GoKawiilOverwatch kicked off its 10th anniversary in February by announcing that it was adding 10 new heroes to the hero shooter this year, more than triple the average additions in previous years. But the roster shake-ups aren’t over. Announced at BlizzCon 2026, the ninth of those 10 heroes joins the roster next month, alongside two existing heroes whose gameplay kits have been significantly reconfigured.
I tried the new hero at BlizzCon and spoke with some Overwatch developers about all three heroes being introduced or reintroduced next month.
Season 5 introduces the new support character, Doctrine — a vampiric villain who empowers teammates and enfeebles opponents. His kit-defining ability is his alternate fire, which allows him to boost his other abilities. When paired with his Infuse ability, Doctrine’s primary fire becomes stronger and pierces enemies, his dash grants free flight and his ability to heal and provide allies a boost to attack speed is also applied to himself.
His ultimate ability, Deliverance, is perhaps the best embodiment of that vampiric fantasy: It sends out a swarm of bat-like drones that provide overhealth to allies while reducing opponents’ maximum life for several seconds.
“He seems pretty versatile, but I think there’s going to be a high skill ceiling for him as well, because it’s accuracy-based,” Kenny Hudson, lead hero producer on Overwatch, told me in an interview. He also speculated that Doctrine’s ultimate ability will be an important factor in players’ success, which is generally more true for support heroes than other roles.
Doctrine has a somewhat austere, too-important-for-you demeanor that fits the vampire fantasy while also distinguishing him from heroes in the damage role, Art Director Dion Rogers said. Rogers also noted the character’s posture and use of a staff, rather than a gun, as a weapon as a way to embody a dangerous support character without connoting a different role entirely.
I played a few games of Doctrine at BlizzCon — not enough to learn the ins and outs of the character, but enough to see how he functions in a few different situations. I liked the minigame of deciding which abilities to empower and when.
Playing against an enemy D.Va, I made sure to keep one charge in reserve for when she inevitably flew in my face, shooting rockets. I toyed with my opponent by luring her away from my team before spending an Infuse charge on my Shrouded Momentum ability to fly back up to high ground while she was still stranded elsewhere.
Sometimes it takes a while before the community figures out how to make new supports work, so I’m looking forward to seeing how Doctrine’s trial weekend goes and what players are able to unlock in these few days of experimentation.
Doctrine has a long history with Doomfist and will play an important role in the story of Season 5. Blizzard
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