New Overwatch 2 patch nerfs Roadhog's hook one-shot combo into the ground

What you need to know

• A new Overwatch 2 patch has gone live, nerfing Roadhog, Orisa, Kiriko, and Sojourn.
• The biggest change is the death of Roadhog’s infamous Chain Hook and Scrap Gun one-shot combo, as Blizzard has reduced the Chain Hook’s pull distance and the damage of both the hook and the Scrap Gun itself.
• Orisa’s Fortify health bonus was also reduced in an effort to make her less tanky, while Kiriko’s Healing Ofuda recovery time was increased to encourage players to use her Kunai more.
• Sojourn’s Railgun energy gain has been reworked, giving her a flat 5 energy per hit instead of a varying amount based on damage done. This change makes it impossible for characters like Mercy to speed up her energy gain with damage boosts.

Throughout most of Overwatch 2 Season 2, Roadhog has become a dominant character in competitive play. While he lacks the protective utility that most tanks bring to the battlefield, his high health, self-healing, and ability to one-shot most non-tank heroes with his Chain Hook and Scrap Gun combo make him an unstoppable force in the current scrappy and deathmatchy meta. Developer Blizzard previously confirmed that a nerf to the character was coming, though players weren’t sure what direction the studio was going to take with it. We know now, though, as the long-awaited Roadhog nerf has finally arrived in a balance patch.

Blizzard has ultimately chosen to nerf Roadhog’s Chain Hook and Scrap Gun combo into the ground, identifying its ability to kill most Overwatch 2 heroes in one hit as a major problem. While Roadhog’s Chain Hook will still forcibly reposition targets, he won’t be able to do nearly as much damage as he could before. The damage, recovery time, and reload speed of his Scrap Gun been reduced (it did gain one extra shot in the magazine), and hooked players will land a full meter farther from Roadhog than they did before the update. Chain Hook itself now only does 5 damage instead of 30 on impact, further reducing the combo’s burst damage potential. 

Blizzard believes that while Roadhog won’t be able to one-shot opponents anymore, his Chain Hook will still be a powerful utility that can secure eliminations if Roadhog’s teammates follow up on opportunities to kill the people he hooks. The developer says that now, Roadhog’s effectiveness will be more dependent on hero matchups and how hooked characters can respond after getting pulled.

The update also included some additional hero changes, including nerfs for Orisa, Kiriko, and Sojourn. Orisa, like Roadhog, has been a supreme pick in most Overwatch 2 ranks due to her insanely high survivability and her ability to stun and reposition opponents with her Energy Javelin and Javelin Spin skills. Blizzard has reduced her Fortify’s health bonus from 125 to 75 in an effort to make her less oppressive and easier to take down. Kiriko, meanwhile, has had her Healing Ofuda recovery time increased from 0.85 seconds to 1 second, reducing the speed of her healing output and making it more beneficial to weave Kunai throws between healing casts.