Overwatch 2’s Sombra is getting a big rework

Hacker hero Sombra is one of two characters getting a big rework in Overwatch 2’s new season, which kicks off Oct. 10. While other heroes on the game’s roster will be impacted by various balance changes, Sombra’s abilities are being overhauled in some pretty substantial ways. Blizzard says the changes to Sombra are designed to make her “more engaging to play with and play against.”

“Our goal is to allow Sombra to be more committed to the targets she engages with and have a more active feel to her kit, all the while maintaining her character identity and playstyle as the world’s greatest hacker,” the developer said in a blog post.

Blizzard says that Sombra’s Machine Pistol primary weapon, Hack ability, and EMP ultimate are being “tuned,” but that’s not where the biggest changes are.

Sombra is getting an all-new ability: Virus. Blizzard describes it as “a skill shot that deals damage over time to the target it hits and does double damage and at a faster rate if they are already hacked.” Here’s a peek at Virus in action:

Stealth, Sombra’s ability to turn invisible and move more quickly, is also substantially changing. Stealth is now a passive ability that “starts automatically when Sombra is not taking damage or dealing damage or abilities.” In other words, any time she’s not in combat, Sombra will basically be a ghost.

With Stealth becoming a passive ability, Sombra’s other passive, Opportunist, is being removed. Opportunist allowed Sombra to see critically injured enemies through walls and other objects, and to deal more damage to hacked enemies.

Her Translocator is also being reworked to instantly teleport her wherever it is thrown. That should help Sombra get out of sticky situations and have more maneuverability, and spend less time teleporting back to health packs.

Here’s Sombra’s rework in handy graphic form:

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Sombra’s new ability kit arrives alongside Overwatch 2 season 7, Rise of Darkness, which launches Oct. 10. Blizzard says it will reveal more about Sombra’s rework in the coming days. A separate rework for Roadhog is also expected sometime during season 7.

Blizzard added Sombra to the Overwatch roster in 2016, shortly after her debut at that year’s BlizzCon. Blizzard overhauled Sombra back in 2021, in preparation for Overwatch 2’s launch, letting her hack enemies while in Stealth mode and changing her EMP to deal damage.

While season 7 of Overwatch 2 won’t introduce a new hero, it will include a new map and balance changes to Mei and Zarya (reverting recent buffs to the characters), as well as further tuning for Orisa, Ramattra, Wrecking Ball, Cassidy, Torbjorn, Brigitte, and Illari, Blizzard says.

Overwatch 2 is available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.