In Overwatch 2, Roadhog has experienced all the highs and lows this FPS title offers. When the first season of the sequel dropped in October 2022, Roadhog was by far the most viable tank on the roster. However, as time progressed, he slowly fell from grace.
Now Roadhog is one of the worst tanks on the Overwatch 2 roster; he can no longer one-shot with his Scrap Gun, and the length of his Chain Hook has been significantly reduced. Both patches have meant that Roadhog is easy to overpower and combat.
It’s not all a lost cause, though; there are still some circumstances in which this Australian tank can positively impact team fights and last-minute objective pushes. Want to find out more about one of Blizzard’s oldest tank heroes? Read on for a complete guide to Overwatch 2’s Roadhog.
Overwatch 2 Roadhog
Overwatch 2 Roadhog: story and background
Roadhog, or Mako Rutledge, is a ruthless killer that plagues the Australian Outback. After being displaced from his home, thanks to the peace accord between the Australian government and the Omnics, who had nearly destroyed their country, Mako and other residents turned to violent rebellion.
Together they formed the Australian Liberation Front and fought against the omnics in gorilla warfare. Eventually, they struck the omnics in one of their precious ore mines with a fusion core explosive. The attack's aftermath forever changed the outback as radioactive scraps littered the landscape, and sadly Mako was never the same either.
Little by little, Mako forgot his humanity and travelled the outback as Roadhog, eventually setting up shop in Junkertown, where he met his only friend Junkrat. However, this home wasn’t meant to be, as after a failed heist, Roadhog and Junkrat were exiled by Junker Queen and forced back out into the wilderness.
Overwatch 2 Roadhog: abilities breakdown
Primary Weapon: Scrap Gun
Description: Short to medium-range spread weapon
In Overwatch 2, Roadhog is one of the several heroes made for close-range fighting. Alongside Reaper and Junker Queen, who also brandish shotguns, Roadhog's entire skillset is built to make close-quarter fighting much easier.
The Scrap Gun can fire a spread of shrapnel or a ball of nuts and bolts. While the spread is better for fighting multiple enemies up close and personal, the ball is more effective in dealing ranged damage on a single enemy.
Depending on how close an enemy target is, Roadhog can deal up to 150 damage per shot, but with a rate of fire recovery of 0.8 seconds, you have to make every single bullet count.
Some tips and tricks for this weapon:
- Fire recovery stops if you use melee.
- Roadhog can get a headshot with this weapon.
Ability: Take a Breather
Description: Self-heal and reduce damage taken over a short period.
Alongside the likes of Ramattra and Junker Queen, in Overwatch 2, Roadhog can perform some self-healing.
Over two seconds, Roadhog can perform 350 healing on himself and reduce incoming damage taken at 50%. This means Hog can stay in the middle of gritty fights, hopefully outlasting his opponents.
However, self-healing can be obstructed by Ana’s Biotic Grenade or paused by Orisa’s Javelin, so be wary that it may not be the answer to all your problems.
Some tips or tricks for this ability:
- Damage reduction starts immediately, and self-heal starts 0.5 seconds after that.
Ability: Chain Hook
Description: Drag an enemy towards you
In Overwatch 2, Roadhog’s Chain Hook is known to be one of the most potentially dangerous abilities out there. This is thanks to its ability to close the distance between Hog and his enemy rapidly.
At the beginning of Overwatch 2, Roadhog could hook enemies in and one-shot them with his Scrap Gun. Blizzard eventually changed this as it was deemed too powerful for any one hero. Sadly, removing Roadhog’s one-shot has severely damaged his lethality.
However, there are still a few ways to make this ability work for you. If you manage to hook an enemy while standing close to the edge of a map or a pit, then if you quickly spin to face the drop, the enemy will be forced into the abyss and die. You can also use Chain Hook to grab enemy players and drag them into your backlines for the rest of your team to beat up.
Some tips and tricks for this ability:
- 5 damage is inflicted on impact; if this kills the enemy, Chain Hook returns to Hog.
- Genji cannot reflect Chain Hook, but he can block it with Deflect.
- Lifeweaver can pull an ally out of Chain Hook with Life Grip or if Life Grip is used on Hog then Chain Hook is immediately cancelled.
Ultimate: Whole Hog
Description: Damage and knockback enemies in front of you.
Roadhog’s ultimate is able to deal 896 damage per second over 7.5 seconds, making it one of the most deadly ultimates in Overwatch 2.
Thanks to its knockback feature, Whole Hog is best used to make space or clear an objective point that has gone into overtime. This way, you can quickly use crowd control on an entire enemy team to push them back or bunch them in a corner for the rest of your team to attack.
Some tips and tricks for this ultimate:
- Roadhog can use Chain Hook and Take A Breather during his ultimate.
- Whole Hog restores ammo for his Scrap Gun after it's finished.
Overwatch 2 Roadhog: gameplay breakdown
In Overwatch 2, Roadhog is a complicated hero. While he has the benefit of his Take a Breather ability that provides him with a significant amount of self-healing, it has proved to be not enough of a defense to combat the highly aggressive heroes in the sequel.
Thanks to Roadhog not having a shield, you must utilize the landscape for protection. You can do this by hiding around corners or being aware of sight lines across more open maps like the beginning of Junkertown or Numbani. However, this isn’t easy as this Australian tank has poor mobility.
Unlike Winston or D.Va, who have excellent verticality or Orisa and Reinhardt, which can cover horizontal ground quickly, Roadhog has little mobility features. This penalizes him as it can make covering open ground an arduous task. While you can save your self-healing ability to help you get from one side to the other, all it takes is one hit from Ana’s Biotic Grenade to prevent this and lend you an early death.
Overall, playing Roadhog in his current state lends itself to cautious gameplay. You must be aware of the enemy team’s composition, as several heroes are good counters. But even so, if you use your Chain Hook to make space and hold on to your self-healing until the last possible moment, you can be a significant problem for the enemy team.
