Overwatch’s Sombra Rework Adds Healing While Roadhog Gains Damage Absorption
Sombra will retain stealth but use her hack through her Ultimate, while Roadhog's two-hit primary fire will give targets more time to react.
Overwatch Season 5’s Sombra and Roadhog reworks now have clearer gameplay identities. Sombra is being rebuilt as a Support hero who heals from inside her team, while Roadhog is getting a damage-absorption tool and a two-hit primary fire that makes his old one-shot pattern much harder to execute.
Aaron Keller and Ben Bell discussed the changes during the Official Xbox Podcast interview at BlizzCon 2026. Season 5 is scheduled to begin on October 6 alongside Doctrine and the Grímsvötn map covered in the broader Season 5 plans.
Sombra keeps stealth while healing allies
Moving Sombra from DPS to Support will not erase the character’s core identity. Keller said she will still be able to stealth, but her ability to hack enemy abilities will now activate through her Ultimate.
Her regular role will keep her closer to the rest of the team. Sombra will heal allies while providing Support utility, then break away for short offensive plays when the opportunity appears. That gives her a more consistent team presence without removing the stealth-based moments that define her.
The change also gives Sombra a clearer job during ordinary fights. Instead of disappearing for long stretches and only returning for a hack or assassination attempt, she can contribute to her team between those more dangerous plays.
Roadhog gets a safer way to absorb pressure
Roadhog’s rework approaches his old hook-to-one-shot routine from two directions. He will gain an ability that absorbs incoming damage from the enemy team without allowing that damage to hit his body directly.
His primary fire will also use a two-hit cadence. After pulling an enemy in, Roadhog will need to land both shots to reach the same kind of burst damage, giving the target more time to react between hits. Keller said the new sequence will usually not eliminate an enemy immediately, so one-shot kills will become much harder rather than simply remaining automatic.
The developers did not frame the change as removing Roadhog’s threat. Instead, his reworked kit will give opponents a clearer escape window while giving him another way to protect himself when the enemy team focuses him.
A small story tease points toward 2027
The conversation also offered a brief look beyond Season 5. Keller said a character previously shown only as a silhouette during an earlier Spotlight will play a large role in Overwatch’s story in 2027. Blizzard did not name the character, turning the moment into a tease rather than a full reveal.
Sombra’s move to Support could change how teams use one of Overwatch’s most disruptive heroes, while Roadhog’s two-hit cadence should make his fights less sudden. Which rework do you expect to change Season 5 matches more? Share your take, then follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, Telegram.
Overwatch
Developed by Blizzard Entertainment
Overwatch is a free-to-play first-person hero shooter developed by Blizzard Entertainment. Players choose from a large roster of role-based heroes and compete in 5v5 team matches across various objective-based game modes, with both casual and ranked competitive play. Originally released as Overwatch 2 in 2023 as a successor to the 2016 original, the game was rebranded to simply Overwatch in 2026 with a renewed focus on seasonal narrative content and expanded hero rosters.
- Genre Shooter
- Platforms Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- Perspective First person, Third person
- Modes Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative
- Release August 10, 2023
- Publisher Blizzard Entertainment
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Age Rating
