Overwatch 2 reveals why Vendetta isn't a tank

Vendetta, Overwatch 2s new hero coming in Season 20, might look like she could easily be a tank, but Blizzard decided to make her a DPS hero so she could create a completely unique playstyle. Although Vendetta broke an unofficial Overwatch 2 in doing so, she also breaks ground in a way that no other character has in the game's history.

Overwatch 2 recently revealed Vendetta, a highly mobile gladiator who lays waste to the battlefield with massive swings of her fierce light greatsword, the Palatine Fang. Between her close play style and the fact that 2025 already got a damage hero in the form of Freja, most fans assumed that Vendetta would be a tank.

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Overwatch 2 Reveals New Hero 45 Vendetta

Blizzard officially revealed Vendetta, the third and final playable hero coming to Overwatch 2 2025 as part of Season 20 in December.

Vendetta fills a unique role as DPS in Overwatch 2

However, Overwatch 2 surprised players by revealing that Vendetta will be the game's first melee damage hero, rather than a tank. “It's more about serving that style of play that we really didn't have in the roster,” associate game director Alec Dawson told PC Gamer during a recent interview. “I think part of our mission all the time is to create things that we think will be really exciting for players, and that was something that was constantly being asked.” Fans have wanted a melee DPS hero for years, and Vendetta offered the perfect opportunity to make that dream come true.

While there are dedicated melee figures in Overwatch 2 right now none of them are in the DPS role. Heroes like Reaper, Torbjorn, and Venture are all deadly in melee, but they still aren't true melee heroes. Doomfist was the closest thing to a melee damage hero Overwatch 1but he turned into a tank i sequel, and while Genji temporarily becomes melee-focused when using his Dragonblade ultimate, he's still technically a ranged hero most of the time.

Making Vendetta a damage hero naturally backfired Overwatch 2s unofficial release pattern. Since the sequel's release, it has never released more than one damage hero in a single year, and 2023 actually has no DPS at all. “I saw a lot of very confident expectations that hero 45 would be a tank based on a recently launched pattern that we're now changing up a bit,” said senior character artist Bryan Bedford in the same PC Gamer interview, “but I think one of the most important aspects of adding a new hero is honestly just coming up with something that's fun to play.” The developers had to “bend the rules” and release two Overwatch 2 damage heroes in 2025 to make this happen, but finally delivering on the melee damage hero fantasy with Vendetta was worth doing.

All new heroes added in Overwatch 2

Season 20 of Overwatch 2 and its new damage hero arrives on December 9, but players won't have to wait that long to try her out. Vendetta's extra-long hero trial runs from November 26th to December 1st to coincide with Thanksgiving in the US, giving players a couple of extra days to try her out. Bedford, in particular, is excited for fans to give Vendetta a try, saying she had the developers “absolutely hooked” during playtesting. “I can't overstate how much fun it is to just jump in and start tearing through the sky with that blade throw.”

Released

August 10, 2023

ESRB

T for Teens // Blood, mild language, tobacco use, violence