Update:
Blizzard has announced that, as of the latest patch, Ana is now available on all platforms. PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 users should now be able to play as all 22 characters - if you're having trouble, make sure to contact Blizzard Support.
Original story follows:
Ever since Overwatch launched, fans have been waiting for the first new addition to the game's roster of heroes. The team over at Blizzard had previously announced that any and all additions to the list of playable characters would be free for everyone — suddenly, the wait for DLC was something to get excited about, not something to dread.
It wasn't long before Blizzard came through on their promise: Ana, a long-range sniper/healer combo, was introduced as part of an update to the game's public test servers. Aside from looking like one of the Vuvalini (those awesome old women from Mad Max: Fury Road), she fills a major hole in the character roster — her healing abilities aren't as powerful as those of other heroes, but the range of said healing is unparalleled.
The only problem with Ana's reveal was that Blizzard never gave her a solid release date. Sure, she was live in the test arenas, but that only covered a small portion of the PC player base — not only that, but console players don't have access to any sort of test servers, meaning that the only way to try out a new character was to wait for the official release.
Thankfully, Ana's official launch is here: the latest patch has added Overwatch's newest character to all servers ... at least on the PC side of things.
The official patch notes are as follows:
New Hero: Ana (Support)
After being out of the fight for several years, one of Overwatch's founding members is returning. Introducing Ana — a battle-scarred veteran who supports her teammates from a distance using a unique and highly specialized collection of weapons.
Ana's primary weapon is her Biotic Rifle, which fires long-range darts that can restore the health of her allies or deal ongoing damage to her enemies. Meanwhile, her Biotic Grenade is perfect for a close-quarters clash, simultaneously healing teammates and injuring foes caught in its small area of effect (affected allies will also receive a temporary increase to all incoming healing, while affected enemies can't be healed for a few moments). And if the battle starts to get out of hand, Ana's sidearm can fire a Sleep Dart, knocking her adversaries unconscious.
Plus, Ana's ultimate ability, Nano Boost, empowers one of her teammates, granting faster movement, increased damage, and resistance to enemy attacks.
As the first new character for Overwatch, Ana's release sets some important precedents. While there's no telling whether or not every character will follow the same release schedule, it didn't take long for Ana to make it out of the public test servers after she was announced. Basically, there's a chance that future heroes will make their way online just as quickly ... though whether or not console players will always have to deal with a delay is still up in the air.
Console players may have gotten the short of the stick this time, but it's not as if Blizzard has forgotten about its non-PC fans — the studio has promised that Ana is on her way to both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game.
We'll update this story as soon as she's available on all platforms.
