Overwatch 2, a sequel to Blizzard’s popular hero shooter, is on the way and ahead of the Overwatch 2 beta release date, lead hero designer Geoff Goodman and narrative designer Miranda Moyer have shared an insight into how Sojourn, the newest Overwatch hero, was developed. In the Sojourn Developer Update, the pair reveal that the original concept for Sojourns kit was “a balancing nightmare” for the Overwatch 2 devs – and it’s easy to see why.
Heading into the Overwatch 2 beta, Sojourn’s Rail Gun primary weapon isn’t exactly what you’d expect from a Rail Gun. In fact, it bears a striking resemblance to Soldier: 76’s assault rifle. However, there is a reason for this.
Discussing the development of Sojourn’s abilities and attacks, Goodman details why the Overwatch 2 team decided against giving her a traditional railgun – but, how they still managed to implement the unique features this weapon offers into her kit.
“ When we start working on a hero, we have to pick an element to surround the hero with,” Goodman begins. “ In the past, we’ve had some heroes rally around a weapon… the number one idea that came up that [the Overwatch 2 team] all loved was this idea of a rail gun”.
However, Goodman continues, when the team “tried putting a typical railgun from other games in [to Overwatch 2]”, things didn’t exactly go as planned. As you might imagine, “it turns out that the ability to fire really accurate, high-powered shots… all of the time was just a balancing nightmare.”
Thankfully, the railgun aspect of Sojourn’s Rail Gun wasn’t lost on the cutting room floor following this revelation.
In its current state, Sojourn’s Rail Gun has two firing modes. Her primary firing mode is more like a machine gun – described as a “rapid-fire spread of projectiles” by Goodman. With each successful hit, Sojourn can charge an energy bar that can be expended at any time to release a traditional railgun shot using her weapon’s secondary firing mode.
You can see this system in action at the 02:20 mark of the video below:
If you think this is a little infrequent, you’ll be pleased to know that Sojourn’s ultimate ability will allow players to experience the chaos of a more typical railgun for a short period of time.
Overclock will auto-charge the Rail Gun energy bar for a short duration and gives charged shots additional piercing damage. When you combine this with Sojourn’s Power Slide – which allows her to slide-cancel into a high jump – and her slowing Disruptor Shot, it’s clear that she’s going to be a force to be reckoned with.
Sojourn engaging.
Overview of Sojourn's weapon and ability kit coming to #Overwatch2. pic.twitter.com/oqinap7MIK
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) April 14, 2022
Speaking of forces to be reckoned with, Overwatch 2 leaks suggest that Junker Queen could be joining the roster at some point – you can check out the latest on possible abilities right here. For everything else, check out what we know about the Overwatch 2 release date here.