New Overwatch 2 patch nerfs Roadhog’s hook one-shot combo into the ground

The update also includes nerfs to Orisa, Kiriko, and Sojourn.

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What you need to know

Throughout most of Overwatch 2 Season 2, Roadhog has become a dominant character in competitive play. While he lacks the protective utility that most tanks bring to the battlefield, his high health, self-healing, and ability to one-shot most non-tank heroes with his Chain Hook and Scrap Gun combo make him an unstoppable force in the current scrappy and deathmatchy meta. Developer Blizzard previously confirmed that a nerf to the character was coming, though players weren’t sure what direction the studio was going to take with it. We know now, though, as the long-awaited Roadhog nerf has finally arrived in a balance patch.

Blizzard has ultimately chosen to nerf Roadhog’s Chain Hook and Scrap Gun combo into the ground, identifying its ability to kill mostOverwatch 2 heroesin one hit as a major problem. While Roadhog’s Chain Hook will still forcibly reposition targets, he won’t be able to do nearly as much damage as he could before. The damage, recovery time, and reload speed of his Scrap Gun been reduced (itdidgain one extra shot in the magazine), and hooked players will land a full meter farther from Roadhog than they did before the update. Chain Hook itself now only does 5 damage instead of 30 on impact, further reducing the combo’s burst damage potential.

Blizzard believes that while Roadhog won’t be able to one-shot opponents anymore, his Chain Hook will still be a powerful utility that can secure eliminations if Roadhog’s teammates follow up on opportunities to kill the people he hooks. The developer says that now, Roadhog’s effectiveness will be more dependent on hero matchups and how hooked characters can respond after getting pulled.

The update also included some additionalhero changes, including nerfs for Orisa, Kiriko, and Sojourn. Orisa, like Roadhog, has been a supreme pick in mostOverwatch 2ranks due to her insanely high survivability and her ability to stun and reposition opponents with her Energy Javelin and Javelin Spin skills. Blizzard has reduced her Fortify’s health bonus from 125 to 75 in an effort to make her less oppressive and easier to take down. Kiriko, meanwhile, has had her Healing Ofuda recovery time increased from 0.85 seconds to 1 second, reducing the speed of her healing output and making it more beneficial to weave Kunai throws between healing casts.

The tweak to Sojourn is definitely a shift down in terms of overall power, though the change made will be beneficial in some situations. Blizzard has reworked the way gaining energy for her Railgun’s secondary fire works, making her primary fire give a static amount of energy per hit rather than a varying amount based on how much damage each hit does. This makes it impossible to improve Sojourn’s energy gain with abilities like Mercy’s Damage Boost or Zenyatta’s Orb of Discord, reducing the uptime of her Railgun sniper shots. However, it buffs Sojourn’s ability to build up charge when shooting heroes that have damage-reducing Armor. Her primary fire damage has been reduced from 10 to 9, though.

If you want to see the changes in full, we’ve included all of the update’s patch notes below.

Overwatch 2 Patch Notes: January 24, 2023

Hero Changes

ORISA

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ROADHOG

SOJOURN

KIRIKO

Bug Fixes

GENERAL

HEROES

Overwatch 2 is available now on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. It’s arguably one of thebest Xbox shootersavailable, and since it’s free-to-play, it doesn’t cost anything to check it out. Alternatively, players can purchase the Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack that provides access to a Premium Battle Pass, 2,000 Overwatch Coins, and a bundle of unique Legendary skins.

Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack

The $40 Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack offers fans a variety of benefits that will allow them to get guaranteed access to a Premium Battle Pass track, unlock some unique rewards, provides some in-game currency to use, and more.

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Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he’s been an avid fan since childhood. He’s been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you’ll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he’s not writing or gaming, there’s a good chance he’s either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once.Follow him on X(Twitter).