Overwatch 2 Season 13 update proves the sad truth about Sombra

As a seasoned Overwatch gamer with years of experience under my belt, I find myself standing at a crossroads with Sombra’s latest rework in Season 13. On one hand, I appreciate the challenge that her stealth and teleport abilities present to me as a player who prefers the more straightforward heroes. On the other, I can’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for those players who have mastered her unique playstyle and are now left grappling with her nerfed state.


In the 13th season of Overwatch 2, there’s a significant overhaul on the Damage Per Second (DPS) character, Sombra, making her more challenging to handle. This update seems to underscore the fact that she might be tricky to achieve a balanced state in gameplay.

In a nutshell, striking a balance with the characters in Overwatch 2 is likely one of the most challenging tasks for Blizzard, as for each minor adjustment made, there’s a chorus of thousands of players questioning why their favorite hero was altered, while still others demand even more substantial changes.

The distinction is particularly apparent with Sombra, an enigmatic and contentious character within the Overwatch lineup. This Damage Hero has sparked debate in the community, largely due to abilities like Cloak (which renders her invisible) and Hack (a skill that momentarily disables the target’s own abilities).

With her exceptional skills, she has the ability to instill fear in an opponent’s defense line. Suddenly appearing and swiftly depleting a teammate’s health gauge, followed by a quick escape through Translocate, leaving them bewildered about the source of their attack.

With the Season 13 update, it’s become harder than ever to utilize Sombra effectively. Now, her Stealth is linked to her Translocate ability, which has also been given a longer recharge time. This results in less time spent being invisible and makes her more exposed to counterattacks.

Overwatch 2 Season 13 update proves the sad truth about Sombra

As anticipated, this development has elicited a diverse response. Some are ecstatic about the transformation, hoping to see the character vanish entirely from the metagame. On the other hand, ardent Sombra enthusiasts apprehend that this overhaul might effectively render their beloved Hero obsolete and unusable.

She hasn’t been in her current form for the first time. Back in September 2023, she underwent significant changes, switching Stealth from an active ability to a passive one and eliminating Opportunist, only to reintroduce it about a year and a half later.

This evidence clearly demonstrates that accurately developing characters such as Sombra, who possess abilities like invisibility and teleportation, is extremely challenging, a fact acknowledged by the developers themselves in a Reddit Q&A. These abilities, by their very nature, can be quite vexing for opponents to encounter, so if they are overpowered, players not controlling that character will often yearn for their removal from the game.

I’ve had several games where I’ve sworn at Sombra and Tracer for eliminating my isolated Zenyatta, appearing behind him out of nowhere. Since I don’t have the endurance or ability to play characters like them, the thought that they might be heavily weakened does provide a bit of comfort.

Overwatch 2 Season 13 update proves the sad truth about Sombra

Indeed, while I concede their significance, heroes such as Sombra are instrumental in keeping Overwatch games dynamic. These characters prompt players to remain alert and penalize teams fixated on dealing damage from a distance who neglect to stay vigilant.

However, finding a balance seems crucial. This recent adjustment might push the favored DPS character out of the competitive gameplay entirely, but an increase in strength could make her overpowering again as she once was in matches.

The only surefire way to solve the issue is with a complete overhaul of her kit, one that introduces new abilities that are less polarizing to begin with. But then you run the risk of losing the identity of one of Overwatch’s most distinct characters, which players have invested hundreds of hours into mastering.

This predicament doesn’t have an all-encompassing fix, but it’s nearly indisputable that we’ll see more changes to Sombra’s appearance in the future.

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2024-10-15 14:18