Overwatch 2: Sombra Rework Guide

As a live-service game, Overwatch 2 frequently introduces new elements to the game with each season of competitive play that comes and goes. These new additions can be anything: a new Battle Pass, hero cosmetics, in-game events, limited-time game mode, new features and collectibles, and changes or rework of heroes or game mechanics.

One of the characters from Overwatch 2 who has received quite a bit of attention in terms of kit and skill tweaking through buffs and nerfs is the famous Talon DPS hacker, Sombra. With the arrival of Season 13, Sombra received yet another rework of her kit, which drastically alters her abilities and therefore changes her playstyle. If you're wondering how she works following these tweaks, you can find all the information about her revamped kit, as well as how she works in general, in the guide below.

Overwatch 2 Sombra: Season 13 Hero Kit and Skills Explained

As seen in the Season 13 patch notes for Overwatch 2Sombra has probably received the most significant changes of any hero in the game. This new rework removes Stealth as a passive ability and introduces a five second cooldown. Additionally, Stealth is now tied to Sombra's Translocator ability, meaning that Stealth has been revamped to function as an engage or disengage tool in teamfights.

In addition, Sombra received the Opportunist passive, which increases her damage to broken enemies and allows her to see critically damaged targets through walls. With these changes, Sombra can no longer lurk undetected for long periods of time, but has a massive impact when she engages and successfully combos her abilities against a single target.

Sombra Skills

• Automatic Pistol (Weapon – Primary Fire): Short-range automatic weapon.
• Hack: Hold to hack. Hacked enemies cannot use abilities and can be seen through walls. Hacked health packs spawn faster and cannot be used by enemies. Taking damage interrupts the Hack attempt.
• Virus: Infects enemies with a projectile that deals damage over time. Virus damage hacked enemies at a faster rate.
• Translocator: Throw a beacon and teleport to it. Become invisible for a short time after teleporting.
• EMP (Ultimate): Damage all nearby enemies equal to a percentage of their current health, hacking them and destroying barriers around you.
• Opportunist (passive): Detect badly wounded enemies through walls and deal more damage to broken enemies.

Sombra gameplay tips and counters in Overwatch 2

These changes to Sombra's key abilities and general rework mean that players can no longer take the “AFK Sombra” strategy and remain invisible while standing next to or behind enemy spawn for long periods of time. Instead, this replay forces the player to play closer to their team and carefully engage and disengage to gain the most value from a teamfight.

Here are some tactics worth considering when playing Sombra's new reboot:

Sombra Game Tips

• Sombra has always required strong communication with your team or calls to make the most impact. This is now even more crucial because without infinite Stealth to help you make an extended flank, you'll need to work alongside the rest of your allies to safely engage, target an enemy to pick them off, and then work with them to log you out safely.
• Keep your eyes and ears open for any calls or pings regarding critical health enemies. Sombra can see these enemies through walls thanks to her Opportunist passive, so when you can safely do so, you should always target these targets to finish the kill.
• Look for enemies that are out of position or that your teammates are already pushing. By transferring to them and hitting them with Virus, they will become extremely vulnerable to incoming damage – especially if you assist someone else to damage them.
• The translocator, although now tied to stealth, is still a great tool for engagement. Once you've run out of stealth time, you'll find more opportunities to close the distance to engage a target, such as throwing it over a roof and then using the five seconds of stealth to get in close.
• By the time you've successfully initiated a Virus + Primal Fire, Hack + Primal Fire, or Hack + Virus combo, Sombra's Translocator cooldown should be full. This means you can go in, pick off an enemy (or harass them and make their team turn and potentially unstick, thus giving your team the opportunity to push) and return safely to re-engage the as the team fight continues. .

Sombra Synergy Selections

While quite functional in most team compositions with strong communication, Sombra works exceptionally well with other Diva heroes due to the combined pressure that can be applied to the enemy team, strong tracking opportunities, and potential skill combos.

• Wrecking Ball, Winston, or D.Va can track both Sombra's initiation and escape with Slam + Adaptive Shields, Jump + Bubble, or Boosters + Defense Matrix. These highly mobile tanks also enjoy taking out hacked or low health targets, which Sombra can ping for these tanks due to being able to see through walls.
• Doomfist can also work for the same purpose, as his Charged Punch into a Hacked target can be absolutely brutal, and he's very capable of keeping up with Sombra while she initiates isolated targets. His Slam and Punch can also be used to chase down or distance these enemies.
• Juno or Lucio's utility partially offsets Sombra's vulnerability when unmasked, giving her speed boosts she can use to break free in a pinch or cover more distance with her initiation.
• Tracer and Genji are great for tracking down isolated targets alongside Sombra to confirm kills with Blink and Pistols or Dash and Shurikens + Melee. These characters, again, are also great at knocking out those critical health targets if they manage to get out of Sombra's range.
• Sombra thrives when she has teammates capable of dealing high burst damage to targets she hacks or hits with Virus. Soldier: 76, Ashe and Cassidy are all capable of this as reliable hit-scan heroes. Cassidy's Stun can make broken targets absolutely miserable, giving them no escape. Soldier: 76 has heavy chip damage with his pulse rifle and can blast to take out targets with his Helix Missiles. Ashe has strong DPS as a sniper hero, which makes her great at picking off Sombra's targets – even from a distance. Additionally, Ashe can use her Dynamite to torch the team while Sombra engages, dealing burning damage over time that pairs well with Virus or EMP.

Sombra counters

• Even though she can work well with her, Cassidy is also a big threat to Sombra. Once she initiates against a target, Cassidy has huge peel potential for affected teammates if she can turn and Stun her. This will stop Sombra from escaping and slow her down, allowing them to pick her off easily.
• Junkrat can harass Sombra by placing his Trap on flank routes or in areas that Sombra has frequented. He can also make areas like corridors and choke points difficult for her to traverse or engage beyond with his ability to spam main fire into these choke points. In addition, she has a strong burst fire and can even one-hit combo Sombra with mine and her primary fire once she hits.
• Once again, one of the best Sombra counters is Sombra herself. If a Sombra bothers certain teammates like supports, playing close to them and waiting for her to use her key abilities will leave her vulnerable. Once it breaks an ally, try to break it – this will give everyone a brief opportunity to destroy it with fire.
• Torbjorn has a turret that will automatically fire at any target in its range. With Sombra's Stealth no longer infinite, Turret can pick her up much more consistently and have a harder time disrupting the back lane, especially if she's soloing.
• Kiriko can use her Suzu to clear both Hack and Virus, essentially denying Sombra the opportunity to capitalize on her strongest ability. With great timing, Kiriko can also clear multiple pirate targets as Sombra uses EMP. With her powerful damage multiplier in her head, Kiriko is also brilliant at tracking down a Hacked or Stunned Sombra.
• Just as Juno and Lucio can help Sombra engage and disengage, both can also use their speed boost abilities to help affected allies run to safety when Sombra targets them.
• Zarya can bubble teammates that are broken by Sombra, as her bubble will clear the hack and give enough time to try to escape.