Overwatch Season 5: A Grim Doctrine launches on October 6, 2026, bringing a new support hero, major changes to existing heroes, a new escort map, and many balance adjustments. I’ve been playing quite a bit of Season 5 over the past few days, especially with the new hero Doctrine and Roadhog rework, and I have to say I’m enjoying the changes so far.
The new season introduces Doctrine, a vampire-inspired support hero who uses his eternal scepter and mechanical drones to heal allies and damage enemies. Sombra also received one of her biggest reworks yet, moving from damage to support, while Roadhog received some significant changes to his weapon and abilities.
There’s also a new Escort map, Watchpoint: Grímsvötn, set in a prison in Iceland, along with Halloween activities, new cosmetics, and the ability to progress through select older battle passes.
New Hero and Hero Reworks
Doctrine is probably my favorite addition to Overwatch Season 5 so far. I enjoyed using it during the playtest, and after playing with it for a few days in the live season, I still find its abilities enjoyable.
However, he definitely doesn’t feel as strong as he did during the playtest. Blizzard made some adjustments before its official release, including reducing the attack speed bonus of its Invigorating Drones, increasing the cooldown of Shrouded Momentum, and reducing the effectiveness of its Transfusion perk. Personally, I think these changes make him feel more balanced without taking away from what makes him fun to play.
One of the things I really like about the doctrine is that his primary weapon does not drop from damage. This means he can comfortably stay in the backline, heal and add damage without getting too close to the enemy team. As long as you have a clear line of sight to your teammates, you can heal them from quite a distance. This allows me to monitor the battlefield, support teammates, and apply pressure to enemies without constantly putting myself in danger.
His Invigorating Drones are also useful for supporting teammates during engagements, providing both healing and increased attack speed. Meanwhile, his ultimate, Deliverance, can temporarily increase your team’s survivability while reducing the maximum health of nearby enemies. It’s a pretty versatile toolkit, and I like how you can switch between healing, damaging and empowering teammates depending on the situation.
However, the doctrine has some weaknesses, especially when enemy flankers start targeting you. I experimented with his lifesteal-related perk, which sounds pretty powerful on paper. In practice, however, I don’t find it nearly as effective as I initially expected. You only get two tries to take advantage of this, and the amount of health recovered doesn’t feel particularly significant unless you’ve managed to hit multiple targets. When a flanker like Tracer is already targeting you and you are alone, this is not always easy to achieve. I usually main Zenyatta and I find Tracer easier with Zen because I can just burst her.
So I’ve had quite a few situations where I still struggled to survive despite having the perk equipped. It certainly helps in some circumstances, but I wouldn’t rely on it as my main defensive option. And speaking of flankers, there is one particular hero that has been giving me a lot of trouble lately. Genji.
I have mixed feelings about the recent Genji changes. In the Season 5 patch, Blizzard increased his Swift Strike damage from 50 to 60, allowing him to deal more damage when performing his combos. His Dragonblade also received adjustments, with its damage per swing reduced from 110 to 100 but its attack speed increased by 15%.
These changes were meant to make Genji more effective at securing eliminations, and from my experience playing support, I can certainly feel the difference. Even before this patch, I hated Genji’s Swift Strike. And now a good Genji player can break me down very quickly. It’s pretty annoying but I also understand why Blizzard made these changes. Genji players complained about his effectiveness and how frustrating he could feel to play before the patch.
The problem, of course, is finding the right balance. If Genji becomes too powerful, support players will inevitably find themselves getting eliminated more often, especially if they don’t have enough tools to defend themselves. But if he is too weak, Genji players will not enjoy him either. Balancing a game like Overwatch, with so many heroes, different abilities, and team compositions will never be easy. And that’s why a lot of players are leaving Marvel Rivals because I’ve heard that things on the other side are very unbalanced.
Another big change in Overwatch Season 5 is Sombra’s transition from damage to support. This is quite a significant departure from her original role, especially considering how her previous playstyle revolved around sneaking behind enemy lines, disrupting opponents and eliminating vulnerable targets.
Her rework introduces Hotfix, which allows teammates to heal (we experienced this in a perk before), and Cyberspace, an ability that creates an area that heals allies while weakening enemies. The Weaken effect reduces enemies’ damage and healing efficiency, making it especially useful during team fights. I tried playing the new Sombra a few times, but I have to admit I found myself confused as to where to position her.
My first impression is that she should still be roaming around the battlefield, looking for opportunities to pressure enemies, before returning to support her teammates and heal if necessary. This is because she has a healing cooldown, so she can’t just heal teammates non-stop. However, putting that into practice is easier said than done.
When I played her, I often struggled to decide whether to help teammates immediately or look elsewhere for opportunities. Their new style of play requires a different mindset, and I don’t think it suits me particularly well. That doesn’t mean she’s a bad support hero though. I know that many people have fun playing her.
I think Sombra is now much more useful to her team in a broader sense. Rather than focusing primarily on disrupting or eliminating individual enemies, she can actively contribute to keeping teammates alive. If positioned and timed correctly, cyberspace can make a significant difference during an engagement, potentially saving teammates who would otherwise be eliminated. Imagine placing cyberspace when an enemy hero like Cassidy or Orisa unleashes their ultimate ability.
Beyond Doctrine and Sombra, Season 5 also introduces Watchpoint: Grímsvötn, a new escort map set in an Icelandic prison. The map is directly tied to Doctrine’s backstory and the ongoing Reign of Talon storyline.
Roadhog has also received a significant rework. His Scrap Gun now fires two bursts per volley, while his new Trash Compactor ability can absorb incoming projectiles before returning an explosive shot. His hook gets a nerf so he doesn’t always get an instant kill as soon as you’re able to hook someone – but I find that 70-80% of the time they still finish someone after a hook. I’m pretty happy with the change, especially with the trash compactor, which can serve as both extra tankiness and damage dealing.
Blizzard also introduced Unvaulted Battle Passes, which allow players to activate and progress through previously purchased Battle Passes, with older passes also being purchased. There are some restrictions on which rewards can still be earned, but it’s a welcome option for players who missed out on content from previous seasons. Then there’s Mystery Madness: Graveyard Games, the Halloween-themed mode that combines elements of Mystery Heroes, Junkenstein’s Lab, and Stadium, giving players additional powers as they progress.
These additions give players more things to explore beyond the usual quick play and competitive matches, although my time with Season 5 was mainly focused on getting familiar with the hero changes.
Overwatch Season 5 Impressions: A promising start with some balancing challenges
After spending quite a bit of time with Overwatch Season 5, I’m enjoying the direction Blizzard is taking with the game. Doctrine is easily my favorite addition to the season so far. He feels less powerful than his playtest version, but I think he is in a better position balance. His long range healing and damage abilities suit my preferred support playstyle.
Sombra’s transition to support is also an interesting experiment. While her new abilities certainly provide useful contributions to the team, I still have trouble adjusting to her positioning and deciding when to attack or support teammates. People have fun and show positive feedback about her.
Solo leveling collaboration brings some awesome looking skins
There is also a collaboration with the popular Korean anime Solo Leveling, officially called Overwatch x Shadow Monarch. The crossover brings five themed skins inspired by characters from the anime (if you haven’t watched the anime, please do so).
Genji gets a Sung Jinwoo skin – which I really like (even if others who don’t watch the anime see it as a regular casual guy holding a sword). Reaper becomes Igris, the iconic Blood-Red Commander, while Reinhardt takes on the appearance of Iron, complete with his imposing armor. Meanwhile, Anran gets a Cha Hae-In skin, and Lifeweaver becomes Choi Jong-In, the powerful S-Rank Mage and Guild Master.
The game already has a colorful and diverse cast of heroes, so seeing them dressed as recognizable anime characters adds another layer of fun, especially if you’re already familiar with the original series. We also had a Cowboy Beebop collaboration in the past.
Of course, these are cosmetic skins, so they don’t give you an actual advantage during matches. And as always with these limited-time collaborations, the question is whether you like the designs enough to spend your Overwatch Coins on them.
The Overwatch x Shadow Monarch collaboration will run from October 6th to 19th, 2026, so players interested in grabbing these solo leveling skins will have a limited window to do so.