Today’s the day, Overwatch 2 fans! This is your first chance to try out Hazard, the new tank that’s joining the lineup in season 14 next month. Before the trial weekend gets underway though, Blizzard revealed the character’s abilities and ultimate. As if I wasn’t already excited enough that there’s finally a Scottish hero in the game, Hazard’s kit looks fun as heck. I can’t wait to try him out.
As expected, given the animated short that was released this week, Hazard’s abilities are based around spikes. He’s a highly mobile tank with crowd control. In a similar way to Doomfist, you’ll get the most out of Hazard once you learn how to combo his abilities.
Overwatch 2 Hero Hazard’s Abilities
Let’s start with his primary fire. It’s called Bonespur and it’s a shotgun-style blast of spikes from his gun arm. This seems like it’ll be very effective at close range, but Blizzard noted that Hazard “can poke better than other tanks.” Bonespur can deal critical damage.
But what if you need to quickly close the gap on an enemy? In that case, you may want to use the deliciously named Violent Leap.
This is a forward lunge that propels Hazard forward by about 10 meters, based on a training range clip I saw. The “violent” part of the equation happens when you press the ability button again (or use melee), as the tank will slash at an enemy and knock them backwards.
Hazard’s passive adds to his mobility too. It’s called Vault and it allows him to clamber up short walls and mantle onto ledges. The passive dovetails nicely with another of Hazard’s abilities, Jagged Wall.
This creates a spiked walk that’s similar to Mei’s Ice Wall but can be positioned horizontally. It can knock back enemies too. Let me tell you, I full-on cackled when I saw one of the preview clips Blizzard sent me. Hazard used Jagged Wall to boop an opponent into the Ilios well. It was pretty unexpected, and it tells me that Hazard might be quite annoying to play against.
Of course, Hazard can clamber up this wall too. That really opens up some intriguing new angles of attack for the tank and his teammates. A tightly coordinated unit of Hazard, Genji, Hanzo and Kiriko, for instance, could climb up the wall and catch an enemy team by surprise via an unexpected flank.
Hazard’s other defensive ability is called Spike Guard. This works in a similar way to Doomfist and Ramattra blocks in that it reduces damage taken when it’s active. It also regenerates Bonespur ammo. At the same time, homing spikes shoot out from Hazard’s back toward nearby enemies. This is effectively his secondary fire. It appears to have a usage meter as well as a cooldown.
Overwatch 2 Hero Hazard’s Ultimate
Last but not least, there’s Hazard’s ultimate. It’s called Downpour and it was teased in the animated short. When this is activated, it causes a shower of spikes to rain down on enemies, briefly trapping anyone caught in it.
You might think of it as a bit like Junkrat’s Steel Trap, but one that immobilizes multiple enemies at once. As you might imagine, that makes the enemy team prime fodder for big area-of-effect attacks, like a RIP-Tire or Hanzo Dragonstrike.
You’ll need to be very careful of your positioning when Hazard has his ultimate online. The spikes fall across a wide area and go through walls and ceilings, so getting out of his line of sight or even being on high ground might not be enough to save you.
So there you have it, that’s Hazard’s kit. I’m very happy to see another highly mobile tank come to the game. We haven’t had a new one of those in a very long time.
I was able to ask Overwatch 2 lead gameplay designer Alec Dawson some questions about Hazard, including his name, how he fits in to the roster and how he might shift the dynamics of the game. I’ll share Dawson’s insights and dig a bit deeper into Hazard’s background soon.
Hazard will be playable in Overwatch 2 from today (Friday) until November 25. He should be available in all modes except Competitive.
