Overwatch’s new season kicked off last week, and alongside a new battle pass, hero, and a bunch of skins it came with the regular patch notes full of buffs and nerfs. I actually mentioned how, amid everything, the changes that stood out to me were Sierra’s ridiculously strong kit as well as Roadhog’s long-awaited nerf which increased the cooldown on his Chain Hook.
In the previous season Hog had been one of the strongest tanks and a real pain to go up against. As a support main, I tend to be on the wrong end of Hog’s Chain Hook more often than not, so I was pretty happy to learn of the nerf. Well, I was happy while it lasted, as only a week later Team 4 has put everything back to normal.
New #Overwatch Balance Changes 🛠️🐽 RoadhogChain Hook:→ Cooldown reduced from 8 to 7 seconds.👾 SombraStealth:→ Movement speed bonus reduction while revealed by damage reduced from 50% to 33%.🐺 VendettaGeneral:→ Health increased from 175 to 200. (Total health… pic.twitter.com/MCQw9UqxXZApril 23, 2026
Yesterday’s patch notes revealed that Hog’s Chain Hook cooldown is back down to just seven seconds. How the hell does this even happen? Well, it’s been a particularly rough week for Hog players, with his pick rate dropping and the character suffering on the battlefield.
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“The generation of Lucio players I ruined can’t even lower his winrate to get a buff,” Overwatch streamer Frogger shares on social media. “But Roadhog did it in a week. A WEEK!!!” Some people just have that Midas touch I guess.
Hog’s biggest problem is that he’s hard to balance, just as many hook characters are. When he’s strong he’s suffocating and can make the game feel awful for everyone else. But when he’s weak, he plays like a piece of paper that has absolutely no presence and is practically a throw pick. Unfortunately, this probably means Hog and those who main him are cursed for a life of sporadic patches swinging from god-like to worthless, it must be a stressful life to live.
On the upside it means Hog players should make the most of the buffs as they currently stand and enjoy the lack of that extra second. It may not sound like a lot, but Overwatch deals in small measures, even the slightest change to an ability, damage output, or perk has the potential to completely change a hero’s viability as well as others that fall in its counter-chain.
But what do you think? Is Hog right where he needs to be, is he too weak, or do you think Team 4 needs to pluck up some courage and drop the cooldown even more?
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