Overwatch 2’s latest patch has smashed Sombra’s kit to pieces, leaving the DPS hero strewn about in the mud

Overwatch 2's Season 13 Patch Notes cover a wide range issues. There are changes to the map layouts and scoreboard. But, more importantly, there are reworks of heroes who have become too strong or weak. Last point is not new, but it appears that Sombra was the one to be punished: Her reworks were pretty devastating.

Aaron Keller, Overwatch 2's director, says in a Director’s Take: "We are moving Stealth from being a passive which activates on its o ne and to an instant trigger every time you use Translocator." "It'll only be active for five second after you translocate." This change allows Sombra to move in any direction she chooses, but instead gives her an enhanced play loop that increases the lethality of her attacks. Sombra's stealth is only temporarily lost when she takes damage, or uses her hack. Translocator has a longer cooling off period, so you'll need to plan your attacks or use it as an escape route.

Blizzard has decided to give back the opportunist pass, which allows Sombra to see through walls and add weapon damage as time goes on, targets that are critically injured. Keller says that the Hack ability has also been reduced to a one-second lockout, which was a frustrating feature of her kit for opponents. "We'll watch how you adapt to these changes, and what new tactics you use with this new style of play."

The patch notes for Sombra rework go into greater detail about the upcoming updates. Hacking has been severely impacted. The lockout effect has been reduced from 10 seconds to 1 second. Sombra's cooldown for her translocator has been increased from 10 seconds to 7 seconds. Her ultimate cost has been increased by 12 percent.

In the patch notes, a developer commented that "this is a significant update to Sombra's gameplay in hopes of making her a more interactive player for the opposing teams and shifting some power from her utility of hacking and stealth into increased lethality."

It's not the end of the earth for Sombra fans, but it will take some time to get used to this rework, and until then, playing as her is probably going to be a pain. Blizzard developers often weaken characters after a rework, as it's easier to make them stronger with the next mid-season update than to have to implement a hotfix to a character who is too strong at the start of the season. While it's not fun to play Sombra at the moment, it could get better as Season 13 progresses.