The arrival of the Overwatch 2 Season 13 patch introduces significant modifications to the beloved DPS character, Sombra, making her more manageable in combat.
As is customary with seasonal updates, players can expect fresh events and a new Battle Pass alongside a myriad of adjustments to Hero abilities. Season 13 certainly follows this trend, but Sombra has undergone a much more extensive revision compared to other characters.
One of the most critical adjustments is the transformation of her Stealth capability into an active feature that is now linked to her Translocate skill. Furthermore, the cooldown period for Translocate has been increased from five seconds to seven seconds, resulting in a slight nerf.
Additional tweaks include a reduction in the duration of her Hack ability, now lasting just one second instead of 1.5 seconds, and a 12% increase in the Ultimate cost of her EMP ability.
On a brighter note, Sombra’s Opportunist passive has made a return, allowing her to spot severely injured opponents even through walls. Moreover, she inflicts greater damage on hacked enemies, and her Stealth is now only momentarily interrupted when she utilizes her other abilities.
The Stealth ability is integral to Sombra’s gameplay.
While certain aspects of Sombra’s kit have been enhanced, the overall rework leans towards being a nerf. The modifications to her Stealth ability, in particular, will substantially transform her gameplay style and make her much simpler for opponents to contend with.
This decision appears to be intentional, as stated by the developers in the Season 13 patch notes: “This is a significant change to Sombra’s playstyle aimed at enhancing interaction with the enemy team while redistributing some of her power from the utilities of Stealth and Hack towards increased damage output.”
“By limiting the duration of Stealth to less than the cooldown of Translocate, we aim to create short windows of risk. Although she can still navigate dangerous areas without being detected, maintaining presence in enemy territory will now require moving stealthily from cover to cover, akin to other flanking characters.”
As expected, this overhaul has not received a warm welcome from Sombra mains. In a spirited discussion on Reddit, numerous fans expressed concerns that these changes could potentially “eliminate”the character entirely.
One comment lamented, “She feels entirely unviable now,” while another remarked, “With around 120 hours invested in Sombra, this update makes me want to abandon her. They’re rendering her ineffective, which is disheartening. There’s a sentiment among players that they want her gone, and now it seems they are getting their wish.”
Only time will reveal the impact of these modifications in Season 13, but on the surface, Sombra undoubtedly appears to be becoming a more challenging Hero to master. The developers have acknowledged her as the most difficult Hero to balance, suggesting that further adjustments may occur in subsequent updates.
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