Sojourn’s abilities will blow up the old meta in Overwatch 2

Mobility and crowd control abilities are a deadly duo, but Sojourn brings even more to the table in Overwatch 2.

New Overwatch 2 hero Sojourn’s abilities have been officially unveiled. After the initial debut yesterday, she has been revealed as a mobile DPS meant to counter grouped enemies with crowd control and piercing shots. As the first unique Overwatch 2 character, Sojourn’s kit could hint at the future of Activision-Blizzard’s character design.

• Railgun – Rapid firing projectiles that generate energy on impact
  • Secondary fire – High impact shot that consumes stored energy
• Power Slide – Ground slide that can cancel into a high jump
• Disruptor Shot – Launch an energy shot that slows and deals damage to enemies
• Overlock – Railgun energy auto-charges for a short duration and charged shots pierce enemies

Sojourn is a confirmed DPS character with high mobility and light crowd control elements. Her versatile primary weapon can swap between a high rate of fire and sudden burst damage to take out beefier targets. The powered shot is also highly accurate, so it could be used to counter enemy snipers.

Sojourn’s Overlock ultimate ability grants piercing and very quick charging for her railgun. While not as complex as other ultimates, the ability to pierce could shut down barriers and mow down grouped-up enemies. 

Sojourn abilities could hint at the future of Overwatch 2 hero design

As the first hero unique to Overwatch 2, Sojourn’s kit could indicate the future of the game’s hero design.

Mobility is a key part of Overwatch, and that trend should continue in the sequel. In the case of Sojourn, her Power Slide movement ability combines two different mobility options into one. The ground slide allows Sojourn to advance while shrinking her hitbox and letting her deal damage. The optional high jump cancel grants vertical mobility on top of the distance covered.

Most existing Overwatch mobility doubles down on one particular type of movement like Pharah’s powered flight or Wrecking Ball’s grappling hook. Sojourn’s versatility could hint at more complex movement options in the future for characters not explicitly made around mobility.

Crowd control abilities are a divisive topic in the Overwatch 2 community, but Sojourn could hint at their future as well. Disruptor Shot has a wide area-of-effect that slows and damages enemies caught in the blast. While the cinematic gameplay trailer doesn’t show much, it appears to last a short time.

The slow effect is also much tamer than other CC abilities like Junkrat’s Concussion Mine or Reinhardt’s Charge. If future Overwatch 2 heroes follow this mold, expect weaker crowd control and higher mobility in the future.