Roadhog Overwatch 2 – Everything you need to know

There are currently 35 playable heroes in Overwatch 2. Each one of these heroes has their own unique abilities, weapons, playstyle, and personality. In addition to each hero being unique in their own way, each one also belongs to one of three different roles. These roles help to further differentiate them in combat. Heroes can be either a tank that defends their team, a support that can heal their team, or a DPS that can deal damage to the enemy. Roadhog is a tank hero that can punish enemies for stepping out of position. Here is everything players need to know about using Roadhog in Overwatch 2.

Who is Roadhog in Overwatch 2?

Roadhog is a different type of tank that uses a signature hook to pull any enemies that are weak or vulnerable towards him, where he can deal massive damage to them with his shotgun. While he cannot take the most punishment out of all the tanks, he possesses the ability to dish out tremendous damage to any enemy that finds itself out of position. Players who want to play a mixture of a tank and DPS hero may find that Roadhog is the perfect mix.

Note: You can read about all of the Overwatch 2 characters here.

Tank heroes were reworked in Overwatch 2

One of the biggest changes made in Overwatch 2 is the difference in team composition. In the original Overwatch, teams consisted of 6 players each. With the arrival of Overwatch 2, teams have been rebalanced to contain 5 players each. This means that there is one less tank on each team. To help balance this out, each role in Overwatch 2 has received a special passive ability that can help to further define their role in combat. Tank heroes such as Roadhog received a 30% reduction in knockback effects to them, as well as a 50% reduction in the amount of Ultimate they give upon being damaged. This can make it so tanks like Roadhog are much harder to push around.

Roadhog’s abilities in Overwatch 2

Roadhog remains mostly unchanged for Overwatch 2, with the biggest changes coming in the form of his Ultimate Ability, The Whole Hog. However, it should be noted that with the 1 tank meta now in Overwatch 2, Roadhog does not offer much in the way of protection for his team. While he can certainly have his place, players will want to master being able to hook priority targets and shut them down so that his team can move forwards to victory in Overwatch 2.

Scrap Gun

Scrap Gun is Roadhog’s signature weapon in Overwatch 2. The weapon is a short-range shotgun that can deal up to 165 damage per shot to targets at close ranges. The weapon fires 25 pellets in a short-range spread pattern. While the Scrap Gun can certainly do a lot of damage at close range, the damage falloff is extreme at longer ranges. This means Roadhog can only be effective at short ranges and must rely on getting close to his targets to win fights. The Scrap Gun also has a Secondary Firing Mode that fires a ball of scrap out in a ball up to 8 meters before detonating, causing up to 165 damage to targets in an area. The Scrap Gun has 5 rounds in the magazine and takes 2 seconds to reload.

Take a Breather

Roadhog does not have any ways of reducing the damage done to himself and relies on his support to help keep him in the fight. However, Roadhog is able to use his ability Take a Breather, which causes Roadhog to begin a healing animation that restores 350 health over a 2-second duration, which is an increase from 300 in the original Overwatch. In addition, Roadhog will take 50% less damage during the 2 seconds his health is being restored. Roadhog can use Take a Breather every 8 seconds.

Chain Hook

Chain Hook is Roadhog’s signature ability. When used, Roadhog throws out a Chain Hook up to 20 meters in front of him. When the Chain Hook hits a target, it will immediately cause 30 damage, before pulling the target directly in front of Roadhog. Not only does Chain Hook cause the hooked target to be pulled out of position, but it lines them up perfectly for a follow-up shot from Roadhog’s Scrap Gun. This is generally enough to eliminate targets with lower life, such as Mercy, Reaper, and Tracer. However, Roadhog will be briefly stunned during the pulling in of his target and hence should be careful about his placement during the use of this ability. Chain Hook has a cooldown of 8 seconds.

Whole Hog

Roadhog’s Ultimate Ability is Whole Hog, which causes Roadhog to load his Scrap Gun with a top-loading magazine before unleashing multiple rounds on his foes. This ability has recently been reworked in Overwatch 2. Previously, when Roadhog used Whole Hog, he automatically fired his weapon for massive damage, but could not perform any other actions during it. Now, when Roadhog uses Whole Hog, he must fire the weapon manually. However, he can now use other abilities during Whole Hog, which means he can heal using Take a Breather, or pull targets into his Whole Hog with Chain Hook. The total damage potential for Whole Hog is extreme, with a maximum output of 4928 damage overall. The Ultimate fires 128 pellets per second, at 7 damage per pellet, and lasts for 5.5 seconds.

Tips for playing Roadhog in Overwatch 2

Roadhog succeeds the most when he is picking enemies off from the enemy team by using his Chain Hook. However, because of his offensive nature, he does not make the best choice for a team looking for defensive options. He really shines, however, when used to take out the enemy support characters to remove them from the fight. This can cause the enemy team to go into a spiral and can make it much easier to finish them off. 

One of the other ways a player can use Roadhog is as a flanker, as he can catch enemies off guard and quickly eliminate them. In addition, his Take a Breather can make him much less reliant on heals from his support and can help to offset some of the healing required for other tanks. While he may not be the best tank from a defensive standpoint, he can make some powerful plays that can be enhanced by using his Whole Hog ability to take out even the strongest of heroes.

Pick Roadhog in Overwatch 2 to pull the team to victory

Roadhog can be an incredibly fun and rewarding hero to pick in Overwatch 2. While using his Chain Hook effectively can take time to master, done correctly it can completely decimate the enemy team. By choosing Roadhog, players will be able to deal massive damage to their enemy while being a constant threat on the frontlines. Roadhog can help be the damage push the team needs to pull their team through to victory in Overwatch 2.