Blizzard unveil blueprints for a rather unique weapon - a healing sniper - that is likely soon to arrive alongside a new hero in the wildly-popular Overwatch.

Blizzard have come up with an answer to one of Overwatch's biggest problems in a rather incredible fashion. In a matchmaking system plagued with an abundance of Widowmakers and Hanzos, but only a handful of players willing to play support, the developers have teased a brand-new hero for the team-based shooter that uses their sniper to heal from a distance.

No longer will a team require their healer to be vulnerable in close combat, as a new image posted to Overwatch's official Twitter account, reveals a prototype of a Biotic Rifle, designed by none other than Torbjorn himself, that is designed to be used to heal friendly units while putting some distance between the wielder and the enemy.

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The image shows the weapon's blueprints as well as containing comments from Torbjorn and Mercy on the rifle's design. The dwarf turret-master stresses that the application of Mercy's biotic technology within the gun "is only intended to be used for healing" though the "Hippocratic Pacifist" herself isn't so certain that the rifle won't be weaponized.

As for who will be behind the barrel of the gun, our money's on the previously teased Sombra. Fan theories suggest that Sombra may well be Pharah's mother, as well as one of the original Overwatch members. Due to a line mentioning the female sniper being said by Reaper in-game, it's also likely that Sombra might not be on the side of good at the present time, though this means little in terms of gameplay.

If Mercy's fears are correct, it seems the new hero will be able to deal damage or at least de-buff the enemy while also healing at a long-range. It's sure to please a lot of hardcore fans that the first new hero added to the game will be a support character, given the often severe lack of players willing to give Mercy or Lucio a go. With Zenyatta also on the receiving end of some buffs, it's a good time to get into the healer characters.

Hopefully this influx of players trying out the new healer will lead to some more balanced gameplay in the recently released competitive game mode which, we believe, is on its way to becoming a major eSport in the near future.

Is the new sniper healer something to be excited about Ranters? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Overwatch is now available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.