Sombra almost had a “Cybernetic Wire” ability following Overwatch 2 rework

Following the reveal of Sombra’s full rework in Overwatch 2, the development team discussed some ideas that almost made the final cut such as a Cybernetic Wire ability.

One of the key aspects of Overwatch 2 that the development team at Blizzard Entertainment has focused on with the sequel is Hero reworks.

Now, Sombra is the latest character to receive a rework, entering into the ranks of others like Doomfist and Bastion.

Now, the development team has released a blog post detailing what went into Sombra’s rework, including ideas from the cutting room floor like a “Cybernetic Wire” ability.

Overwatch 2 team details scrapped Sombra rework abilities

This Overwatch 2 blog post, released on October 6, 2023, and written by Andre Abrahamian from the Hero Design Team, goes over what went into Sombra’s rework.

In the ‘Exploring New Abilities’ section of the post, Abrahamian talks about the list of ideas the team explored when thinking about how to revamp Sombra’s kit.

Along with scrapped ideas like laser trip wires that players could attach to walls, the team toyed around with a “Cybernetic Wire” ability.

This ability would “deal damage in an arc, dealing bonus damage to enemies at low health.” The OW2 dev explained the intent was “to secure kills as a ‘finishing blow’ style ability,” essentially ensuring opponents at low health wouldn’t get away.

Unfortunately, the team felt the ability was “too oppressive because of the high amount [of] instant damage” that could have been dealt to multiple enemies at once. Additionally, the team found it difficult to judge the Cybernetic Wire ability’s range in first-person while also using Sombra’s machine pistol.

Abrahamian and company eventually settled on Sombra’s “Virus” ability, which is a ranged projectile that deals damage over time — even more so when enemies are hacked.

While the Cybernetic Wire ability didn’t make it into Sombra’s final rework, the OW2 dev assured players that after many, many playtests, the team was happy with where Sombra ended up.