6. Hero Reworks: Roadhog & Sombra
Kenny Hudson: Whether you’re on the show floor here at BlizzCon or ready to queue up at home, you’ll get the chance to try out Doctrine in all of his glory with a hero trial that runs from today through September 14. If you are here with us in Anaheim, you get to test something exciting we’ve been cooking up. Reworks for two Overwatch heroes who needed a refresh.
Both Roadhog and Sombra’s reworks are playable on the show floor this weekend. For everyone else, you’ll get to play them in Season 5. We have a familiar face here to give you all the details about those reworks. Associate game director Alec Dawson.
Alec Dawson: Hey, BlizzCon. I hope you can see all the love and care that has gone into Doctrine. We are so excited for him to come out next Season. I’m here to talk about something a little bit different. I’m here to talk about two of our most challenging reworks: Roadhog and Sombra.
Let’s start with Roadhog. Our approach for Roadhog started with two primary goals: reduce the amount of value tied up in his chain hook combo, and also give him new ways to directly help his team.
Some of the elements that define Roadhog as a tank, like his take a Breather, are still intact. But we’ve made him a more dynamic tank, one that doesn’t feel as frustrating to play against. Roadhog’s primary fire is now a double-shot burst shotgun, spreading out the damage into two chunks.
With this new primary fire, Roadhog is still a big threat up close, but there’s a level of precision required, landing both shots to quickly burst down enemies. Roadhog still has this trusty chain hook at the ready, but the one-shot combo (I guarantee everyone in this room, has fallen victim to)… is hard to achieve due to these primary fire changes.
Within that small gap between primary fire shots, you can use reactive abilities to get out of danger. Roadhog’s prey will also land farther away from him, making it more difficult to secure kills on full-health heroes. Make no mistake though: Chain Hook is still a powerful displacement ability that can secure kills and catch out-of-position enemies.
These changes to siphon a little value from the hook combo, so Roadhog isn’t so one-node in a fight, always looking for a pick, but we actually added a new ability. This gave us room to add something fresh to Roadhog’s kit. In comes Roadhog’s new secondary fire ability, Trash Compactor.
He’ll absorb enemy projectiles for two seconds and compress them into an explosive ball of scrap, which can be tossed back at enemies. Trash Compactor is a valuable space-making tool that enables Roadhog to protect himself and teammates.
It can even land a big chunk of damage if used just at the right time. These changes and new additions to Roadhog’s kit should make a more flexible tank but has a healthier place in the game overall.
Now let’s talk about that next challenge, and one that included a role switch. Let’s chat Sombra. This invisible hacker assassin has been one of the more controversial heroes ever since her introduction. Coming into Sombra’s rework, the team knew we had to take bigger swings and break up that triangle of her invisibility, lethality, and hack-silencing effect.
As you probably noticed in the opening ceremony, Sombra is now a support hero. By moving her over to support, we can keep some of the most enjoyable parts of her kit intact. Sombra can still have a stark utility in her kit, but in a role where it’s more appropriate. And just like with Roadhog, some things are staying the same.
Sombra’s Translocator has a shorter distance but still allows for tactical disappearances. Her Machine Pistol remains a proficient short-range weapon that damages enemies, and EMP is also essentially the same and still offers massive opportunity for coordinated teams to take advantage of.
The biggest changes in Sombra’s rework is the removal of hack and virus to make room for abilities that solidify her identity as a very active support hero. One of those abilities is Hotfix, which grants healing over time to an ally target.
Hotfix comes with two charges and works differently from some of the healing mechanics that you’re used to. When Sombra applies Hotfix to an ally, it dishes out instant healing, but most of the value is in its healing over time. Hotfix’s healing reserve has up to 200 healing and can last for 12 seconds.
That means Sombra can use Hotfix proactively and assist an ally about to make a bold engage. Sombra also won’t have as much healing upkeep as other supports, which enables her to still go off on her own adventures. She can disable Health Packs or position herself to initiate an engagement for the enemy team.
And one way she wins those engagements is by using Cyberspace, which replaces Sombra’s old Virus ability. Instead of applying damage to one target, Cyberspace creates a zone that heals allies and damages enemies. That’s not all though. Enemies within Cyberspace are also weakened, which reduces their healing and damage output by 50%.
Cyberspace is a multipurpose ability that can finish off low-health enemies, dampen enemy ultimates, and can create an advantageous area for your team to fight in. It’ll be up to you to find the ideal moment to spring Cyberspace onto the enemy team. Sombra’s rework keeps her identity intact while introducing new ways to enjoy her kit.
She’s a very active support who can put her thumb on the scale to turn the fight in her team’s favor. While it may take a little bit to get used to her new role and abilities, learning to take advantage of her full capabilities is an absolute blast. Once it clicks, we hope you’ll love it.
As always, please give us your feedback once you’re able to try these reworks, either on the show floor of BlizzCon or at home when Season 5 launches. All of you help us make Overwatch a better game every day. Thank you.
Kenny Hudson: Can we get our strike team back out here? Now, you saw a lot of cool stuff today, presented by some of my favorite people. But we represent a fraction of the folks who put their creativity and heart into Doctrine. That’s how it goes for all of our heroes.
Everyone on Team 4 contributes in their own way. The strike team just carries the torch in the beginning, and we don’t mind public speaking. We want to thank everybody who had a hand in bringing Doctrine to life. Guess what? That includes you too. Our team gets so much inspiration and motivation from the Overwatch community, especially when we get to see you having a blast here at BlizzCon.
We’re listening, and we’re always learning from your feedback. From all of us on the Overwatch team, we hope you have a devilishly fun time playing Doctrine in Season 5 and beyond. Thank you. Have a good night, and let’s make a great game.
| BLIZZCON 2026 OVERWATCH: WHAT'S NEXT PANEL TRANSCRIPT | ||||
| 1. Intro | 2. Narrative Design | 3. Art Direction | 4. Hero Design | 5. Animation/Audio |
| 6. Reworks | ||||
