Overwatch 2's Hazard marks a major first for the game

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Hazard is a rebel in his background, and in some ways, in his design Overwatch 2. He is part of the Phreaks, a rebel faction that fights for those they feel have been left out of the system. His kit doesn't fit a traditional archetype. Instead, he can switch from being a dive or bruiser tank depending on his team's preferred playstyle. One of his abilities seems to be breaking form Overwatch 2s front line list as well.

The Scottish tank Hazard was officially introduced to the game's official lineup on December 10, 2024. He can protect his team with his Spike Guard, which also shoots target spikes at opponents. Hazard's Jagged Wall ability is a deployable block that damages and launches nearby enemies. He can dive the opposing backline with his Violent Leap and immobilize enemies with his Downpour ultimate. At the same time, his passive ability makes him stand out from other tanks.

Overwatch 2 Hazard Season 14 Win Rate

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Overwatch 2 details Hazard's win rates in Season 14

Overwatch 2 details Hazard's wins in Season 14 compared to his trial period for the character and highlights how the hero has been adjusted.

Hazard is the first tank to get a wall climb

Some front line heroes in Overwatch 2 have mobility built into their kits. Winston has his Jump Pack which gives him vertical and horizontal leeway. Doomfist's uppercut gives him height and his charge attack throws him forward. Meanwhile, Wrecking Ball uses his grappling hook to propel himself up and gain momentum as he rolls around the map. Hazard has his Violent Leap, which works a lot like Winston's Jump Pack. However, there is another mobility skill that sets him apart from other tanks: Vault.

Hazard's Vault allows him to scale walls for a short time and grab onto ledges to gain some verticality. He is the very first thought since the beginning of Monitoring to gain such an ability.

Vault Passive allows him to scale walls for only 0.2 seconds and it cannot be reactivated until Hazard is on a walkable surface. The wall must also be at least 1.25 meters high in order to be climbed with the Vault.

This skill is deceptively simple, as it opens up various offensive and defensive possibilities for Hazard, such as:

  • Preparation for diving: The player can use Vault in their rollout to sneak onto the high ground and drop enemies for dive attempts.
  • Chasing Enemies: Hazard's Vault and Violent Leap allow him to keep up with opponents like Genji, who uses his Cyber-Agility to scale walls and his Swift Strike to dash away as he flees. He can also use this skill to cut enemies on the ground.
  • Fleeing opponent: Vault can also be used defensively. If a Hazard finds their back to the wall while being chased by enemies, they can scale it to get out of their sticky situation. However, they need to make sure the walls have ledges Hazard can get to before the Vault's duration runs out.

Hazard's Vault also breaks an Overwatch Lore tradition

Overwatch 2 is pretty conservative about who they give wall climbs to. It used to be exclusive to the Shimadas: Genji and Hanzo. Another character within their circle, the support unit Kiriko, can also scale walls. It fits their design, as these characters are ninjas who are usually depicted climbing walls and hanging from ledges to get to their targets undetected. However, it seems that this ability is no longer exclusive to them.

Hazard is the first hero outside of the Shimada clan to have a wall climb in the game. His playstyle and physique also don't fit the ninja archetype. However, his Vault skill seems to work well with his overall design. Hazard is all about overwhelming enemies with his aggression and speed, so giving him the ability to basically bypass obstacles makes perfect sense. Hopefully he'll be the only tank with a wall climb for a while, as it's one of the few traits that make him really stand out in his role.

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