Overwatch 2 Teases Major Changes For Sombra and Roadhog

The much-awaited character reworks are finally around the corner.

By Ahmed Mansoor September 24, 2023

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Blizzard has revealed its plans for the long-awaited Sombra and Roadhog reworks.
The team is planning on making these heroes more effective while preserving their core identities.
The recent Director’s Take also mentions changes coming to some other heroes like Orisa, Torbjorn, and Mei.

A recent developer update for Overwatch 2 has confirmed that Blizzard is moving forward with its plan to overhaul Sombra and Roadhog. The hero-based shooter previously teased reworks for these two heroes as part of their 2023 Roadmap. While the exact details are still unclear, the developers have given players some insights into just what they’ll be targeting with these changes.

According to the developer update, Blizzard is focusing on three key goals when changing Sombra’s kit and abilities. As an elusive hacker who slips into the shadows, the stealth aspect of her kit is very important and will be preserved. However, Blizzard wants to ensure that when she does come out of her stealth, she’s more committed to her encounters.

The developers also stated that they wanted to increase the “active feel” throughout her kit. While that might sound vague, Sombra’s current abilities make her playstyle feel really passive, especially when compared to some of the other heroes in Overwatch 2’s roster. Sombra may be more actively searching out fights and engagements after these changes go live.

Sombra hacks an enemy player in Overwatch 2.

Of course, with her hacker personality being such a core part of her identity, Blizzard assured players that she’ll still be able to hack enemies and health packs. So folks worried about losing out on that part of her kit having nothing to fear. It’s tough to see where exactly Sombra will fit into Overwatch 2’s roster after these changes but it’s clear Blizzard wants her to be a much more active and dynamic hero moving forward.

The developers also announced some of their core ideas when changing Roadhog. Overwatch 2 changed the game’s traditional 6v6 compositions to a new 5v5 style instead. This meant that each team had one less Tank. To compensate for this, the Tank role was given a ton more power and survivability. Since then, however, Roadhog has had trouble finding a place in the new team comps that arose.

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The developers stated they’re planning to fix this by increasing his ability to protect his team. Roadhog will also be able to claim more space, which he currently struggles with a lot. To ensure they don’t stray too far away from his core identity, the team plans on retaining his hook and healing ability. Finally, they want to balance out his power, to make him more effective in fights.

It’s likely more details regarding these two heroes will be revealed in the coming days. For those interested, the full developer update includes a bunch of other changes too, including some reverts to Orisa’s Fortify damage reduction and Torbjorn’s Primary Fire recovery time. Devs are also going to take a look at Mei, by pulling back on some of the adjustments they made to her kit back in Season 5.

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