One of the greatest aspects of the Overwatch 2 game is the diverse roster of playable characters, each reigning from different countries to one another and carrying their unique ability kit and playstyle within one of the three roles - Tank, DPS, and Support. As part of the live-service format of Overwatch 2, new heroes are released every so many seasons, giving more options when it comes to hero picks and team composition.
As Overwatch 2's Season 14 approaches, players have been highly anticipating the latest Tank hero, who has been revealed under the alias of 'Hazard'. Leading up to the Season 14 arrival, some key information about Hazard has been revealed to fans, including information on his backstory and the group of individuals he runs with, dubbed 'The Phreaks'. Everything you'll need to know about the characters of Hazard and the Phreaks ahead of Overwatch 2's Season 14 has been included in the guide below.
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Who Are Hazard & The Phreaks in Overwatch 2?
In Overwatch 2, Hazard is the latest Tank hero to join the game, with players gaining an insight into his playstyle and kit over his free trial weekend in late November, prior to fully going live at the beginning of Season 14. Leading up to Hazard's reveal, much speculation about his character occurred - mostly due to a series of colorful, glitching graffiti that appeared all over spawn rooms in the Oasis map that featured the word 'Phreaks'.
Interestingly enough, this caused some players to dig back into the original early concept art for Overwatch, which features a number of heroes that were later altered into the characters players love and adore. For example, Ironclad became Torbjorn, Reaper remained much the same, Iris became Echo, Mercy's original male design was discarded and the name was revamped/merged with the character Angelica, and Genji's original bow-wielding cyborg ninja concept (dubbed Hanzo) was replaced with a sword and shurikens, and later split into his bow and arrow-wielding older brother.
Within these many concepts, there is also a hero titled 'Phreak' sporting a green mohawk and hunched posture, so while Hazard was later molded into something much different from this concept, it's clear some influences from these hero origins were taken into consideration when establishing his character and backstory within the world of Overwatch.
Now, Hazard (Findlay Doherty) has been revealed as a charismatic punk rocker hailing from Scotland, and a member of a group of rebels known as the Phreaks - who he considers to be found family. Hazard's backstory involves attending a prestigious school in Scotland throughout his childhood, only to face constant bullying from his peers. During this time, many years of his parents fighting over both financial struggles, barely having enough food, and trauma from the Omnic Crisis, his mother ran away from their home.
Following more years of struggle, Hazard moved forward to university, joining the military to pay his student fees. He finally felt that the system cared for him and that he was in the right place - until an Overwatch jet was shot down, burying him under a pile of rubble. This caused him to lose an arm and both of his feet, but luckily he did not survive at all. However, Hazard felt anything but lucky, and was extremely unhappy with both the care he received and the prosthetics offered to him. With this frustration, he managed to track down a mechanic from the Phreaks who upgraded his body with new cybernetics.
He found his family with these Phreaks, all bonding over their shared feelings of the 'system' treating them as nothing more than numbers. Hazard continued to stick with the Phreaks, rioting, playing loud music, and participating in various crimes alongside his new family. During a break-in at Oasis, Hazard trips an alarm when attempting to steal a sample from the vanadium ferro-fluid lab, injecting it into his cybernetics in order to fight his way out - thus giving himself the unique powers he now carries.
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Every Phreak Revealed So Far
In Overwatch 2, the Phreaks are a relatively new group of individuals in the lore, so there is still some mystery regarding them. However, to support Hazard's backstory and release, a handful of notable individuals have been revealed through both the Hazardous Tactics animated short and the Tear It Down comic.
Hazard
Hazard is the last known member to join the Phreaks, and the sixth member overall, dubbing them as his 'found family'.
Susannah
Susannah 'Susie' is a member of the Phreaks, as well as Hazard's partner. She is seen wielding strong skills with technology and potentially hacking, using the computer to disable security drones during their break-in at Oasis.
Boomslang
Boomslang is a member of the Phreaks, seen wielding a rifle during their break-in at Oasis. Her character seems to have some references to the highly venomous Boomslang snake, both in her alias and subtle details such as the snake charms at the end of her hair braids.
Jackdaw
Jackdaw is a member fo the Phreaks seen in the Tear It Down comic. Not much is known about Jackdaw at this point in time, other than being depicted with a seemingly goofy and energetic personality.
Touch-Up
Touch-Up is a member of the Phreaks seen in the Tear It Down comic, and the one who upgraded Hazard's original prosthetics with new cybernetics.
Revel
Revel is a member of the Phreaks seen in the Tear It Down comic, and was the one who answered the door when Hazard went searching for upgrades from the Phreaks, indicating he may play more of security type role for the group.
Overwatch 2
- Released
- August 10, 2023
