From a Sombra main.
There’s been a lot of topics about people having a bad time with the new Sombra, with the majority of them coming from tanks and supports. So here are some tips that can help you not become a target for me.
TL;DR: Stick together, communicate, and use medpacks.
Sombra’s Role
Sombra is a flanker and harasser, like Tracer. Specifically, she’s designed to be an opportunist. A good Sombra will scout the enemy back lines and look for 3 specific opportunities.
- Supports that are lagging behind the group.
These are Mercy, Ana, sometimes Zen. You stay back from the group proper to get a better view of the team as a whole to provide healing as they need it, and to avoid unnecessary damage to yourself from AOEs. All good things to do as a healer. Sombra disrupts that.
-Mercy
If the enemy team has a Sombra, don’t hang back so much. Take advantage of your ability to zip to an ally to heal. Stay mobile. Use your Ult to fly above the fight and take advantage of the multi-heal capability that it provides. Ult doesn’t have to mean Battle Mercy.
-Ana
Similar to Mercy, don’t hang back too much. Stay with the group and rely on their protection. Snipe the tank and DPS that are ahead of you to heal them, use your grenades to heal yourself and other supports and DPS that are at your side.
-Zen
Not usually a primary target for me, but can be if they are also lagging behind. Zen is more combat capable than Mercy, so is usually further forward and fighting with the group.
In short, stay with your group.
-
Lone wolves/enemy flankers
Not much to say here, if you’re alone, you’re a target. A common tactic I use for the flanker is hack from stealth, but then hide. Usually they look around for a second (until their skills are available again) and then go back to whatever they’re doing. That’s when I come out and surprise attack them. -
Retreating/Wounded heros
Sombra’s Opportunist passive allows her to see wounded people through walls. You bet if I see your yellow silhouette I’m heading your way. Staying close to your team can help me decide there are better targets. Additionally, don’t entirely rely on your supports to heal you. Know where the med kits are around where you’re fighting, and don’t be afraid to grab one (unless I hacked it).
There’s one last sorta-target that I go for. If the group has a whole is staying together, I’ll just run around and hack a random hero towards the back. Then move to another location, and hack again, either same target or some one else - it doesn’t really matter. The goal here is to peel someone off who wants to get rid of the nuisance. At best, I am able to take them out. At least, they’re not helping the rest of their team. Don’t be baited.
Supports
I’ve mostly touched on it above, but supports are a primary target. They tend to hang back, so the team isn’t able to quickly assist. Either the support is too far, or the rest of the team is unaware of them simply because they’re all looking forward towards the enemy.
You’re priority number one because you really do keep the team together. The more the team stays healed, especially the tank, the more they can keep fighting and putting pressure on my team. Take out the heals, and the tanks will eventually go down. With no one to mitigate damage or distract the team with a big easy-to-hit target, then the rest of the team can be wiped.
It’s a cold comfort, but you’re targeted the most because without you, the team falls apart.
Notes on other supports not called out above:
-Baptiste and Brig
Typically are healing from the mid- or frontlines. Much more difficult to single out and can duel.
-Kiriko
Still trying to figure out how to best deal with you, tbh. Their attack hurts, and usually they poof away back to the team. Currently, my attempt to engage you in a fight is to be a distraction.
Tanks
Tanks get hacked a lot as well. They’re a big target. But a hacked Tank isn’t my primary target. With the change to hack only disabling abilities for 1.75 seconds, it doesn’t really act as a proper silence any more, but rather an interrupt, and that’s what I treat it as now. I’ll hack a tank to stop whatever ability they’re trying to do.
-Orisa
If I see an Orisa doing their Javelin Spin or Terra Surge, I’m going to try to hack them to stop that nonsense. It’s nice an flashy too, so I’ll see it.
-Rein
The big target, and the tank most effected by hack at the moment. If I see you attempting a pin, you’re my priority for a hack to try and interrupt. If not, I’ll hack a Rein to remove their shield. Sometimes that makes a Rein turn around to try and find me. Good, they’re not focusing my team. If they don’t, well, they don’t have their shield up, and are not otherwise protecting the others on their team. If you get hacked, then go offense. It’s really your only option for 2 seconds. If you are fighting me directly, I can only survive one hit from your hammer at full health. And you run faster going forwards than I do going backwards. Put pressure on me and I’ll need to TL away to avoid getting rocked. I might come back, though, so ping me while you’re fighting to alert the team.
-Roadhog, D.Va, Winston, and Hamster
Aren’t really affected by the hack as much as the others. Yes, their abilities get interrupted for the ~2 seconds as everyone else, but their normal damage and durability usually makes it not worth it to target them. There are usually better targets. I will target them if they are harassing my team, however.
-Sigma
Not much to say about Sigma. I watch for your ult and attempt to cancel. Otherwise you’re a low priority target for me.
-Zarya
Not worth it in the slightest. Bubble prevents hack, and your weapon’s beam will melt me, even if you are hacked. I’m only targeting you as a last resort, or to assist the team.
-Doomfist and Junker Queen
Could go either way with these two. I’ll attempt to hack Doom if I see him charging his fist. But otherwise both are low priority.
A note about tanks and EMP
EMP now deals the equivalent of 40% damage to an effected targets remaining health. If you have armor, you actually lose less health - you don’t immediately have 40% health removed from you. Because it deals the equivalent of 40% remaining health in damage this means it gets mitigated by your armor, so you are effected less by the EMP damage. This also applies to armor granted to any other hero. If you have armor then some of the EMP damage is going to be mitigated.
Just a call out to clear up any misconceptions.
DPS
Not too much to say about targeting other DPS. Most are a bad idea for me to go after, as they can usually stand up to me, even when I have the element of surprise. Only a few targets stand out, but mainly if you’re alone, no you aren’t. Lone wolves are what I look for.
-Pharah
I keep an eye out for you simply to try and knock you out of the sky. Same as in OW1. If you’re grounded, my team will eat you up. Fly above your own team when you fire on mine. That way if I knock you down, I’m behind your team or very close, and you are supported.
-Genji
King of lone wolfing. And squishy to boot. I’ll hack you and then hide. When you give up looking for me, then I’ll strike from behind and melt you. Stick closer to your team, or flank with a buddy.
-Hanzo
Similar to Genji, but more dangerous to go against. They only need to get lucky once, as I’m practically one-shot by their arrows.
-Widow
If there is an enemy widow, you are going to be my buddy until the end of the round or until you swap. You are dangerous if left alone, so I make sure you aren’t. My gun fires faster than yours if you fight me full auto. However, same as Hanzo, you only need to get lucky once if you stay scoped.
-Torb
Good turret placement can be devistating, so I will hack your turret from stealth and then destroy it. Then hack you. If you keep your turret close to your team, it’s easier for the team to engage me. If you are close to your team, I’ll probably leave you alone, aside from destroying your turret.
-Sym
I hate your turrets. They detect me while stealth hacking and will hit me to take me out of it. Definitely don’t put them on the payload or around where your team is fighting.
-Soldier
Your grenade will probably kill me. Not usually a priority target unless you’re low.
-Mei
Your freeze will get me first if I don’t TL immediately. Will probably avoid you unless you’re low.
-Cassidy
Another DPS I don’t usually target with one exception. If I see you flanking, you’re getting ready to Ult. Every time. I’ll follow you and wait until you start. Then I hack you to interrupt and Zoidburg out of there.
Tips
0. General tip
If there is a hero that is giving you trouble, looking for a way to directly counter isn’t your only option. Look at your own play style and try to figure out what you’re doing that is being taken advantage of. Watch people who play the hero (fitzyhere for Sombra) that is giving you trouble and learn their behaviors, and see what they exploit. Learn from your enemy.
-
Use health packs. Sombra is designed to finish off retreating enemies. If you’re hurt, I can see you. If I can see you because you’re hurt, I’m coming for you. Heal asap. Find a medpack, don’t entirely rely on your support for heals.
-
Stick together. Sombra is designed to punish those who stray from the group. If you have a battle buddy, I’m not going to engage directly. I’ll attempt to distract and pull one of you away and then ambush.
-
Use the Ping system. Default G on keyboard, and D-Pad left on controller. If you see a Sombra, ping her to let the team know, even if you are actively fighting me and feel like you can kill me. I rely on surprise to take you down. If the team knows where I am, they can more easily and quickly assist you. Also, I can ping your silhouette, so you better believe I’m pinging you if you’re at low health.
-
If you’re DPS, you can camp my translocator. If I’m using it, it’s to escape. It’s an easy kill for you and you remove me as a nuisance for a bit. The down side is that you are not supporting your team if you’re camping my TL.
-Junkrat
If you find my translocator, toss a trap and a mine on it. Then you can go about your business. You won’t hear me TL in, but you will get the trap notification. Hit your mine, and bye bye Sombra. -
If I’ve been shutting down your ults, don’t use them unless you see me pop up in your team’s kill feed.
-
If I’m hanging back and taking out your supports as they come out of spawn, you need to communicate to your team that I’m doing that. Ping me or use chat. All it takes is one DPS to come back as an escort and I’m out of there. Or, don’t run out until someone else respawns.
-
Sym turrets are my bane. Because I am partially visible when I hack, and for a short time after, Sym turrets can actually detect me during this. Then I get hit, my hack gets interrupted, and lose my stealth. I’m probably going to TL away since I don’t have the upper hand, effectively acting like I was never there in the first place.
Sombra is annoying. That is her job as a harasser. She distracts and disrupts the team cohesion. If you stick together, it’s much more difficult for me to pick you off. If you communicate, it’s much more difficult for me to ambush. If you know where the medpacks are, you take pressure off your support, and aren’t a glowing “free candy” sign for me.
Learn my strengths and avoid them. Learn my weaknesses and exploit them.
playing support against a good sombra and a team who won’t help you is painful