Overview
- Season 5, which launched on Tuesday, Oct. 6, made Doctrine permanently available and pushed a full update that includes the new Escort map Grímsvötn and the Mystery Madness: Graveyard Games event.
- Doctrine is a vampiric support who uses an Eternal Scepter that heals allies and damages enemies, deploys bat‑like drones that boost team healing and attack speed, and has an ultimate that grants allies overhealth while lowering enemy maximum health.
- Developers warned that Doctrine’s drone buffs can stack and may need limits, for example an attack‑speed cap, and Blizzard said it will adjust balance based on live data from matches.
- The season also ships major hero changes with Sombra reworked toward support roles and Roadhog redesigned with altered firing and projectile‑absorption mechanics, plus restored past battle passes that retain player progress but exclude certain prestige and mythic rewards.
- A slate of cosmetics and collaborations launched alongside the update, including Lúcio’s Treblemaker Mythic weapon with a breakdancing frog, Solo Leveling skins available Oct. 6–26, and seasonal Tech Witches items in the shop.