Sorry to all of you Roadhog mains out there: your favorite gas-masked Aussie’s hook ability is getting nerfed very soon.
Overwatch’s principal designer Geoff Goodman detailed the changes to the character in the Blizzard forums last night. He explained:
… the hook victim will now move in to the position directly in front of Roadhog, rather than just a straight line towards him. There is a cap on how far ‘to the side’ you can be pulled, so you can’t just hook someone, spin 180, and dump someone off a cliff. This part (along with some other bug fixes) should generally make the hook feel more consistent as to where the victims get pulled.
He also detailed how Roadhog will now only be able to hook targets that he can see, and that they will break off from the chain if line of sight with the victim is broken. These changes could be implemented in the Public Test Room as soon as “this week,” Goodman says.
Goodman admits, “Overall these changes will likely make Roadhog a bit weaker, but we’ll evaluate his performance once we get people playing him and make adjustments as necessary.” He also agreed with a forum poster that newcomer Sombra could “use a bit of a boost,” but mentioned no official plans by Blizzard to buff the character.
Blizzard most recently made headlines after confirming via a supplementary comic that cover star Tracer is gay. While a vocal minority has made their disapproval of said announcement clear, the larger fan base’s reaction has ranged from indifferent to cheering.
In Blizzard’s December “Year in Review” video for Overwatch, director Jeff Kaplan promised a host of new maps, modes and heroes coming in 2017. You can watch that below, and read Goodman’s full post on Roadhog’s nerfing here.