Overwatch began the final chapter of its year-long Reign of Talon story on November 3, 2026, with Taking Reign, a five-week event that runs until December 7, Blizzard announced in its Season 5 midseason update. The same update brings an EVE Protocol crossover, a Mythic Roadhog skin and a round of hero balance changes.
The Details
Taking Reign sends Doomfist and Overwatch to Rialto to stop Vendetta. Its pass has 24 tiers: the free track ends in an Epic Sigma skin, and the 1,000-coin Premium pass unlocks the Legendary Resurgence Doomfist skin right away and works toward Vendetta’s Legendary weapon skin, Anima Fang. Blizzard says a Premium pass can be finished “at any point,” even after the event ends.
The rest of the midseason, per Blizzard:
- Overwatch x EVE Protocol (November 3 to 17): a crossover with SHIFT UP’s EVE Protocol. Widowmaker becomes EVE, D.Va becomes Lily in an Ultra skin, Freja becomes Raven, Vendetta becomes Tachy and Soldier: 76 becomes Adam.
- Mythic Necrotic Knight Roadhog: a cursed knight skin with four levels of customization, out now.
- Excavation Initiative (until December 7): weekly digs that earn Loot Boxes, up to a Legendary one.
- Junkrat’s Loot Hunt: returns later in November with Double XP and up to nine Loot Boxes. Blizzard’s announcement says November 20 to 23, while the patch notes start it on November 19.
- Drives (December 3 to 7): separate Competitive and Quick Play tracks.
- Black Friday Vault Sale (until December 7): bundles of older cosmetics.
The November 3 patch notes also tune many heroes. Doctrine is the biggest target: Infused Eternal Scepter damage drops from 90 to 80 and its healing from 120 to 110, Shrouded Momentum’s cooldown rises from 8 to 10 seconds, and Infuse’s from 8 to 9. Sombra’s Hotfix now lasts 10 seconds instead of 12, and Cyberspace’s Weaken drops from 50% to 40%. Junker Queen (375 to 425 health), Mauga (125 to 150 armor) and Reaper (275 to 300 health) get buffs, while Genji’s Deflect falls from 2 to 1.5 seconds.
What This Means for Players
Doctrine’s burst and uptime are lower, so the timing advice in our Doctrine guide matters more, and Sombra’s Weaken, explained in our Support Sombra guide, now cuts enemy damage and healing by 40% instead of half. Our Season 5 launch story covers how both heroes got here.
The EVE Protocol skins leave on November 17, so they are the deadline to watch. New players can check how to unlock Competitive before Drives return, and every guide is on our Overwatch hub.
When and Where
- Taking Reign, Excavation Initiative and the Vault Sale: until December 7.
- EVE Protocol crossover: until November 17.
- OWCS World Finals: December 2 to 6, in Guangzhou.
- Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch.
Source: Blizzard, Reign of Talon: S5 Midcycle Sets Up the Showdown, and the Overwatch patch notes, November 3, 2026.