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Sojourn is the latest hero that Activision Blizzard introduced in Overwatch. In an aptly named sequel, Overwatch 2, Sojourn takes on the role of a D.P.S. hero, which has a high burst potential and D.O.T. (damage over time) potential due to her ability to switch from her rifle to her rail gun, which has sniper-like properties.
She also has a large amount of mobility due to her ability to slide and jump around the map, which is similar to how mobile flank damage heroes are. Let’s get into Sojourn’s lore, her skills, a few beginner tips on how to utilize Sojourn’s kit, and some potential synergies with her.
Lore
Early Childhood to Becoming a Part of The Military and The Overwatch
Sojourn A.K.A. Vivian Chase is a Toronto native that required the installation of cybernetic upgrades during her childhood. Later on, she became part of the Canadian Military. She voluntarily received the cybernetic infusion in her body, choosing her abilities to be as effective of a fighter as possible.
She became a member of the Canadian Special Forces, which worked side by side with the Overwatch team during the Omnic Crisis. During her tenure at the Canadian Special Forces x Overwatch team, she met Jack Morrison, A.K.A. Soldier 76.
The two found a synergy while working together in the field, so much so that Morrison personally asked Sojourn to be part of the Overwatch team, to which Sojourn wholeheartedly agreed.
As part of the Overwatch, Chase was officially known as Sojourn; her duties involved tackling multiple missions to whatever was needed. There were instances where she ran point for agents during missions, and other times she was the leader of the operation.
No matter the instance, Sojourn made a pact of always bringing everyone home, meaning that no one dies on the battlefield. Sojourn was also part of the Overwatch cartoon, a show that aired during the group’s years of operation.
In one episode of the show, Sojourn led her troops to fight against a war with the Talon mercenary organization. Even though Sojourn and her cavalry were heavily outnumbered, Sojourn and her crew won the battle and eliminated every single Talon agent.
Towards the End of Overwatch
After the Overwatch failed to arrest Doomfist following the incident in King’s Row called King’s Row Uprising, Sojourn insisted Jack Morisson to change tactics by capturing Doomfist’s accountant instead, Maximilien.
She also helped soothe Jack Morrison’s anxiety about sending out the strike team again after an in-field incident with Reinhardt. Overwatch reportedly pushed out Reinhardt to retirement due to his age, which according to Sombra, is not true.
Sojourn also pushed Tracer to be the leader of the strike team after the King’s Row Uprising. Tracer became the leader, and her troops, such as Mercy, Winston, and Genji, had the intent to track down Maximilien. Sojourn supported them through radio communication, and they were successful in apprehending Maximilien.
After Morrison’s “death” at the Overwatch H.Q., Sojourn assumed the position of acting commander at Overwatch. She also testified in front of the International Justice Commission (I.J.C.), where she explained in detail her services for the Overwatch and the Canadian Military Forces.
When Overwatch shut down, Sojourn removed her belongings from the Gibraltar Watchpoint, and she mentioned that it was an honor to serve the team, but at the same time, she knew that it was the right time to say goodbye, and she proceeded to leave the base on a hovercycle. She laid low in Canada, going back to her hometown, Toronto, and lived with her pet dog.
Getting Back To Overwatch
A few years after the Overwatch disbanded, Sojourn was one of the few members that Winston contacted. She ended up rejoining the Overwatch during the attack on Null Sector’s attack on Paris. She fought against Null Sector in her hometown when the omnics besieged Toronto.
Skills
Railgun (Primary Fire)– Damage 9 H.P. per shot; Ammo 45; Ammo Usage 15 ammo per second; Headshot Capable
Sojourn’s railgun is a projectile-based gun, that is similar to Soldier 76’s rifle. However, it’s not a hitscan gun. Upon playing Sojourn in the Overwatch 2 beta, it’s a bit harder to hit her railgun shots due to the bullets being projectiles, and you would need to get used to the projectile speed as these are a lot faster than your typical projectiles and they fire in a straight line; there’s no bullet dropoff.
Railgun (Secondary Fire)– Damage 30 to 130 H.P.; Cooldown None; Headshot Capable
Sojourn has a unique mechanic: you gain a charge for your secondary fire whenever you damage an opponent with your primary fire or with your Disruptor Shot. This secondary fire is a hard-hitting laser beam that has the power of a sniper rifle, similar to Widowmaker, at full charge. Although you are able to fire it off without getting it to full charge, it’s worth it to get it charhed to 100% before firing.
Power Slide– Cooldown 7 seconds
Sojourn can slide around the battlefield with the option to jump at the end to further propel her in the air. This ability is one of the best mobility movements in the game because you can move horizontally and vertically. Use this ability to reposition yourself, either to get into the enemy’s face, or you can use this to get to a higher vantage point which allows you to hit your railgun’s primary fire and even the secondary fire more accurately.
Disruptor Shot– Total Damage 210 H.P.
Sojourn will use one of her cybernetic arms to throw a grenade that creates an A.O.E. bubble upon landing, dealing damage over time and slowing enemies caught within the A.O.E. One of the best usages for this ability is when an enemy D.P.S. is flanking you. You can quickly deploy this near your position so that when the enemy flank D.P.S. decides to focus on you, you’ll quickly whittle down their health with the grenade and force them to disengage.
Overclock– Duration 9 seconds
Sojourns Overclock ability allows her to fire her secondary railgun fire infinitely for 9 seconds. Sojourn’s ultimate ability is not the best in the game, and we’re hoping that she gets a few changes to her kit to make her more viable in the current meta in the Overwatch League.
Beginner Tips That You Should Know If You Want To Main Sojourn
Sojourn is a fairly new hero, and while we still haven’t fully explored her potential as she still isn’t the meta when it comes to the Overwatch League. However, with my experience with the recent beta, here are a few tips that I can provide to help get started with Sojourn once the next beta begins.
You don’t need to fully charge your secondary shot to 100% to finish off 200 H.P. heroes
You can finish off squishy heroes with only 80% of your charge. Finishing off tanks is a different matter; you would mostly always want a full charge to try and damage a tank and force them to either retreat or kill them immediately with your burst potential.
Utilize your Disruptor Shot properly
A well-placed and well-timed Disruptor Shot can either finish off heroes or delete H.P.s of squishies. If you have a Zarya on your team, you can use the Disruptor Shot in conjunction with her Graviton Surge to deal the max amount of damage to anyone caught between the two skills.
Keep in mind that enemies don’t have to be in the center of the Disruptor Shot to take the maximum damage; they only have to be within the A.O.E. for the duration of the skill.
Make the most out of your slides
Your slide ability is one of the most powerful mobility skills in-game for a D.P.S. You can easily get to the high ground or weave out of battle in a blink of an eye. Before using this skill, you must be able to assess the enemy team composition, like which enemies will be able to chase you, which enemies have the verticality, etc.
One thing to keep in mind when using the Slide ability is to use it as disciplined as possible; you can be aggressive and apply pressure on the enemy team without using the Slide, as doing so will put you in danger due to the fact that you have no mobility move for at least a few seconds and enemies can converge on you and kill you before your Slide gets off of cooldown.
Be disciplined with your secondary fire!
This tip may sound off at first, but charging your secondary fire may take quite some time if you aren’t hitting enemies. Make sure that every secondary fire counts. To do this, you need to be patient and wait for static targets or at least opponents whom you can predict their movement to get those headshots in, providing more value for each charge that you get.
Know your strength and play around it: poking enemies at medium range
Lastly, this is one of the most essential tips when playing Sojourn. Sojourn is good at poking enemies in medium-range; anything farther or closer than that would decrease your effectiveness.
Poking with your railgun at the medium range will help you land more shots effectively as you won’t need to predict that much when it comes to your projectile shots, leading you to a much faster build-up for your secondary fire and providing you with a higher damage potential and higher threat to your enemies.
Synergies, Team Composition, and Counters
Let’s get down to team synergies, compositions, and potential counters to Sojourn. While this list may be a matter of personal opinion due to the lack of data and play from the Overwatch Pro Players themselves, these heroes are what I feel are the most effective to synergize and counter Sojourn with based on game knowledge.
Heroes that Synergizes With Sojourn
- Doomfist/Winston/Ball– These initiator tanks can force enemies out of cover, creating space and openings for Sojourn to open fire upon them. Other than that, they can follow up an enemy with a low H.P. after Sojourn unleashes her burst on them.
- Reinhardt/Orisa/Sigma/Zarya– These anchor tanks can help create a safe space for Sojourn so she can freely poke behind their shields or barriers. They will allow Sojourn to build up her railgun charge more frequently; hence Sojourn can be very aggressive with her playstyle with these tanks.
- Genji/Tracer– Similar to the initiator tanks, these flanking D.P.S. can easily follow up the oppressing fire of Sojourn as they have so much mobility to enable themselves to weave in and out of combat. They can also help Sojourn take the high ground, which is very important for a hero like Sojourn.
- Soldier/Cassidy/Hanzo– These D.P.S. complement Sojourn’s strength which is medium-range combat (Hanzo is an exception with either medium or long-range combat). With other D.P.S. with the same strength as Sojourn, your team can essentially set up a cross-fire for you to pop off and overwhelm the enemy with multiple angles for damages to get through to them. This tactic is especially effective with the reduction of a tank, meaning that there’s less shield to protect the enemy backline.
- Ana/Mercy/Zenyatta– These supports help to enable Sojourn further, especially Mercy and Zenyatta with their buff/debuff that makes the enemy take more damage or increase Sojourn’s damage. As for Ana, her combo with the Biotic Grenade and the Disruptor Shot is lethal due to the amount of damage that the Disruptor Shot does, and also, enemies can’t heal through the damage.
Heroes that Counter Sojourn
- D.va/Doomfist/Ball– These mobile enemy tanks may be your best teammates, but they are also your worst nightmares. You barely see them in your sightlines, and these tanks deny your kill potential by constantly diving you and pushing you off of your vantage point. Always save your Slide ability whenever any of these heroes are on the enemy team.
- Reaper/Mei/Soldier 76– These heroes have a high amount of health sustain, and they can quickly out damage your railgun, especially up close, such as the case with Reaper and Mei. As for Soldier 76, he has more firepower in whatever range you’re in, so try to bait out his healing field first before trying to go all-in on him.
- Genji/Tracer– Genji and Tracer are scary if you’re Sojourn; similar to the mobile tanks, they will keep diving you as close-range is not your specialty. They have so much mobility that landing your shots on them can be quite a challenge. Either be disciplined in consuming your Slide ability (especially with Genji, who has the vertical mobility to chase you even after you’ve used your Slide), or use the Disruptor Shot to attempt to slow them down while they’re trying to pursue you.
- Baptiste/Moira– Similar to Reaper/Mei/Soldier 76, they may not be able to kill you in a 1v1 situation, but they will surely waste your time if you don’t finish them off with your burst. This situation will reduce your efficiency throughout the fight and can stall you for a long time.
- Brigitte/Lucio– Brigitte’s shield will mitigate your burst damage and buy some time for her to get near you to proc her self regen, and also, her armor will protect her from your fully charged railgun, even with a headshot. As for Lucio, he can function as a flank D.P.S. which is really annoying to aim at, especially for Sojourn since she has projectile bullets rather than hitscan.
Sojourn Overwatch: Conclusion
Sojourn is a new hero in Overwatch 2, so we are expecting a few changes to her or even a rework if Overwatch Pro Players do not use her throughout the Overwatch League. Regardless, she is a fun hero to use but requires a high-skill ceiling to master.