Overwatch’s Jeff Kaplan hints at changes to “incredibly powerful” Sombra

Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan hinted that some changes may be coming to Sombra in the future, claiming that the stealth-based hero is “incredibly powerful” at the highest levels of play.

Since her release in 2016, Sombra has been one of the most difficult Overwatch heroes to get value with as her kit relies heavily on team coordination. In ladder matches, where players are randomly put together, finding the teamplay required to make Sombra work can be quite a challenge.

That said, in organized professional play, the story changes completely, with Sombra looking like one of the most overpowered heroes available.

In an interview with The Loadout, Kaplan explained that the team enjoys seeing what works in the pro scene. “One of the most fascinating things for us is watching how the professional players perform with certain heroes in a way that the rest of the player base cannot pull off. The best example of that is Sombra.”

“Sombra is so incredibly powerful in the Overwatch League and so dominant,” he added. However, the same cannot be said for the rest of the player base where the hero is very difficult to play.

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“If we were to look at the statistics, even among Master and Grandmaster Overwatch players, Sombra doesn’t perform very well because she’s so completely and utterly team dependent,” Kaplan explained. “But once you get these mastermind Overwatch League coaches showing their players when and where to EMP, she works.”

Kaplan further added that it’s “fun” for the team to study the differences between the two types of Overwatch matches and how Sombra dominates in one but not the other.

The fact that Sombra doesn’t perform in Grandmaster games is really a testament to how much Overwatch changes once teamwork enters the equation. It also suggests that some changes could be coming to Sombra.

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Given the fact that Overwatch developers balance from the top down, it seems likely that Sombra will be getting some sort of changes that make her weaker in OWL, but stronger in ranked play.

It’s unclear when and if we will see any changes to Sombra, but with Overwatch 2 on the way, hopefully we’ll hear something in the not-so-distant future.