Highlights
- Overwatch 2's director confirms that Roadhog's rework is on schedule and will be part of Season 7's midseason update in November.
- Roadhog's rework aims to improve his viability as a sole tank in 5v5 compositions, but the specifics of the changes have not been revealed.
- There is speculation that Roadhog's ability to one-shot opponents may not return, and his self-heal ability might be heavily nerfed or removed.
Overwatch 2's director has reassured Roadhog fans that the hero's much-needed rework is on schedule to arrive next season. Midway through its sixth season, which brought PvE Invasion missions, Flashpoint mode, and Illari to the game, Overwatch 2 is gearing up for its upcoming Season 7, which will likely include the one-year anniversary celebration of the game's launch.
Since the beginning of Overwatch, Roadhog had been the only tank designed to spend a lot of time in the flanks. The ability for him to pluck unsuspecting squishies away from their team with his hook and one-shot them with his shotgun made him a formidable threat in Overwatch's dual-tank 6v6 team compositions. Overwatch 2's switch to single-tank 5v5 setups meant Roadhog, like all the other tanks, would need to spend a lot more time on the frontline with his team as the sole tank. Despite this, Roadhog largely remained a strong tank pick in the early weeks and months of Overwatch 2. However, a significant nerf to his primary damage earlier this year removed his potential to one-shot 200HP heroes after hooking them, leading to underperformance and a lot of disgruntled Roadhog mains.
Earlier this year, Overwatch 2 promised Roadhog mains that the hero would receive a rework, improving his viability and effectiveness as the sole tank in 5v5 compositions. As part of Overwatch 2's monthly Director's Take blog posting, the game's Director, Aaron Keller, reminded fans about Roadhog's long-awaited rework and revealed that it's expected to be ready as part of Season 7's midseason update, which would place it somewhere within the first half of November.
Further information regarding what Roadhog's rework will actually look like wasn't given, as the issue took up only a single sentence of Keller's posting. The question remains whether Roadhog will regain his ability to one-shot opponents. His iconic hook will most likely stay intact, though with some potential stat alterations. However, Roadhog's Take a Breather ability, which lets him self-heal for 300HP even while taking damage, could potentially see a massive nerf or even be removed entirely. The self-heal ability was perfect for Roadhog back in the original Overwatch when he was living and surviving in the flanks away from his supports. Now that he's with his team most of the time in 5v5, his massive health pool, which is constantly being refilled by self-heals and support teammates, has become a nearly insurmountable headache for opposing teams.
Whatever this rework will end up looking like, Roadhog fans will likely learn a lot more as Season 7 approaches. Meanwhile, Stealth hacker Sombra is the next Overwatch 2 hero set to receive a rework, though the timeframe for when it's expected to land is still unknown. Until then, Overwatch 2's anniversary and Halloween events should be getting ready to go live next month.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Source: Blizzard
