Overwatch 2’s Hazard Looks to Be a Jack-of-All-Trades, Master of None

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home December 4, 2024 2 Views 7 Min Read
Overwatch 2's Hazard Looks to Be a Jack-of-All-Trades, Master of None

While Overwatch 2 has defined roles, and heroes that perfectly fit them, it sometimes creates characters that challenge the limitations of their niche. For example, the support hero Zenyatta can contribute significantly to his team’s damage output with his discord orb and painful primary and alt fire on top of healing his teammates. The tank Ramattra, on the other hand, is good at shielding and poking in his base form but he can become a potent bruiser when in his Nemesis form. Overwatch 2‘s new frontline, Hazard, has abilities that fit different niches within the tank role. As such, it makes him a jack-of-all-trades, which comes with a few caveats.




For those unfamiliar with Hazard’s kit in Overwatch 2, the game officially classifies him as a hybrid bruiser and dive tank. This is because he has a versatile set of abilities that make him a force on the point and jump into the backline, which include:

  • Primary Fire – Bonespur: This shotgun projectile weapon deals up to 67.5 damage per shot, depending on the distance.
  • Alternate Fire – Spike Guard: Hazard channels a front-facing barrier that significantly reduces the damage he takes while firing homing spikes at enemies and refilling his ammo.
  • Left Shift – Violent Leap: This ability launches Hazard forward, allowing him to slash enemies on contact and deal big damage.
  • Space – Vault: Hazard can grab ledges and climb walls, like the Hamadas and Kiriko, for up to 0.2 seconds.
  • E – Jagged Wall: Hazard fires a projectile that transforms into a spiked wall that blocks shots and damages nearby enemies.
  • Q (Ultimate) – Downpour: Hazard rains down spikes in front of him, damaging and rooting enemies they hit.


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Hazard is Guaranteed to Have Interesting Interactions With Another Overwatch 2 Tank

Hazard is set to join Overwatch 2’s roster as the newest tank in Season 14, and he is guaranteed to catch the interest of another tank hero.

The Pros and Cons of Hazard’s Diverse Tank Kit

Versatility is a good quality in a tank hero in Overwatch 2, but it has a few disadvantages. Here are the possible pros and cons of Hazard’s diverse abilities.

The Advantages of Hazard Being a Jack-of-All-Trades

What’s great about Hazard is that he can comfortably fit into two different team comps. If his teammates run dive heroes like Tracer and Zenyatta, the player can lead the charge into the enemy backline with his Violent Leap and vault abilities. Those looking to play the long game by brawling on the point, like Sojourn and Moira can also benefit from having Hazard on their team. He can keep enemies at bay with his Jagged Wall and Spike Guard. Plus, he can minimize reloading and making himself vulnerable by cycling his primary fire and Spike Guard efficiently. His wall can also be used defensively or offensively, depending on his team’s current goals.


The Pitfalls of Hazard Potentially Being a Master of None

While Hazard does a lot of things great, his versatility could also be one of his weaker points. Overwatch 2’s developers should balance Hazard’s skills so that he can compete with other brawlers and dive tanks without making him overpowered. The result is a hero who essentially gets outclassed by characters who specialize in the niches he covers. For example, while he dives into a backline easily with his leap, it’s not as far-reaching as the mobility skills of Winston or Doomfist. He can’t bail himself out of a dive as easily as someone like Wrecking Ball can, too. When it comes to brawling for the objective, his shotgun isn’t as powerful on tanks, and it gets outlasted by Orisa’s Fusion Driver or Reinhardt’s hammer.


The current 5v5 competitive setup of Overwatch 2 only allows for one tank, so it’s in the player’s best interest to get the best character for their team’s setup. As such, they may gravitate towards units that can specialize in one playstyle well like Doomfist for dive or Reinhardt for bruiser comps instead of a jack-of-all-trades like Hazard. However, Overwatch 2‘s 6v6 test is just around the corner, and this new hero could be a great pick as a supporting tank that can hold the line while their fellow frontline dives the enemy or vice-versa. Plus, he’s fun to use, so those who want to have a fast and high-octane tank game could pick Hazard and have a blast.

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