Overwatch Roadhog Nerf Highlights Latest Patch Notes

Overwatch's Roadhog nerf in the latest patch should finally have players seeing a little less Hog.

Roadhog got a buff last month and, just like that, seemed to become the most-picked Tank in the game. Every team usually responded with a Roadhog of their own, while crafting their DPS and Support compositions to deal with him. In short, it was exhausting.

Roadhog is already receiving a buff, along with some other changes that came with Thursday's patch.

Overwatch Roadhog Nerf

The following change doesn't sound that significant but, paired with the changes applied when he got buffed, might severely cripple Roadhog:

Scrap Gun

• (General) Projectile damage reduced from 7 to 6 (150 total per shot)

Prior to this nerf, Roadhog received a damage buff while also having his ammo decreased from 6 to 5, along with longer recovery time between shots. The decrease in ammo and general slowdown was outweighed by his new damage output, resulting in Roadhog being picked nonstop. So much so that many teams were just running with Zarya and Hog — that's how powerful he had become.

Now, Roadhog should still be able to easily pick squishier enemies. However, he shouldn't be nearly as OP when trying to punish opposing Tanks. Blizzard plans for this change to keep Roadhog's Chain Hook combo reliable, "but not overly powerful against heroes with higher health pools." Expect to see much less Roadhog after this nerf.

Overwatch Torbjorn Buff

Torbjorn is the only other hero to receive direct changes with the latest patch:

Rivet Gun

• (Secondary Fire) Recovery increased from 0.6 to 0.8 seconds

• (Secondary Fire) Damage increased from 10.5 to 12.5 per projectile (125 total per shot)

Torbjorn's Secondary Fire has been mostly useless for a long time. It is almost always preferable to just use his primary fire, as its speed outweighs the damage of his Secondary Fire. Blizzard aims to change this, stating that this adjustment is "aimed at giving [Torb's Secondary Fire] a stronger role at close range. We’re hoping this change allows each shot to feel more impactful, since it has a larger burst."

Overwatch Shotgun Changes

Shotgun patterns no longer apply random rotation, affecting the following heroes:

• Ashe

• Doomfist

• D.Va

• Reaper

• Roadhog

• Torbjorn

It's hard to explain these shotgun pattern changes so refer to the visual here. It's still unclear exactly how significant this change will be, but it should make shotgun-style weapons more reliable.