Overwatch 2 Hazard guide: Abilities, ultimate, tips, and more

Overwatch 2’s newest Tank hero, Hazard, is now in focus. From the character’s full kit to a breakdown of how their ultimate works, here’s a comprehensive guide on how to master Hazard.

Hot on the heels of Juno’s release in Season 12, Blizzard is now gearing up for the release of Overwatch 2’s 42nd hero. Hazard was revealed in an explosive cinematic on November 19, one that provided a first look at not only the Scottishman’s personality, but his isotope-enhanced powers as well.

Able to leap around any given map and deal damage before fleeing to safety, this Tank is designed more for in-and-out play, rather than standing up front for entire team fights and protecting your squad.

With a kit designed around an even balance of offensive and defensive tools, as developers told us, there’s plenty to wrap your head around. So before you jump into a match as Hazard, here’s a full rundown on everything you need to know about the hero.

Hazard’s weapon in Overwatch 2

Hazard drops into battle with a unique projectile-based weapon that fires out a handful of spikes in a small spread. While the weapon isn’t hit-scan, and can’t be rapidly fired, it packs a punch and is extremely effective at closer ranges.

Bonespur

• Fire a burst of spikes. Can fire eight rounds before having to reload.

Hazard’s abilities in Overwatch 2

Hazard is a Tank designed with rapid movement in mind. Thanks to his Vault passive and Violent Leap ability, he can launch around the map, scale some surfaces, and generally just make himself a hard target to hit.

Given his high mobility, it’s essential to use the rest of his kit for quick bursts of damage before dipping back to safety. That’s the name of the game with Hazard, just don’t stick around at the front of a fight for all too long.

However, when the going gets tough, that’s where his Downpour Ultimate can come in handy, as spikes pour down from above and briefly trap enemies in place. This can be devastating if timed just right and your team is ready to capitalize with damage output. Think of it almost as a quicker version of Mei’s Blizzard.

Blizzard

Passives

Tank Role Passive

• Reduces knockbacks and critical damage received. Less ultimate generated by healing and damage received. Increases base health in Role Queue game modes.

Vault

• Scale short walls and grab ledges.

Abilities

Jagged Wall

• Launch a spiked wall that damages and knocks back nearby enemies.

Spike Guard

• Protect yourself, firing homing spikes at nearby enemies. While active, reduce damage taken and regenerate ammo.

Violent Leap

• Lunge forward. Activate again to slash at enemies knocking them back.

Ultimate

Downpour

• Rain down a torrent of spikes, immobilizing enemies.

Tips for using Hazard in Overwatch 2

As we’ve already mentioned, the most important bit of advice when playing Hazard is to try and keep on the move. Staying put for too long can have deadly consequences, so make sure you’re always trying to jump in and leap away from fights. Don’t get complacent.

As Lead Gameplay Designer Alec Dawson taught us, you can even combine Hazard’s movement abilities to really heighten the skill ceiling. For instance, you can use his Vault passive first, then Violent Leap right out of it onto another wall just to Vault again. Using this to your advantage could completely change the course of a team fight.

Blizzard

You can go hands-on with Hazard early thanks to the hero test this weekend.

Next, we recommend thinking of Hazard’s Jagged Wall ability a bit differently. While yes, it can be great to separate players from their team, don’t look past its ‘booping’ ability. In some ways, it can be thought of as a placeable Lucio boop. With the right timing and positioning, enemies can be knocked off the map before they even know what’s hit them.

When it comes to reigning down purple hell from above, it’s crucial you time your Downpour Ultimate just right as well. Much like a Zarya or Mei Ult, mis-time or mis-place this one and your enemies can easily just walk right through and overwhelm you. The best advice is to coordinate with your team, and communicate that you have Downpour ready to go and that you plan to use it so they can all plan their attacks.

Ultimately, if you ever find yourself in a tight spot, remember that using your Spike Guard ability allows you to reduce damage taken and regenerate ammo at the same time. Knowing how to use this at the right time could help you stall a little longer as you wait for your other cooldowns to reset or when your teammates back you up in the team fight.

That’s our full rundown on Hazard for the time being as a limited-time weekend trial gets underway. We’ll be sure to update you here as Hazard gears up for his full release in the near future.