Overwatch Reign of Talon: Which New Hero Should You Play First?

In Overwatch’s Reign of Talon update and Season 1: Conquest, you should start with the new hero that matches the role and playstyle you already enjoy most: Domina for anchor tanking, Emre for precision hitscan damage, Anran for mobile assassin play, Mizuki for high‑skill support, or Jetpack Cat for flying team healer. All five heroes—Domina, Emre, Anran, Mizuki, and Jetpack Cat—are available in Season 1 on all current Overwatch platforms, and Blizzard has already started balance tuning, so you can safely pick based on comfort rather than chasing early tier lists.

If you just want a simple recommendation:

• Play Emre if you’re a DPS player who likes Cassidy or Soldier: 76.

• Play Domina if you’re a tank player who likes Sigma or Reinhardt.

• Play Jetpack Cat if you’re a support who enjoys flying and peeling like Mercy or Lifeweaver.​

How to decide quickly which new hero to try

1. Decide your role first (tank, damage, or support). Season 1 adds one tank, two DPS, and two supports.

2. Think about your favorite existing hero in that role (e.g., Sigma, Cassidy, Genji, Kiriko, Mercy).

3. Match that hero to the closest new option in the table above.

4. Play 3–5 games in Quick Play with that one hero to learn their basic rhythm.

5. Swap to a second new hero in the same role if the first one feels too demanding mechanically or too passive for your taste.

This keeps you from bouncing between all five and lets you actually feel a hero’s strengths in real matches.

Domina: best first pick for tank players

Domina is the lone new tank in Reign of Talon and is designed as a long‑range, hard‑light controller who can shape the battlefield with segmented barriers. Her kit revolves around Photon Magnum for medium‑range damage, Crystal Charge as a remote explosive, Barrier Array as a multi‑segment shield wall, and Sonic Repulsors to shove enemies away and stun them if they hit terrain.

You’ll like Domina if you already enjoy:

• Holding chokes and rotating cover like Sigma or Reinhardt.

• Controlling sightlines with barriers rather than diving deep.

• Punishing over‑aggressive flankers with knockbacks and stuns.

The trade‑off is that she’s less about solo diving and more about smart positioning. If your team plays behind you and you like calling where to fight, she’s a strong first pick in Season 1.

Emre: safest entry point for DPS players

Emre is a damage hero built around a synthetic burst rifle and precise, controlled engagements, making him one of the more beginner‑friendly new heroes for DPS mains. His primary fire is a three‑round burst that rewards clean tracking and headshots, and he can aim down sights for tighter mid‑ to long‑range shots.​

Why Emre is a good starting point:

• His rifle feels familiar if you’ve played Cassidy, Soldier: 76, or Baptiste.

• A sidearm with lifesteal and movement boosts gives you some safety in close fights.​

• Override Protocol, his ultimate, puts him in the air raining down light and heavy rounds, giving him strong presence over open areas.

You give up some of the raw burst of heroes like Widowmaker or the chaos of Junkrat, but you gain a very readable, consistent DPS kit that slots easily into most team comps.

Anran: high‑ceiling assassin for confident DPS mains

Anran is a damage hero focused on fire‑based burst and mobility, with attacks that build a burn gauge and an alternate fire that amplifies those burns. Her kit includes dashes like Inferno Rush, an evasive damage ability in Dancing Blaze, and two Vermillion ultimates—Ascent for a massive fiery explosion while alive, and Revival to blow up and resurrect from death.

You should try Anran if:

• You enjoy heroes like Genji, Tracer, or Echo and like weaving in and out of danger.

• You’re comfortable tracking multiple cooldowns and planning escape routes.

• You want a hero who can both clean up low‑HP targets and clutch revives through Vermillion Revival.

The downside is that she’s punishing if you misposition. Missed dashes or poorly timed ultimates can leave you stranded, so she’s better as a second or third new hero once you’re comfortable with the season’s flow.

Mizuki: for players who love skillshot supports

Mizuki is a Talon‑aligned support hero who heals and deals damage with bouncing projectiles and has strong repositioning tools. His Spirit Glaive is a blade that ricochets off walls to tag enemies, while Healing Kasa sends out his hat to bounce between allies before returning to him.

Key reasons to start with Mizuki:

• You like heroes that reward prediction and angles, similar to Kiriko’s kunai plus suzu plays.

• Binding Chain lets you lock down slippery targets, enabling your team to secure picks.​

• Katashiro Return gives you a “go in, then snap back” safety tool, great for risky rescues.​

Mizuki’s trade‑off is that missed projectiles mean weaker healing output. If you’re okay with a higher skill ceiling and love trick shots, he’s a great long‑term support pick, but pure throughput healers will feel easier at first.

Jetpack Cat: flying ambulance and team peel specialist

Jetpack Cat (also known as Fika in some official materials) is a support hero built around permanent flight, ally transport, and pulsing area healing. She fires “Biotic Pawjectiles” that heal allies and damage enemies, and her Lifeline ability lets her lift teammates into the air while healing them, or re‑position them out of danger.

Why Jetpack Cat is such a strong first support pick:

• Constant flight feels immediately familiar if you’ve played Mercy’s vertical movement.

• Lifeline can act like a portable escape rope, pulling teammates away from ultimates or bad angles.

• Purr provides a growing pulsing AoE heal that also knocks back enemies on activation, giving both sustain and peel in tight fights.

The downside is that you’re very visible in the sky and can be a priority target for hitscan heroes. You trade some raw, always‑on healing (like Moira spray) for strong repositioning and fight‑starting or fight‑saving utility.

One practical example: in payload maps with environmental hazards, you can use Catnapper, her ultimate, to dive, tether an enemy, and drag them off the map while your team pushes uncontested. It’s risky, but incredibly satisfying when it works.​

Is it worth learning all five new heroes now?

Yes, but not all at once. Reign of Talon and Season 1: Conquest are framed as the start of a year‑long story, and these five heroes are central to that narrative, so they’re likely to stay relevant across multiple balance patches.

A good approach is:

• Lock in one comfort pick now as your main (Domina, Emre, or Jetpack Cat for most players).

• Add one stretch pick that pushes your mechanics (Anran for DPS, Mizuki for support).

• Revisit the others after the first round of balance changes, since Blizzard is already adjusting numbers based on live data.

That way you’re always contributing to your team, while still exploring what the new designs can do.