Sombra

Sombra is a Damage hero in Overwatch.

Overview
Stealth and debilitating attacks make Sombra a powerful infiltrator. Her hacking can disrupt her enemies, ensuring they're easier to take out, while her EMP provides the upper hand against multiple foes at once. Sombra’s ability to Translocate and camouflage herself makes her a hard target to pin down.

Strategy
Stealth and debilitating attacks makes Sombra a powerful infiltrator. Her hacking can disrupt her enemies, ensuring that they're easier to take out, while her EMP provides the upper hand against multiple foes at once. Sombra’s ability to Translocate and camouflage herself makes her a hard target to pin down. She lacks alternative means of dealing damage, so using Opportunist and Hack can help even the odds between Sombra and her opponents.

Weapons & Abilities

 * Opportunist: Sombra's passive ability. Sombra will see through walls the position of any enemy whose health is less than 50%. She also sees any enemy health bar when they aren't in full health. Only Sombra alone can gain this enhanced vision, as her allies do not.
 * Communication is vital to utilize this ability to its fullest; Opportunist specifically highlights targets who are low on health, which is vital information Sombra can share with her teammates.
 * Always keep in mind that Opportunist sees anything below 50% health, so some enemies may not be as weak as you think. Don't charge in against large health pools like Roadhog, since his 50% is almost double your full health.


 * Machine Pistol: Sombra's primary weapon. Her Machine Pistol shoots in a very fast fire-rate and has a large magazine. It has a large spread and deals little damage per shot. The gun works best in short-range combat, as it has damage falloff around mid-range.
 * While the Machine Pistol is lacking in accuracy at range, it makes up for that in magazine size and fire rate. Sombra can unload onto close-range targets and dispatch them with ease, especially when aiming for headshots.
 * The Machine Pistol's reload is finished slightly after Sombra inserts the magazine into the gun, not after the animation completes.
 * Early reloading of the Machine Pistol can be cancelled by activating Hack during the reload animation.


 * Hack: Sombra's key ability. The Hack can be performed by pressing secondary fire towards a target for 0.65 second. After Sombra finishes the Hack, the enemy will have their abilities disabled for 5 seconds. Sombra can also hack health packs to make them respawn even faster while simultaneously preventing the enemy from using it. Sustaining any amount of damage during the activation of Hack will interrupt the ability.
 * Hack will disable most active abilities. Some secondary attacks that are shown in the ability interface (such as Soldier: 76's Helix Rockets) will also be disabled. Most passive abilities will work like normal, except those that require button presses.
 * In terms of player objects, Torbjörn's Turret can be hacked and be deactivated for 10 seconds once placed. Orisa's Supercharger can also be hacked once placed to disable its effect.  Conversely, Symmetra's Turrets and Teleporters can only be hacked with EMP.  Untargetable objects, such as Mei's Blizzard robot, Widowmaker's Venom Mine, Junkrat's Concussion Mines and Traps, and an enemy Sombra's Translocator cannot be hacked.
 * Sombra can hack health packs that are still on cooldown, but can't hack any health packs already hacked by an enemy Sombra.
 * Hack cannot target enemies protected by a barrier.
 * Hacking an enemy will show their health bar and ultimate status when it is ready, which is visible to Sombra and her teammates.
 * Since Hack will notify your target of your presence, it can sometimes be better not to do it, even if it will make them weaker. Bastion in Sentry mode is a good example of where it may be more valuable to just go straight for the kill.


 * Stealth: This is the main method for Sombra to infiltrate the enemy team. She will cloak herself and enter into an invisible status with increased movement speed. Any offensive actions, emotes, or taking any amount of damage will break the invisibility.
 * The cooldown triggers after the stealth is broken.
 * Sombra will say a voiceline whenever she comes out of Stealth that can be heard by enemy players within 15 meters.
 * Sombra can perform a couple of actions while remaining cloaked, such as throwing/activating her Translocator and reloading her Machine Pistol. However, she is unable to contest/move objectives while cloaked.
 * Sombra will be detected by any enemy hero/turret she comes within 2 meters of, which causes an audio cue to play for both Sombra and the enemy. Certain abilities such as Hanzo's Sonic Arrow or Widowmaker's Infra-Sight will also detect her.
 * Sometimes using the speed boost is more important than the invisibility itself; you can use it to run towards objectives and rely on your Translocator to get you out of danger instead.
 * There is a somewhat lengthy period between when Sombra breaks out of stealth and when she can act. When you intend to cancel your camouflage, know that you will be vulnerable for this time, so choose your location carefully.
 * Translocator: Sombra will throw a beacon in an arc, bouncing off any vertical surface until it hits solid ground. The beacon lasts indefinitely until she activates the ability again to teleport herself back to its location or until it is destroyed.
 * The beacon will have a light effect and pulsing sound effect that are detectable by enemy players that come close enough to its location.
 * The beacon can be destroyed by enemies. Sombra can also remotely destroy it herself by using the Interact button.
 * The cooldown triggers after Sombra activates it or when it is cancelled/destroyed.
 * The time it takes to teleport to the Translocator is not instant, being delayed for a fraction of a second. Keep this in mind when jumping across pits and escaping from enemies when the device isn't planted on ground.
 * Sombra will be invincible for a moment when she recalls. The timing is somewhat precise.
 * When Sombra recalls, a visual effect displays the direction of her teleport, as well as showing at the point of her recall.
 * It can be tempting to place a beacon right on top of a health pack, but enemies will also be looking for packs as well. Instead, place your translocator nearby, so enemies will be less able to destroy or wait next to it to kill you while you're vulnerable.
 * When Sombra teleports, it will purge the burning effect from Ashe's Dynamite.


 * EMP (Ultimate): Sombra's ultimate ability. Sombra discharges her energy and creates a blast in a large radius around herself. All enemies within the blast will be Hacked and unable to use any abilities for 5 seconds. Any active barrier from enemies will be destroyed. It also destroys shields on all targets, including Symmetra's Teleporter.
 * EMP is able to pierce through barriers to hack multiple targets, and hack all health packs in the area of effect.
 * EMP's blast doesn't go through walls, floors, ceilings, or solid objects. Keep this in mind when moving into position to activate EMP.
 * EMP is an excellent "initiator" ability; that is to say, it should be the first ultimate to be used during a team fight, as it can leave the enemy team with no abilities or barriers to escape or protect them from your teammates' ultimates.
 * EMP is the only way to hack Symmetra's Sentry Turrets and Teleporters, which disables them for the duration. Orisa's Supercharger and Torbjorn's Turret will be hacked and disabled as well.  Other objects that cannot be targeted by Hack will continue to be unaffected by EMP.

General strategies

 * Choose fights carefully. Sombra requires planning before taking engagements to maximize her chances. If you're going for a backline kill, determine your target ahead of time and consider if and how many of the enemy team can potentially one-shot you. Heroes like McCree and Roadhog can often stun and kill you before you are able to escape.
 * Timing is critical for Sombra. Engaging when your team is not fighting the enemy means more opponents can freely target you. If you're planning a distraction, use your team's chevrons to determine if they are in position to capitilize. Communicating who you have lured away from the choke is also useful for your team.
 * Adaptability is also crucial for Sombra. You need to be able to recognize when you need to remain back with your team to peel an enemy flanker like Genji, to infiltrate the backlines and land a critical hack, or to constantly pressure the enemy team by contesting the objective and pulling them from the choke. Often you will switch between all of these styles in the same match. Keeping tabs on what the enemy is running, the kill feed, and your own team's communication is key to determining what you need to be doing.
 * Sombra's stealth and translocator allow her to get behind enemy lines easier than any hero. Getting the jump on an enemy Widowmaker or taking down Reinhardt's shield with a good Hack can mean all the difference when trying to take a point. Remember, however, that she cannot take on a whole team by herself. Be sure to communicate with your team so they can jump in after you've done your piece.
 * Highground is very useful for Sombra, try to utilize it as frequently as you can. It acts as a sort of defense against some heroes and it is easier to pull off hacks from above. Additionally, Sombra's gun is deceptive — its range and spread is good enough to fight from the high ground, and the angle will help you land headshots.
 * If Sombra takes any damage of any kind, stealth is instantly broken. As such, try to avoid running through fights while invisible; you may get caught in the crossfire and become exposed as a result. Coming within 2 meters of enemies will cause you to be detected, allowing turrets to target you.
 * Sombra is highly reliant on her teammates to capitalize on her abilities during team fights. Communicating with your teammates on enemies with low HP, your intended hack target, and when you are going to use EMP is necessary to realize her full potential during team play.


 * Translocator
 * A common mistake with the Translocator is to deploy it in places where it removes Sombra from engagements for extended periods of time, such as placing it in spawn or rarely traveled healthpacks. These places are likely safe, but translocating to them effectively puts your team down a member. Try to place your translocator in places that give you the most options. High-ground positions that give you the choice of continuing the fight, retreating to get healed by your team, or if necessary, to grab a nearby health pack, are ideal positions.
 * Don't be afraid to use the translocator as more than a means of escape. It provides Sombra with some of the best mobility in the game, and also has useful utility. Use it to take the high ground mid-fight to throw off your opponent's aim, or to avoid important cool-downs such as Helix Rocket or Chain Hook and turn the fight in your favor. It can also open hack opportunities that might otherwise be difficult to secure, such as hacking a flying Pharah.
 * The Translocator is a visible object to enemies on the map. An observant player may note your Translocator and either destroy it or wait nearby for you to appear. To help prevent this, be unpredictable with your translocator placement. Avoid repeatedly placing it in the same area, on top of or nearby healthpacks, and try not to keep it down for long periods of time.


 * Hack
 * Priortizing who to hack is a core part of mastering the ability. Try to think of who would be the most affected by a Hack, and keep in mind that it also highly depends on the current situation. Instead of a support hero such as Mercy or Ana — perhaps there is a Genji harassing your backline that your team is having trouble pinning down, or you've spotted a hiding Reaper who may have his Ultimate ready.
 * Choose your hack targets wisely. At a cooldown of 8 seconds, wasting it on a health pack closer to your respawn that your team won't end up using may mean you won't be ready to hack an enemy or health pack closer to the objective or at a choke point.
 * Don't underestimate the power of hacking Health packs; although it no longer generates ultimate charge, they still respawn quicker and are unusable by the enemy. However, it is important to prioritize hacking packs based on their use by your teammates and/or denying their use from the enemy team.


 * EMP
 * EMP has a variety of potential uses. Identify the most valuble use for the EMP before popping it. Using it as an initiation ult can be effective, but if you miss the enemy Zenyatta, he may cancel out your push by using his Transcendence.
 * Determine whether or not you need to use your Translocator to pull off an EMP, or if you can place it somewhere nearby and then use it to reposition and take advantage of your ult. Sometimes you can simply drop from high ground, use EMP, and then translocate back and fight from above.
 * Coordination is key to ensure that your teammates are in position and have their abilities ready to follow-up on your EMP, lest you waste it and only inconvenience the enemy team for the 6 seconds they are hacked.

Story
One of the world's most notorious hackers, Sombra uses information to manipulate those in power.

Sombra's skills include computer hacking and cryptography; these are activities she greatly enjoys, to the point where the desire to get past locks and solving mysteries is ingrained in her personality. She is a known associate of Reaper, specializing in espionage and intelligence assessment. She is equipped with devices that allow hacking of technology just through touch. This includes a cybernetic graft implanted along her spine. which basically makes her a living computer. She is a loner emotionally, finding it difficult to make friends (outside coercion). Her personal calling card is a sugar skull.

Background
Long before she took up the alias "Sombra," Olivia Colomar was among the thousands of children who were left orphaned in the aftermath of the Omnic Crisis. With much of Mexico's infrastructure destroyed, she survived by utilizing her natural gifts with hacking and computers. She likewise proved adept at manipulating individuals to suit her own ends.

After Colomar was taken in by Mexico's Los Muertos gang, she aided it in its self-styled revolution against the government, performing hacks against said government on their behalf. Los Muertos believed that the rebuilding of Mexico had primarily benefited the rich and the influential, leaving behind those who were most in need of assistance. Commissioner Rivera was one such example, when she brought him a basket of bread straight to his desk, which gave her the opportunity to access his computer. She came to realize that knowledge was power, and so, she kept hacking&mdash;politicians, corporations, governments, famous people; all were in her domain of inquiry. The retrieval of information became an addiction, and her hacks became more audacious over time. Following her many conquests, Colomar was supremely confident in her skills, but she was caught unprepared when she stumbled into the web of a global conspiracy&mdash;one that had also noticed her. With her security irreparably compromised, Colomar was forced to delete all traces of her identity and went into hiding.

Colomar received a cybernetic graft and re-emerged as "Sombra." In her words, "the girl was gone." Determined to find out the truth behind the conspiracy she had uncovered to "find out who really runs the world," Sombra launched an even more audacious string of hacks, initiating a world-wide hacking spree, striking against governments, organizations, and corporations such as LumériCo and Volskaya Industries. Her exploits earned her no shortage of admirers, including Talon. She joined the organization's ranks and is believed to have contributed to its massive cyber-attacks against corporations with strong ties to their governments. While in Talon, she met a combat medic named Baptiste, and over time, the two became close friends. While Baptiste ended up leaving Talon, she kept an eye on him, interested to see what her old friend was getting up to.

What You Left Behind
"Hey mijo. It's been awhile. Hey Sombra. Can you do me a favor?"

- Sombra and Baptiste

A few days after the Overwatch recall order, Baptiste contacted Sombra. He requested her aid in contacting Dr. Angela Ziegler, to warn her that Talon might be targeting her.

Dethroning the King Viper
Still with Talon Sombra worked with Los Muertos again, and was able to hack the website of LumériCo, posting claims that its CEO, Guillermo Portero, was plundering the riches of Mexico to fill his own purse, that he had corrupted the government, and wouldn't stop until the entire country was under his control. Sombra was able to infiltrate Portero's personal email, and use it without Portero knowing about the intrusion. She sent out an email via Portero's own webmail, promising to unveil his "dirty laundry" to the public. Sombra successfully released a number of internal documents to the public, catching the attention of both Mexican law enforcement and Atlas News. The documents indicated that Portero used the company's funds as his own piggy bank, that he was personally involved in bribing public officials and creating a system of kickbacks and payoffs beneficial to LumériCo, and finally, that he proposed a plan to seize privately held land via government expropriation to expand LumériCo's facilities throughout Mexico. The emails also showed that LumériCo was in conversations with the Vishkar Corporation, in regards to exporting its energy systems; a cause of concern given the company's actions in Rio de Janeiro.

Law enforcement categorized the break-ins as a criminal action, and Atlas News reported on the "Sombra collective," mistaking Colomar's identity as a group, not an individual. Sombra claimed that she was "only acting the public interest." Her efforts incited a popular revolution in Mexico against LumériCo, and pro-Sombra grafitti was reported across the world. Less than a week after the leak, Portero stepped down as CEO. By this point, Sombra was already hacking the network of her next target&mdash;Volskaya Industries.

Attack on Volskaya
Sombra, with Widowmaker and Reaper, infiltrated Volskaya Industries to assassinate it's CEO, Katya Volskaya. Sombra deactivated the security alerts and turrets within the facility to allow Reaper and Widowmaker access. The mission appeared to go without a hitch, Widowmaker was unable to get a clear line of sight before the operation was interrupted by an alarm&mdash;one that Sombra had set off herself. Widowmaker held the perimeter while Reaper cleared the ground floor, he was unable to get to Katya in the elevator and was forced to confront a mech as she fled to safety. Sombra gave chase, killing and incapacitating Volskaya guards, until she made it into Katya's lock-downed office. While ostensibly there to kill the CEO, Sombra played a different game, revealing her intentions to be Katya's "friend." A friend with benefits, for if Katya helped her out from time to time, she wouldn't leak evidence that Katya had been receiving technology from omnics in order to help her country in the Second Omnic Crisis. Sombra also noted how exposure would affect "the future of Russia" while handing Katya the photo of her daughter from her desk, hinting at how the fallout of a scandal would impact her. Sombra's motives for gaining Katya as an informant was to help her uncover the greater global conspiracy she had discovered. As her security was nearly through with getting the door open, Katya agreed to the terms, and Sombra teleported out of the office, reporting to her comrades that the operation had failed. The Talon operatives returned to the ship, with only Sombra in good cheer.

Reflections
Sombra spent Christmas drinking at the bar in Calaveras.

Searching
"You! Uh, yes, me."

- Zarya confronts Sombra

Katya, not keen on being Sombra's 'friend', dispatched Russian soldier Aleksandra "Zarya" Zaryanova to track her down. Alongside the omnic Lynx Seventeen, Zarya caught up with Sombra in Dorado. The two exchanged words and bullets, but Zarya was able to incapacitate Sombra through a graviton surge. Sombra warned Zarya that if anything happened to her, Katya's secrets would be revealed to the world, including her dealings with omnics. Zarya in turn revealed that she knew Sombra's real name, which briefly fazed the hacker. However, Sombra maintained that she wanted Katya to remain in power, as she wanted her as a source for information. However, the conversation reached its end as Lynx collapsed (as Sombra had hacked them in Numbani when they'd tried to trace her), and revealed that the warehouse they were in would be destroyed in an explosion in one minute. Zarya rescued Lynx and let Sombra live.

In-Universe References
"¿Quién es 'Sombra'?"

Sombra's existence has been hinted at since early pre-beta builds of the game.


 * The name Sombra first appeared during Ellohime's pre-beta stream of Overwatch. While exploring Dorado, Ellohime discovered a table in the LumériCo power plant's control room with three classified manila file folders labeled "SOMBRA [CLASIFICADO]," "SOLDADO: 76 [CLASIFICADO]," and "JACK MORRISON [CLASIFICADO]," along with photographs of Morrison before and after becoming Soldier: 76. These folders can still be seen in-game.


 * Some newspapers on the ground in Dorado have an article featuring a silhouette in a hooded cloak, with the headline "¿Quién es 'Sombra'?" ("Who is 'Sombra'?"). This is actually an early version of Sombra's design.


 * Many terminals can been seen in the LumériCo power plant on Dorado. Some of the terminals that display "Niveles de Sincronización del Núcleo" ("Core Synchronization Levels") have blinking error messages which read, "ACCESSO NO AUTORIZADO: Protocolo Sombra" ("UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS: Sombra Protocol").


 * Reaper sometimes says, "Where's Sombra when you need her?" when he spawns on Dorado.


 * In the comic Ana: Old Soldiers, while attempting to infiltrate Hakim's compound in Egypt, Soldier: 76 overhears radio chatter between Reaper and Hakim coming from the earpiece of a fallen guard. The two briefly discuss intel regarding an incident involving Helix Security International. Reaper threatens that Sombra better be able to make use of it.


 * On August 30th, 2016, some newspapers in the Overwatch PTR were changed, replacing a headline about Roadhog with one about a "Global Hacking Spree." The newspapers were added to the live game on September 1st.


 * After the September 1st patch, the Numbani news ticker was updated with the headline "LumériCo reports massive breach at Dorado power plant, latest attack in global hacking spree."


 * With the September 22nd PTR patch, several in-game references were changed or added.
 * The terminals in the power plant were changed to display "ACCESSO NO AUTORIZADO: Protocolo Sombra V2.3" . In addition, the terminal screen was added to a room in Volskaya Industries.
 * Two of the Dorado newspapers, including the one with the Sombra article, had the headline "Ola Mundial de Hackeos" ("Global Hacking Spree") added.
 * The newspaper from King's Row was added to other maps, including Temple of Anubis, Hollywood, and in the MV-261 Orca on the Control maps.

Alternate Reality Game
Following the announcement of Ana as the 22nd Overwatch hero, a series of cryptographic puzzles about Sombra were slowly released, dubbed the Sombra ARG by the community.

Developer Comments

 * Eurogamer questioned Jeff Kaplan about whether it was strange that fans had theorized that Sombra would be featured in  Hero. Jeff replied, "No, it was not strange. We have put a lot of hints, all over the game and out of the game, so I would say it's about time that people are concerned with who Sombra is. I hope they keep researching more and find more hints that are out there."


 * When asked about Sombra in an interview with Kotaku, Jeff Kaplan said, "I think people have learned that she’s a fun character for them to search and to learn more about and that, like the X-Files, the truth is out there. We’ll see what players discover over time. [...] I think that’s up to Sombra, to give you a cheeky answer. Sombra will let people know when she wants more to be known about her. She’s very good at that sort of thing."


 * As of June 6th, 2016, there were still undiscovered hints about Sombra, according to Jeff Kaplan.


 * On August 3rd, 2016, Fairlight_Excalibur asked the developers he was interviewing about the compass from the Summer Games video, and was told by Jeff Kaplan, "That sounds like deep CIA stuff. Way above our heads." Later, he asked if all of the clues regarding Sombra that had been "scattered around" had been located, if not solved. Jeff replied, "I gotta be honest with this one, this stuff is so far over my head, that I just don't understand. It's very top secret covert ops, even on the team, so most people don't even know." After Fairlight said he felt lied to and that Jeff did know, Kaplan replied, "It's a mystery."

Trivia

 * Sombra is Hero 23 and the second new hero added to the game.
 * "Sombra" is the Spanish word meaning "shadow", or "shade."
 * The ammo counter on Sombra's Machine Pistol is in Hexadecimal, and as such reads 3C when the magazine is full.
 * The Halloween Terror loot boxes have candies with the Sombra skull icon on the wrapper.
 * Michael Chu has indicated that Sombra considers Reaper and Widowmaker to be genuine friends of hers, but that the friendship is "complicated."
 * Sombra is also the only hero that can have another hero's highlight intro appear in her own (her "Hacking" Highlight Intro has another Hero's highlight intro as a prelude before it).
 * The skull used in Sombra's icons refers to the art used for skulls in Mexico's Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival.
 * Unlike most of the heroes, Sombra uses her right hand for the "Quick Melee" attack, instead of the left hand used by most of the heroes.
 * Sombra's real name wasn't revealed until Zarya's comic, Searching.
 * Sombra's favourite drink is Mezcal.
 * A Sombra Funko Pop figure will go on sale in 2018.
 * A Sombra nendoroid will go on sale in Q1 2019.
 * Sombra's childhood teddy bear, Arturito, is named after a Spanish nickname for the Star Wars character R2-D2.

Development
Sombra originated during the game's early development as a proposed character called the Omniblade, an agile female ninja who would wield shuriken and kunai, predating Hanzo and Genji. As ideation progressed a Mesoamerican theme was incorporated into her design and she was given the name Sombra, however the concept was shelved when they began incorporating elements of her suggested kit, including a double jump and throwing knives that could reveal enemies through walls, into the two new ninja heroes.

At a later point they conceived of a stealth hacker hero and decided to use the earlier Sombra concept as its foundation. Having previously attempted to build Genji as a slow-moving stealth assassin character and finding it to be unfun, they decided to instead make Sombra an agile infiltration hero focused on gathering intel and disrupting the enemy team, devising her thermoptic camo suit, hacking tendrils, and machine pistol, lending the character a cyberpunk aesthetic. Elements of her new kit seem to have been pulled from the playable Spec Ops class from the initial pitch for Prometheus, which had stealth and EMP abilities, as well as Hivemind, a proposed hero created for the Prometheus pitch meeting with abilities called Disable and EMP pulse. At this point in development Sombra had a hood and a longer coat, however her silhouette began to overlap with the also in-development Ana, so they decided to steer her in a different direction, eventually arriving at her final design.

Initially, Sombra was invisible 100% of the time. This concept generated two problems however. It reduced the sense of Sombra helping her own team (per friendly players not seeing her), and inflicted stress on the enemy team, not knowing if they were safe. Additionally, what she could and couldn't hack went through numerous revisions. She started off as a Support hero, and initially, there was no cooldown for her hacking abilities.

Reveal
Prior to the reveal of Ana as the 22nd playable hero in Overwatch, a photograph of Ana wearing her Shrike mask found on Temple of Anubis was incorrectly identified as Sombra, leading to a widespread assumption that the two characters were one and the same, and that Sombra was the rumored in-development support sniper character.

Voice lines extracted from the Public Test Region after Ana's release featured the first suggestions that Sombra would have a stealth ability. On October 8, 2016, a photo of a posting on Blizzard's enterprise social network was leaked online, containing the details for an internal test build featuring the Junkenstein's Revenge event and Sombra, including a screenshot and her bio. On November 1, 2016, the image urls for unreleased Blizzcon 2016 fine art prints of Sombra and a Diablo III necromancer, hosted on Blizzard's gear store, were leaked, seemingly corroborating the earlier October 8 leak. She was officially announced at BlizzCon 2016 as the 23rd hero.