Overwatch 2 Roadhog rework: All reworked abilities, release date, competitive availability, and more

The much-anticipated Roadhog rework in Overwatch 2 is just around the corner. The resident butcher was due a rework since the game's release due to the one-shot potential he possessed. Throughout multiple seasons, the hero received multiple adjustments to his kit, neither of which left him in a fair place in the meta.

A minor buff to Roadhog's kit would always lead to him being overpowered in the meta, while a simple nerf would bury him deep in the least-picked heroes list.

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Roadhog's reworked abilities in Season 7 of Overwatch 2

Blizzard Entertainment is making quite a few changes to Roadhog's abilities. The one-shot hook hero is getting a fair bit of gameplay changes.

Here is a detailed description of all these changes, as sourced from the official patch notes of Overwatch 2:

Pig Pen

• Launch a trap that slows and damages nearby enemies
• Deals 60 damage when triggered and 30 damage per second in an area
• Applies a 40% Movement speed reduction
• Three-second duration once activated
• 12-second cooldown

The Pig Pen is the highlight of Roadhog's kit. It allows him to apply a form of crowd-control pressure on the frontline and slows enemies down while also dealing a fair bit of damage.

Scrap Gun

• Secondary Fire removed
• Total damage per shot increased from 150 to 160
• Shotgun pellet count reduced from 25 to 16
• Shotgun pellet damage increased from 6 to 6.25
• Now fires a shrapnel volley of four large projectiles in the center of the shot
• Each shrapnel projectile deals 15 damage
• Critical damage multiplier reduced from 2x to 1.5x

Roadhog's weapon has been made far less oppressive. Its secondary fire has also been removed, and the gun now shoots a shrapnel volley of four projectiles.

Take a Breather

• Now activated by holding Secondary Fire
• Cooldown for each use decreased from eight seconds to one second
• A new resource meter has been added. This meter will deplete while Take a Breather is active and then recharge when it's not in use.
• Take a Breather requires 12 seconds to reach full charge from empty.
• At full charge, Take a Breather can heal up to 450 health over three seconds.
• Damage reduction decreased from 50% to 30%
• No longer amplifies healing received upon ending

Take a Breather has also received massive changes and will now be on a one-second cooldown. Furthermore, upon exhausting the breather limit, the ability will be on a 12-second cooldown to refill to its maximum amount.

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When does Roadhog rework release in Overwatch 2?

Roadhog's rework will be released on November 14, 2023, at approximately 12:00 pm PT.

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Will the Roadhog rework be available in Overwatch 2 competitive?

In a recent discussion between Alec Dawson, Lead Hero Designer on Overwatch 2, Cyx, and Bogur, two prominent Tank Hero players of the game, it was confirmed that despite seeing a fair bit of change, Roadhog will be part of the game's competitive playlist.

The goal is to keep the hero effective and viable in competitive play, and there is no better way to do that than directly making him part of the playlist.

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