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Overwatch’s October 6 Update Reworks Sombra and Roadhog

The October 6 Overwatch update moves Sombra to Support and replaces Roadhog’s secondary fire with Trash Compactor. Here are the patch-note changes and values.
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Overwatch’s October 6, 2026 retail update moves Sombra from Damage to Support, removes Hack as an ability, and gives her ally-healing tools. Roadhog gets a new projectile-absorbing secondary fire, alongside changes to his Scrap Gun, Chain Hook, and Take a Breather. The values below are those published in Blizzard’s October 6 patch notes; later hotfixes may change them.

What changed in the October 6 Overwatch update?

The update is part of Reign of Talon Season 5. Its two major hero overhauls change Sombra’s role and abilities, and replace Roadhog’s Scrap Gun secondary fire with a new defensive-offensive tool. Blizzard’s Season 5 announcement gives a shorter overview; the full retail patch notes list the ability and weapon values.

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How does Sombra work after her rework?

Sombra moves from Damage to Support and from the Recon subrole to Tactician. Hack is removed as an ability. In Blizzard’s explanation, the goal is to keep her disruptive identity without the ability lockout opponents found jarring and frustrating. Her new Weaken effect reduces enemy damage and healing output instead of preventing ability use.

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Hotfix heals allies and hacks packs or deployables

Hotfix heals an ally for 65 health instantly, then 25 health per second, up to 175 total healing or 12 seconds. It has two charges, an eight-second cooldown, a 17-meter range, and a 0.5-second cast time.

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Hotfix can also hack health packs and most enemy deployables without using a charge; this action has a separate six-second cooldown. Damage can interrupt those hacks. Sombra can use Hotfix while stealthed without immediately breaking stealth, although the ability temporarily reveals her.

Cyberspace heals allies and weakens enemies

Cyberspace launches a projectile that creates a zone lasting three seconds with a five-meter radius. The initial explosion deals 40 damage to enemies and heals allies for 40. While the zone remains, it deals 25 damage per second to enemies and heals allies for 30 per second. Enemies inside are affected by Weaken, which halves their damage and healing output.

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What changed for Roadhog?

Trash Compactor absorbs projectiles and returns damage

Trash Compactor replaces Scrap Gun secondary fire. For two seconds, Roadhog absorbs projectiles in front of him, then fires an explosive projectile. Its damage scales from 75 to 200 according to the damage absorbed, at a listed conversion rate of 30%. Roadhog moves 15% slower while the ability is active.

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The explosion has a two-meter inner radius and a six-meter outer radius; impact damage is 10. Its cooldown is 10 seconds in 5v5 and 11 seconds in 6v6. Blizzard describes the ability as a way to mitigate incoming projectiles and turn absorbed damage into a counterattack, with the broader aim of giving Roadhog a more traditional team-supporting Tank tool.

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Scrap Gun primary fire has more ammo and a different damage profile

Roadhog’s primary fire now launches two bursts per volley and holds 12 ammo, up from six. Blizzard lists total damage per volley as 204, up from 175. The patch also changes the weapon’s components and range:

Scrap Gun value Before After
Ammo 6 12
Total damage per volley 175 204
Critical damage multiplier 2× 1.5×
Pellet count 25 16
Pellet damage 7 4.25
Center projectile Not listed 34 damage
Spread 8 degrees 6 degrees
Falloff range 30–50 meters 20–35 meters
Projectile speed 80 m/s 100 m/s

Chain Hook and Take a Breather are adjusted

Chain Hook’s post-pull stun is shorter, and the pulled target ends up farther away. The cooldown reduction differs between 5v5 and 6v6:

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Chain Hook value Before After
Stun after pull 0.4 seconds 0.3 seconds
Target distance after pull 3 meters 4.5 meters
Cooldown in 5v5 7 seconds 6 seconds
Cooldown in 6v6 8 seconds 7 seconds

Take a Breather lasts at most two seconds instead of three. Its healing rises from 150 to 200 per second, while damage reduction falls from 40% to 35%. Its cooldown increases from 1.25 to two seconds.

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Why did Blizzard change Sombra and Roadhog?

For Sombra, Blizzard says the rework is intended to preserve her disruptive mastermind identity while removing Hack’s ability lockout. Weaken offers disruption by reducing opponents’ damage and healing, but does not stop them from using abilities.

For Roadhog, Blizzard says the goals are to reduce the frustration caused by Chain Hook’s lethality and give him a tool to help his team in a more traditional Tank role. Those are the developer’s stated design aims, not evidence of measured match impact. Blizzard’s notes do not report pick rates, win rates, or other player-outcome statistics for either rework.

Which patch values should players rely on?

The figures in this article are Blizzard’s published October 6, 2026 retail patch-note values, not independently tested results. Balance can change in subsequent hotfixes, so check the live official patch notes for the current values before relying on a specific number.

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