Moira

Moira is a Support hero in Overwatch.

Overview
Moira’s biotic abilities enable her to contribute healing or damage in any crisis. While Biotic Grasp gives Moira short-range options, her Biotic Orbs contribute longer-range, hands-off damage and healing; she can also Fade to escape groups or remain close to allies in need of support. Once she’s charged Coalescence, Moira can save multiple allies from elimination at once or finish off weakened enemies.

Strategy
Moira is a support hero that can easily reposition amongst her allies with her immense mobility. can heal multiple allies simultaneously, granting her higher average healing per second when compared to other supports. However, this powerful healing is limited by a resource meter similar to D.Va's Defense Matrix; this meter refills very slowly over time, but Biotic Grasp's alternate fire refills it much faster, along with healing Moira herself. provides her a very strong movement tool and invulnerability that makes her very hard to lock down. can allow Moira to apply both damage and healing at the same time, and is very powerful in enclosed spaces where it will not simply fly past its targets. can both heal allies and damage enemies, but perhaps most importantly it can pierce barriers, preventing enemy tanks from blocking your ultimate with various shields. Her alternate fire gives her amazing sustain, particularly in 1v1 fights, and her gives her excellent escapes, greatly aiding her survivability against enemy flankers, though she remains weak to large burst damage such as enemy Snipers or Junkrat. Her kit, though very strong, lacks the utility other healers provide, making her focused though not particularly versatile.

General Strategies

 * Priorities:
 * 0. Think - the list below is not set in stone. During a course of teamfight you must make your own decisions based on the circumstances you are facing.
 * 1. Your own safety – while keeping your team alive is a reason you play healer, if you die your allies will soon follow, as they will not have a way to sustain themselves in a teamfight. Use to avoid attackers and dodge lethal damage and keep your health high with the combination of basic abilities.
 * 2. Healing ally in immediate risk of dying - when one of your teammates is receiving damage very quickly or is on low health, you should prioritize healing them to prevent their death. is one of the strongest healing effects in the game, and will be able to outheal many sources of damage. Be careful with using  in these situations though – time that is needed to cast it and resume healing with Primary Fire may cost your ally life.
 * 3. Healing a group of allies - when multiple allies take spread damage while standing close to each other, Moira is the best healer to deal with it. The combination of and  healing effects will allow you to reach a short burst of a stunning 140 health per second healing. This will outpace nearly all non-Ultimate damage that enemies may throw at you. Healing in this scenario charges Moira’s ultimate at break-neck pace.
 * 4. Damaging low health targets - Moira’s lock-on and damaging  will allow her to fairly effectively secure eliminations on low health enemies. If the target is receiving any healing though, Moira’s damage alone is likely not going to be enough to burn through their healthpool.
 * 5. Damage enemies that are not behind barriers - it will allow you to recharge your healing resource quicker, heal yourself and help your damage dealers in burning targets down. This also builds up your ultimate charge. When you are certain that the enemy will not engage in the next 10 seconds, you may also use your to harass targets behind barriers.
 * 6. Damage barriers - to put it simply: it’s not your job and you are terrible at it. If there is precisely nothing else for you to do, you may attack barriers with your, but it will neither heal you nor restore your healing resource.

Story
"Science will reveal the truth." Equal parts brilliant and controversial, scientist Moira O'Deorain is on the cutting edge of genetic engineering, searching for a way to rewrite the fundamental building blocks of life. Though O'Deorain will go to any lengths to make scientific breakthroughs, her work is still unknown to most of the world. But now that she has been freed from all constraints, it is only a matter of time before everything changes.

O'Deorain has a negative view of Overwatch, claiming that it was responsible for stifling scientific advancement for decades. She has no interest in global conquest, but is willing to work with those who might have such a goal. Her intellectual pursuits are driven by her interest in humanity. She is a geneticist first and foremost, and that's the scope of her ambition. With very flexible morals, O'Deorain prefers to focus on her research and has no patience for those who urge caution or restraint.

Her right hand is heavily scarred; it has been speculated that it is a result of experimentation or a genetic anomaly.

Background
"We are bedevilled by the mysteries of creation. Science can reveal the truths that lie behind these many questions. What we learn can unlock the true potential of humanity."

- Moira O'Deorain

Over a decade ago, O'Deorain made waves when she published a controversial paper detailing a methodology for creating custom genetic programs that could alter DNA at a cellular level. It seemed like a promising step toward overcoming diseases and disorders and maximizing human potential. Dissent among her peers soon followed. Many considered her work to be dangerous because of its perceived ethical shortfalls, and O'Deorain was even accused of having the same unchecked desire for scientific advancement that some believed had caused the Omnic Crisis. In addition, other geneticists were unable to reproduce the results of Moira's research, which further called her discoveries into question. Instead of kickstarting her career, her paper seriously damaged her reputation. Overwatch was among those who condemned her research, and in O'Deorain's own words, tried to silence her.

She received a lifeline in an offer from an unlikely source: Overwatch's covert ops division, Blackwatch. She was personally recruited by Blackwatch's commander, Gabriel Reyes, who wanted someone who could help advise him on matters pertaining to genetics. She continued her work in the shadows while developing new weapons and technologies for the organization. Freed from her shackles, her genetic research greatly accelerated. She had interactions with Blackwatch members Jesse McCree and Genji Shimada, all of whom had their likes and dislikes pertaining to each other. Among her experiments was one done on Reyes himself. Her experiments on Reyes gave him super-human abilities, causing his cells to regenerate and decay at a hyper-accelerated rate. Her employment was a closely kept secret.

Retribution
"So much for keeping a low profile."

- Moira

Eight years before the present day, O'Deorain took part in a Blackwatch mission to Rialto to apprehend Antonio Bartalotti, an Italian businessman with links to Talon. The team consisted of herself, Reyes, Shimada, and McCree. The Blackwatch team arrived in a Venice safehouse and set up survaillance on the manor. They found Talon soldiers patrolling the grounds. When night fell, they infiltrated the manor. They made their way through its interior, killing and/or incapacitating numerous Talon guards. Upon reaching Antonio's office, they found him there, not surprised to see them. Nor was he intimidated, as he pointed out that Overwatch abducting a "respected businessman" would be a public relations nightmare. Furthermore, even if they did take him, his "friends" would have him released within a week. After some thought, Reyes said "you're right" and shot Antonio, the force of the blast sending him through his office window. It was the shot that stirred the hornet's nest, alerting Talon to their presence, leaving them with "Plan B"&mdash;fight their way out. In the ensuring battle, O'Deorain told Reyes that he'd done the right thing, and that he shouldn't apologize.

Despite numerous Talon soldiers attacking them, the team successfully exfiltrated the site. However, the events revealed the existence of Blackwatch to the world, resulting in political and public fallout. In the inquiries that followed, O'Deorain's research was uncovered. Many high-ranking Overwatch officials disavowed all knowledge of her affiliation with them.

New Employers
"We stand on the brink of a breakthrough in human evolution. I've dedicated my life to unraveling its secrets. I take risks that others would consider to be unwise for I do not share their caution. Overwatch held back the pace of scientific discovery for decades. They believed my methods were too radical, too controversial. They tried to silence me. But there were others in the shadows, searching for ways to circumvent their rules. Freed from my shackles, the pace of our research hastened. Together we delved deeper into those areas forbidden by law, by morality, and by fear. New patrons emerged who possessed an appetite for my discoveries. And with this knowledge, what new world could we build..."

- Moira O'Deorain

O'Deorain may have had a direct role in saving Reyes's life after the blast that consumed Overwatch HQ. Whatever the case, her experiments on him kept him alive, albeit in a state of agony.

After Overwatch was disbanded, O'Deorain was forced to turn to unconventional sources of funding. This time, she was invited to join the scientific collective that had founded the city of Oasis, and was selected to be their Minister of Genetics. Yet some whispered that the shadowy Talon organization had already been supporting her for years, aiding her experiments in exchange for utilizing the results for their own purposes. By the time of Doomfist's return to Talon (or after his return), Moira apparently had a seat on Talon's inner council. O'Deorain's goals of pushing forward human evolution meshed well with Talon's, and she found a patron for her research in Doomfist.

Trivia

 * Moira is Hero 26 and the fifth new hero added to the game.
 * Moira is an Anglicisation of the Irish name Máire, ultimately derived from the biblical Mary, as well as a Greek name meaning "fate." O'Deorain is an Irish name meaning "descendant of the exile."
 * Moira was first shown to players as a member of the Talon Inner Council in the comic Doomfist: Masquerade, but was not given a name or speaking role.
 * The day before her reveal, a research paper labeled "Draft: Repairing Degenerative Genetic Structures" was added to the Oasis map, hinting at Moira's occupation and involvement with Reaper.
 * There is a story behind Moira's decrepit right hand, hinted to be the result of coming into contact with an anomalous genetic experiment, however, it seems it still doesn't hint at explanation how those genetics are able to allow plasma production in a biotic system.
 * Excluding Mercy, who uses both hands to hold her healing staff, Moira is the only Support Hero to heal with her left hand. This references her twisted nature because the left side is traditionally associated with evil, while healing is beneficial.
 * Moira's right hand is ghoulish and damaged, and her right eye is red, referencing evil creatures depicted with red eyes.
 * Moira is the second hero after D.Va who can perform the "Quick Melee" attack with both her hands, chosen randomly.
 * Moira has two different eye colors, the right one being red and the left blue. She may be heterochromatic (born with two different eye colors), or she could have suffered from one of her experiments on herself.
 * Moira's Blackwatch uniform and skin are based on her earliest concept art, which in turn resembles the clothing worn by Mercy.
 * Moira has some backstory with Mercy, as one utilized technology developed by the other.
 * Moira and Mercy have complementary sprays, both called "Sigil". When placed together, they form the complete Overwatch sigil and position Moira and Mercy back to back. This shows that they are at odds.
 * In the 2018 Summer Games event, Moira received a skin called "Éireannach", which means "Irish Woman" or "an Irish person."
 * The Irish flag appears over her right breast on this skin.
 * The Éireannach skin replaces Moira's left blue eye with a green eye probably for color scheme reasons.
 * Oasis University had a special interaction between Reaper and Sombra when on the same team that teased Moira's release. Sombra asked him "What are we doing here boss?" and Reaper responded to her with "I am here to visit an old friend."
 * The Blackwatch outfit/skin for Moira was first shown in the Retribution comic.
 * It is confirmed by Michael Chu that Moira's third-person "Naruto run" and Ultimate Ability are anime references, as well as some of her sprays. "Naruto running" is also an Internet meme.
 * Moira's Ultimate Ability is probably a reference to Dragon Ball Z.
 * Moira's "Facepalm" spray could be a reference to Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation. A still of him "facepalming" is a rather common Internet meme used to respond to stupidity.
 * It is revealed in the Retribution event that Moira likes to dress up and enjoys art.
 * Moira is from Ireland's capital, Dublin, as is her voice actress, Genevieve O'Reilly.
 * Moira's favorite drink is Irish coffee . She is holding a steaming mug of it in her "Toast" victory pose.
 * Moira's shortened nails on her left hand could also hint that Moira is left-handed.

Development
Moira's early ideation began with a combination of both gameplay and story ideas, stemming from strong player demand for a new support healer. Their initial goal was to introduce a shady, morally ambiguous healer to contrast with the existing "benevolent healer" archetypes already in the game. The developers wanted her to have connections with various groups in the Overwatch setting. Initial concepts gravitated towards a set of designs with a mysterious androgynous appeal, with the first iteration being outfitted with a set of four mechanical tentacles. Feeling that the tentacles would be difficult to incorporate into gameplay, they progressed to a more conventional, toned-down design with a two-handed spray cannon and began incorporating scientific apparatuses such as tubes and cannisters into her look, but felt that her silhouette became too similar to Zarya's.

At this point they produced a number of thumbnails to experiment with different weapons and costumes while retaining her gaunt, androgynous appearance, with several that wielded various clawed gloves and gauntlets, as well as a concept inspired by Sombra's original Omniblade design, incorporating baggy sleeves and throwable syringes. The latter design also introduced the idea of a duality between her left and right hands, with one used to deal damage and the other to heal. Elements from these thumbnails were pulled together to create her final design, incorporating the earlier scientific details with a color-changing liquid to differentiate her healing and damage dealing abilities. Moira's initial gameplay design involved her having a large health pool, which she would spend as a resource to heal allies while draining health from enemies, but it proved to be too difficult to balance. Early inspiration for her abilities may have been drawn from Overmind, a hero created for the original Prometheus pitch. In her final design, she instead uses separate Regeneration and Decay versions of her abilities, with her Biotic Grasp: Decay ability leeching health from enemies and enhancing the effectiveness of her Regeneration abilities. Because she is one of the few characters in the game to have both hands visible on the screen at all times, great care was taken with her animations to convey how these different abilities worked and reflected her design and personality. Her Fade ability was also designed to be similar to Reaper's Wraith Form, showing that the two characters are connected. The original version of her ultimate ability was a transformation that involved biotic energy swirling around her and gave her a beam that could both heal and damage, but as the beam was the most interesting aspect of the ability they decided to make it her ultimate's sole focus.

Merchandise

 * The Blizzard store lists a Moira T-shirt for both Men and Women.
 * The Blizzard store lists Overwatch Magnet sets, series 4 includes Moira's icon.
 * Funko made a Blackwatch T-shirt for the 2018 Archives event, Retribution, which lists the members including Moira O' Deorain.
 * The Blizzard store has an Ultimate Moira Hoodie available.
 * Cute But Deadly Series 5 has a Moira figure to collect.
 * Funko made a pop figure of Moira in 2019.