Winston just sent the invite. Honestly, if you haven’t seen the latest "Lore Drop: Invitation" video in the Overwatch 2 story hub, you’re missing the biggest teaser we've had in months.
Everyone is freaking out about Anran, Wuyang’s older sister, and for good reason. The community is basically convinced she’s Hero 46. But there is a massive debate brewing about whether we’re actually getting another DPS or if Blizzard is about to pull a fast one on us.
Anran Explained: The Fire to Wuyang's Water
So, who is she? If you've been playing Wuyang since his Season 19 launch, you’ve probably heard him grumbling about his sister. He talks about her like she’s this overachieving, strict perfectionist.
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In the lore, Anran was the star student at Wuxing University’s Fire College. While Wuyang struggled and ended up in the Water College, Anran was a natural. During the Null Sector invasion, they had a falling out—standard sibling stuff—but eventually teamed up to save their parents.
The "Invitation" video is the smoking gun. Winston literally pans the camera to a close-up of Anran while talking about heroes who "stood out for their courage." It’s not subtle.
Is she really another DPS?
This is where the community is split. Recent datamines from the Russian localization of the game have Echo shouting "Scorch the Sky!" when copying a new ultimate. People are connecting the dots: Fire + Scorch = Anran.
- The DPS Argument: We just got Vendetta (the aggressive, mobility-heavy DPS) in Season 20. Before that, we had Freja and La Lupa. If Anran is a fire-based damage dealer, that’s four DPS heroes in a row.
- The Tank Theory: Some players are praying she’s a Tank. The game needs more variety in the tank role, especially with the 6v6 experiments returning. Could "Scorch the Sky" be an area-denial tank ultimate?
- The Support Twist: Some think she might be a "battle-medic" who uses fire to cauterize wounds or provide buffs. It’s a stretch, but Wuyang is a support, so maybe it runs in the family?
What Happened to Hazard and Vendetta?
If you’re just coming back to the game, the new character in Overwatch landscape looks very different than it did a year ago.
Hazard (the Scottish Tank) was the big Season 14 addition. He’s a "Brawl Dive" specialist with those weird purple spikes and the ability to vault over walls. He’s currently sitting in B-Tier for most competitive players. He’s fun, but Sigma and Zarya are still running the show in the 2026 meta.
Then came Vendetta in Season 20. She’s the current "it" girl of the ladder. She has this "Soaring Slice" ability that lets her kamikaze into backlines. Blizzard already had to nerf her spawn cooldowns because she was getting back to the fight too fast. It made dying "cheap," which is never good for game balance.
The 2026 Hero Release Schedule
Blizzard is definitely changing how they do things. There’s a lot of chatter about Season 21 being the next big shift.
Word on the street (and by street, I mean high-level Reddit theorycrafting) is that Blizzard might move hero releases to odd-numbered seasons starting this year. Why? Because BlizzCon 2026 is happening in September (around Season 24), and they want to align a major reveal with the event.
Honestly, the pace feels faster. We’re hearing rumors of 4-5 heroes this year instead of the usual three. If that’s true, the Anran reveal might happen much sooner than we think.
How to Prepare for the Next Hero
If Anran drops in Season 21, the meta is going to melt. Literally. Here is what you should actually be doing right now to stay ahead.
1. Master the Verticality
Look at the recent heroes: Juno, Hazard, Vendetta. They all move vertically. If Anran is a "Firebender," expect a lot of aerial or jump-based mechanics. Start practicing your tracking on vertical targets now.
2. Save Your Mythic Prisms
We just got Magma Titan Doomfist, which is a banger skin. But if Anran is fire-themed, her launch skin or subsequent Mythic is going to be top-tier. Don't blow all your prisms on older skins yet.
3. Watch Fareeha Andersen’s Twitch
The voice actor for Anran is rumored to be Fareeha Andersen. There was a weird merch leak with a fashion brand called ARK/8 featuring an "Anran hoodie." They mentioned a "reveal" on her Twitch channel recently. That’s usually where the first real breadcrumbs appear.
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4. Don't Sleep on Wuyang
If you haven't played the "Water Brother" yet, get on it. His kit is the direct mechanical opposite of what Anran's will likely be. Understanding his cooldowns will probably give you a huge leg up on how to counter his sister when she inevitably starts setting the point on fire.
The new character in Overwatch hype is real, but don't let the "leaks" distract you from the fact that Winston basically confirmed her. Whether she's a DPS or a Tank, she's coming to Watchpoint Gibraltar.
Actionable Next Steps
- Check the Story tab in-game for the "Lore Drop: Invitation" video to see the teaser yourself.
- Grind the Season 20 Battle Pass to stock up on Coins and Prisms before the Season 21 shift.
- Practice with Kiriko or Lucio; high-mobility supports are currently the only ones consistently surviving the new aggressive DPS meta.
- Follow OWCavalry on social media for the specific frame-by-frame breakdowns of the Russian "Scorch the Sky" voice line leaks.
The game is changing fast. Between the 6v6 trials and the "Perks" system introduced last year, how we play these new heroes is just as important as who they are.