Overwatch 2 dev reveals secrets behind designing new tank hero Hazard

Overwatch 2’s newest tank hero has arrived in a special limited-time weekend trial and he brings some unique abilities to the table. We spoke to Lead Gameplay Designer Alec Dawson to get a better idea about what makes Hazard unique and how he was designed.

Hazard has a ton of ways to deal damage and traverse maps thanks to his surprising mobility options, but according to Dawson, his design was all about balancing strong attacks with defensive options.

“Our main goal with Hazard was for his offense and defense to be tied together. A lot of his abilities are super versatile, and he’s going in and out of fights constantly,” he explained.

His primary fire, Bonespur is a close-to-midrange shotgun that fires spikes at enemies for decent damage. He can also reload and deal additional damage while protecting himself with his Spike Guard ability.

This ability does come with some caveats, though. “While Hazard has damage resistance during Spike Guard, he’s vulnerable to abilities like Anti-Nade. Ana can be a good counter if Hazard isn’t leaping in and out effectively. Hazard also doesn’t want to spend a ton of time fighting other tanks; if Tanks like Mauga can stay in his face, he can have some trouble,” Dawson said.

Where things get very interesting is with Jagged Wall. This projectile hits surfaces and sticks out, pushing foes back for some big environmental kill opportunities. But don’t worry, allies won’t get knocked back or damaged, although they could still get trapped against it.

Blizzard

“Hazard can split up teams with Jagged Wall and then capitalize on it effectively. He has that burst damage to eliminate an out-of-position enemy,” Dawson advised.

Plus, his passive, Vault, can let him scale short walls, including his Jagged Wall, to reach higher areas.

Speaking of reaching higher areas, he has a super powerful jump similar to Winston’s, called Violent Leap. This lets him lunge forward and can be activated again to slash at foes for extra damage.

Violent Leap can also be combined with Vault, allowing Hazard to reach new positions. As Alec Dawson explained, “You can vault, then leap to another wall and vault up again. When used with the Jagged Wall, you can have a lot of mobility.”

This all ties into Hazard’s overall design, as Dawson revealed, this hero is made for players who specialize in active decision-making.

“Getting full value out of Hazard’s kit means switching between your abilities and moving all around the map. Due to his offensive uptime with Spike Guard and Bonespur, he plays well with heroes who can stay in the fight and sustain themselves. Think heroes like Mei or Reaper.”

Finally, his ultimate, Bonespur, fires down a torrent of spikes that can immobilize enemies when they land, leaving them extremely vulnerable to follow-up attacks. However, the ability pierces the environment and terrain, so taking cover may not help if you’re caught in its range.

Hazard’s scrapped abilities and 6v6 changes revealed

According to the Lead Gameplayer Designer, there was a lot of back and forth when designing Hazard’s kit.

“Interestingly enough, an early iteration of Hazard’s Jagged Wall was a deployed barrier, similar to Orisa’s old barrier. It had spikes on it and would damage if you got close but the read and use case was tougher to get across as a barrier,” he explained.

Blizzard

“Some things stuck early on, such as Spike Guard, but there were multiple variants of Downpour and Jagged Wall. Early ultimates were looking at how to utilize his spike motif with this disruption angle. One thing I remember vividly is that he would throw giant spikes at folks. Think of an Orisa Spear that pushes you way back. It only lasted a playtest or two.”

Overwatch 2 is also running 6v6 game mode tests in Season 14, and Hazard is slated to be part of those. Dawson says the new tank will be quite well off once those experiments commence.

“Hazard fits pretty well into 6v6,” he explained. “His Spike Guard can find bigger crowds and enemies, and Downpour is great for rooting multiple enemies. Abilities like Jagged Wall get more health in 6v6 due to all the incoming damage, but we are extending the cooldown because it’s important to have some downtime for mitigation ability cycles.”

Players can check out Hazard right now with a limited preview until November 25. The tank will be available fully once Season 14 kicks off on December 10.