Overwatch Patch 1.7 is now live and players are already enjoying the new updates alongside the nerfs on both popular picks in the meta, D.Va, and Ana. Aside from ironing out the triple tank meta, Blizzard also tweaked Roadhog's hook which was dubbed Hook 3.0. And after a couple of dedicated updates for the ability, Jeff Kaplan and his team finally introduced the latest rework on Roadhog's hook. Now the real question is, is it now more balanced?
Overwatch: Hook 3.0
iTechpost reported in the past that Hook 3.0 is going to be released unblemished. To take things in retrospect, the video down below will show the difference between the old and new Hook. Here are the highlights of the complete changes of Roadhog's hook:
The victim now moves into the position directly in front of Roadhog rather than a straight line towards him.
Roadhog's hook will no longer connect on targets he can't see.
If the target moves out of LOS (line-of-sight) as soon as he gets hooked (e.g. dash, fell off the cliff, pushed, etc.) the hook will break and will not connect. This also applies to Roadhog himself. If he landed a hook but moves out of LOS, the chain will break and the target will break free from the hook.
Is it Now More Balanced?
The last three changes made Roadhog's hook still highly viable in the competitive matches whilst still giving the hooked targets a window of escape. This means that Roadhog players need to have their heroes out in the open in order to drag their targets into their position. So in short, Hook 3.0 is definitely more balanced.
Complaints on Hook 3.0
A Reddit thread shows the mix reactions on Roadhog's new hook and although the majority of the community thinks that the hook is now better, others still think that it's quite broken for a non-ultimate ability. According to them, Roadhog's combo is one of the deadliest attacks in the game and can easily take out an unsuspecting opponent. While this statement is true, it's safe to say that this aspect of Roadhog is what makes the hero a threat to the game.
Although Roadhog can be deadly, the hero can also be played against especially with Genji and Tracer. The hero can now be countered easily by fast-moving targets now that one can escape the hook by simply using their escape abilities and going out of LOS.
Overall, Roadhog is still great in the current meta but not broken nonetheless. The hero is definitely strong no doubt but it's not overpowered by any means. Players just have to learn how to dodge and play the hero in order to punish the opponent's plays.
