Overwatch 2's newly introduced Hero Perks system was meant to shake up the game's meta by giving each character unique upgrades tailored to their abilities. For some heroes, this update has been a breath of fresh air, enhancing their play style and making them more viable. But for others, the changes have had the opposite effect – leaving them worse off than before.
One of the biggest victims of this unintended side effect is none other than Sombra, a hero already struggling to find her place in the game.
Sombra: Controversial and Historically Weak
Sombra has always been one of Overwatch 2’s most divisive characters. Her ability to enter stealth mode and shut down enemy abilities with Hack has led to a love-hate relationship among players. However, despite her frustrating mechanics, she’s historically been one of the weakest DPS heroes in the game, consistently sitting at the bottom of win-rate charts. Her low damage output and limited ability to secure kills mean she lacks the raw carry potential of her peers, making her a risky pick for competitive play.
With this in mind, one might assume that the new Perks system would provide Sombra with much-needed buffs to help her compete with other DPS heroes. Instead, her Perks feel more like an afterthought – somewhat ineffective at best, actively harmful at worst. In fact, many Sombra mains have gone as far as to ignore her Major Perks entirely, claiming that they do more harm than good.
A Weak Selection of Minor Perks
One of the biggest issues with Sombra’s Perks is that they fail to address the core weaknesses of her kit. While other DPS heroes received Perks that enhance their damage or mobility, Sombra’s options feel oddly detached from what she actually needs to succeed.
Her first Minor Perk, Viral Efficacy, reduces the cooldown of her Virus ability by three seconds whenever an enemy infected by Virus is eliminated. On paper, this might sound useful, but in practice, it falls flat. Virus is a relatively low-damage ability that isn’t a major part of Sombra’s kill potential to begin with. Since Sombra often has to weave in and out of fights, the Perk is rarely relevant in the heat of battle.
The second Minor Perk, CTRL + ALT + ESC, is slightly better but still underwhelming. This Perk triggers passive health regeneration after Sombra uses her Translocator while critically injured. While there are niche scenarios where this might help her escape safely, Translocator is already a strong survival tool on its own. The healing effect is hardly game-changing, making this Perk feel like a small bonus rather than an impactful upgrade.
Major Perks That Actively Hurt Her
While Sombra’s Minor Perks are mostly underwhelming, her Major Perks are where things truly fall apart. Unlike heroes such as Tracer – who gained a massive buff in the form of three extra Blinks – Sombra’s Major Perks feel either underwhelming or outright detrimental.
Her first Major Perk, White Hat, allows her to Hack an ally, healing them for 100 HP. In theory, this sounds like a useful support-oriented ability. However, in the chaos of a team fight, it’s difficult to reliably Hack a specific ally, especially since Hack already has a cast time and can also target enemies. Many players find themselves accidentally hacking the wrong target, wasting valuable time for a lackluster reward. Worse yet, since hacking an ally still triggers Hack’s cooldown, it actively prevents Sombra from using it offensively for a brief heal that doesn’t compare to the other Major Perks in the game.
Her second Major Perk, Stack Overflow, is even more controversial. This Perk extends the duration of Hack’s Silence effect by an additional second but reduces her Hack range by 30%. Theoretically, an extra second of Silence could be game-changing in key moments, but the reduced range makes it significantly harder to pull off. Since Hack already requires precise timing and positioning, the range nerf puts Sombra at an even greater disadvantage, making this Perk feel like a trap rather than an upgrade.
A Hero in Dire Need of Help
The unfortunate reality of these Perks is that they don’t just fail to help Sombra – they actively make her worse. With an already low win rate of just 47%, Sombra remains one of the least effective DPS characters in the game. Meanwhile, other DPS heroes have received Perks that significantly boost their damage, mobility, or survivability, leaving Sombra behind in the dust.
Blizzard has acknowledged that some Perks need rebalancing, and has hinted at future adjustments to weaker heroes. But for now, Sombra players are left wondering if the developers are intentionally keeping her in a weakened state out of fear of making her too oppressive. Until meaningful buffs arrive, Sombra remains one of the biggest losers of the Hero Perks update – accidentally nerfed by the very system that was meant to improve her.