Overwatch’s New Hero Sombra is Finally Out

After the flurries of announcements from BlizzCon, Blizzard released a big patch for Overwatch with the addition of Arcade mode and the hacker hero Sombra a day early. Everyone including me, rushed to the PTR (Public Test Realms) to finally play as the hacker Sombra. I wanted to see how her skills differ from the other heroes. And it was the perfect time to try out new heroes because of a new mode called, “No Limits” which allows for any type of team composition.

The new Overwatch hero was a long time coming. Before the announcement at BlizzCon the Overwatch community was vocal about who or what Sombra was. Blizzard didn’t help with subtle hints in the game either. But now she’s out and ready to fight. Sombra is only out for PTR which is only on PC. There is no date when she will be release in the live servers for PC and consoles.

Sombra is an offense classed hero with utility abilities. She can stop enemy hero’s abilities with abilities of her own. “Hack” allows Sombra to channel her laser to heath packs and disable it for the enemy team. She can also hack enemies to disable their abilities for a short time. “Thermoptic Camo” gives her a speed boost and full invisibility also for a short time.” Translocator” allows Sombra to move to one place to another by throwing the translocator device. Her ultimate is called “EMP” this ability is an AOE (area of effect) skill that disables your enemy abilities, again for a short time. The only thing offensive about Sombra is her “Machine Pistol” which is most effective in mid to close-range combat.

Playing as Sombra you need to be quick, aware of your surroundings, and “hack” everything you can. During my time, I tried playing with a full team of Sombras which was a mess because no one knows how to use her yet and there isn’t any team composition with only Sombras. But when I played in 1v1 she seems to hold her own because of her mobile abilities. I want to watch high level play in competitive mode to see how she fits in with all the other heroes.

 Sombra is a unique hero that is classed as an assault but plays as a support. With her hybrid abilities, there are still a lot more to learn about what she can do in a match. The direction they took in making Sombra is encouraging. Blizzard did a great job making Sombra so much different from all the other heroes. I like the direction Blizzard is taking in crating their heroes. The two heroes added after release felt different and gives more incentive to play and come back. That’s all it want from Overwatch.