That is the thing though, stealth is not “game breaking” as you claim. In terms of what I said, it is annoying as a Sombra player that I am forced to stealth when I do not want to at times.
A way to fix this issue is by putting Sombra’s Stealth back on cooldown and on a timer like it was back in OW1. She loses the permanent stealth, while still retaining as an stealth hacker. Everything does not always need to be replaced if YOU find it annoying.
If you do not see her then it is a 4v5, if you notice that Sombra is not present in a team fight, then more than likely she is IN THE BACKLINE, that is where game sense comes into play. If I am playing support, let’s say Ana to be exact, and I notice that in the team fight, I have not noticed or heard any audio cue that Sombra is in the team fight, then I let my other support know that she is somewhere here in the backline, waiting to attack one of us, so get ready to peel. I will also inform my team that Sombra is most likely in our backline, and if one of DPS can help peel just in case my other support is busy. It is all about communication, since here in high elo, Sombra is not much of an issue.
There is a handful of heroes that counter/ out-duel a Sombra even when they are hacked.
Heroes that have burst damage, can force Sombra to retreat- just like any flanker, you have countered/prevented that flanker the kill.
Heroes that can self-peel (self-defend) for themselves, as I get it that communication is not always going to happen in every game. If people do not want to communicate via voice chat, then there is type chat and PING SYSTEM, which helps out a lot, both ways, for Sombra and against her.
What people need to understand is that to counter someone or something, it does not always have to mean KILL, but instead, it reduces that hero’s effectiveness and just makes his or her job harder.
Moira is a good check, if she translocates closer, then you should be able to win that duel. The key, since I play a lot of Moira as well, is to not panic and Fade first, because if you do then you lose out the ability to self-cleanse from Virus/ Hack, thus making you an easier target for Sombra.
You mentioned, Pharah, even though Sombra is a hitscan, Pharah can still play outside of Sombra’s effective range, not saying that she counters Sombra or Sombra counter her, as it just depends on the player itself in that match-up since Pharah did get changed to be more mobile and independent.
Torb DOES counter flankers- Sombra is a flanker. If she hacks the turret then, you as a Torb know that Sombra is close, use that game sense knowledge and either interact with the turret and place it in a new location, or inform your team that Sombra is within 15m of your turret.
Though Widow is a sitting duck in the backline if she is scoped in, Widow still has Venom Mine that she can place behind her to inform her when an enemy is nearby and is about to flank her.
The list goes on, as Sombra is not this un-contested, uncounterable, non-killable hero that the forums make her out to be. Just reading your response, it just seems like YOU do not know how to counter her, and that is difference from saying that Sombra is “game-breaking on multiple levels”.
How? Any kit if and when combo correctly can be threatening, this again is not just a Sombra issue.
That is how she SHOULD be? That is how she is played and designed . Sombra in particular can not be flanked in terms of following behind her, as again like you said she is invisible, but that does not mean that she can not be targeted.
You mentioned that other characters can be interrupted while maneuvering to kill their desired target, but you forgot to mention that Sombra plans can just simply be interrupted by a single damage, but both on cooldown, where no other hero has that type of issue to them, NO OTHER HERO in this game.
She trades power for stealth/ utility. As I said previously, there are pros and cons.
But there have for many many years since 2016. I do not know if you played Overwatch 1 or not, but saying that there is no place in Overwatch for Sombra is just inaccurate.
Your reasoning is just flawed, that is why I am asking why. I am not invalidating your feelings toward the heroes, it is just it is the classic
" I can not counter this hero or ability so I want it changed and replaced " type of logic.
that is like someone, and we can use a classic example, Mercy’s Resurrection. Since people can not stop/ counter it at times, they want it removed, nerfed, or changed.
That is not how balancing works, because if that is the case, then a lot of things should be changed.
Not taking this one personally as I knew this was coming, just so you know… Sombra is not my top-played hero, You can not change your player icon here on the forums as my PFP is completely different from the one here on the forums, as it has been bugged for many seasons now. Lastly, the name Somvra, was back in 2016, it is a cool-sweaty name that was inspired by Sombra, and in the Hispanic culture, the “B” is pronounced like a “V” and plus I haven’t changed it for years.
My PFP in-game is actually the Top 500 Icon, but again the forums is bugged
^ Back in March 2023.