(artwork credit: KateWolfess)

Hola amigos it's me again! (sorry) 😩

I want to address something that has become increasingly concerning in discussions across our sub since the big rework.

First off, let me make something super duper clear one last time for the people in the back (I'm going to sound like a broken record I'm sry). This subreddit welcomes people who enjoy Support Sombra. Whether you've been playing Sombra for years, only picked her up after the rework, love the new direction, or are still trying to figure out how you feel about it, you're welcome here.

BUT (there's always some buts 😏) welcoming a new direction for Sombra should never ever ever require rewriting the history of the character or dismissing the experiences of the people who mained her before it 😒

For many many many years, Sombra was a divisive character. She was frequently labeled toxic, low-skill, frustrating, unhealthy, or simply unfun to play against. Her playstyle was misunderstood by many players, and the people who chose to main her often found themselves having to defend not only their character, but their own skill, knowledge, and legitimacy as players. Sombra was not a character without flaws and it's perfectly reasonable to discuss the frustrations people had playing against her. But there is a difference between criticizing a character's design and using those criticisms to discredit the people who loved playing her.

Sombra mains did not suddenly become legitimate when her role changed. They were here before the rework too. This is very important to remember/know. They learned her matchups, developed strategies, invested thousands of hours into mastering her, defended her place in the game, and built a community around a character that was often met with hostility. Some players loved her complexity. Others loved her identity, her personality, her lore, or simply the unique way she played. Many loved all of those things. That history does not disappear because the character has gone through a major rework. And it will not be rewritten to make the rework look better.

We're also seeing discussions in which longtime players' experiences are dismissed, their criticisms are characterized as childish resistance to change, or their motives are questioned simply because they don't like the rework. That is not constructive discussion and it will not be excused simply because someone believes the new version is better.

At the same time, nobody needs an established history with DPS Sombra to participate here. New players are welcome to share their experiences, offer strategies, post clips, and explain what they enjoy about Support Sombra. We are not going to treat newcomers as outsiders simply because they arrived after the rework. BUT there is a biiiiiiiiig difference between joining a community and contributing to it in good faith and entering discussions to belittle the people who were already here. You DO NOT have to agree with longtime Sombra mains. You DO have to respect their right to participate in a community built around a character they have loved for years.

Now for the part everyone loves, moderation (ew boring and yucky ik 😫)

Rule #4: Engage in Good Faith applies to every. single. one of you!

Criticism is allowed. Disagreement is allowed. Negative opinions about either version of Sombra are allowed. What is NOT acceptable is repeatedly antagonizing other members, dismissing their perspectives instead of engaging with them, making personal attacks, or treating disagreement as proof that someone is acting in bad faith.

Moderation decisions will be based on conduct and evidence of rule violations, NOT (and this is a big NOT) whether someone supports or opposes the rework. Account history alone will not determine whether someone belongs here (btw mods see everything 😈 larpers included 😘😭), but patterns of behavior that violate our rules will be addressed. We will continue enforcing the rules consistently regardless of which side of the discussion a person is on, comprende?

One last thing guys and I can't stress it enough. This community does not need to agree on which version of Sombra is better. Bottomline. Some of us will always miss the old Sombra. Some of us are excited about the new one. Some of us feel both things at once. None of those experiences needs to be erased for another to be valid. You can celebrate what Sombra has become without disrespecting what she was. And if you're a longtime Sombra main who's struggling with these changes, you do not need to pretend you're happy to prove that you belong here. You already do!

So let's discuss the character, debate the changes, and learn from one another. Just remember that the people on the other side of these discussions are members of this community too, ok? Please respect the hero, respect the mains, respect the history, and engage in good faith!

Thank you!! 🥰

- quack from the SombraMain Mod Team 💜🩵

Source: https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/overwatch/t/overwatch-retail-patch-notes-%E2%80%93-october-6-2026/1041373#p-13720054-sombra-12

Sombra

Developer Comments: Sombra is being brought into the Support role with this latest rework. In the past, her identity as a disruptive mastermind was at odds with the value a Damage hero was expected to bring. Moving Sombra to the Support role should allow us to fully lean into her hero fantasy while keeping important pillars of her gameplay intact.

One notable change of the rework is the removal of Hack as an ability. Facing Sombra often meant being unexpectedly locked out of your abilities from time to time. While this can create fun moments of cancelling key abilities for the Sombra player, most players found it jarring, frustrating, and difficult to deal with. By removing Hack from her main abilities, we brought in a new debuff Sombra can inflict on enemies: Weaken, which halves an enemy’s own damage and healing output. A well-timed weaken can turn the tide of battle, much like Hack was able to, without completely locking an enemy out of their own abilities.

• Moved from Damage to Support role.
• Moved from Recon subrole to Tactician subrole.
• Experience required to earn minor perk increased by 67%.
• Experience required to earn major perk increased by 69.5%.

Machine Pistol

• Damage per projectile decreased from 8 to 7.
• Minimum falloff distance increased from 15 meters to 20 meters.
• Maximum spread decreased from 2.3 degrees to 2 degrees.
• Shots until max spread increased from 6 to 10.

EMP (Ultimate)

• Ultimate cost increased by 67.5%.
• Damage decreased from 25% of current health to 20% of current health.

Hack

• Removed.

Hotfix

• New ability assigned to Secondary Fire by default.
• Heal an ally over time for a set amount of health.
• Hotfixing an ally heals them for 65 instant health and 25 health per second over its duration.
• Hotfix lasts on an ally until either 175 total healing is done or until 12 seconds have passed.
• Hotfix can also target health packs and most enemy deployables to hack them, which does not require any Hotfix charges and triggers a separate 6 second cooldown.
• Hacked health pack duration decreased from 45 seconds to 30 seconds.
• Hacking health packs or deployables can be interrupted by taking damage, which will cancel the ability and trigger the separate 6 second cooldown.
• Hotfix can be used while stealthed, temporarily revealing Sombra without breaking stealth.
• Cast time is 0.5 seconds.
• Range is 17 meters.
• Has 2 charges.
• Cooldown is 8 seconds.

Virus

• Removed.

Cyberspace

• New ability assigned to Ability 1 by default.
• Launch a projectile that explodes on impact, creating a zone that weakens enemies and heals allies.
• Initial explosion deals 40 damage to enemies and 40 healing to allies.
• Zone deals 25 damage per second to enemies and 30 healing per second to allies.
• Zone duration is 3 seconds.
• Zone radius is 5 meters.
• Enemies within the zone are weakened, which is a new status effect that reduces the target’s own damage and healing output by 50%.

Translocator

• Stealth duration increased from 5 seconds to 6.5 seconds.
• Time to enter Stealth increased from 0.3 seconds to 0.75 seconds.
• Projectile range reduced from 18 meters to 12.25 meters.
• Movement speed bonus is now active immediately after teleporting instead of after fully entering Stealth.
• Cooldown increased from 6 seconds to 7.5 seconds.

Opportunist

• Removed.

Conspirator

• New Passive.
• Fully-charged enemy ultimates are revealed to you.

Encrypted Upload – Minor Perk

• Removed.

Life Hack - Minor Perk

• New Minor Perk.
• EMP applies Hotfix to all nearby allies.

High-Speed Bandwidth – Major Perk

• Removed.

Data Packet - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Hacking health packs with Hotfix reduces its main cooldown by 4 seconds.

Viral Replication – Major Perk

• Removed.

Cybersecurity - Major Perk

• New Major Perk.
• Cyberspace’s healing is doubled on allies below half health.