Overwatch 2 Kiriko Guide: Abilities, How to Unlock, and Lore

In Overwatch 2 Kiriko is the new Support hero who acts as the backbone of her team. Her role can be pivotal for any team-based mission as her abilities give her access to beneficial buffs that can turn tides when used correctly. Learn more about her abilities, how to unlock her, and her background in this Overwatch 2 Kiriko guide.

Overwatch 2 Kiriko Guide

Kiriko is a Support hero who primarily fights by throwing her talismans and kunai. Her abilities can heal or buff her team, teleport her through walls, and even render her teammates temporarily invincible for a short period of time.

Survivability wise, Kiriko has 200 Health which isn’t particularly noteworthy for a Support hero. However by using her abilities right, you can stay in the fight for a prolonged period of time to assist your team steal the victory.

Kiriko Abilities

Here are all of Kiriko’s abilities:

Passive Ability: Wall Climb

By tapping Space Bar when she hits the wall, Kiriko will climb it. She shares this ability with Genji and Hanzo, fitting considering she was raised with the two.
Kiriko seems to climb faster than Hanzo and shares the same amount of vertical distance travel with him.

Left Click: Healing Ofuda

Kiriko’s primary fire which seeks targeted allies. Will automatically home in on teammates to heal them.
Heals for 13 Health per ammo. 10 ammo in total. Fires 2 rounds per burst.
Comes in either yellow or blue. Yellow meaning they’re seeking allied players. Blue meaning they don’t have a target.
Can be destroyed when hitting any surface instead of allied players.

Right Click: Kunai

Kiriko’s secondary fire and with increased critical damage.
Damage is about 40 to body and 120 to head.
Fires 1 kunai per .55 seconds.
Can carry up to 12 ammo.

Left Shift: Swift Step

Kiriko’s ability that lets her instantly teleport to a nearby ally.
Can teleport through walls.
Has a max range of 30 meters.
Cooldown for 7 seconds.
Can be used on airborne allies like Pharaoh or Mercy.
Cannot be used when under movement lock effect.

E: Protection Suzu

Kiriko’s ability that renders her allies temporarily invulnerable while cleaning debuffs.
Also heals 50 Health.
Lasts 0.75 seconds.
Cooldown for 14 seconds.
Can be destroyed by D.va’s Defense Matrix, Orisa’s Javelin Spin, and Sima’s Kinetic Grasp.
Can be deflected by Genji’s Deflect which turns the Suzu to the use of Genji and his team.
Does not work on constructs like Torbjörn’s Turret.
Known to cleanse effects such as:
- Ana’s Biotic Grenade and Sleep Dart.
- Ashe’s Dynamite.
- Junker Queen’s Rampage and Bleed debuff.
- Mei’s Blizzard.
- Reinhardt’s Earth Shatter.
- Sombra’s Hack.

Q: Kitsune Rush

Kiriko’s Ultimate Ability that summons a fox spirit that rushes forward and buffs teammates by accelerating their movement speed, attack speed, and cooldowns to any ally that follows the fox spirit’s path.
Buffs a +50% movement speed and 25% rate of fire to allies. Reduces cooldown by 60% to allies.
Can travel to a maximum of 25 meters.
Lasts for 10 seconds.
Can be stopped by terrain, including Mei’s Ice Wall and Cryo Freeze regardless if Kiriko is an ally or enemy.
Can be deployed over the ledge which will continue to the surface beneath. The Spirit Fox will not climb walls or cover any gaps.
B.O.B receives benefits from Kitsune Rush.
Constructs such as Torbjörn’s Turret and Junkrat’s Rip-Tire do not receive benefits from it.
Beam-type weapons get an increased in thick rate instead of fire rate.
There are some inconsistencies with cooldown reduction on certain abilities.
- Particle Barrier, Sentry Turret and Projected Barrier do not receive cooldowns from Kitsune Rush.
- Blink, Concussion Mine, and Fire Strike do receive cooldowns from Kitsune Rush.

Looking at Overwatch 2 Kiriko’s moveset, she’s a very support oriented hero with little offensive capabilities. Besides her Kunai, there’s no real way for her to deal any damage. This means that you’re better being behind your teammates in most fights and keep your distance from enemy heroes.

In Overwatch 2 Kiriko is a very agile hero. You’ll frequently be using her ability to blink to allies. You can use it to keep her out of harm’s way even behind walls.

Thankfully, thanks to Kiriko’s passive ability to Wall Climb, she has more verticality to establish a safe distance. Without any team nearby, Kiriko isn’t properly able to defend herself due to her lack of offensive abilities. So in Overwatch 2 Kiriko is best kept close to her team.

How to Unlock Kiriko in Overwatch 2?

Kiriko can be unlocked by reaching Tier 55 in the Free Battle Pass of Overwatch 2. Players who purchase the $10 Premium Battle Pass will immediately be able to unlock Kiriko as a playable hero without having to grind the Overwatch 2 Battle Pass.

Players can also purchase the Overwatch 2 Watchpoint Pack for $40 which also includes the Season 1 Premium Battle Pass and a handful of exclusive skins and 2,000 Overwatch Coins.

Overwatch 2 Kiriko Lore

Kiriko is a Japanese woman in her 20’s. As a descendant of the Yamagami family, she bears the responsibility of protecting her hometown, Kanezaka.

Kiriko bears a rather headstrong personality, unafraid to tease anyone regardless of how intimidating they are. She often finds herself clashing with the Yamagami clan’s more ancient traditions who believes needs to be more flexible to the modern standard. This doesn’t mean she has no respect for it as she continues to fulfill her duties albeit bending a few rules.

One of Kiriko’s greatest influences is her grandmother who taught her all about taking are of the Fox Shrine and their traditions. This is what mostly shaped her fighting style to the Support hero we know today as the Yamagami matriarch taught her all about healing and summoning the Fox Spirit whom Kiriko bonded with.

Kiriko grew up alongside Genji and Hanzo, who came to see her as a little niece figure. She was particularly close to the former and often caused mischief together. Kiriko spent her childhood visiting the Shimada Castle and admiring the Kanezaka fireworks from their balcony.

The Hashimoto clan eventually earned Kiriko’s ire due to them taking the former Shimada’s turf after its subsequent disband by Genji and terrorized its denizens. Her opinions of the Hashimoto clan further lowered when they kidnapped her father and forced him to make blades for them.

At the age of 20, Kiriko staged an attack against the Hashimoto with three other teens. During the End of Summer Festival, they successfully struck an arms shipment going by port. Upon success, Kiriko vows to rescue her father from the clutches of the Hashimoto clan.