Overwatch 2 latest patch (opens in new tab) significantly changes two heroes at the center of the community’s recent discussions of one-shot murders.
Sojourn and Roadhog’s power has been reduced just enough to add more predictability to the most deadly parts of their gear. Roadhog’s hook is no longer a death sentence and Sojourn’s railgun shot will now charge more slowly, steadily, unaffected by Grace (opens in new tab) and other heroes’ damage boosts.
While it’s certainly a detriment to both heroes’ ability to kill their targets quickly, it also makes their deadliest abilities more predictable – something Overwatch 2 desperately needed. Getting hooked on a Roadhog or dueling a Sojourn has a different threat level depending on the hero you play as. If Overwatch 2 wants to keep the fun of asymmetric hero abilities, it needs to give you the leeway to use them in response to heroes like these, or trade them for a hero better suited to fight them.
Here are the specific changes (out of the whole list) I’m talking about:
Roadhog’s chain hook
- Chain hook impact damage reduced from 30 to 5
- The distance from the enemy’s final position to Roadhog after being drawn increased from 10 to 15 feet
Roadhog’s scrap gun
- Damage per pellet reduced from 6.6 to 6
- Recovery time reduced from 0.85 to 0.8 seconds
- Reload time reduced from 2 to 1.75 seconds
- Max ammo increased from 5 to 6
Residence
- A railgun’s energy gain is no longer based on damage caused by primary fire. Each primary fire on an enemy player now yields 5 energy
This is a big change from the way Roadhog has always been played. With less hook damage, squishy DPS and support heroes are less vulnerable to a follow-up shot. The 4-meter leash also means Roadhog prey has more time to use a move or protection ability to survive. His Scrap Gun shoots faster and also has more ammo, so his ability to track the hook is still possible, but requires some shooting skills. Sojourn’s change has a similar effect: the slower, consistent speed of her railgun attack means that each shot requires more focus and attention. It slows down both heroes and gives their targets a short amount of time to react.
To speak live with streamers (opens in new tab) on today’s patch notes, Overwatch 2 lead designer Alec Dawson said the team is taking a broader view of heroes who can effectively take down enemies in one shot, particularly those who can pull off quick kills by spamming shots before a real team fight begins. “We like to look at it holistically, not so much just when the one-shot happens, but what was the risk of getting that, is counterplay available?” he said.
In particular, Dawson brought up Widowmaker’s health (which was improved in Overwatch 2) as a potential problem for anyone wanting to pounce on her before she gets shot at and the frustration of dying from a Junkrat sending grenades into a bottleneck. None of these heroes have changed today, but he said it’s something the team is discussing.
“Many of our changes are not about data, but about points of frustration.”
Alec Dawson, lead designer
For many, the problem with one-shots and a quick time-to-kill is the inability to react or predict what will happen next. Roadhog and Sojourn have dominated the meta for the past few months, in part because of their “all or nothing” battle run – if Roadhog lands the hook or Sojourn hits a head, it’s already over. Today’s tweaks are the first steps toward slowing down Overwatch and creating the opportunity for counterplay.
It’s quite possible that a slightly weaker Roadhog will eject him from the meta. Roadhog’s whole thing is the one-shot hook combo and without that to rely on, his inability to protect his team could make him a target for the high ranking competitive players looking for something to blame for a loss. I’m not sure it’s an issue Blizzard can avoid, but incremental changes like this help push the hero in the right direction without completely changing the way they work.
“A lot of our changes aren’t about data, they’re frustration points,” Dawson said of the team’s approach to changes like Roadhog’s in today’s patch. The team plans to compensate for the nerfs of his one-shot hook combo with some kind of utility that he can add to his team in the future, but the goal is to take a light approach to start. Other heroes, such as Sombra and Ramattra, will soon receive the same treatment. “We want to make sure we don’t put heroes in the basement all the way.”