Blizzard's recent rework of Sombra in Overwatch, transitioning her from a damage role to a support character, has garnered praise for exceeding expectations and introducing a versatile new playstyle. The changes, initially met with skepticism, have proven to be a significant improvement.
Previously, Sombra operated with a primary fire weapon, a hack ability that disrupted enemies and denied enemy access to health packs, a stealth and short-range teleportation ability, and a virus ability that dealt damage over time. The new iteration retains her primary fire and translocator but significantly alters her hacking and virus abilities.
Sombra's hacking ability now features two charges and provides allies with a moderate amount of healing over time, functioning similarly to Zenyatta's Harmony Orb but with dual targets. The virus ability has been replaced by Cyberspace, a dual-purpose skill that heals allies while simultaneously damaging enemies. Furthermore, Cyberspace applies a new 'weaken' status effect to enemies, reducing their damage and healing output. This ability offers numerous tactical applications, such as protecting distant allies, mitigating the effectiveness of enemy ultimates like Zarya's Graviton Surge or Reinhardt's Earthshatter, and countering high-healing ultimates from heroes like Zenyatta or Lifeweaver.
While the shift in Sombra's role away from direct combat might diminish her 'evil hacker' persona, her new support capabilities have demonstrated significant impact. Players are reporting average healing numbers around 8,000 per match with approximately 4,000 damage, and skilled players have achieved even higher figures. This indicates a strong viability in her new support capacity.
The reworked Sombra aligns with Blizzard's increased focus on team-based play. Her translocator ability also provides a means to quickly reposition to aid allies, akin to Mercy's Guardian Angel, offering some mitigation for challenges arising from uncoordinated teamwork.
A notable addition is Sombra's passive ability, which alerts players when an enemy's ultimate meter is fully charged. Combined with Cyberspace's relatively short cooldown, this allows for proactive counterplay against game-changing ultimates. While her EMP ultimate also counters enemy ultimates, the ease with which Cyberspace can now mitigate powerful abilities has led to some debate about whether it requires more effort to activate, though its effectiveness is undeniable.
Overall, the new Sombra offers a dynamic and engaging playstyle that has quickly earned her a place in many players' support rotations.