The Sombra ARG has reached its unsurprising conclusion here at Blizzcon 2016 with the final reveal of the titular hacker. With a flair for purple and a haircut only a DJ could love, Sombra is already poised to be a fan favorite. Sorry, Ana. While I didn’t lose any sleep over the months of cryptic-symbol-puzzle-solving-junior-detective-earning romp that was Sombra’s marketing stunt, I was still curious if she would be worth the hype.
Within the span of a single match I, dear readers, was enamored with Overwatch’s harlequin of hack.
I have two distinct playstyles when it comes to Overwatch: Gungho-suicide-run and hang-back-sneaky-snake. As such, Junkrat and Roadhog have been my regular soldiers of misfortune for the last few months. Something about the glass cannon nature of the offensive characters has prevented my appreciation for the Pharah’s and McCree’s of the world. So, when I initially sat down with Sombra – along with my team of five other Sombras because of course – I was hesitant. Turns out, she’s a sneaky snake like me.
While she is categorized as an offensive character, Sombra packs a few tricks up her sleeve to make her a viable, aggressive support character as well. The combination of her Thermoptic Camo and Translocator make her one of the fastest characters in the line-up. The Translocator – a grenade-type device that allows you to teleport back to its location – allows for both hasty retreats and multi-story traversal. Coupled with her smooth-as-silk remote hack ability, I was able to turn the tide on many 1v1 battles simply by turning the opponent’s abilities to the “off” position. Some of my teammates gave me a worried look as I cackled with glee.
Also See: Sombra's Full List of Abilities
Playing as Sombra also gave me a chance I rarely have in my usual Overwatch play sessions: using my Ultimate. As I racked up kills – and dirty looks – I used Sombra’s EMP Ultimate to shut down the opposing team’s attempt at capturing a point (in addition to hacking every opponent in the vicinity, the EMP blast also takes down any shields. Take that, Reinhardt.). This allowed our Sombra Squad to quickly push back our opponents while continuing to pester their offense. While playing as a team composed entirely of a single character wouldn’t fly in the competitive circuit, it fit with Sombra’s trolling personality. Which is probably why it was love at first fight.
Sombra will surely be a thorn in many a side in the coming months, but for her I hold a rose most dear. No doubt I will be cursing her name as yet another match ends in annoyed defeat. But today, I love her.
