Kiriko

For the cinematic of the same name, see Kiriko (animated short).

For the similarly named character, see Kimiko.

Kiriko
"I'll find my own path."
Real Name	Kiriko Kamori (家守 霧子)
Aliases	Kiriko Yamagami (original name) Protector of Kanezaka
Age	21
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation	Vigilante Shrine caretaker (Miko)
Base	Kanezaka, Japan
Affiliation	Yamagami Blades Yōkai
Relations	Asa Yamagami (mother) Toshiro Yamagami (father) Unnamed grandmother
Voice	Sally Amaki (English) Anna Lauzeray-Gishi (French) Anna Ewelina (German) Elisa Contestabile (Italian) Fairouz Ai (Japanese) Kim Ha-ru (Korean) Sara Lityńska (Polish) Lia Mello (Brazilian Portuguese) Iuliia Gorokhova (Russian) Pilar Puebla (European Spanish) Yetzary Olcort (Latin American Spanish)
Cosmetics	Cosmetic page
Quotes	Quotation page
Role	Support
Health	250
Character Video

Kiriko is a Support hero in Overwatch 2. Released on 4 October 2022, she is the 35th hero added to the game.

Overview

Kiriko is a kunoichi healer who is aided by her kitsune spirit. She can throw protection suzu to her allies, or kunai against her enemies.

She is a family friend of the Shimada Family. She also trained in the early days with Genji & Hanzo.

Abilities

Role: Support

Type

Passive Ability

Begin regenerating health more quickly.

• Details

Ability details:

• Reduces the time before passive health regeneration starts from 5 to 2.5 seconds after taking damage.

Wall Climb (Kiriko)

SPACE

Type

Passive Ability

Effect Type

Movement

Jump at walls to climb up them.

Duration:

Up to 1 second

Move. speed:

8.25 m/s

• Details

Ability details:

• Landing on ledges allows Kiriko to mantle them, even after wall climb has already been used.
• Can reach up to 10.3m height (11m with jump) due to momentum being kept after wall climb ends.

Healing Ofuda

Type

Weapon (Primary Fire)

Effect Type

Projectile

Channel a burst of healing talismans that can seek targeted allies.

Healing:

13 (per talisman)
26 (per burst)

Rate of fire:

0.2 seconds (per burst)
1.7 seconds (full clip)

Bullets per shot:

2

Ammo per shot:

1 per shot

Ammo:

5

Reload time:

0.9 seconds

Max. range:

35 meters (lock on)

Projectile speed:

24 m/s (homing)
18 m/s (non-homing)

Projectile radius:

None

Example Video:

• Details

Ability details:

• Healing per second: 130 (~76.5 overall w/ recovery)
• Default behavior is a toggle, meaning pressing the button will cause Kiriko to hold down the ability. If you don't want to use all 10 Healing Ofuda, you must press again to toggle off. This setting can be changed in the options.
• After being thrown, the talismans are either yellow or blue. The color indicates whether they are homing in on a target.
  • Yellow means they are seeking the allied player.
  • Blue means they don't have a target. Blue ofuda can still heal an ally if they walk into the missed ofuda's path.
• Healing Ofuda are destroyed upon impact with terrain (whether they were homing or not).
• Healing Ofuda automatically reload when they are not in use or the clip is emptied. All 10 Ofuda are restored, regardless of how many Ofuda were left in the clip.
• The max range for Healing Ofuda is the same as Swift Step, so you can use the indicator for that ability to determine if your Healing Ofuda is within range of homing in or not.
• The maximum view angle for Healing Ofuda lock on is half that of Swift Step. If Swift Step sensitivity is set to 50%, then the presence of the Swift Step reticle will also indicate an adequate viewing angle for Healing Ofuda lock-on.
• Healing Ofuda will continue to home on targets even when they teleport or become untargetable by enemies, such as a Shadow Stepping Reaper or a Moira using Fade. They are still limited by their max homing range.
• Despite Deflect switching ownership to Genji, yellow ofudas will still try to seek their original target. If Genji's allies stand in their path, they will be healed.

Kunai

Type

Weapon (Secondary Fire)

Effect Type

Projectile

Thrown projectile that deals increased critical damage.

Damage:

45

Headshot:

✓ (2.5x multiplier)

Rate of fire:

1 shot per 0.5 seconds

Ammo:

15

Reload time:

1 second

Spread angle:

None

Projectile speed:

90 m/s

Projectile radius:

0.225 meters

Example Video:

• Details

Ability details:

• Damage per second: 90 while firing (79.4 overall w/reload)

Swift Step

LSHIFT

7 seconds

Type

Ability

Effect Type

Targeted (ally)
Movement

Teleport directly to an ally.

Duration:

0.25 second invulnerability

Max. range:

35 meters

Example Video:

• Details

Ability details:

• Swift Step can target allies through walls.
• Swift Step has a brief casting animation that can be interrupted.
• Objects that are attached to Kiriko are dropped at the cast location when she teleports.
  • This includes Jagged Blade, Sonic Arrow, Pulse Bomb and Sticky Bombs.
  • Magnetic Grenade cannot be dropped, as it prevents Swift Step from being used.
• Kiriko is briefly phased out after using Swift Step, removing most negative status effects and making her immune to damage.
  • This will also cleanse Kiriko of negative effects, similarly to Protection Suzu.
• Swift Step can be used on airborne allies, such as Pharah. Kiriko will appear at their side and begin to fall immediately.
• Swift Step cannot be used while Kiriko is under a movement lock effect such as Steel Trap, Gravitic Flux or Graviton Surge

Protection Suzu

E

15 seconds

Type

Ability

Effect Type

Arcing projectile
Area of effect

!

!

!

Throw a protective charm to make allies become briefly invulnerable and cleansed of most negative effects.

Healing:

80 (no cleanse)
110 (cleanse)

Duration:

0.65 seconds (invulnerability)

Area of effect:

5 meters

Projectile speed:

35 m/s

Projectile radius:

0.2 meters

Example Video:

• Details

Ability details:

• Protection Suzu makes allies phased out, making them immune to most negative effects and damage. They are not targetable by enemies and become non-physical. Abilities, such as Chain Hook, will pass through them.
• Protection Suzu does not work on constructs like Torbjörn's Turret.
• The projectile can be destroyed while in air by Defense Matrix, Kinetic Grasp and Javelin Spin and reflected by Deflect, but the explosion is unaffected.
• Amplification Matrix affects all healing dealt, if the projectile passes through it. Area healing alone going through is not amplified.
• Protection Suzu does not collide with enemies.
• Protection Suzu, if thrown straight up, takes 7 seconds before it will impact the ground and trigger.
• Following effects are prevented and removed by Protection Suzu and grant bonus healing upon removal:
  • Anti-heal, such as Biotic Grenade, Rampage and Damage role passive
  • Damage over time effects, such as Dynamite, Venom Mine and Junker Queen's wounds
  • Stuns (incl. knockdown, sleep, freeze), such as Earthshatter, Sleep Dart and Blizzard
  • Sombra's Hack
  • Zenyatta's Orb of Discord
  • Illari's Captive Sun sunstruck debuff
• Following effects are prevented and removed but do not grant bonus healing upon removal:
  • Attached objects, such as Jagged Blade, Sonic Arrow, Magnetic Grenade, Pulse Bomb and Sticky Bombs
  • Movement slows, such as Endothermic Blaster and Meteor Strike
• Following effects are prevented but not removed by Protection Suzu:
  • Knockback's and knockups, such as Soundwave
  • Junkrat's Steel Trap
  • Reinhardt's Charge
  • Roadhog's Chain Hook
• Following effects are completely unaffected by Protection Suzu. Damage portions may still be prevented, but the effect will not end:
  • Sigma's Gravitic Flux
  • Zarya's Graviton Surge
  • Mauga's Cage Fight
• Protection Suzu can affect allies through walls and floors as long as their bodies are sticking through them.

Kitsune Rush

Q

2525 points

Type

Ultimate Ability

Effect Type

Area of effect

Summon a fox spirit that rushes forward, accelerating the movement, attack speed, and cooldowns of allies that follow its path.

Rate of fire:

+50%

Reload time:

+50% reload speed

Duration:

10.5 seconds

Max. range:

25m

Move. speed:

+30%

Cooldown:

2x cooldown reduction

Example Video:

• Details

Ability details:

• Kitsune Rush's deployment is completely stopped if the fox spirit collides with terrain. Whatever path was laid prior to collision with terrain remains in effect.
  • If the fox hits a surface at a low angle, it will slide along it, maintaining its original direction, instead of stopping.
  • The fox can jump walls roughly up to Kiriko's height, but it will not cover gaps. If Kitsune Rush goes down a ledge, it will deploy along the ground beneath regardless of height.
• Kitsune Rush's deployment is not impacted by barriers and will pass through them.
  • Terrain-like objects, such as Mei's Ice Wall and Cryo-Freeze and Lifeweaver's Tree of Life, can block the deployment of Kitsune's Rush, regardless of whether the ability is from an ally or an enemy.
• B.O.B receives the benefits of Kitsune Rush.
  • Constructs, like Torbjorn's Turret and Junkrat's Rip-Tire do not receive any benefit.
• Functions with Beam-type weapons, such as Tesla Cannon, by increasing the tick rate.
• Works on abilities which have a rate of fire, such as Storm Arrows and Whole Hog.
• Speeds up the charge time of weapons, such as Storm Bow and Healing Blossom.
• Kitsune Rush cannot be cancelled mid-animation by stuns, but getting killed or hacked mid-animation does.

Hero-specific options

Setting name	Options	Description
Swift Step sensitivity	10% ... 100% (default: 100%)	Adjusts the targeting sensitivity of Swift Step. Setting this to a lower value reduces the maximum view angle for acquiring a target.
Healing Ofuda sensitivity	10% ... 100% (default: 100%)	Adjusts the targeting sensitivity of Healing Ofuda. Setting this to a lower value reduces the maximum view angle for acquiring a target.
Toggle Healing Ofuda	On (default)	Barrier Field deactivates when player presses the button again.
	Off	Barrier Field deactivates when player stops holding the button.
Healing Ofuda UI	On (default)	Healing Ofuda ammo UI element is displayed below the crosshair.
	On	Healing Ofuda ammo UI element is hidden.
Automatically climb walls	Off (default)	While facing a wall, hold Jump and Forward to wall climb.
	On	While facing a wall, hold Forward while airborne to wall climb.
Healing Ofuda cancels reload	On (default)	Activating Healing Ofuda interrupts reload
	Off	Healing Ofuda cannot be used while reloading.

Strategy

• Kiriko plays well when alongside flanking characters, such as Tracer and Genji.
• Protection Suzu works a lot like Zarya's bubble or Baptiste's immortality field (though it lasts a mere 0.85 seconds). When timed right, it can save teammates (or yourself) from ultimates or burst damage.
• A combo of Swift Step + Protection Suzu allows you to save the lives of distant low health players and gives you a little time to start healing them.
• Swift Step provides a brief invulnerability upon arriving. With the right timing, you can dodge the effects of most abilities even if your only ally is also in range of that effect.

Match-Ups and Team Synergy

Tank

Hero	Match-Up	Team Synergy
D.Va	Up close, Defense Matrix is a great counter to Kiriko as it negates your kunai, your ofudas, and, most importantly of all, your Protection Suzu. If D.Va chooses to dive you, use your Swift Step to get away (preferably to an ally far from her). Your safest option is to poke D.Va from long range as your kunai have no falloff damage. Your Protection Suzu can protect you and allies from her Self-Destruct. Also, a well-timed Swift Step can save your being blown up by D.Va's ultimate ability.	Protection Suzu can ensure that D.Va isn't killed while using Call Mech. Your Kitsune Rush is a good pair with D.Va's abilities and increases her Boosters' uptime.
Doomfist	If Doomfist dives you, use your Swift Step to escape. You can also Wall Climb or Protection Suzu to evade his Rocket Punch if you know it's coming towards you. Be careful about throwing your kunai at him while he's blocking. A single headshot will fully empower his gauntlet for a stronger Rocket Punch. Even if a teammate gets punched into a wall, he still needs a few more shots to finish them, which should allow you to throw Protection Suzu to save them. Protection Suzu can also protect you from Meteor Strike and cleanse its slowing after-effect.	As a highly mobile tank, your ofudas may have a hard time reaching him, especially when he goes around corners. You can use your Swift Step to reach him quickly. Protection Suzu could be a hindrance when he's using his Power Block because it could prevent him from fully charging his gauntlet. Despite this, the cooldown reduction from your ultimate grants Doomfist more opportunities to punch opponents into the walls.
Junker Queen	Your Protection Suzu is a great countermeasure against her wounds and her Rampage's anti-healing effect. You can also use Swift Step to cleanse yourself of those negative effects. Swift Step also drops her Jagged Blade if it's stuck to you.	Your Protection Suzu can cleanse Junker Queen of negative effect, which is helpful to ensure she can sustain her self-heal. Your ultimate pairs nicely with her abilities as the speed boost can stack with her Commanding Shout, the cooldown reduction pairs greatly with Carnage and Rampage,
Orisa	Up close, Javelin Spin is a great counter to Kiriko as it negates your kunai, your ofudas, and, most importantly of all, your Protection Suzu. Orisa can also use that ability to charge toward you, so use Swift Step when that happens. Fortify will ensure that you can't land any critical hits on her along with lowering the damage you can inflict. Watch out for her Energy Javelin as it stuns you and Orisa will most likely focus fire whoever get hit. If you get caught in Terra Surge, you can either use Swift Step to escape or use Protection Suzu around 2.5 seconds into her ultimate duration.	Protection Suzu can ensure that Orisa isn't killed or hacked while using Terra Surge. Your Kitsune Rush is a good pair with Orisa's abilities, especially since it brings back Fortify and Javelin Spin quicker.
Ramattra	Just like you, Ramattra can poke you at long range. Do not confront him up close because if he uses Nemesis Form, he can pummel you to death. In that event, use either Protection Suzu to negate some of the damage or Swift Step to escape. His Void Barrier can block all of your projectile abilities. Ravenous Vortex can slow down your movement speed to go in tandem with Pummel. Annihilation can render your Kitsune Rush hazardous as his nanites attack anyone within it.	Kitsune Rush pairs nicely with his Nemesis Form and, in turn, Annihilation. He moves faster and punches quicker. You can use Protection Suzu to make him invulnerable and cleanse him of negative effects. Pepper in your kunai to help him mow down targets quicker.
Reinhardt	As long as you play far back, Reinhardt can't do anything to you. Just throw kunai at him and dodge his Firestrikes. If Reinhardt charges at you, you can evade by climb up walls, teleporting out with Swift Step, or becoming invulnerable with Protecting Suzu. If you see Reinhardt is about to use Earthshatter, your Protection Suzu can reverse the knockdown effect on yourself and your allies. It can also prevent allies from taking pin damage.	Protection Suzu can ensure that Reinhardt isn't killed or interrupted if he has pinned a target.
Roadhog	Roadhog is an easy target to farm ult charge for your Kitsune Rush. Roadhog's damage is negligible at long range. Protection Suzu can prevent Roadhog from one-shotting hooked allies. Protecting Suzu may not save anyone from Whole Hog because of the temporary duration.	Protection Suzu can remove any negative effects inflicted on Roadhog, allowing him to get up if he's been slept or knocked down and - most importantly - cleanses him of anti-heal effects. Protection Suzu ensures that Roadhog can use his Take a Breather without interruption, greatly increasing his survivability. Kitsune Rush pairs nicely with his abilities, especially Whole Hog as the higher rate of fire means he deals more damage.
Sigma	Experimental Barrier and Kinetic Grasp blocks your kunai, healing ofudas, and Protection Suzu. He also gains overhealth from absorbing your kunai. Use Swift Step to escape Gravitic Flux's target zone. However, if you do get caught, use your Protection Suzu to prevent the damage by either hitting a wall, a neighboring ally, or (and this one is tricky) hitting the ground below slightly before you land.	Kitsune Rush can bring back online some key abilities sooner such as Accretion and Kinetic Grasp.
Wrecking Ball	You might as well ignore Wrecking Ball because you can't inflict headshots while he's in Roll form. Leave him to another teammate with crowd control (preferably a stun). Your Protection Suzu can protect yourself and allies from taking damage from Piledriver. You can also dodge Piledriver with your Swift Step. Minefield can make your Kitsune Rush hazardous to stand in as the mines deal high damage when touched.	As a highly mobile tank, your ofudas may have a hard time reaching him, especially when he goes around corners. Frankly, you shouldn't really worry about Wrecking Ball as he should be able to get to health packs quickly.
Winston	Throw a few kunai at Winston when he dives at you and then quickly escape with Swift Step. Realize that his Barrier Projector blocks your abilities (save Kitsune Rush) so communicate to allies to exit if they're inside.	Kitsune Rush can bring back online some key abilities sooner such as Jump Pack and Barrier Projector.
Zarya	Stay out of range of the Particle Cannon's beam. Your kunais doesn't provide a lot of energy for her. If caught in Graviton Surge, do not use your Protection Suzu immediately. Try to wait a moment and then use it toward the end.	Kitsune Rush can re-enable her barriers sooner, increasing her shielding uptime and increasing the time she's at high energy. The tick rate of her beam is also increased, which makes a high energy Zarya a great threat.

Damage

Hero	Match-Up	Team Synergy
Ashe	Your weapon has no damage falloff so you can use that to your advantage against Ashe. However, the Viper is a hitscan weapon so she could have some leverage. You can use Swift Step to cleanse yourself of Dynamite's burn effect. Protection Suzu does the same thing along with cleansing allies of the same effect. Landing headshots on B.O.B. can chip away large swathes of his health.	As a sniper, Ashe's mostly stationary, so it's easier to send her your ofudas. Kitsune Rush greatly helps Ashe as she suffers from having the longest reload time of the entire cast. It also helps her get back Coach Gun and Dynamite. B.O.B. is also benefited greatly as he moves faster as he's charges faster and his fire rate is increased, letting him deal more damage.
Bastion	Bastion could be a problem to you. In Assault form, his critical hitbox - a blue box - is hidden behind his machine gun. Even if you reach it, you need to land 4 kunai to that spot. That will be hard, and Bastion can turn around quick enough before you can finish the job and then shred you apart. Your Protection Suzu doesn't last long enough to protect yourself from its onslaught of bullets. You can teleport away with Swift Step if you're close to dying. Your Protection Suzu can save yourself and allies from Configuration: Artillery. Though, keep in mind Bastion may space out the shots to bait you into using it early or cluster the shots so some of the splash can gravely wound you.	Kitsune Rush pairs extremely well with his Assault Form as he can output more damage quicker and nearly cancels out the speed penalty. Not only that, his Recon form's primary fire shoots faster and he moves quicker. Also, he can regain his grenade sooner. Protection Suzu can assure Bastion doesn't die while using Assault form and his ultimate.
Cassidy	Both of you can eliminate each other with two headshots. Cassidy may have the advantage given his weapon is hitscan and yours is a projectile. However, that doesn't guarantee a win for him. You can teleport away with Swift Step if you're low on health. Also, Protection Suzu make you invulnerable so you can survive his next attack. Be careful with his Magnetic Grenade as it will prevent Swift Step once it attaches to you. Against Deadeye, you're better off using your Swift Step as Protection Suzu is temporary, and he can just wait out the effect.	Your Kitsune Rush decreases the speed penalty when he uses Deadeye (from -75% to -45%). Also, the increased fire rate makes Cassidy more lethal close to mid-range duels.
Echo	As a flying character, Echo will be hard to hit while she's in the air. Her primary is just like yours - a projectile with no damage falloff. Her Tri-Shot, however, has a fire rate than yours. With Swift Step you can dodge her attacks. Plus, her Sticky Bombs fall off you.	In an open area, your healing ofudas should be able to home onto Echo. Protection Suzu, unfortunately, isn't a homing projectile and you can miss trying to hit her while she's flying. Kitsune Rush brings back her abilities sooner so she can maintain flight.
Genji	You may experience difficulties trying to track a mobile hero like Genji. He can hop around you, evading your kunai, and damage your with either his shuriken or Swift Strike. Deflect can prevent your Protection Suzu from reaching allies and - in worse case scenarios - cleanse an ally of Genji. Do not try to fight Genji with Dragonblade as he only need to slash you twice to kill you. There's a strange interaction with Deflect and your Healing Ofuda. While deflect gives Genji ownership, they'll still travel to the ally it was tracking, but it won't heal them. If an ally of Genji stands in the path, they can get heal from your ofuda.	You should be able to play well alongside a flanking character like Genji. Both of you can climb walls and you can teleport to Genji should use his dash. Use your ofudas to keep him alive so he can get eliminations. With Kitsune Rush, the rate of fire increase means Genji get more swings during Dragonblade.
Hanzo	Hanzo will be difficult at long range. A singe fully charged headshot will kill you, whereas your need to land two kunai to his head. If you're bugged with a Sonic Arrow, either Swift Step or Protection Suzu will remove the effect. Protection Suzu can be effective against Dragonstrike as you or allies aren't rooted.	(To be added)
Junkrat	Be aware of your surroundings as Junkrat could dive from high ground and instantly two-tap you (Frag Launcher grenade + Concussion Mine deals 220 damage). Getting caught in his Steel Trap chips away half of your health and disables your Swift Step, thus making Protection Suzu your only means of defense. Protection Suzu can protect you and your teammates from RIP-Tire.	(To be added)
Mei	Stay out of her primary fire range. Her Endothermic Blaster's freeze ray deals a lot of damage over time. Use Swift Step to get out of range. Both of you have projectile alt fires that deal high headshot damage and has no falloff, so exercise caution in long range duels. Especially since it take three kunai headshots to kill Mei versus two icicles headshots. Mei can use her Cryo-Freeze to heal from your damage. This and her Ice Wall can block your healing and Protection Suzu. When dealing with Blizzard, try to teleport to an ally out of range using Swift Step. Otherwise, they to use your Protection Suzu about one second into its duration so you can avoid being frozen and hopefully escape.	(To be added)
Pharah	As a flying character, Pharah will be hard to hit while she's in the air. Her primary is just like yours - a projectile with no damage falloff. Her rockets do more damage outright than your kunai. Even the splash from the explosion chips away much of your health. If Pharah does pursue you, try to use Swift Step to escape her. During Barrage, your Suzu can save allies, though Pharah could change her target mid-animation and take out someone else.	(To be added)
Reaper	Your need three kunai headshots to eliminate Reaper, but that won't be easy. You do have the range advantage with your kunai and his shotguns are negligible at longer ranges. However, Reaper can close the distance between the two of you with Shadow Step and Wraith Form. Even he doesn't shoot you, he slowly self-heals while dealing damage to other allies. While he's using Wraith Form, you can't damage him at all. Reaper only needs one or two headshots at close range to finish you off. Unfortunately, your Protection Suzu won't say anyone caught by his Death Blossom due its briefduration.	(To be added)
Soldier: 76	While your kunai has no damage falloff, Soldier's Heavy Pulse Rifle has a high rate of fire and he has his Helix Rocket. Also, he can sprint to find cover and heal up with his Biotic Field. Your Protection Suzu could save you from Tactical Visor, but then he will target an un-cleanse ally. He also could just wait for that ability to wear off before resuming.	(To be added)
Sojourn	(To be added)	(To be added)
Sombra	Both Protection Suzu and Swift Step can remove the hack debuff from yourself. Your Suzu can cleanse allies that have been hacked as well. In a one-on-one, your slower rate of fire may hinder you from defeating Sombra but one good headshot chips away half of her health. Neither Hack nor EMP can cancel Kitsune Rush.	(To be added)
Symmetra	(To be added)	(To be added)
Torbjörn	(To be added)	(To be added)
Tracer	(To be added)	(To be added)
Widowmaker	(To be added)	(To be added)

Support

Hero	Match-Up	Team Synergy
Ana	Protection Suzu counter nearly all of Ana's abilities; interrupts her rifle's slow overtime damage, awakens slept allies, and removes the anti-healing debuff. That being said, Ana can still be a threat at long range. Her scoped shots are hitscan, which makes three-tapping you easy.	(To be added)
Baptiste	(To be added)	(To be added)
Brigitte	(To be added)	(To be added)
Kiriko	(To be added)	(To be added)
Lúcio	(To be added)	(To be added)
Mercy	(To be added)	(To be added)
Moira	(To be added)	(To be added)
Zenyatta	(To be added)	(To be added)

Story

Kiriko is cheeky and full of life. She has tongue-in-cheek style humor, and is not afraid of teasing others, regardless of how intimidating they might seem. She exudes youthful energy and intelligence; a combination that makes her extremely personable. She loves to kid around with her teammates, and any disrespect or sass sent her way is simply redirected, Like the Fox Spirit that aids her, Kiriko is a trickster, but while a trickster and light-hearted, Kiriko has a strong moral compass, and believes in taking care of those around her. She is intelligent, and is a natural leader.

Kiriko has a sweet tooth, enjoying doughnuts.

For generations, the Yamagami family served and protected Kanezaka by following traditional paths. Kiriko, however, forged her own path by mixing the old and the new. While she respects tradition, Kiriko believes that traditions must change to reflect modern thinking. The influences of her grandmother and mother have shaped Kiriko into a hybrid of healer and warrior; a bridge of the traditional and the modern. She will do anything to protect her family and community, even if she has to bend a few rules.

Kiriko is cunning and agile. Through her training, Kiriko is proficient in the ways of both Miko and Kunoichi. She is a skilled martial artist, and has demonstrated seemingly supernatural abilities, such as teleportation and healing; in the case of the latter, she utilizes ofuda, but can heal minor injuries without them. She is also proficient in Japanese Sign Language. She is good at basketball, and claims to have never lost a game, and to have never played without stakes.

Background

“	For generations, our family has served and protected our city...by following traditional paths. My grandmother devoted herself to the Fox Spirit...who taught her the ancient way of healing. Whereas my mother has chosen the path of the blade...passing down time-honored skills through training and discipline. I knew each of them wanted me to follow her path...but...I couldn't choose. Training quiets my mind and opens me to the Fox Spirit's guidance. And my bond with her lets me protect those who can't fight for themselves. They both make me feel whole. And they both felt like home.	„
	~ Kiriko

Kiriko bonds with the Fox Spirit

Kiriko Yamagami was raised by her grandmother and mother in Kanezaka. Her grandmother taught her about taking care of the Fox Shrine, traditions and the importance of community. A highly spiritual woman, her grandmother's spiritual beliefs strongly influenced Kiriko, and shaped her fighting style. In addition to having Kiriko sweep the floor of the shrine, her grandmother taught her the ways of healing, and how to summon the Fox Spirit. Kiriko and the Fox Spirit bonded.

Asa trains Kiriko

On the other hand, Kiriko's mother was a fierce ninja, who believed in action, standing up for oneself, and fighting for what was right. Both her mother and grandmother wanted Kiriko to follow their path, but she was unable to choose. Training quietened her mind, and opened her to the guidance of the Fox Spirit, while her bond with the spirit allowed Kiriko to protect those who couldn't defend themselves. As such, she followed both paths.

Kiriko trains alongside the Shimada brothers

Kiriko's mother trained Genji and Hanzo Shimada in the way of the sword, as well as other ninja skills, such as how to wall climb. As such, Kiriko both grew up and learned alongside the duo, becoming a sort of "cute, little niece figure" to them. Because of this, Kiriko was a frequent visitor at Shimada Castle, and spent many years of her childhood staring in awe at Kanezaka's fireworks displays from the castle's balcony, such as those of the End of Summer Festival. While training, Genji tripped on his own sword, and while it only happened once, the incident remained stuck in Kiriko's memory.

One night, after the End of Summer Festival, Sojiro Shimada told his sons and Kiriko a story from the history of the Shimada clan. How centuries ago, a rival clan attempted to end the Shimada's rule by setting their orchards aflame, as well as the city's Fox Shrine. The rival clan anticipated that the Shimada would move to protect their fields rather than the people of Kanezaka, but instead, the opposite happened. The Shimada aided their people first, and united with the clan, the Kanezakans made short work of the rival clan lying in wait at the orchards. The lesson, as Sojiro imparted to the three children, was that a leader's relationship must be mutually beneficial with their people, or else, they were nothing more than a parasite.

Kiriko

Of the two brothers, Kiriko was especially close with Genji, as they were both mischief makers. They often hung out at the arcade in Hanamura, where they got into trouble on at least one occasion. While in the castle, Genji, who often filched sweets for her when the Shimada's many servants weren’t looking, and they would get up to no good inside the castle. At some point, Kiriko had a bowl cut. As she didn't want to be the only one, Genji styled his hair likewise.

The Hashimoto

“	The children of this town, growing to adulthood with only the brutal, thoughtless Hashimoto to determine what is good or bad...our daughter among them. It is dangerous in this city now.	„
	~ Asa Yamagami

Kiriko with her mother and grandmother

Between the ages of 7 and 12, Kiriko witnessed the fall of the Shimada clan (ironically, their dismantling was largely done by her former friend Genji, now a member of Overwatch) and the assassination of Sojiro Shimada, which left a power vacuum. The Hashimoto clan took over the Shimada's former turf at Kanezaka, terrorizing the community. Furthermore, the clan abducted Kiriko's father, forcing him to make blades for them, as well as using him as leverage in case Asa tried to attack them. They allowed some visitations to his family, and seven years after his abduction, he was able to send Kiriko a blade as a gift, which she appreciated. The next year, Kiriko and her mother moved to the upper level of Yamagami Blades, which had long been closed up. She was kept in the dark as to how bad the situation was with her parents.

For her safety, Kiriko moved in with her grandmother, and started going by her grandmother's surname ("Kiriko Kamori").

Shrine Maiden

Under her grandmother's care, Kiriko forged a close and lasting bond with the Fox Spirit, serving as a shrine maiden. Kiriko came to understand the depth of her parents' predicament, and the spreading pain the Hashimoto were inflicting on Kanezaka. She grew to loathe the Hashimoto. From Tokyo, Kiriko's father supported Kiriko's feelings. Witnessing years of the Hashimoto's injustices, Kiriko vowed to restore peace to her hometown.

Protector of Kanezaka

“	You Hashimoto have preyed on this city...this neighborhood...these people...for too long. I have a message for you to take back to your boss. Kanezaka is under MY PROTECTION!	„
	~ Kiriko's declaration

Return Home

“	Mom, you may not believe in the Fox Spirit, or what Grandma told me, but believe in me. I'm stronger than you think. Are you?	„
	~ Kiriko and Asa

After Kiriko's grandmother died, Kiriko returned home to free her community from the Hashimoto's grip. She became the caretaker of the Tetsuzan Shrine, and got her own apartment. However, her mother worried about her, and made regular visits to her daughter, much to Kiriko's consternation.

Kiriko and her mother

During the Fox Festival, Kiriko returned home with boxes of doughnuts, where she talked with Mr. Yoshida and his granddaughter. She gave the young girl a Fox Spirit stuffed animal toy, and in return, received a Fox Spirit cap. Her interactions with her mother back in the apartment however, were more strained—Asa was worried about the apartment block her daughter was living in, her presence on Kanezaka's dangerous streets, and Kiriko's unhealthy eating habits. She was similarly unimpressed that Kiriko had stopped training with her, and her claims that she was protected by the Fox Spirit. Barely listening to her mother's complaints, Kiriko did hear a commotion outside. Looking out of the apartment, she saw Hashimoto thugs assaulting Yoshida, with Pompamoto accompanying them, telling him that his son owe the Hashimotos a lot of money. Teleporting into the hallway, Kiriko told the Hashimoto that she was going to kick each of them in the face.

Kiriko goes all-out

The face kicking, and other martial arts, subsequently commenced, the Hashimoto completely outmatched. However, in the fight, one of them fired his pistol, supposedly killing (or at least severely wounding) Yoshida. Using a healing ofuda, Kiriko was able to revive him, but, enraged by what had happened, went full bore, tossing the Hashimoto into the elevator, and telling them to inform their leader that Kanezaka was under her protection. Faced with her seemingly supernatural abilities (KITSUNE RUSH), and the rage of Yoshida and his granddaughter, the thugs retreated. Kiriko then teleports to the grandfather and daughter and gave back Akari her fox doll. Kiriko commended Akari for her bravery and asks her grandfather to look after her since she is growing up so fast.

Mother and daughter heal

After checking that the pair were okay, Kiriko returned to her apartment, where it was revealed that her mother had watched everything. The two made up, and Kiriko agreed to move in with her mother, at least for a little while. Asa, overjoyed, told Kiriko that her grandmother would have been so proud of her, and tearfully exclaimed that her daughter was a superhero.

Yōkai

“	We shouldn’t give the people of Kanezaka more reasons to be afraid. But that doesn’t mean we can’t frighten the Hashimoto. And I can’t think of anything more terrifying than a force that strikes from the shadows, a force with no face, one they can’t explain— Like ghosts—Yōkai.	„
	~ Kiriko and Ryōta form the Yōkai

Kiriko infiltrates the port

Ten years after the Hashimoto took over Kanezaka, at the age of 20, Kiriko fell in with a group of fellow teens—Ryōta, Nobuto, and Sakura. Deciding to strike back against the Hashimoto, they decided to destroy an arms shipment that had arrived at a nearby port. During the End of Summer Festival, they made their move. Gaining access to the port, Kiriko used her kunai to destroy the security cameras and incapacitate the Hashimoto guards. Rejoining her friends at the cargo crates, she opened one of them, and sure enough, they were ladden with firearms.

Kiriko moved to push the crates into the water, but Ryōta wanted to destroy them, using a stockpile of fireworks. Kiriko warned them that the the blast could destroy the entire port, perhaps even Kanezaka itself. To make her point, she recounted the story of the rival clan that Sojiro had imparted to her years ago. She told her friends that their actions tonight would show the world who they really were. Ryōta, finally meeting Kiriko's eyes, told her that if they did this, they would send a message that they were strong, but no better than the Hashimoto. They declared the formation of their group, the Yōkai, which like the spirits of old, would strike fear into the Hashimoto.

Kiriko and the Yōkai

Nobuto and Sakura also agreed. With that, they tossed the guns into the water, and let off the fireworks in celebration. Kiriko vowed to defeat the Hashimoto and free her father.

Having established themselves, the Yōkai, under Kiriko's leadership, became more of a thorn in the Hashimoto's side.

Achievements

Name	Icon	Description	Reward
Purified		Cleanse 5 negative effects with one use of Kiriko's Protection Suzu in Quick or Competitive Play.	Pixel
Yokai		Restore 1500 health and land 5 critical hits without dying as Kiriko in Quick or Competitive Play.	Cute

Trivia

• Kiriko became playable in Overwatch 2. Players who owned Overwatch gained access to her immediately. Those who don't must unlock her through the season 1 battle pass, or purchased through the store. Later it became a hero challenge by winning 10 games as a support hero.
• Kiri (霧) means "mist" and -ko (子) is a common female name suffix that means "child."
• The Kiriko main menu screen that was used during the first season of Overwatch 2 features the song "BOW" by Japanese rapper MFS, which is also used in her animated short.
• Kiriko's Protection Suzu used to deal a small amount of knockback to enemies, making it possible to eliminate them with the suzu. The Protection Suzu had its own icon in the kill feed.
• Kiriko's relationship with the Fox Spirit mimics that of Genji and Hanzo with the Shimada dragons.
• While Tracer is considered the mascot character of the Overwatch IP, some have posited that Kiriko has taken her place as the IP's "poster girl."

Contradictions

• Kiriko's backstory differs between her origin story trailer and hero page. In the former, it is established that her grandmother and mother taught her her respective skills in her childhood, while the latter states that her grandmother taught her healing after moving in with her. Furthermore, the same site states that Kiriko moved in after the Hashimoto took over, while the Kanezaka lore drop established that Kiriko lived with her mother for close to a decade under Hashimoto rule.

Age

• There has been much debate on Kiriko's age within the community, many believing available information regarding it conflicts with her own lore, as well as that of Genji and Hanzo. Her origin summary states that Kiriko joined the Yokai when she was 20, implying she's at least that old, yet the same short seems to conflict with this at first by also stating that Kiriko was 7 when Sojiro Shimada was assassinated (this is also contradicted by her hero page, which states that she was 12 when this happened). As the Yokai story states, "The Shimada were some ten years gone now", would instead logically make Kiriko 17. However, in a letter between Kiriko's parents, it was mentioned that some twelve years had passed since the Hashimoto Clan took over, which would instead indicate Kiriko is 19, still seemingly not lining up with her origin summary. An important detail to consider though is that this message was released as part of the original Overwatch title, but Kiriko only made her debut in Overwatch 2, which is set one year after Recall, adding a likely additional year and bringing Kiriko up to 20, fitting with what was originally stated. It is also possible more than thirteen years has passed, as both mentions of how long had passed since the assassination both state "some ten / twelve years".
• While this explains how Kiriko's age is largely consistent with what was stated, there is one aspect of her lore that conflicts with all this. In both Kiriko's Origin Story, as well as Protector, she's shown alongside Hanzo and Genji, with both appearing to be in their mid to late teens, which is strange, as based on the two's originally mentioned ages, 13 years ago should've shown the two as being around 25 and 23 respectively. This would seem to suggest that instead of around 10 years, it has instead been around 20 years since their father was assassinated. However, this doesn't make much sense, as that would mean Kiriko is really in her mid-twenties to early thirties, the Yokai has accomplished little to nothing of note against the Hashimoto Clan despite being active for around a decade, and conflict with the previously mentioned information of it being closer to 10 years since the assassination.

Design

• Kiriko's clothing is based on the attire worn by Shinto shrine maidens and her overall design incorporates allusions to Inari Ōkami, the patron deity of foxes.
• While her kunai are ninja tools, her other abilities mainly stem from objects associated with Shintoism: ofuda are paper talismans, suzu are sacred bells used to ward off evil, kitsune are fox spirits, and torii are traditional gates that mark the entrances to sacred sites.
• The symbol on Kiriko's headband is the kanji kitsune (狐) or "fox," which has been highly stylized and rotated 45° counter-clockwise.
• Kiriko's final design strongly resembles the original Omniblade concept that became Sombra and influenced the designs of Genji, Hanzo, and Moira, though developers have not credited it as a specific source of inspiration.

Development

Concept arts of Kiriko

Kiriko was developed with Overwatch 2's new 5v5 team compositions in mind. Her design was heavily inspired by Genji; one of the starting points was creating a support hero that DPS players (i.e. Genji) would enjoy playing. Her design stems from a boss character that Blizzard created for the ninja ecology in Overwatch 2's PvE content. She was originally armed with a massive, fidget spinner-inspired throwing star, and had a somewhat more traditional ninja-like appearance. The fox spirit concept was present in her design from the outset. The headband and bandanna come from classic depictions of ninjas in pop culture.

In order to better suit her Support role, Blizzard eventually merged that concept with the traditional dress of a miko, a Shinto shrine maiden, and modern streetwear aesthetics. The developers tried to retain her throwing star, but ended up retooling her to look the part of a Support. An idea was to split her abilities thematically, representing her nature as a Damage/Healer hybrid. This is reflected by her kunai and ofuda respectively. Of note, the kunai were used by Genji in his first iteration.

The visual and sound effects from the ofuda draw on themes from nature. This corresponds with Kiriko's lines when using her primary, such as "the breeze brings relief" and "like a gentle rain."

The protection suzu was chosen to be an active ability, so that Kiriko would engage with her teammates. The first idea for this ability was a smoke bomb inspired by her ninja training. A version of this ability blocked enemies' sight, but the game ended up becoming "one giant smoke cloud" when there was a Kiriko on both teams. Furthermore, instead of using the smoke bomb as a tool to disengage, teams would throw it ahead of them and use the visual cover to pop up in front of the enemy team. Ultimately, the final version of protection suzu was designed to fit with Kiriko's narrative, while also serving a function not otherwise present in the game via temporary invincibility.

The decision to give Kiriko the wall climb passive stems from her backstory of training with Genji and Hanzo. The kitsune rush ultimate was originally just a fox, but playtesting demonstrated that it was hard for players to track the fox. As such, the ability was changed to incorporate Torii gates

Kiriko was officially revealed at the 2022 Tokyo Game Show.

Leaks

Kiriko's fox spirit, as seen in the June 2022 trailer

Over the years, a number of rumors and leaks pointed to Kiriko. Among the community, the term "Kanezaka Fox Girl" became regularly used when discussing the hero.

• The existence of a fox-like hero was rumored as far back as 2019, when Game Informer reported that Jeff Kaplan had shown them the silhouette of what appeared to be a female ninja character with a giant shuriken and fox companion during a press tour for Overwatch 2, later revealed to be an early iteration of her design.
• In January 2021, the Kanezaka map and its related promotional material contained a number of small hints to the hero's identity and background with the storyline for Asa and Toshiro Yamagami, which mentioned Asa's daughter and a fox spirit that she would pray to.
• In June 2022, in the free-to-play announcement trailer for Overwatch 2, a glowing fox spirit was seen moving through the Kanezaka map, tying back into the lore released for the map in 2021.
• In September 2022, Overwatch streamer John “Wanted” Lin accidentally mentioned Kiriko's name on a stream after getting details from Team 4.
• A few days later, Kiriko was leaked via an advertisement for the Overwatch 2 battle pass. The validity of the leak was later confirmed (albeit indirectly) by Blizzard.
• Less than 24 hours later an incomplete workprint of an animated short for Kiriko with Spanish dubbing and temp music was leaked to YouTube, which was reported on by various outlets.

Media

Concept Art

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  Amaterasu Concept Art by Kejun Wang

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  Amaterasu Concept Art by Kejun Wang

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  Amaterasu Weapon Concept Art by Kejun Wang

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  Hinotori Skin Concept Art by Kejun Wang

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  K-2000 Blademaster Concept Art by Cecilia Deyne

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  Time Keeper Concept Art by Emily Siu

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  Witch Concept Art by Emily Siu

Balance Change Logs

For more information, see Patch Notes.

• Overwatch 2 PvP

Overwatch 2 PvP

Patch

Description

12 Mar 2024

General updates

• Global projectile size modifier for travel time projectiles with a speed greater than 50 meters per second reduced from 0.1 to 0.075 meters.

13 Feb 2024

General updates

Most damage-dealing projectile sizes have been increased by a new global modifier added to their base size.

• +0.05 meters for hitscan projectiles with a high rate of fire or spread (e.g., Tracer's Pulse Pistols or Reaper's Hellfire Shotguns).
• +0.08 meters for hitscan projectiles that are more precise (e.g., Cassidy's Peacekeeper or Soldier:76's Heavy Pulse Rifle).
• +0.05 meters for travel time projectiles that are shotguns or have a very high rate of fire (e.g., Roadhog's Scrap Gun or Ramattra's Void Accelerator).
• +0.10 meters for travel time projectile with a speed greater than 50 meters per second (e.g., Zenyatta's Destruction Orb).
• +0.15 meters for travel time projectile with a speed less than or equal to 50 meters per second (e.g., Pharah's Rocket Launcher).
• Very large projectiles with a base size greater than 0.5 meters have been excluded from these increases (e.g., Orisa's Energy Javelin or Reinhardt's Fire Strike).

Hero combined HP (base health/armor/shields) increased by 15-25%.

• 150-175 HP heroes increased by 25 HP.
• 200-300 HP heroes increased by 50 HP.
• 300+ HP (Tanks) increased by 75-100 HP.
• Each hero's precise health increases are listed in their patch notes below.

Ultimate Charge

• All Ultimate ability costs increased by 10%.

Regenerative Passive for All Heroes

• All heroes now regenerate 20 health per second after 5 seconds of not taking damage.

Support Role Passive

• Now reduces the delay before regeneration begins by half (2.5 seconds).

Quick Melee

• Damage increased from 30 to 40.

Hero updates

• Health increased from 200 to 250.

Kunai

• Base projectile size reduced from 0.18 to 0.15 meters.

5 Dec 2023

Developer Comments: Reducing the Protection Suzu invulnerability time further will help it feel less frustrating to play against but still enable it to have big play making moments although with a stricter timing requirement. To counterbalance that power loss we're making Kiriko's healing more reliable.

Healing Ofuda

• Projectile speed increased from 14 to 18 meters per second.

Protection Suzu

• Invulnerability duration reduced from 0.85 to 0.65 seconds.
• Healing explosion increased from 40 to 80 health.

31 Oct 2023

Protection Suzu

• Cooldown increased from 14 to 15 seconds.

5 Sep 2023

Developer Comment: The Protection Suzu no longer knocks back enemy heroes, so the projectile doesn't need to impact them either. This quality-of-life change prevents accidental activations when thrown into groups with both enemies and allies.

Protection Suzu

• Now passes through enemy heroes.

10 Aug 2023

Developer Comment: Protection Suzu now rewards more deliberate usage by increasing its healing when cleansing negative effects. It will no longer knockback enemies, as it wasn't particularly important to its overall design and was there to provide feedback for the impact. These Kunai changes will make the weapon damage output more consistent and reduce some of the disparity between landing critical hits or not.

Protection Suzu

• Knockback removed.
• Healing reduced from 50 to 40.
• Now heals for an additional 30 health when cleansing a negative effect.

Kunai

• Damage increased from 40 to 45.
• Recovery time reduced from 0.55 to 0.5 seconds.
• Critical damage multiplier reduced from 3 to 2.5x.

11 Jul 2023

Developer comments: Originally, we increased the Ofuda recovery time to promote more Kunai usage between healing bursts. Despite that benefit, we are partially reverting that change so the primary fire feels more responsive in situations where Kiriko is pressured to focus entirely on healing.

Healing Ofuda

• Recovery reduced from 1 to 0.9 seconds

9 May 2023

Developer Comments: Kiriko sometimes accidentally interrupts her Kunai reload with Ofuda. Kunai now reloads slightly sooner during the animation to mitigate this. In addition, there is now a hero option, "Healing Ofuda Cancels Reload," which can be turned off to bypass this issue entirely.

Kunai

• Kunai reloads after 65% percent of the animation has completed (formerly 75%)
• New Hero option: "Healing Ofuda Cancels Reload"

24 Jan 2023

Developer comments: Despite Kiriko's healing projectiles being slow-moving and single target, her average healing output per match is higher than we'd like. We've seen players tend to get overly focused on maximizing her healing potential and only use primary fire for extended periods of time. Rather than reduce the amount of healing per projectile, which may lead to feeling locked into focusing on primary fire even more, we're increasing the recovery time before she can start firing the Healing Ofuda. Increasing recovery times opens the opportunity to weave in secondary fire Kunai more freely.

Healing Ofuda

• Recovery time increased from 0.85 to 1 second

15 Dec 2022

Protection Suzu

• Invulnerability duration reduced from 1 to 0.85 seconds

6 Dec 2022

The hit volume adjustment is to help address her arms sometimes blocking headshots in some of her animations. Kiriko feels balanced overall, but her ultimate could feel too frenetic at times. We're reducing both the movement speed and cooldown rate boost it grants so that it's easier to aim during its effect for both allies and enemies, as well as there being fewer abilities being thrown about. The rest of the changes are primarily for quality-of-life improvements to make the abilities feel better to use.

General

• Arm hit volumes width reduced 15%
• Added an auto-wall climb hero option

Protection Suzu

• Cast time reduced from 0.15 to 0.1 second

Kunai

• Ammo increased from 12 to 15

Swift Step

• Ability input can now be held to activate

Kitsune Rush

• Ultimate cost increased by 10%
• Movement speed bonus reduced from 50 to 30%
• Cooldown rate reduced from 3 to 2 times faster

17 Nov 2022

Swift Step

• Invulnerability duration reduced from .4 to .25 seconds

4 Oct 2022

NEW HERO

Kiriko (Support)