Summary
- Tanks in Overwatch 2 underwent major changes, with only one frontline character per team and increased health. For example, Orisa received skillset overhauls for versatility.
- Roadhog hasn't been performing well compared to other tanks in Overwatch, and developers plan to give him a rework in Season 7.
- Roadhog's survivability and combo potential were nerfed, and his role as a frontline character became more challenging in the new tank meta.
Tanks received massive changes during Overwatch 2’s switch from 6v6 to 5v5, which reduced the number of frontliners in a team to just one. This role got a passive that reduced knockbacks in Overwatch 2 and increased base health significantly. Some heroes, like Orisa, also got skillset overhauls to make them more versatile as a solo tank. However, there’s one character that hasn’t been performing as well as the other tanks in Overwatch 2, and the developers might give them a rework as soon as season 7 launches on October 10.
The Overwatch 2 team unveiled its 2023 Roadmap back in May, which included teasers for the all-new story missions, new maps, and other fresh content. Season 5 was disappointing for some players, as it had underwhelming game modes and the Questwatch event wasn’t as interesting as they hoped. OW2 tried to make up for this with Season 6’s story missions, with moderate success. Season 7 and beyond are all about hero reworks and new events, and one of the characters targeted for much-needed changes is Roadhog, and that is because he hasn’t been seeing a lot of game time in the highest echelons of ranked and pro play.
Why Roadhog Needs a Rework in Overwatch 2
Roadhog used to be an effective off-tank in the first game because of his survivability and one-shot kill potential with his chain hook and scrap gun combo. He can roam around the map doing this because the other tank will usually pick a more defensive hero to complement his aggressive gameplay. However, this doesn’t mean that he isn’t an effective pick for a frontline character. With his usual game plan of picking off squishy damage dealers and supports, he can draw a lot of enemy fire to himself. With a good healer on their side and smart management of Roadhog's Take a Breather skill, players can disrupt the enemy team for as long as they want. Their allies can then capitalize on this by making progress on the objective and even pouncing on the enemy team while they’re distracted.
Because of the significant changes to the tank role in Overwatch 2, Roadhog mains need to be more careful as they’re the only frontliner their team has. If he goes down, there’s no shield-deploying Sigma or Reinhardt to hold the line while he respawns. Plus, Roadhog's hook and scrap gun combo was nerfed to the point that it can’t one-shot even the squishiest targets anymore, and he also received nerfs to his reload time. While the developers did improve his ultimate ability duration from six to eight seconds, he’s still in a bad spot. Often, the question as to why one should choose Roadhog when there are other more defensive and versatile tanks in the game remains.
Roadhog Mains Could See a Character Rework in Overwatch 2 Season 7
The development team recognized that Roadhog was in a bad spot in the meta right now and that his kit just didn’t match Overwatch 2's 5v5 format. As such, Blizzard recently announced its intentions to give him a soft rework. The changes are slated to come in around season 7 and beyond, according to the developers’ 2023 roadmap, which will happen as early as October 10. Other heroes, like Sombra, will also receive some significant adjustments to their abilities.
Blizzard has kept a tight lid on what it plans on changing with Roadhog. As such, players will have to wait until at least October 10 to see which of his skills will be modified, added, or removed. The Overwatch 2 team is keen on keeping the essence of its heroes the same, as evidenced by the reworks of heroes like Mercy and Orisa. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how the team can balance Roadhog’s inherently aggressive playstyle with the more conservative role of tanks in 5v5 Overwatch with the coming reworks.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.