‘Overwatch’ Season 5 Introduces Vampire Support Hero Doctrine, Moves Sombra to Support

Blizzard Entertainment launched Overwatch Season 5, “A Grim Doctrine,” on Tuesday, bringing a vampire-themed Support hero, the first new Escort map in years and a major role change for one of the game’s longest-standing heroes.

The Halloween-themed season also opens the final chapter of the game’s “Reign of Talon” storyline, which Blizzard says has been in the making for years.

Doctrine escapes Grímsvötn

The season’s headliner is Doctrine, a new Support hero with ties to Doomfist’s past. In the story, Doomfist breaks Doctrine out of Grímsvötn, a high-security prison, and the escape sets the season’s events in motion.

Doctrine’s kit centers on manipulating life force on both sides of a fight. His Eternal Scepter heals allies and damages enemies from mid- to long range, while mechanical, bat-like drones boost his team’s healing and attack speed. An ability called Infuse lets players power up his other abilities.

His Ultimate redistributes health across the battlefield, granting allies Overhealth while capping enemies’ maximum health.

According to Blizzard, Doctrine developed technology to keep himself and his brother alive, the same technology that eventually landed him in prison.

Players can explore that prison on Watchpoint: Grímsvötn, a new Escort map set inside an Icelandic volcanic fissure. Once an Overwatch Watchpoint and later a Helix-run prison that held Doomfist himself, the site is now under Talon’s control.

Sombra switches roles

In what Blizzard describes as one of the biggest changes it has ever made to an existing hero, Sombra moves from Damage to Support this season.

Her new Hotfix ability heals a targeted ally after a short cast and can be used while she is invisible without breaking stealth. Cyberspace creates a zone that heals allies while applying a new Weaken status to enemies, reducing their damage and healing output.

Roadhog is also getting an overhaul. His Scrap Gun now fires two bursts per volley, and a new ability, Trash Compactor, swallows incoming enemy projectiles before firing back an explosive shot that scales with the damage absorbed.

Halloween events and a Solo Leveling collab

The season’s Halloween event, Mystery Madness: Graveyard Games, runs from Oct. 6 to Nov. 2. Players can earn Offerings to pledge to Ashe, Moira or Winston, deciding the order in which they join the mode, which grows to 20 playable heroes by the end of the event.

A crossover with the anime Solo Leveling, branded Overwatch x Shadow Monarch, runs from Oct. 6 to 19. It includes skins pairing Genji with Sung Jinwoo, Reaper with Igris, Anran with Cha Hae-In, Reinhardt with Iron and Lifeweaver with Choi Jong-In.

A Tech Witches skin collection runs from Oct. 9 to 26, and Team Drives return to Competitive play from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1.

Unvaulted Passes and new Mythics

Season 5 also introduces Unvaulted Passes, which bring back revised Battle Passes from Seasons 1 through 15. Players keep any earlier progress and can level one old pass alongside the current Battle Pass.

New Mythic cosmetics include Dragon Shaoxia Wuyang, a hero skin with a celestial dragon companion, and Treblemaker, Lucio’s first Mythic weapon skin, which features a tiny dancing frog inside the gun.