Baptiste

 is a Support hero in Overwatch.

Overview
Baptiste wields an assortment of experimental devices and weaponry to keep allies alive and eliminate threats under fierce conditions. A battle-hardened combat medic, he is just as capable of saving lives as he is taking out the enemy.

Strategy
You can fire his primary fire and his secondary fire at the same time.

The secondary fire can be shot perfectly upwards so they land on the same spot later.

Using Regenerative Burst at the start of an engagement can help your teammates tank sustained damage long enough to win the fight.

The trajectory of the Immortality Field generator is the same as the secondary fire, so that you can shoot a healing grenade first to make sure you throw the immortality field where you want. However, Immortality Field interacts with the sky hitbox, meaning it may hit that and fail to reach its intended location if thrown too high.

You can use the Immortality Field to body block a door or a spawn room door. Place the drone in a corner where it can't be destroyed and use Baptiste's body to prevent the enemy/enemies from getting through. This is helpful in preventing an overtime contest or to buy some time to stall for your team to finish off the last players on the point or payload. Only do this if you know or you're confident that you can prevent a contest.

As Immortality Field is unable to be hacked before it hits the ground, it is possible to throw it out as an enemy Sombra is using EMP, and have it land after the ultimate's cast is over. Doing so will leave Immortality Field unaffected, so it will still function.

Along with his amplification matrix, you can easily penetrate Zenyatta's Transcendence, which heals 300 health per second, to an enemy if you manage to deal perfect headshots.

Story
An elite combat medic and ex-Talon operative, Baptiste now uses his skills to help those whose lives have been impacted by war. He possesses an innate desire to help people. In correspondence obtained by Trung Le Nguyen, Cuerva noted that Baptiste is a skilled marksman despite being a medic, and boasted unusually high endurance, versatility, and even luck.

Baptiste loves to eat&mdash;it's been suggested that his favorite dish is pork griot and lalo. Not many people know that he has a sweet tooth, and he loves to kick back with a tall drink with a lot of ice. He is fluent in Haitian Creole, French, and English. His equipment is a collection of armor and weaponry acquired over the years. Some are from the black market, and some are modified from his Caribbean Coalition and Talon gear; Baptiste has always been resourceful.

Baptiste is an only child, but has several cousins.

Caribbean Coalition
"Choices? What do you know about choices? 30 million orphaned children. I was one of them. The Omnic War robbed us of our choices. To survive, you did what you had to do. Steal or starve; kill or be killed. You helped your friends and hurt anyone who got in your way. If you hungered to rise above your circumstances, then when someone offered you a hand up, even the Devil, you took it. It wasn't complicated. At least, that was the lie I told myself."

- Baptiste

Jean-Baptiste Augustin was one of the 30 million children orphaned by the Omnic Crisis. He grew up in an orphanage outside Port-de-Paix alongside his childhood friend, Roseline Mondésir. Their childhood dream was to build a clinic for the people of their neighbourhood. As a teenager, he looked up to Overwatch. However, with limited opportunities and resources, Baptiste enlisted in the military. The Caribbean Coalition, a pan-island force formed in response to the Crisis, became his new home. Guided by his innate desire to help people, Baptiste chose the path of a combat medic and served in an elite branch of the Caribbean Coalition's special ops. While with the Coalition, he often cobbled together useful equipment from whatever he could find. He had joined the Coalition with the dream of being a hero, like the ones he saw on Overwatch recruitment posters, but the group never came to Haiti. By the time it disbanded, Baptiste had set his dreams of being a hero aside.

After his service was complete, Baptiste struggled to find a demand for his unique skills. He turned to one of the few opportunities open to him: joining the Talon mercenary group, one of the many organizations that were poised to profit off the chaos in the war's aftermath. Baptiste joined Talon alongside many of his former squad mates, all of them unaware of Talon's true nature.

Talon
"The truth is, I had choices, and I made them; but when you think you're a big man, it's hard to admit that you are not a brave one. Even harder when you understand that making a living is not enough. You must make a difference."

- Baptiste

As a member of Talon, Baptiste retained his position of combat medic. Captain Cuerva trained him personally. For the first time ever, Baptiste had a taste of the good life. Talon's missions were easy and paid well, and weren't that different from the ones he'd carried out as a member of the Coalition. He put aside some of his earnings to set up a clinic in his hometown. During his early days in Talon, he befriended Mauga, and the two of them often took to the field together, taking part in numerous extractions. He also met a woman named Sombra, and over time, the two became good friends.

Baptiste served in a strike team under the command of Captain Cuerva. However, things in Talon changed. Slowly, his unit's orders escalated in brutality, expanding into assassinations and operations with civilian casualties. He took part in operations in Singapore and Makati, both of which involved civilian casualties. Cuerva told him the missions were on the level, but while he wanted to believe it, he couldn't. Confronted by his team's actions, Baptiste realized he was perpetuating a cycle of violence like the one that had destroyed his own community. Like a frog in boiling water, he realized that the descent into brutality had occurred over time, and only now could he see how far he'd fallen. He tried to convince his squad mates to join him in abandoning Talon, but they refused. Baptiste considered leaving by himself, but knew that the only way anyone left Talon was in a coffin.

Monte Cristi
"I’m not going back there. Cuerva said there would be no civilian casualties. And you were naïve enough to believe him? Look around, Baptiste. This is what we do. Remember Makati? Or that time in Singapore? Or did you conveniently forget how those went down, too? Cuerva told us that those missions were on the level. Of course he did. And of course they weren’t. But who cares? We’re in too deep, Baptiste. There are no good people. Not you, not me. All we can do is have fun while we’ve got the chance.”"

- Baptiste and Mauga before parting ways

Events came to a head at Monte Cristi. Alongside Mauga, and under the command of Cuerva, a Talon unit deployed to the town to assassinate Daniel Fernández; leader of the Playa Cartel who had been encroaching on Talon's territory. However, upon reaching Fernández's safehouse, they found the crime lord wasn't there. Cuerva ordered Talon to tear the town apart until they found him, and they'd done just that, inflicting collateral damage and civilian casualties in the process. He protested to Cuerva, but he told him to keep searching for Fernández, and that if the civilians wanted to hide him, that was on them. He came face to face with a young girl who, mirroring his own experiences in the Omnic Crisis, stared at him, seeing him as nothing more than an unknown soldier who had destroyed her home. Baptiste lowered his rifle and fled into the night, the sound of screams following him.

Baptiste tried to escape in a fishing boat, but he was confronted by Mauga. He declared that Mauga would either have to let him go or kill him. Over the radio, he heard Cuerva's voice, asking if Mauga had found Baptiste yet. After a long pause, Mauga said that he hadn't found Baptiste. He let Baptiste go, telling him to "call me when you're ready to come home." Baptiste quietly thanked his friend, and drove the boat off into the night.

Dealing with the Devil
"I know better than to underestimate Baptiste. I helped train him myself, and he was one of our best. I’ve never known a medic to be such a good shot, and his adaptability to new situations is a rare talent. All of us have seen our fair share of conflict, but Baptiste was built to survive. I swear he has the Devil’s own luck."

- D. Cuerva

Disgusted with what he had done, and determined to forge a new path for himself, Baptiste fled to Tortuga, Haiti.

However, Talon refused to let him go. Baptiste knew too much, and they sent operatives after him to silence him. Agent after agent came for him, including Baptiste's former comrades. To stay under the radar, Baptiste drifted from place to place, aiding in humanitarian efforts around the globe. The few Talon members who managed to track him down were never seen again. One strike team consisted of former members of Baptiste's unit, led by his former mentor, Cuerva. The strike team had orders to apprehend or eliminate him. He evaded capture, rendering the strike team MIA, and delivered their emblems to Cuerva, along with a message to seek him out. Contact was lost with Cuerva and his team soon afterwards; the squad had made the mistake of coming after him one by one. Baptiste later commented that he had saved Cuerva for last.

A Better World
"I'm going to fight for a better world. For some, that means a bandage. For others, a bullet. Today... I give you the choice."

- Baptiste

Baptiste worked toward creating a better world, healing where he could and fighting when he had to. He knew that he could not undo his past, but that making a difference now was what mattered. He kept a low profile in order to stay out of Talon's crosshairs, and began carrying out humanitarian work. This line of work made him familiar with the similar efforts of Dr. Angela Ziegler, whom he met at an aid site in Venezuela.

What You Left Behind
"Four years, and you never even wrote. That hurts me, buddy, deep inside. What were you doing all this time? Breaking hearts? Traveling the world? Actually, don’t tell me. We’ll have lots of time on the way back to Talon HQ."

- Mauga

Four years after Monte Cristi, Baptiste visited Ros in her clinic, helping out with the patients. The clinic was experience a shortage of drugs, as Sainclair Pharmaceuticals had kept raising prices. Night had fallen by the time he left the clinic, and he headed for Lefort's&mdash;a place he had frequented a lot during his childhood. However, upon entering, he saw only three men present. Mr. Lefort, and a pair of Talon operatives&mdash;Trung Le Nguyen, and Mauga. Mauga was his usual jovial self, but it was clear to Baptiste that they weren't here to socialize. As it turned out, they wanted Baptiste's help on a job&mdash;visit Vernand Sainclair of Sainclair Pharmaceuticals and get him to pay the money he owed Talon. Baptiste had little love for Sainclair, given the outrageous prices he was charging for his medicines, but he knew better than to trust his former colleagues. However, he had few alternatives. Mauga had revealed that he knew about Ros's clinic, and Baptiste knew that he couldn't take both of them out in a fight. He agreed to do the job, and Nguyen gave him an envelope with the operation's details. As to what would happen after said operation, Mauga told Baptiste not to worry about it.

Baptiste met with the two the following morning, outfitted in his old combat armor (though only after burning off the Talon insignia). They arrived at Sainclair's mansion. Nguyen explained that they'd scheduled an appointment with the man, so all they had to do was walk in and see him. That part of the plan worked as far as the mansion's library, where they were confronted by the mansion's private security. Before they could open fire, Mauga activated his shield. In the ensuring firefight, Baptiste used his rifle to merely incapacitate his targets, but Nguyen was far more accurate and lethal. Mauga got the location of Sainclair from the last surviving security guard before breaking the man's neck. In the aftermath, he reflected how easy it had been to slip back into his old habits as a Talon operative.

The trio fought their way through the mansion, Baptiste and Mauga getting back into the old tandem they had utilized in their days together in Talon. They made their way to Sainclair's office, and found the man covering, holding a firearm. He was quickly disarmed, and Nguyen asked why they shouldn't just kill him right now. To bargain for his life, Sainclair revealed that days ago, he had received a recall order from Winston&mdash;he was a former Overwatch member, and he had information on Overwatch agents. He explained that he'd been a handler in Overwatch, but had fed information to Talon, so that when the organization collapsed, he'd been well paid for his services. Baptiste was disgusted at his double-dealing, but Sainclair stated that he had no right to judge him. That said, Nguyen wasn't impressed&mdash;they already had access to this information, as ex-Overwatch agents were already part of Talon. Mauga bid that Baptiste kill Nguyen as a means of proving his loyalty. Baptiste was sorely tempted to end Sainclair's life, but knew that if he executed someone in cold blood, that was a line there was no going back from. He dropped a flashbang, and used his exo-boots to propel himself and Sainclair through the office's skylight. A shot tore through his arm, but he survived. Baptiste slipped into the undergrowth with Sainclair, while Mauga called out that he was only making things worse.

Baptiste got himself and Sainclair to a wharf, where he bound his wound. He told Sainclair that he'd send for someone to pick him up, and that from now on, he was going to provide his products for free. And that if he didn't do that, he'd let Talon know where he was. Sainclair, deep in shock, agreed to the terms, and asked why Baptiste hadn't killed him. Baptiste declared that he wasn't worth it, and headed off to get a private vessel that he could escape in. However, Mauga found him, mimicking their confrontation of four years prior. It was a repeat of history that wasn't lost on Mauga, who declared that he couldn't let Baptiste go this time. The two engaged in a gun battle&mdash;Mauga wanted to bring in Baptiste alive, but that didn't rule out bodily harm in the process. Baptiste feigned surrender, but threw a device up into the air, and shot it, detonating it. The pier was devastated in the resulting blast, and Baptiste survived through the use of his immortality field. There was no sign of Mauga, but Baptiste believed he had survived. He sailed off in a private yacht owned by Sainclair.

An hour later, Baptiste sent a text message to Ros, telling her about Sainclair, and to be careful. He knew it would be a long time before he could return, and that Talon would likely keep eyes on Ros's clinic. He scrolled through Sainclair's data on Overwatch, and discovered that a Dr. Angela Ziegler was a member. He decided that if Talon was coming for her, she had a right to know. He'd need help tracking her down however, and to that end, he contacted Sombra.

Trivia

 * Baptiste is Hero 30 and the ninth new hero added to the game.


 * Baptiste is the only hero in the game who has different ammo for his weapon's two modes of fire.


 * Baptiste is the first, and so far only, playable character originating from the Caribbean.


 * He is the first Hero in the game stated to be a former member of Talon which he left for moral reasons.


 * Jean-Baptiste Augustin is a French name derived from two saints, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Augustine of Hippo. He also shares his name with a French painter.
 * "Jean-Baptiste" is a relatively common French-language name, and it has equivalents in Spanish ("Juan Bautista") and Italian ("Giovanni Battista").
 * John the Baptist was the son of the Virgin Mary's cousin Elizabeth. After heralding the coming of a greater religious figure for some time, he baptized his cousin Jesus Christ in the Jordan River, hence his title. He was said to have adhered to a humble diet of locusts and wild honey, and his beheading is the origin of the idiom "head on a silver platter".
 * St. Augustine of Hippo is practically synonymous with his conversion to Christianity after a youth filled with sin, as detailed in Confessions. While the circumstances were not as extreme as St. Augustine's, Baptiste certainly did have a new and better life after Talon, making the surname "Augustin" particularly appropriate for the character.


 * Baptiste's stance on killing is explored in What You Left Behind, though could be contradicted in one instance. It is stated that he has never killed anyone in cold blood (when referring to Sainclair), but it is later implied that he executed his former Talon squad mates. However, it should be noted that they were hunting him down to either kill him or bring him in and you don't see his emotions to this act, so he very well could have felt guilt over it.


 * Baptiste's medic armor bears similarities to that of medic armor in StarCraft, most specifically the Tiger's Claw variant.
 * Jean Baptiste was also the name of a french noble during the 18th century who later became the king of Sweden under the name Karl XIV Johan
 * Three healing abilities are able to be amplied via Amplification Matrix: Moira's Biotic Orb, Ana's Biotic Rifle, and Baptiste's own Biotic Launcher. All other healing abilities recieve no change even when passed through the matrix.

Development

 * Baptiste was designed by Michael Chu. As of February 2019, it is intended that his connections with Talon be fleshed out in tie-in media.


 * Haiti was a cornerstone of Baptiste's backstory. According to Chu, "I think it’s meaningful to introduce countries that are less well-known worldwide through Overwatch. Haiti was a colony and has a history of fighting for independence. That is why we paid close attention to portraying Haitian history when we chose the voice actor or during the voice recording process."


 * Gameplay-wise, he was designed to be similar to Soldier: 76 albeit in a support role, including an immunity ability.


 * When Baptiste was put on the PTR, his Immortality Field was able to deploy in out-of-bounds areas. This allowed Baptiste to travel out-of-bounds in Custom Games.


 * Baptiste received several changes before coming live: the visuals for Immortality Field and Amplification Matrix were changed, Immortality Field got an audio indicator, Immortality Field was added to the kill feed, the time it took Immortality Field to go away after the drone was destroyed was shortened, Baptiste's ultimate voice line for himself was switched to English, Friendly Amplification Matrix's color was changed from blue to green, and the option to turn off Automatic Reload was added.