What will be affected by Sombra's EMP and hack in Overwatch?

Sombra's abilities will do different things to different heroes.
Text: Sam Bishop
Published 2016-11-09

Sombra is the latest hero to be introduced into Overwatch, and her skills involve hacking and an EMP. YouTube user Arekkz Gaming has gone through what ultimates and abilities Sombra can hack and EMP, then, and we've listed them below.

Ana

Against Ana, it doesn't seem Sombra is very effective, as she can't counter Ana's sleep darts or biotic grenades, nor can she hack or EMP players who have had Ana's nano boost applied to them.

Bastion

Sombra can hack Bastion, at which point he will lose his turret form and go back to normal, which is the same for his self repair too. The tank form, which is his ultimate, is unaffected, however.

D.Va

Sombra can hack D.Va's defence matrix, but cannot stop her self destructing via her ultimate once it's been fired. She can, however, prevent D.Va from getting into the new mech, as well as stopping her mid-boost.

Farah

Sombra cannot stop Farah flying but can stop her using the jump jet if you hit the sweet spot before she starts the motion. Hacking doesn't do anything to the concussive blast, though, although barrage can be hacked and is also subject to the EMP. Sombra's hack is interrupted when she is hurt, though, so Farah can hit her with the barrage, disabling the hack to keep firing.

Genji

Genji can be hacked by Sombra, at which point he can't use his swift strike or his deflect, but if he is hacked during swift strike, the motion won't stop unless you catch him right at the point before he leaps. Dragonblade, however, is totally unaffected by anything she does.

Hanzo

Sombra can stop Hanzo firing the arrow, which will stop him using his ultimate, Dragonstrike, but can't stop the ultimate any other way.

Junkrat

Junkrat's concussion mine is subject to Sombra's hack, preventing detonation, but the mine itself can't be hacked. Junkrat therefore needs to be the target to stop the mine detonating. Steel trap, however, can't be hacked, and will affect you even when cloaked. Sombra also can't stop the rip-tire once released.

Lúcio

Lúcio can be hacked to prevent crossfade, but if he uses Amped it Up the hack won't stop it. Sound barrier can be hacked while activating but not afterwards. The EMP, however, will remove the effect from everyone.

McCree

Sombra is powerless against the combat roll and flashbang, but can hack deadeye with both the hack and EMP.

Mei

Sombra can't hack Mei in cryo-freeze form, nor can she stop her ultimate once the ice bomb is thrown.

Mercy

Sombra can stop Mercy's guardian angel wings but not gliding, nor can she interrupt Mercy's resurrection animation.

Reaper

Reaper's wraith form can't be hacked, but if caught right at the start of the animation Sombra can stop his teleport. Death blossom is subject to hacking and the EMP though.

Reinhardt

Sombra can stop Reinhardt mid-charge and during fire strike, although the barrier field can block your hacking.

Roadhog

Sombra can't cancel out the chain hook once it lands, but she can stop him using his healing ability mid-animation. His ultimate can also be stopped with either the EMP or hack.

Soldier 76

Hacking Soldier 76 means he won't be able to sprint, although if he's already sprinting it will do nothing, and his helix rockets and biotic field can also be hacked. Once activated, his ultimate cannot be affected by Sombra, however.

Sombra

But what if you come across another Sombra on the battlefield? The translocator teleport can be stopped, and if she's using thermoptic camo you can hack her to stop her being able to use other abilities, which won't take off the cloak. The EMP also disables her ultimate.

Symmetra

Sombra can't hack Symmetra's sentry turrets, but she can hack Symmetra to prevent her placing one. Sombra can't touch her teleporter ultimate once placed, either.

Torbjörn

Torbjörn's turrets can be hacked, and the EMP can stop them too.

Tracer

Tracer can be hacked during blink, and you can stop her from using recall. Pulse bomb can't be stopped once attached, however.

Widowmaker

Widowmaker's grappling hook animation can be interrupted by a hack, but the venom mine will affect you regardless. Sombra's cloaking ability does mean she won't be revealed by Widowmaker's infra-sight, however, but hacking Widowmaker after the ultimate is activated won't disable it for the rest of the team. Earthshatter ultimate also cannot be stopped.

Winston

Sombra can stop Winston using his jump back, but he needs to be caught right at the start. His barrier projector dome prevents hacking, though, and primal range can't be stopped.

Zarya

If particle barrier is applied, hacking won't work on Zarya, also protecting teammates with it too. The ultimate can't be stopped either, unless it is timed right before the animation starts. The barrier, however, can be stopped using an EMP.

Zenyatta

Sombra can't remove the effect of the orb of discord once applied, and his ultimate can't be stopped.

After reading how effective she is against all these heroes, how useful do you think Sombra will be?

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