shooter Overwatch 2 and the fast approaching Overwatch 2 release date, but we need to talk about the game’s newly-announced support hero, Kiriko. While Blizzard hasn’t gone into too much detail about how this new support hero is going to fit into the developing Overwatch 2 meta, it has detailed her abilities – and allowed a few content creators to check her out ahead of the sequel’s launch. If you’re sitting there somewhat worried about the new Overwatch 2 heroes being a little overpowered, you might actually be justified when it comes to Kiriko. Why is that? Well, according to popular Overwatch content creator ‘EeveeA’, Kiriko is the first Overwatch 2 hero to have a 3x headshot multiplier. She might just be the game’s best sniper – without actually having a sniper rifle.

Yep, you’re reading all of that right. We know Overwatch 2’s Kiriko can teleport, summon a fox, and make you immortal – but, she can also hit deadly headshots from a distance thanks to her Kunai.

As explained by EeveeA on Twitter, Kiriko’s throwable Kunai is the first attack in Overwatch (and Overwatch 2) to offer up a 3x headshot damage multiplier – without any sort of falloff, we might add. In comparison, every other attack currently available in the game offers up a standard 2x headshot damage multiplier. Well, except for Widowmaker’s charged sniper rifle shot – this offers up a tasty 2.5x damage multiplier for headshots.

To reinforce this revelation, and suggest that it’s not something we’re going to see amended ahead of launch, Blizzard has shared the ability description for Kiriko’s Kunai and it clearly states that it is a “thrown projectile that deals increased critical damage” – meaning headshots are going to hit a lot harder.

What does this mean for Overwatch 2? Well, it could mean one of two things. Firstly, it could mean, as the title of this article suggests, that Kiriko is going to be the best sniper in Overwatch 2 – despite not actually having a sniper rifle in her ability kit.

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However, this information could also suggest that other precision-based attacks and abilities are going to be buffed come the next set of Overwatch 2 patch notes. It’s quite hard to imagine Blizzard making a throwable Kunai so much more damaging than something like Hanzo’s bow or indeed Widowmaker’s rifle. While we don’t know for certain that changes are coming, we could see Overwatch 2 pivot from an easy going hero shooter to a multiplayer experience that rewards precision and accuracy much more than it did before.

Is this going to make Overwatch 2 one of the best competitive FPS games out there? It’s hard to say, but we’re excited to jump into one of the new Overwatch 2 maps soon and find out.