Highlights
- Roadhog's rework in Overwatch 2 has been delayed but is still expected to go live before the end of Season 7, with changes to his primary fire and healing ability, as well as the addition of a new ability.
- Sombra's rework in Season 7 has been successful, addressing the community's concerns about her indefinite invisibility while adding a new Virus projectile for increased damage.
- Overwatch 2's director, Aaron Keller, mentioned the team's desire to make changes to the survivability of support heroes, aiming to address the difficulty in taking them out while ensuring support players feel less vulnerable.
Overwatch 2 Tank players who are eagerly awaiting Roadhog's rework will have to wait just a bit longer. Currently in its seventh season, Overwatch 2 has brought back its fan-favorite Halloween Terror game modes, introduced a new control map Samoa, and crossed over with Diablo 4 for a new PvE event called Trials of Sanctuary, which stars Moira as Lilith and Pharah as Inarius.
Another major component of Overwatch 2's Season 7 is the arrival of the highly requested rework for the DPS hacker Sombra. Her indefinite invisibility has been the source of many headaches for Overwatch players over the years. Combined with her ability to teleport away as soon as her health gets low, and she's been considered by much of the community to be the most annoying Overwatch hero to play against. Her rework put severe constraints on her Translocator, as it now triggers her teleport automatically right after being thrown, though her indefinite invisibility remains largely intact. The rework also gave Sombra a new Virus projectile which damages targets over time and can be combined with her Hack for more damage.
In Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller's latest Director's Take blog post, he recognized the popularity of the game's Halloween-themed co-op modes, including Trials of Sanctuary, and revealed the success of Sombra's rework. Perhaps most importantly, he shed some light on the progress of Roadhog's rework, stating that it won't be ready in time for the mid-season patch, but is still expected to go live before the end of Season 7. Keller added that players can expect changes to Roadhog's shotgun primary fire and his Take a Breather healing ability. Most exciting is Keller's mention of a brand-new ability for Roadhog, but no further details were given.
With one of the highest heath pools in Overwatch 2, Roadhog's Take a Breather is a major headache for opposing players. With Roadhog spending more time out of the flanks and in front of his supports in Overwatch 2, such a significant self-heal is no longer needed. While unconfirmed, it's likely that his Take a Breather heal will receive a heavy nerf as part of the rework. The addition of a new ability will add a bit more complexity to Roadhog's kit, as it's previously been confirmed that he'll keep his iconic chain hook.
Aaron Keller also brought up the state of support heroes and the team's desire to make some changes to the role's survivability, as many players feel opposing supports have become increasingly difficult to take out. Whether this means an umbrella nerf to the role's health-regenerating passive or individual hero changes, Keller ensured support players won't feel as vulnerable as they did during Overwatch 2's launch.
With BlizzCon right around the corner, Overwatch 2 fans can expect to learn more about these changes coming to Roadhog and the support heroes. Additionally, fans should look forward to the reveal of a new hero at BlizzCon, which will likely be Overwatch 2's newest Tank.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S.
Source: Blizzard
