Overwatch 2‘s first new hero, Sojourn, finally has a trailer detailing her ability kit, which showcases her aggressive and agile playstyle. We’ve also seen a bit more of her backstory via Sojourn’s origin trailer, which hints at how she connects to the overall narrative. And according to Blizzard, the introduction of Sojourn moves Overwatch’s story forward.
Overwatch 2 art director Dion Rogers told The Verge, “When we started making this game, we made a pretty detailed history and lore for the world of the game. It helps us create [character] designs. The initial group of Overwatch that Sojourn was a part of, was a history that was before the game started.”
Rogers continued: “We created this timeline, and we wanted Sojourn–especially since she’s the first Black female character of the game–to not just be a random addition to the game. She had a deep lore connection to the game world. She moves the storyline forward when she’s introduced.”
Beyond the story, Sojourn’s presence will likely be felt in the in-match meta as well. “It was exciting to watch pro players experiment with Sojourn during the alpha and see all the ways her kit can turn the tides of a team fight,” Overwatch 2 competitive operations lead Brad Ross told The Verge. “While the meta and team strategies will assuredly be fluid throughout the season, our prediction is that Sojourn’s presence in [The Overwatch League] will be felt quickly.”
Sojourn is designed to be a flexible character, made approachable enough for newcomers to pick her up easily enough while having a high skill ceiling for veteran players to experiment with.
“Like if we’re not dealing enough damage, switch to Sojourn and she starts to finish people off,” Rogers said. “If healers are too protected, switch to Sojourn and she’ll deal with them. There’s a bit of flexibility in her.”
You can try out Sojourn by signing up for the Overwatch 2 closed beta, which kicks off April 26 on PC. Overwatch 2 redesigns the playable heroes from the first game, and also adds some wonderful gameplay improvements, like a ping system.
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