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Hazard

Hazard


"If you're in it with me, you're in it for life."

Real Name
Findlay Docherty [1]
Aliases
Hazard
Status
Active
Birth
November 11
Age
24
Nationality
󠁧󠁢󠁳 Scotland Scottish
Occupation
Soldier (formerly)
Punk rocker[2]
Base
Glasgow, Scotland (formerly)
Unknown
Affiliation
British military (formerly)
Phreaks
Relations
Susannah (partner)
Conor McLeod (English)

Jhos Lican (French)
Amadeus Strobl (German)
Marcello Gobbi (Italian)
Yukihiro Nozuyama[3] (Japanese)
Kim Sin-woo (Korean)
Henryk Simon (Polish)
Ítalo Luiz (Brazilian Portuguese)
Pavel Dorofeev (Russian)
Vicent Ortega (European Spanish)
Julio Grijalva (Latin American Spanish)

Cosmetics
Cosmetic page
Quotes
Quotation page
Role
Tank
Health
275 (Open queue)
425 (Role queue)
Armor
225
Character Video

Hazard is a Tank hero in Overwatch 2. He was released in Season 14, making him the 42nd hero added to the game.

Overview

Hazard's cybernetics allow him to be a highly mobile tank focused on diving in and diving out. His cybernetics have a shotgun inbuilt into them, also powering his jump to be quite high. The Vanadium injection grants him the ability of a shield with being able to fire homing spikes onto nearby attackers. He can build Vanadium crystalline walls that also knock back and deal damage.

Abilities

Role: Tank
Type
Passive Ability
Reduces knockbacks and critical damage received. Less ultimate generated by healing and damage received. Increases base health in Role Queue game modes.
Health:
150
Dmg. reduction:
-25% taken

Ability details:
  • Reduces the speed of knockbacks received by 25%
  • Ultimate charge and perk progress generation from damage and healing dealt to heroes with the Role: Tank passive is reduced by 40%.
  • Reduces the total damage received from critical hits, such as headshots, by 25%.
    • Weapons with a lower 1.5x headshot modifier ignore this damage reduction completely.
    • The effectiveness on abilities that deal critical damage through other means than headshots is ambiguous: Earthshatter and Overrun are affected by the damage reduction, but Virus and Volatile Chaingun's forced critical hits against burning targets are not.
    • The reduction stacks additively with other modifiers affecting damage taken.
  • All tanks have 150 more health in Role Queue. The amount of armor and/or shields remains the same.


Vault
SPACE
Type
Passive Ability
Effect Type
Movement Movement
Scale short walls and grab ledges.
Duration:
Up to 0.2 seconds
Movement speed:
6.33 m/s (vertical)

Ability details:
  • Wall Climb ends when the player stops holding the button, the wall ends or the duration is up. It cannot then be used again until the player has landed on a walkable surface.
    • Violent Leap resets wall climb.
  • Hazard will grab and mantle ledges if the input is held while facing a ledge of a walkable surface.
    • This does not count as starting Wall Climb, and can be done even if Wall Climb was already used.
  • Can reach up to 5.7 meters from ground (6.5m with jump) due to momentum being kept.
  • The obstacle must be at least 1.25 meters tall to trigger Vault.


Bonespur
Type
Weapon (Primary Fire)
Effect Type
Shotgun Shotgun (projectile)
Blocked by barriers.
Ignores barriers.
Blocked by Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Ignores Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Blocked by Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Ignores Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Affected by damage boosts.
Ignores damage boosts.
Affected by Amplification Matrix.
Ignores Amplification Matrix.
Fire a burst of spikes.
Damage:
7.5 - 2.25 per pellet
75 - 22.5 per shot
Falloff range:
15 - 35 meters
Headshot:
✓ (x2)
Rate of fire:
1.75 shots/s
Bullets per shot:
10
Ammo consumption:
1
Ammo:
8
Reload time:
2.3 seconds
Projectile speed:
140 m/s
Projectile radius:
0.05 meters

Ability details:
  • Damage per second: 131.58 while firing (87.46 overall with reload)
  • Each blast's center projectile always launches straight without random variance.



Spike Guard
Type
Ability
Effect Type
Projectile Projectile
!
Partially blocked by barriers.
Ignores barriers.
Blocked by Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Ignores Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Blocked by Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Ignores Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Affected by damage boosts.
Ignores damage boosts.
Affected by Amplification Matrix.
Ignores Amplification Matrix.
Protect yourself, firing homing spikes at nearby enemies. While active, reduce damage taken and regenerate ammo.
Damage:
11.67 per projectile
210.06 maximum
Headshot:
Rate of fire:
6 shots/s
Bullets per shot:
1 per enemy
Dmg. reduction:
-65% taken
Cast time:
0 + 2.9 seconds
Duration:
0.3 seconds (min)
3 seconds (max)
Area of effect:
7 meters radius, 6 meters height
Spread angle:
70 degrees (targeting)
180 degrees (dmg. reduction)
Mov. speed penalty:
-50%
Projectile speed:
20 m/s
Projectile radius:
0.14 meters

Ability details:
  • Damage per second: 70
  • Resource meter recharges over 5 seconds.
  • Can fire up to 18 shots per target over the full duration.
  • Spike Guard is a channeled ability; Hazard cannot use other abilities or fire while it is active and it is interrupted if he is stunned, knocked down or hacked.
    • The impact damage from the instance that applied the effect will still be blocked.
    • Activating any other ability deactivates Spike Guard. If secondary fire is held, Spike Guard starts again when the previous ability finishes.
  • While active, periodically fires 1 missile at each enemy within the area, dealing damage to first enemy in their way.
    • Targets heroes and all objects, excluding barriers.
    • Enemies can be targeted through barriers, but barriers still will block projectiles trying to pass through them.
  • Damage is blocked if the horizontal angle between the direction Hazard is facing and the direction from the impact location to its source is less than 90 degrees.
    • Hazard's vertical view angle does not affect blocking or targeting.
    • Head hitbox is hidden while the ability is active.
    • Effectiveness extends to area abilities and splash damage from projectiles. Damage is generally blocked when facing the center of the AoE.
    • Spike Guard mitigates delayed or triggered detonation damage from stuck projectiles and debuffs, regardless of the direction Hazard is facing.
    • Following abilities are affected: A-36 Tactical Grenade, Sticky Bombs, Pulse Bomb and Captive Sun.
    • Does not affect damage over time effects from abilities.

6v6 details:
  • Duration reduced from 3.5 to 3 seconds.
  • Recharge time increased from 5 to 6 seconds.


Violent Leap
LSHIFT
6 seconds
Type
Ability
Effect Type
Movement Movement
Melee Melee
Blocked by barriers.
Ignores barriers.
Blocked by Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Ignores Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Blocked by Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Ignores Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Affected by damage boosts.
Ignores damage boosts.
Affected by Amplification Matrix.
Ignores Amplification Matrix.
Lunge forward. Activate again to slash enemies, knocking them back.
Damage:
80 (slash)
Headshot:
Cast time:
0 + 0.18 seconds (leap)
0.05 + 0.5 seconds (slash)
Max. range:
14 meters (leap, aimed up) - 15 meters (leap, along ground)
6 meters (slash)
Movement speed:
18.6 m/s (aimed up) - 24 m/s (along ground)
9.4 m/s (slash hop)
Knockback speed:
12.3 m/s

Ability details:
  • Cooldown begins immediately upon use.
  • During leap, Hazard can slash by pressing the ability button again or Quick Melee.
  • There is a brief period after hitting ground where the slash can still be activated.
  • Slashing gives Hazard a slight boost.
  • Hazard can use primary fire and all his other abilities while leaping.
    • Activating Downpour or starting to wall climb will interrupt the leap and prevent the slash followup, but firing or using other abilities do not.
  • Leap trajectory and distance can be adjusted with view angle and directional keys.


Jagged Wall
E
12 seconds
Type
Ability
Effect Type
Projectile Projectile (initial)
Area of effect Area of effect (after deployment)
!
Partially blocked by barriers.
Ignores barriers.
!
Partially blocked by Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Ignores Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
!
Partially blocked by Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Ignores Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Affected by damage boosts.
Ignores damage boosts.
Affected by Amplification Matrix.
Ignores Amplification Matrix.
Launch a spiked wall that damages and knocks back nearby enemies.
Damage:
50
Headshot:
Health:
400
Cast time:
0.14 + 0.4 seconds
Duration:
10 seconds (projectile)
0.5 seconds (wall, min)
6 seconds (wall, max)
Max. range:
Area of effect:
5 meter length
~3 meter width
3.5 meter height
Knockback speed:
7.5 m/s
Projectile speed:
60 m/s
Projectile radius:
None

Ability details:
  • Cooldown begins as soon as it's fired.
  • The projectile will transform into a wall upon impacting the ground, ceiling, wall or a surface of another terrain-like object.
    • The projectile doesn't collide with enemy heroes.
    • Projectile can be blocked by barriers while in flight, but contact with the deployed wall cannot.
    • Projectile can be destroyed by Defense Matrix, Kinetic Grasp and Javelin Spin and reflected by Deflect while in flight, but contact with the deployed wall cannot be blocked.
    • If the object the wall is attached to is destroyed, Jagged Wall will be destroyed as well.
    • The deployed wall can be manually destroyed by pressing the ability button again.
  • Enemies that touch the wall take damage and are knocked back. Whenever an enemy is hit by the wall, there is a 1.75 second delay before they can be hit by it again.
  • Deployed Jagged Wall is a terrain-like object; it has collision and blocks line of sight.
    • On ground and ceiling surfaces, the wall will be oriented longer side facing the player. When deployed on wall surfaces, the top side will be facing away from the wall and the shorter side will be facing up as the new top surface.
    • The wall has a walkable top surface regardless of the orientation it was deployed in.
  • Hazard can use Vault on the wall, and touch a friendly wall without taking damage.
  • Wall cannot be damaged or destroyed by EMP.
  • Wall can be lifted by Petal Platform if attached to it.
  • Unlike most other objects, Jagged Wall does not get crushed by Tree of Life. The tree can be deployed on top of Jagged Wall or next to it but not in the same space.
  • Jagged Wall may prevent pillars from Ice Wall from rising if the latter is attempted to be deployed in the same space.

6v6 details:
  • Cooldown increased from 12 to 15 seconds.
  • Health increased from 400 to 500.


Downpour
Q
2150 points
Type
Ultimate Ability
Effect Type
Hitscan Hitscan
Blocked by barriers.
Ignores barriers.
Blocked by Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Ignores Defense Matrix/Kinetic Grasp.
Blocked by Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Ignores Deflect/Javelin Spin.
Affected by damage boosts.
Ignores damage boosts.
Affected by Amplification Matrix.
Ignores Amplification Matrix.
Rain down a torrent of spikes, Immobilizing enemies.
Damage:
90 over 0.29 seconds
Headshot:
Cast time:
0.59 + 0.3 seconds
Duration:
2.5 seconds (trap)
Area of effect:
30 meters length
12.5 meters width
30 meters height

Ability details:
  • Downpour's cast can be interrupted from being hit by crowd control during its startup.
  • Hazard loses 50% of his aerial momentum while casting Downpour.
  • Falling spikes are hitscan projectiles fired from above at each enemy in the area.
    • The area and spikes are not blocked by terrain.
    • The spikes can be blocked by barriers, destroyed by D.Va's Defense Matrix, Orisa's Javelin Spin, Sigma's Kinetic Grasp and Genji's Deflect on the way down.
      • Deflect does not reflect spikes, only blocks them.
    • The initial animation, where Hazard fires the shots upwards, is only a visual effect and does not produce projectiles that can be interacted with in any way.
    • Also targets objects, excluding barriers.
  • Spikes start falling in front of Hazard 0.9 seconds after the startup finishes. The rain then extends away from Hazard, reaching the maximum range over 0.7 seconds.
  • Enemies hit by Downpour take damage and are rooted for 2.5 seconds.
  • Casting Downpour also reloads Hazard's amunitions automatically


Perks

Minor Perks

A Minor Perk is unlocked at level 2.

Off The Top
Type
Minor Perk
Violent Leap’s Slash deals 30% more damage to enemies above 250 health.
Damage:
104
Headshot:

Ability details:
  • HP threshold is of the target's current total hit points. Heroes exactly at 250 HP do not take bonus damage.
  • The hit marker gains a slight yellow hue and plays a higher pitch sound when the bonus damage triggers.


Reconstitution
Type
Minor Perk
Jagged Wall hits charge Spike Guard with 25 energy, up to 50 extra.


    Major perks

    A Major Perk is unlocked at level 3.

    Anarchic Zeal
    Type
    Major Perk
    Spike Guard’s spikes gain 25% Lifesteal.
    Healing:
    25% of damage dealt


      Deep Leap
      Type
      Major Perk
      Violent Leap’s range is increased by 20%.
      Max. range:
      18 meters (leap, aimed up) - 19.6 meters (leap, along ground)
      Movement speed:
      22.5 m/s (aimed up) - 28.8 m/s (along ground)


        Hero-specific options

        Jagged wall uses preplacement controls Off (default) Pressing jagged wall immediately fires the projectile.
        On Show an in-world indicator for jagged wall.
        Jagged wall preplacement confirmation input Primary fire (default) Pressing jagged wall shows the in-world indicator, pressing primary fire fires the projectile.
        Secondary fire Pressing jagged wall shows the in-world indicator, pressing secondary fire fires the projectile.
        Ability 2 press Pressing jagged wall shows the in-world indicator, pressing again fires the projectile.
        Ability 2 release Holding jagged wall shows the in-world indicator, releasing fires the projectile.
        Automatically climb walls Off (default) While facing a wall, hold Jump and Forward to wall climb.
        On While facing a wall, hold Forward while airborne to wall climb.
        Require a forward throttle to initiate wall climbing Off (default) You can only initiate a wallclimb by holding forward and jump
        On You can initiate a wallclimb by holding any direction and jump.

        Strategy

        This section is a stub section. You can help by adding any available information to this section.

        Match-Ups and Team Synergy

        When fighting Tanks, Hazard has "Matchups" ratings, ranging on a scale of 5 levels. This is because as a Tank, Hazard is focused on eliminating the DPS or Supports, with controlling and annoying the enemy tank being a secondary objective:

        • Very Strong Vs. | Strong Vs. | Even/Neutral Vs. | Weak Vs. | Very Weak Vs.

        When fighting DPS & Supports, Hazard has "Priority Targeting" & measures of "Risk" ranging on a scale of 5 levels. This is because these heroes are Hazard's main target options to fight. Only the Supports feature a listed measure of risk as nearly all of them can counteract Hazard very reliably with CC or other miscellaneous effects:

        • Extremely High Priority | High Priority | Medium Priority | Low Priority | Very Low Priority
        • Extreme Risk | High Risk | Medium Risk | Low Risk | Very Low Risk

        Hazard's Synergies are also graded on a scale with 5 levels. Tank Synergies will not feature explicit gradings due to the nature of Role Lock restrictions:

        • Exceptional Synergy | Strong Synergy | Good Synergy | Ok Synergy | Weak Synergy

        Tank

        Hero Match-Up Team Synergy

        D.Va
        TBA MATCHUP

        TBA SYNERGY

        This Synergy can only occur in Gamemodes with no role-locks or if an Echo is present.


        Doomfist
        TBA MATCHUP

        TBA SYNERGY

        This Synergy can only occur in Gamemodes with no role-locks or if an Echo is present.


        Hazard
        TBA MATCHUP

        TBA SYNERGY

        This Synergy can only occur in Gamemodes with no hero-locks or if an Echo is present.


        Junker Queen
        TBA MATCHUP

        TBA SYNERGY

        This Synergy can only occur in Gamemodes with no role-locks or if an Echo is present.


        Mauga
        TBA MATCHUP

        TBA SYNERGY

        This Synergy can only occur in Gamemodes with no role-locks or if an Echo is present.


        Orisa
        TBA MATCHUP

        TBA SYNERGY

        This Synergy can only occur in Gamemodes with no role-locks or if an Echo is present.


        Ramattra
        TBA MATCHUP

        TBA SYNERGY

        This Synergy can only occur in Gamemodes with no role-locks or if an Echo is present.


        Reinhardt
        TBA MATCHUP

        TBA SYNERGY

        This Synergy can only occur in Gamemodes with no role-locks or if an Echo is present.


        Roadhog
        TBA MATCHUP

        TBA SYNERGY

        This Synergy can only occur in Gamemodes with no role-locks or if an Echo is present.


        Sigma
        TBA MATCHUP

        TBA SYNERGY

        This Synergy can only occur in Gamemodes with no role-locks or if an Echo is present.


        Winston
        TBA MATCHUP

        TBA SYNERGY

        This Synergy can only occur in Gamemodes with no role-locks or if an Echo is present.


        Wrecking Ball
        TBA MATCHUP

        TBA SYNERGY

        This Synergy can only occur in Gamemodes with no role-locks or if an Echo is present.


        Zarya
        TBA MATCHUP

        TBA SYNERGY

        This Synergy can only occur in Gamemodes with no role-locks or if an Echo is present.

        Damage

        Hero Match-Up Team Synergy

        Ashe
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Bastion
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Cassidy
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Echo
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Genji
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Hanzo
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Junkrat
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Mei
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Pharah
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Reaper
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Sojourn
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Soldier: 76
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Sombra
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Symmetra
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Torbjörn
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Tracer
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Venture
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY


        Widowmaker
        TBA PRIORITY TARGET

        TBA SYNERGY

        Support

        Hero Match-Up Team Synergy

        Ana
        TBA RISK

        TBA SYNERGY


        Baptiste
        TBA RISK

        TBA SYNERGY


        Brigitte
        TBA RISK

        TBA SYNERGY


        Illari
        TBA RISK

        TBA SYNERGY


        Juno
        TBA RISK

        TBA SYNERGY


        Kiriko
        TBA RISK

        TBA SYNERGY


        Lifeweaver
        TBA RISK

        TBA SYNERGY


        Lúcio
        TBA RISK

        TBA SYNERGY


        Mercy
        TBA RISK

        TBA SYNERGY


        Moira
        TBA RISK

        TBA SYNERGY


        Zenyatta
        TBA RISK

        TBA SYNERGY

        Story

        Icon-Hazard

        Hazard is a charismatic and contrarian punk rocker who might look a little rough around the edges but is a fierce defender at heart. His story is one of resilience and survival. The Phreaks are Hazard's "found family," and his loyalty to them and their anti-establishment ideals are core to who he is.[2] A radical disruptor and an unstoppable weapon, Hazard has rocketed to fame in the criminal underworld as he fights to tear the system down. To the oppressed and downtrodden, Hazard is a hero; to the rich and powerful, he is a terrifying menace...and that’s just the way he likes it.[4]

        Early Life

        When I was a wee'un, the system was all I had. All any of us had. But it pitted us against each other. Which is the idea. That's what they want. Mum and dad's check from the OVA kept food on the table. But when you're broken by war, by the Crisis...you need more than food. Mum learned that the hard way. Dynwed awa when I was barely four. And the system...it doesn't care a whit for your mind. Your soul. Only your body. Just as it feeds you...You feed it.
        ~ Hazard
        Findlay-child

        Born to veterans of the Omnic Crisis, Findlay Docherty grew up poor and surrounded by stories of violence. It seemed the only thing keeping food on the table was the regular check the government sent as compensation for his parents' military service.[4] However, while the OVA checks supported the Dohertys financially, both of his parents carried psychological scars from the war. Not long after Findlay turned four,[1] his mother died. His father was absent and unkind, leaving the young Findlay to fend for himself.[4]

        Findlay-enlist

        Findlay grew up respecting the institutions that fed him, but his poverty and poor performance in school made him a victim of bullying for years before he learned to fight back. He eventually enlisted in the military and left behind his old life, convinced that he could find success if he played along with the system.[4]

        Caught in the Crossfire

        It thought I finally made it...I was so keen to please...Convinced myself that the system protected me, cared for me...until it didn't.
        ~ Hazard
        Findlay-cripple

        Findlay was told that education would open new opportunities for him, and that military service would pay for university.[1] He enlisted in a recruitment center at Glasgow,[1][4] and for awhile, he thought that he'd made it.[1] However, after enlistment, tragedy struck Findlay when he was caught at the center of a conflict between Overwatch and Talon in the city. A dropship crashed into the flat he grew up in, killing his father and leaving Findlay trapped in the wreckage for almost two days. Miraculously, Findlay survived, but the accident left him a triple amputee, with chronic pain that would last for the rest of his life and brought an end to his military career. The government offered him basic prostheses, pain medication, and another monthly check to forget about what happened, but Findlay burned at the injustice of it all. His family, his home, his career... Findlay had lost everything, and had no one left to share in his grief.[4]

        The Phreaks

        Phreaks. The people the system taught us to fear. The technology they made illegal. But...the system...is wrong. Dead wrong. With body mods, they could take away my pain. Not just the physical...all of it. They helped me realize I'd never been alone...I just hadn't found my people. We were a family...Somethin' I'd never really had before.
        ~ Hazard
        Findlay and Touch Up

        After the incident, Findlay learned of the Phreaks, a counter cultural movement of self-augmenting anarchists that protected omnics in the wake of the Crisis. He was taken in by one of their most prominent members: an expert body-modder named Touch-Up who outfitted him with custom augmentations that helped him regain mobility and manage his pain. Over time, Findlay found a family with the Phreaks and enthusiastically embraced their cause. As a member of their crew, Findlay was committed to tearing down systems upheld by organizations like Overwatch and Talon. Together with the Phreaks, Hazard traveled the world and transformed himself through augmentation. No matter the danger, he was always the first to jump into the fray to protect his friends. Over the course of his escapades, Findlay earned himself a new name: Hazard.[4]

        Hazard-police

        Hazard continued to push himself with new augmentations that enhanced his physical stature, speed, and strength.[4] After the assassination of Tekhartha Mondatta, Hazard and the Phreaks took the fight to British law enforcement.[1]

        Hazardous Tactics

        Hazard and Phreaks

        The Phreaks suffered a setback when they attacked a research facility in Morocco. The attack was thwarted due to predictive survaillance and crime modelling supplied by Oasis's scientific collective. Hazard was dismayed at the loss, but Touch-Up put them on the path to attack Oasis itself;[1] to steal a rare vanadium isotope from the city's Ministry of Genetics. The isotope was unstable, but Touch-Up saw its potential. She designed Hazard a powerful new mod: one that could integrate the vanadium into his body and allow him to shape it into a deadly arsenal. Though Hazard knew harboring the vanadium would make him one of the most wanted criminals in the world, it was worth the risk. Thanks to this latest upgrade, Hazard became a serious threat to the global order and a charismatic young face among the Phreaks.[4]

        This article or section is a stub. You can help Overwatch Wiki by expanding it.

        Achievements

        Name Icon Description Reward
        A Wee Mindin'
        Deal 800 total damage with a single use of Spike Guard in Quick or Competitive Play.
        Cute
        When it Rains, it Pours
        Kill 3 enemies with a single use of Downpour in Quick or Competitive Play.
        Pixel

        Trivia

        Misc. Character Information

        • Hazard's favorite animal is the unicorn.[5]
          • Out-of-universe, this is a possible reference to his Scottish origins, as the unicorn is Scotland's national animal.
        • Hazard used to idolize Vivian Chase, though lost his admiration after she rejoined Overwatch.[5]

        Development

        Hazard-cnpct1

        Hazard's aesthetic and concept art came from a blend of gameplay and narrative goals. Initially, the team envisioned him as a massive, beastly figure, really leaning into the power and presence his gameplay demanded. Hazard was snuck into a broader dev team playtest one day, and the reaction was so positive that it solidified Hazard as the Season 14 hero. From a narrative standpoint, Hazard's backstory mirrors that of the Overwatch setting itself, of growing up through hardship and obtaining "found family" (in Hazard's case, the Phreaks).[2]

        Hazard-cnpct2

        Initially starting with a cyberpunk, punk rock aesthetic, Hazard began as a monstrous and intimidating villain. Over time, his story and appearance was refined into a character who was still tough but has a rebellious charm; a mix of edginess paired with a protector’s heart. As Hazard’s art development refined his visuals, his backstory shifted too. The evolution from massive tank to charming rebel shaped his narrative, and he turned from a villainous figure to a hero. This shift also helped develop the Phreaks as a faction with strong ties to omnics. They have a focus on bodily autonomy and distinguished them from other groups in Overwatch lore. [2]

        Hazard-cybernetics

        Hazard's nature as an amputee was a key part of his character development. This was important for Team 4 to make sure that this was represented both aesthetically in his character design, and directly in the way his gameplay works. Although prior heroes had cybernetic prosthetics, the introduction of Hazard was seen internally as a turning point in how the developers would approach writing characters with disabilities moving forward, leaning deeper into the personal experiences and perspectives of each character rather than simply using their enhancements as visual dressing. His backstory was worked on by Jude Stacey, who used her own experience with chronic pain to develop his character. Angel Giuffria was later brought onboard as a disability consultant. One of the goals with Hazard was to make disabled individuals feel represented; the idea that there would be a place for them in a hopeful future.[6]

        Giuffria was interested in using Hazard to represent how cybernetics had developed in-universe. While real-world prosthetics are not as advanced as Overwatch cybernetics, Giuffria brought up questions such as "How long was he in the hospital?" and "What type of devices are we looking at at this point in time?" Stacey wrote Hazard to show that despite his prosthetics, he was happy and comfortable in his (cybernetic) body. While the story of Hazard being shafted by the military after losing his limbs is something that has real-world parallels, Hazard's more optimistic viewpoint and circumstance after joining the Phreaks was designed to sync with Overwatch's optimistic futurism.[6]

        It was decided to make Hazard a Scottish hero. By extension, the developers wanted to make him "distinctly Glaswegian," but wanted a voice actor from Glasgow itself. It was decided that if they couldn't do this, his backstory would be changed to come from somewhere else in Scotland. Conor McLeod was chosen as Hazard's voice actor. McLeod had local knowledge of Glasgow, which further shaped Hazard's character development as someone from Scotland.[6]

        When it came to developing Hazard's gameplay, one of the first elements were his spikes. As they developed his story, the developers thought about what the spikes were made of, which led to the idea of the vanadium at Oasis, which in turn led to the plot point of the vanadium granting Hazard greater control of his body.[6]

        Hints

        Hero 42-head

        Prior to his official reveal, there were numerous hints at Haz's existence:

        • At BlizzCon 2023, a placeholder icon of an unreleased Tank hero could be seen in preview footage.[7] This is presumably Haz, though the imagery differs significantly.
        • In July 2024, datamined lines pointed to the existence of a hero named "Harriet Oris" and/or "Haz."[8]
        • In the trailer for Season 13, there was a hint at a hero associated with the Phreaks.[9]

        Videos

        Balance Change Logs

        For more information, see Patch Notes.

        Overwatch 2 PvP
        Patch
        Description
        Hero Perks

        Off the Top

        • Violent Leap's Slash deals 30% more damage to enemies above 250 health.

        Reconstitution

        • Jagged Wall hits charge Spike Guard with 25 energy, up to 50 extra.

        Anarchic Zeal

        • Spike Guard's spikes gain 25% Lifesteal.

        Deep Leap

        • Violent Leap's range is increased by 20%.
        Developer Comment: We’re finding our newest tank’s mobility to be a little too hazardous. By decreasing Violent Leap’s cooldown, Hazard will have to be more selective with how he dives into the opponent backlines.

        Violent Leap

        • Violent Leap cooldown increased from 5 to 6 seconds.

        Spike Guard

        • Damage reduction is reduced from 75% to 65%.
        • Duration reduced from 3.5 to 3 seconds.

        Downpour

        • Ultimate cost increased 13%.
        Developer Comment: The community feedback from Hazard’s trial has been largely positive, despite underperforming slightly. We’re adjusting his kit to increase the damage of his primary fire, making Bonespur more consistent and a reliable tool for finishing off enemies. Spike Guard protection sometimes felt inconsistent due to being used from a third-person perspective. To address this, we’ve widened the forward blocking angle, providing Hazard with more reliable protection. Additionally, the damage of Spike Guard has been slightly reduced to balance the increased Bonespur damage and protection radius. We’re also strengthening the Jagged Wall to make it more impactful, while increasing the time required to retrigger the knockback effect to minimize frustration from frequent knockbacks.

        Bonespur

        • Damage per spike increased from 6.75 to 7.5.
        • Each volley’s center projectile no longer has a random launch spread and now always launches straight.

        Spike Guard

        • The angle of protection provided by Spike Guard increased from 104 degrees to 180 degrees.
        • Damage per second reduced from 75 to 70.

        Violent Leap

        • Post-slash recovery time for Primary Fire and Quick Melee increased from .3 seconds to .5 seconds.

        Jagged Wall

        • Health increased from 350 to 400.
        • Knockback damage increased from 40 to 50.
        • Damage interval increased from 1.5 seconds per target to 1.75 seconds per target.

        Downpour

        • Airborne momentum lost by casting Downpour reduced from 90% to 50%.

        Vault

        • Minimum obstacle height to trigger Vault reduced from 1.75 meters to 1.25 meters, which should allow Hazard to scale short obstacles more consistently.
        Early Trial
        • Tank Role
        • Not available in Competitive Play during the Hero Trial

        Bonespur

        • Primary Fire
        • Fire a burst of spikes.

        Spike Guard

        • Secondary Fire
        • Protect yourself, firing homing spikes at nearby enemies. While active, reduce damage taken and regenerate ammo.

        Violent Leap

        • Ability 1
        • Lunge forward. Activate again to slash at enemies, knocking them back.

        Jagged Wall

        • Ability 2
        • Launch a spiked wall that damages and knocks back nearby enemies.

        Downpour

        • Ultimate Ability
        • Rain down a torrent of spikes, immobilizing enemies.

        Vault

        • Passive ability
        • Scale short walls and grab ledges.

        References

        1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Blizzard Entertainment (Fred Kennedy). Tear it Down. Retrieved on November 20, 2024.
        2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2024-11-22, ICYMI – Exploring Hazard’s Art, Backstory, and Gameplay. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2024-11-27
        3. 2024-12-06, 『オーバーウォッチ2』新タンク“ハザード”参戦のシーズン14が12月11日開幕。新たなヒーローはまさかの関西弁。初代『OW』6対6ロールキューが期間限定で復活. Famitsu, accessed on 2025-02-11
        4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Hazard, PlayOverwatch. Accessed on 2024-12-10
        5. 5.0 5.1 Overwatch 2, Hazard Quotes
        6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 2025-04-02, How ‘Overwatch’ Is Pioneering Disabled Representation in Gaming. Rolling Stone, accessed on 2025-04-08
        7. 2023-11-05, Complete Blizzcon 2023 Summary. Reddit, accessed on 2023-11-05
        8. 2024-07-14, Theory: New Overwatch Tank is a genetically engineered toad named Hazmat.. Reddit, accessed on 2024-07-19
        9. 2024-10-10, Overwatch 2 Is Getting A Scottish Hero And It’s All I’ve Ever Wanted. Forbes, accessed on 2024-10-13