Even though Overtwach's hero #30 is probably coming out next week I thought I'd use the teaser we got the other day to speculate on what role Baptiste could actually fill. So far the prevailing theory is that he's a support but I'm not so convinced. The biggest reason for this is Baptiste's seeming ability to take on and defeat multiple enemies at once. Supports don't do that, not even in Overwatch. What does? Tanks.
Now hear me out here. Yeah I know Wrecking Ball came right before Ashe who was the last new hero but Blizzard has been known to not stick to a rotation when it comes to new heroes. Remember back to the first year of Overwatch when we got Ana. After her we got Sombra (DPS), Orisa (tank) and then Doomfist (DPS). The next support was Moira nearly a year after we got Ana so just because we got a damage and a tank doesn't mean we'll automatically get a new support. In fact I wouldn't be shocked at all if Baptiste was a DPS character but even I find that highly unlikely. Also, I know that in the log Captain Cuerva states that Baptiste is a medic who is a really good shot. But here's the thing, what if Baptiste is a kind of tank that can heal himself? Sure Roadhog can heal himself but so can Bastian. And while their abilities can also heal others both Soldier 76 and Ana have the ability to self heal as well. Moira can self heal while dealing damage and while her healing orb CAN be used to self heal it's not the most reliable way to do it. Brigitte's inspire and Lucio's healing aura and Amp it up are ways they can heal themselves and Mercy regens health over time. In fact the only support that can't self heal is Zenyatta but I digress. Self healing across multiple characters in Overwatch is very much a thing so I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that Baptiste can only heal himself. I propose that Baptiste is an expert medic but he uses his healing selfishly, focusing on keeping himself alive so that he can dish out damage to his enemies.
Now Blizzard isn't fond of following the rules of FPS games when it comes to making heroes in Overwatch. I mean think about it, whoever heard of a sniper being a healer? How about a tank with no shield? Why not a medic who is more tank than healer? Baptiste could fill a sort of hybrid role the same way Soldier 76 does. Sure he CAN heal teammates but his healing ability is best suited to keeping himself alive through extended firefights. Perhaps his healing ability can be applied to friendly targets but only if they're in melee range like in Killing Floor 2. Another thought is that Baptiste secretly developed a sort of damage mitigating technology using Talon's own labs. Something he used to defect knowing full well that Doomfist and Antonio would send a team after him. Damage reduction is something that features prominently in other games but so far only Orisa has an ability that actually does it. What if she could heal herself in small bursts as well?
So with those thoughts out of the way let's create a blueprint for Baptiste the tank. I envision him being somewhat akin to Zarya in that he has the standard 200 health but also 250 shields. The higher shields are because like Roadhog, Baptiste has no barrier to rely on, instead using his damage mitigation technology as his first ability. For certain period of time, say 10 seconds all damage Baptiste takes is reduced by 33%. Also it immediately starts regenning his shields whether he's taking damage or not. Captain Cuerva mentions that Baptiste is a really good shot so clearly he has a standard weapon of some kind. Personally, I'd love to have a burst fire rifle of some kind especially since so far, that's the only class of weapon not in Overwatch. As for healing Baptiste can heal himself to full or his teammates for 150 health using bandages which work only when friendlies are in melee range. Unlike Mercy though, Baptiste can use this ability while firing his weapon. As for his ultimate I think Baptiste should be able to extend his damage mitigation to the rest of the team. Like Rally, Baptiste creates an aura around him and all friendly targets receive 33% less damage from all sources. As someone who plays Anthem I can tell you just how important an ability like that can be in an intense firefight.
So there you go. Hopefully, this isn't as crazy as it sounds but considering we already have a support with tank like abilities why not have the reverse as well? Either way I'm sure we'll find out next week.