Sombra uses her mastery of technology to constantly disrupt the enemy team. By properly managing her stealth and teleportation, she can quickly weave in and out of fights at will. Combined with her unique hacking mechanic, Sombra provides a gameplay experience unlike any other hero.

Compared to the other offense heroes Sombra doesn't do much damage, instead focusing on continuously harassing specific heroes. This means you should pick your fights wisely, and avoid going head to head with most heroes. Success with Sombra comes quickly once you have proper map knowledge and ability usage, both of which will come after practice.

While Sombra might not be the strongest hero out there, her unique kit allows her to be playable in a few different situations, even if other heroes might perform better overall. If you're a fan of heroes that promote strategic play, I highly suggest giving her a try. In this guide, I'll cover her abilities, playstyle, synergies, and counters to help jumpstart your journey of mastering Sombra.

Pros

Evasive
Hacking Healthpacks
Strong Ultimate
Unique Playstyle

Cons

Mediocre Damage
Cooldown Reliant
Lackluster on most attack maps
Hard to fit into comps

- Ability Breakdown -

Opportunist (Passive)

You can see critically injured enemies through walls

Enemies are considered "critically injured" at 50% health, making this effect active a majority of the time. While the implications of seeing through walls isn't quite as game breaking in Overwatch compared to other FPS's, this passive can assist Sombra in a variety of ways.

- Hunting Down Enemies: Since Sombra usually wants to be flanking anyway, this ability pairs perfectly with the rest of her kit. While low health heroes might be able to escape other flankers, Sombra tracks them through the walls before finishing them off. This proves especially useful for enemies that would normally escape, such as Tracer, Genji, or another Sombra.

- Staying Informed: Even if you aren't using this passive to chase down enemies, it's still a good tool for keeping informed on the enemy position. Most enemies are going to run to a health pack at 50% health (hopefully one you've hacked) so you can tell your team where they'll reemerge from. This may seem insignificant, but sometimes even the smallest amount of information can make a major difference.

Machine Pistol (Left Click)

Fast firing hitscan
2.4-8 damage
60 Ammo

If you've ever played Tracer you should feel pretty comfortable with this weapon. Just like Tracer's Pulse Pistols, Sombra's Machine Pistol fires fast and has a wide bloom, making it most effective at close to medium ranges. An upside is its massive 60 round clip, which is helpful if you aren't super accurate. The overall damage output from this weapon feels pretty mediocre compared to most other damage heroes, but with practice you can easily take out a majority of enemies with a single clip. This won't be the case with tanks, but they'll still take massive damage due to their large hitboxes.

Hack (Right Click)

Channeled ability that affects both enemies and health packs
Enemy abilities are disabled for 6 seconds (doesn't include passives)
Hacked health packs recharge faster for your team, and aren't usable by the enemy team for 60 seconds
12 Second Cooldown
1.2 Second Cast which is interrupted by damage

Hack is Sombra's signature move, and it really separates her from the other offense heroes. Both functions of the ability prove extremely useful and give her added level of depth. Here's how you should be using Hack in each situation.

-When Hacking Enemies: Hack prevents enemies from using abilities, and reveals their ultimate status and health bars for 6 seconds. This completely shuts down certain heroes such as Tracer, while a Soldier might be completely fine. The rules of how Hack works can be a bit iffy, so I recommend watching this video to see how it affects each individual hero. Since the channel gets disrupted when you take damage it can be a bit of a pain, so you'll have to wait until you have an opening. This is generally when it's best to try and Hack an enemy: when you sneak up on them, right when they start reloading, or if you are in the middle of using an ability. Which heroes you should be hacking can depend on the situation, but there are a few you should look out for. These three are Genji, Tracer, and Reinhardt since they won't be able to use any defensive cooldowns once hacked.

-When Hacking Health Packs: Being able to hack health packs is one of the reasons Sombra thrives on Defense/KoTH. Not only does it keep your team healthy, but it also denies your opponents some vital healing. This becomes a major problem for the enemy team when there's only a few health packs near the point. Additionally, Sombra gains ultimate charge when she or an ally uses one of these health packs, so you have even more incentive to be vigilant with your hacking. You can easily have 2 health packs hacked at all times, just try to choose the ones that are most relevant. As you continue to play you'll eventually learn every health pack spot, but here's a playlist of videos to help you get started.

Thermoptic Camo (Shift)

Turn invisible and gain movement speed for 6 seconds
Taking damage, or using anything other than Translocator will cancel this effect
6 Second Cooldown (doesn't start recharging until the stealth has faded)

Thermoptic Camo is the ability that allows Sombra to be such a consistent flanker. While it's primarily for engaging fights, it can also function as an escape.

-Engaging: Since Translocator is much more suited for escaping, Thermoptic Camo is your best choice for engaging. On its own the stealth is amazing, so when you consider the added movement speed this ability becomes a fantastic tool for infiltrating the enemy backline. Although they can't see you, it's not ideal to run into enemies head on because stray bullets could deactivate your stealth. Additionally, enemies can also see you if you're too close to them. This ability only has a 6 second cooldown once the stealth fades, so you'll constantly be entering fights to pick off enemies.

-Escaping: If for whatever reason you engaged with Translocator, or it expired, you might have to use this to escape instead. The effect has a 0.75 second delay before it activates, so this isn't an instant lifesaver. You'll have to try and get some cover first, and the added movement speed should help you sneak out. If this isn't an option, and your Translocator is off cooldown now, you can use it while stealthed for a free escape. Simply stealth so enemies can't see you, and then throw your Translocator near your team. Enemies can see the Translocator, but at this point you should already be in the clear.

Translocator (E)

Throws out a beacon which you can teleport to at any time
Lasts 15 Seconds
6 Second Cooldown (doesn't start recharging until the teleporter has expired or been used)
Indestructible

It turns out that teleportation is a pretty strong mechanic, especially when used properly. Just like the rest of Sombra's abilities, this one serves multiple purposes.

- Repositioning: This beacon can be thrown pretty far, so you can get to some useful positions. Generally, if Tracer can get somewhere, so can Sombra. This includes multiple gaps that only a few other heroes can cross. Here's a video showing these off as Tracer (they'll apply to Sombra). This ability can also be used for basic purposes as well, such as setting up behind the enemy. Since this is usually used as your escape, you'll to be careful using it this way. Try to throw it in to a doorway, so you won't be out in the open once you teleport.

- Chasing: If you are trying to chase someone that can't fight back, you can just use this to teleport near them. As long as the rest of their team isn't waiting for you, you can pick up a kill and use your stealth to get back out. Don't get too comfortable doing this, but there will be a few situations where this pays off.

- Ultimate: Translocator pairs very well with Sombra's ultimate ability. Since EMP is AoE, Sombra can throw Translocator above the air and reactive it to fall onto the enemy team. This makes it super easy to hit multiple targets with EMP, and since enemies can't use abilities you should be able to stealth out.

- Escape: The most common use of this ability is for escaping. If you set up a Translocator on a hacked health pack you can stall safe after fighting. This makes up Sombra's strongest combo; hacking a health pack, activating stealth, throwing a Translocator on the health pack and then engaging. Once you either take of deal some damage, just teleport back and repeat. This is what you'll be doing a majority of the time as Sombra, as it keeps you safe while you harass your opponents.

EMP (Q)

Sends out an electrical pulse that destroys shields and barriers, and hacks all enemies caught in the blast
6 Second Duration

This is essentially an AoE version of your Hack with a few minor differences. EMP removes shields from enemies, destroys Reinhardt barrier from the front, and doesn't affect health packs. Unlike other ultimates, you won't just press this and kill the enemy team, you need follow up from the other damage dealers. Enemies can't ward off any incoming damage, so if you combo correctly you can take out multiple targets. On defense, you should farm up your ultimate and then wait for them to push. Once they start running in, you can use this to shut down any shot they had at taking the objective. This won't always instantly win you fights, but it'll help a majority of the time. Instead of just using this preemptively, you can also wait until enemies have already ulted. If you know multiple enemies have ults then you'll have to judge which ones to counter, but it completely shuts down the ultimates of Reaper, Pharah, Lucio, Roadhog, and McCree. This is a great way to turn fights in your favor, especially since enemies think that they're safe.

Role & Playstyle

Sombra is a flanker who specializes in continuously harassing the enemy team. Similar to Tracer, she strikes the backline with a barrage of attacks, and then quickly retreats once she draws attention. The major difference between these two is the damage output, making Sombra focused more on disrupting then assassinating. This makes her more suited towards defense and KoTH, and makes it awkward to fit into comps.

Continuing on the topic of maps, there's multiple reasons why Sombra thrives on defense/KoTH over attack. For starters, these allow Sombra to freely roam the map, without worrying about engaging from any sort of chokepoint. Obvious you can avoid chokepoints on attack as well, but this will usually force you to use cooldowns you'll need later on. Furthermore, Hack gets much more value on these maps as well. Health packs can play an important role in team fights, and being able to deny them from your opponents can be massively useful. Since both teams are usually sharing them on these points, it gets immense use.

Constantly engaging and escaping, along with being able to hack enemies makes Sombra feel amazing to play, but she struggles to find a spot in the current meta. As an offense hero who provides utility over damage she fills a very small niche, and unfortunately, she's not good enough for teams to want to build a comp around her. Additionally, in almost every situation she gets outclassed by other heroes. While this might seem grim, don't get discouraged if you want to start learning Sombra. Just because a hero isn't ideal doesn't mean you can't see success with them. A good Sombra is nearly unkillable, and if you use your abilities correctly you can have a major impact on the game.

Synergies

Although it's true that Sombra has trouble fitting in to most compositions, there are still multiple heroes that she pairs well with. Here are a few of them from each role.

-Zenyatta: Zenyatta's plethora of orbs mesh perfectly with Sombra's entire kit. Discord Orb helps make up for her low damage output, and a Harmony Orb will help you survive even when you're no longer in LoS. This helps Sombra stay aggressive longer, and makes her more effective when doing so.

-Ana: Unlike Zenyatta, Ana really doesn't assist Sombra too much, but blends with other heroes that help Sombra. Ana is a popular support to pair with both Winston and Soldier, as her high base healing and Nano Boost let them deal massive damage and play super aggressive. Both of these heroes work well with Sombra, so naturally Ana does too.

-Winston: Winston excels at applying pressure and creating space, and this opens up a lot of opportunities for Sombra. Usually when a Winston jumps into a fight enemies automatically direct their focus to him, and you can take advantage of this. While the enemy DPS are trying to take down your Winston, you can infiltrate the backline and kill the unprotected supports.

-Mei: Mei is already played on the maps that Sombra prefers, so teams don't have to go out of their way to play her. Between her consistent damage, stall mechanics, and insane ultimate ability, she can make up for most of Sombra's faults. Stalling enemies let's Sombra regain her cooldowns, and Mei's potentially high damage can make up for Sombra's mediocre output.

-Soldier 76: Right now, Soldier is played in almost every situation, because after his recent changes his damage has skyrocketed. Since your team will need the extra damage boost, he's an amazing choice for your second damage dealer. He and Sombra also prefer playing with the same heroes, making a strong team comp all around.

Counters

-Winston: If you ever need to counter a pesky Tracer or Genji, Winston is usually a top choice. That's because his large health pool, 600 HP barrier, and high mobility make him a beast at chasing down these heroes. Since Sombra's pretty similar to Tracer, Winston counters her as well. His primary fire deals massive damage to most heroes, and its large arc prevents you from stealthing or hacking. You can teleport away whenever he tried to chase you, but this'll reduce your damage by a pretty big margin, and that's something you can't afford. Beating a Winston will come down to cooldown usage and aim most of the time. You aren't going to kill him if his barrier is up, so try to teleport away if he even uses it. Since it's on a 13 second cooldown you can reengage before it's activate again, and his large hitbox will allow you to melt him quickly.

-Soldier: Since Soldier has one of the strongest primary fires in the game, killing him as Sombra can be a bit of a pain. A decent Solider will outbox you even if he's hacked, unless you're aiming especially well. Additionally, he doesn't mind that you hacked the health packs, because Biotic Field will sustain his health throughout the game. Soldier will definitely beat you straight up, and that's why you need to use the element of surprise. He only has 200 HP, so if you stealth in you should get a fair amount of damage off before he starts firing.

-Mei: Mei is a hero that doesn't mind fighting one on one, and this makes her a pretty tough match up. Hacking doesn't really do much against her, because she can still use her freeze and icicle. Since you have to be pretty close to deal significant damage as Sombra, you'll usually be in range of her freeze at all times. In most cases, you just want to avoid confrontation with a Mei, but if you can land a Hack on her you'll be able to get a good chunk of damage on her before she can react. Hopefully you can kill her off of that, but if not make sure you teleport out right before her freeze applies.

-D.Va: With her Boosters and wide spray, D.Va really gives Sombra a run for her money. Her 600 health pool makes it rough to fight head on, and if you try to run she can usually chase you. The wide spray on her primary fire makes it near impossible to stealth away from her, and since she doesn't have to reload there isn't any downtime on it. To kill a D.Va you'll have to either just outaim her, or hack her when she uses her Defense Matrix. If she can't run away, you can take her out with headshots or rely on the rest of your team to punish her.

-Roadhog: Roadhog has a favorable match up versus most heroes, and for good reason. Being able to one shot after a well placed Chain Hook is insanely difficult to beat, and his large health pool gives his a wide margin for error. He can also take you out of stealth with his enormous spray, even if he isn't specifically aiming for you. This makes this match up rough, but not impossible. His wide hitbox allows you to get a lot of damage done, you just have to know when. If you can avoid his first hook, then you should be able to deal enough damage that he has to heal. Hack him while he heals, and you should have an easy time finishing him off after that.

Further Resources

Surefour of Cloud 9 playing Sombra on Illios. Link.

BlameTheController Sombra Top 10 Tips. Link.

IDDQD playing Sombra on Watchpoint: Gibraltar. Link.

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