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Roadhog Rework Gives Him New Pig Pen Ability in Overwatch 2

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Roadhog Rework Gives Him New Pig Pen Ability in Overwatch 2

The Roadhog rework's new Pig Pen ability will drop in a mid-season patch in Overwatch 2 Season 7

The long-awaited rework aims to fix long-standing issues on the problematic Overwatch 2 tank hero.

Since the original Overwatch came out in 2016, Roadhog's core playstyle tended to lean towards the unfair side of things. Mainly, his one-shot combo (hooking an enemy in before shooting them point blank + melee) has earned many a support player's ire over the years, prompting Blizzard to make numerous changes to Junkrat's partner-in-crime.  But despite the efforts of the Overwatch team, none of the tweaks really stuck in the long run.

roadhog rework overwatch 2

Roadhog Rework Details

After tons of balance changes spanning more than 7 years, it became evident that the masked wastelander needed more than a few damage nerfs to make him feel balanced. As a result, the devs finally confirmed an upcoming Season 7 Roadhog rework, even teasing an “all-new ability” to his hero kit.

On November 14, Roadhog rework was finally announced on the official Overwatch Twitter account, confirming his new ability. Roadhog's new ability Pig Pen launches a trap that slows and damages nearby enemies.

The Roadhog rework will also tweak Scrap Gun and Take a Breather when the mid-season patch comes out. Here are the upcoming changes in Roadhog's rework:

Pig Pen

  • NEW ABILITY
  • A trap that slows and damages enemies
  • Deals 60 damage when triggered
  • Deals 30 damage per second in an area after trigger
  • 3-second duration
  • 40% movement slow
  • Has a 12s cooldown

Scrap Gun

  • Secondary fire removed from secondary fire
  • Total damage increased 150 >>> 160
  • Pellet count decreased 25 >>> 16
  • Shrapnel volley now fires 4 large shrapnel in the center of each shot
  • Shrapnel deals 15 damage
  • Critical damage decreased 2x >>> 1.5x

Take a Breather

  • Now activated when holding secondary fire (can be toggled in settings)
  • Cooldown decreased 8s >>> 1s
  • Now uses recharge meter that refills when not in use (needs 12s to fully recharge)
  • Can heal 450HP over 3 seconds
  • Damage reduction decreased 50% >>> 30%
  • No longer amplifies healing received

On the same date, Overwatch 2's Lead Game Designer Alec Dawson joined 6Cyx's Twitch stream to discuss the future Roadhog rework changes. Only time will tell if adding more versatility to a Roadhog rework will work out in the future, but if we're lucky, the variation of playstyles will pull players away from overly depending on the hero's infamous chain hook combo.

The Overwatch 2 Season 7 announcement showcased a bunch of exciting updates and collabs, including the long-awaited release of Mauga, an anti-hero that's been teased even before the team-based shooter sequel came out. On top of that, big changes to the Overwatch 2 ranked mode are coming, making many fans hopeful for substantial changes to the game's competitive scene.

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Roadhog Rework Gives Him New Pig Pen Ability in Overwatch 2
Paul Goño
Paul started writing for ESTNN in 2022, the same year he beat his first Souls game. An avid fan of RPGs, his all-time favorites include Baldur's Gate 3, Assassin’s Creed and Kingdom Hearts 2. Besides being a professional nerd, he still struggles to get over the broken PS2 memory card that stored years of his save files.