Overwatch - Brigitte used FLAIL!

[SgtWoodsy]

Free weekend was alright considering how inconsistently my laptop runs Overwatch. I enjoyed the heroes more than I enjoyed the map design (even though the intention is for people to group up and push as a team it doesn't make maps with heavy chokepoints any less frustrating).

Never got to play Genji unfortunately, I tried McCree and my framerate was just not good enough to be accurate so I figured Genji wouldn't be much better in thatregard. I found most of the roster comfortable enough to use but didn't play Orisa, Torb, Symmetra, Hanzo, Mei or Mercy out of disinterest (with Mercy I would probably need to be more organised)

 

[X5Dragon]

I spent my Competitive points for some golden nuts, I regret nothing:

Look at that proud muther****er.

Serious talk tho, why do blizzard insist on making Pharamercy even stronger, they seem to be nerfing everyon's DPS except for Pharah, and it's not like Mercy's Rez is overpowered or anything.

 

[Joim]

Short offseason, I'll be able to get next gun soon (few cp points left), which now I think it's gonna be McCree rather than torb. Choices, choices!
I really do hope they add a new support hero.

 

[bluegrass]

I spent pretty much the entire season in 2400-2600 range but climbed up to 2933 by the last day. I'll hit diamond next season but I'm still a little salty about missing out on the reward since I'm only like 100 points away from my second gold gun now. I'll probably end up getting gold d.va weapons since she's one of my fav characters, but I agree with LightingLuxray that they are kinda ugly compared to other gold weapons.

 

[HailFall]

i don't really consider pharah/pharmercy a problem. It can be frustrating to handle but I wouldn't say its overwhelming. What people forget is that its a team effort to deal with them. They are two people. Its not realistic to expect any hero to 1v2 opponents of the same or similar skill level. A lot of the issues people face with pharah also come from bad tank play. Its the tanks' jobs to ensure dps have space to work with and shoot the pharmercy down with. Widow is also a decent pick if you're struggling against pharah, but not foolproof since if pharah is aware of your presence and not trash at ow she will try to use the map to safely close the gap then pounce on you as soon as she gets the chance. You are still keeping her out of the air for a while though, which is worth at least something i guess.

 

[Matthew]

Is 1v1 supposed to be humbling or a realization that you rely on a team? I can't figure that one out

 

[Joim]

Is 1v1 supposed to be humbling or a realization that you rely on a team? I can't figure that one out

It makes me realise a lot of rank in ladder is based in dm ability x) higher SR will usually win. Still salty at losing 5-4 against a 4.3 t500 tho

 

[Salt]

new ptr: https://blizztrack.com/patch_notes/overwatch_ptr
edit: apparently the above link does sketchy stuff on mobile so click at your own risk

tl;dr:
- new map on horizon lunar colony, it's a 2cp map
- reaper got buffed, soul orbs are removed, 20% of damage he deals heals him instead
- mccree's ultimate locks on faster
- roadhog does 33% less damage but has an additional shot and fires faster. his head hitbox is also smaller.

 

[HailFall]

I personally hope the roadhog change makes him a garbage tier hero :-)))))))

 

[Joim]

Okay and now I consider Reaper for next gold weapon as I love to meme with him.
Man, choices, choices. In the end, Torb has to wait.

Also FINALLY THEY GUT ROADHOG IT WAS ABOUT DAMN TIME.

 

[Mr.E]

I thought it'd be fun to let the vets make fun of me and all, so I thought I would give my impression as a player of a few hours (and having missed the previous free OW weekend):

I had fun. I barely eked out nine wins for the extra loot boxes in the 6v6 rando mode before free weekend went to die. I won my lone 1v1 5-0. Of course, half my brief time was spent in tutorial + target range trying all the heroes out.

Tutorial doesn't even tell me the basic controls? I mean yeah, I didn't need to be told to use WASD to move around and shit but I imagine there are people out there that maybe haven't PC gamed before that need all the handholding they can get. Do it right, yo. Nice try, but improve it. Honestly, I think it'd be really awesome if every hero had their own unique tutorial that could teach you some more advanced tricks and that seems more doable in a game with OW's hero total.

The target range definitely needs some improvements, but it was workable just to get a feel of gun ranges and shit I suppose. Ults should charge faster or be always-available, need to be more aggressive bots for testing defensive abilities, arena needs to be set up better to test mobility options, etc. Then I found the in-game descriptions on the hero list page which also helps, but again it's a little incomplete in that it doesn't adequately show you the full range of utility of many abilities. The full Ability Overview on the website I'm looking at right now is more complete in that regard, the newer ones anyway that actually show your damage potential and stuff, but I don't think that's in-game.

Replays all having that retarded Overwatch fade outro is snore-worthy.

whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy does the game KICK YOU OUT OF FUCKING TRAINING MODE

Seriously, this one really pisses me off though. I want to play with my settings IN GAME so I can, you know, see how changing graphical options directly affect my display and get a feel for any controls I change. The first time I entered the target range, automatically after finishing the tutorial, I WAS KICKED OUT AFTER WHAT, A MINUTE OF "INACTIVITY" WHILE I WAS READING THE FUCKING SKILL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE NEW HERO I PICKED. WHAT THE FUCK, BLIZZARD? Are you fucking retarded? Who is the idiot that thought this was a remotely good idea? Why would you kick people out of a local practice area for inactivity and not leave that setting to strictly matchmade games anyway? I think it's a bit of a strict timer at that. And that was before I even discovered that also applies to futzing with game settings too.

I enjoyed the character variety. Not every character follows the same format, the same number of abilities on the same buttons like MOBAs. Specialists are wildly dependent on the situation, like Reinhardt is a slow moving wall of "good at holding a point or payload" but "slow and does ass damage offensively." I don't have much of an opinion on the individual maps though.

Offense:

• Genji: No real opinion on since I never played him in a match. Kinda genericky with the reflect gimmick though, and his ult seemed pretty weak against at least the sentry bots in the target range. Restricting yourself to melee range and you're barely faster than anyone else should score you with consistent one-shots at least. I find his weapon clunky too.
  
• McCree: Super-generic shooty mcshooter who is totally alright with a sick ult.
• Pharah: Super-generic rocket mcrocket who I hear is OP. She's pretty cool though, I love high-mobility heroes that let you utilize flanking paths to the enemy team.
• Reaper: Speaking of which, I love his teleport ability and the fact he can two-shot squishies. Edgy McEdgerson aesthetic be damned, I really like him.
  
• Soldier76: Super-generic shooty mcrocket, and what's with the super lame ult?
• Sombra: Really cool spread of abilities. Aggressive support is kind of a unique role, she has invisibility and a teleport and shit. I didn't get to play her but I love the concept. Doesn't seem very strong though, weak weapon (for teleportation assassination ala Reaper) and hacking is a far cry from killing.
  
• Tracer: Jesus Christ she hits like a wet noodle, why am I playing her over Reaper? Double-tapping squishies with two discrete shots is a hell of a lot easier than training her machine pistols on someone for a solid second, and I value his long-range mobility over her doofy short-range teleport which is more analogous to his invulnerability cloak and disorients the user as much as it does anyone trying to shoot her.

Defense:

• Bastion: Thought his minigun was kinda OP, till I realized while using him in a real match that he can't transform while someone is shooting at him cuz his recon gun is kinda ass. He's okay though.
• Hanzo: Oh boy it's a Huntsman Sniper. His ult looks pretty sick though.
• Junkrat: Literally Demoman. Theoretically that means I really like him, but the only time I played him I was just really annoyed I couldn't kill the Hanzo camping the roof on Route 66 that nobody else on my team seemed to acknowledge existed because I didn't have a hitscan weapon (until I died and became Reinhardt and basically carried the payload to victory on my own).
• Mei: Her slow is aggravating in close quarters, though understandably I suppose that's kinda her specialty.
• Torbjorn: Engineer with a lame ult and his turret kinda sucks a lot more.
• Widowmaker: Super-generic sniper mcsnipy with an ultra-lame ult since it doesn't actually let you shoot opponents through walls. That said, I do like her mobility, self-protection ability, and her quick charge time makes her somewhat of a reasonable mid-range fighter as much as she can stand as far back as possible too.

Tank:

• D.Va: Seems pretty simple but effective at being a frontline fighter with her infinite-clip guns and high base health. The second life bar is a cute gimmick and short-range mobility booster appreciated. also I got the EL OH EL voice line in my last box and that makes me ^____________^
• Orisa: She's like a Mass Effect Vanguard with the Adept's Singularity, love it. Seems really versatile with a weapon that's reasonably effective at all ranges and above average base health, the shield for team defensive posturing, Fortify that lets her muscle her way through chokepoints, and OP Singularity. Too bad her ult is lame as balls.
• Reinhardt: I can't say I particularly enjoy playing as a dude who just walks at people with a billion health and melees them, and he feels really clunky to play because all of his abilities (even his basic melee) are so delayed. I really like his design though, really unique.
• Roadhog: Yeah yeah, hook. He's alright. I kinda like that his weapon makes you think about which button you're clicking, gives him some gameplay depth and also acts as a skill differentiator. His ult is really weird though, seems out of place to stick a utility ult on this guy more so than Orisa who already has other supportive abilities.
• Winston: Don't like him at all. His weapon is short range and doesn't seem to be especially damaging (albeit it mostly aims itself), and he doesn't really do anything. He feels like a crummy D.Va with a slightly better shield but he's fucking useless at range. And what's with his ult? He just runs really fast and knocks people around? He turns into a Pyro spamming compression blast? Yeah, actually, his character does remind me of Pyro, except he deals shit damage and his utility tools don't compare favorably to compression blast at all.
• Zarya: Not a fan of ally-targetted abilities since it means you constantly have to shift camera between allies and enemies... and you can easily shield the wrong target in a group, considering this is a first-person view game. Still, her shields give her a lot of staying power in a different manner than other tanks and her weapon is versatile. She's okay.

Support:

• Ana: "My rifle's getting hotter!" I love her design but I'm not sure I care much for her gameplay. Granted, her stand-back positioning as a sniper means I don't really have to divert my attention from the enemy to aim at allies... but I still have to aim at allies. Her ult is the lamest thing ever and she is pretty bad at actually defending herself. Makes sense for Mercy, not so much for her.
  
• Lucio: Boring but effective I guess? Movespeed is often low-key OP in these kind of games, and his wide AoE probably makes him the best overall healer to boot. But his support is all passive and his weapon sucks, so mostly he just stands around being a force multiplier. I don't mind it as much as most people probably do, I'm just pointing out the fact.
  
• Mercy: Quality take on the combat medic archetype. Guardian Angel is a neat, restrictive mobility ability and Rez is pretty unique for an FPS game.
• Symmetra: How the fuck do I control her ult? Is it just I automatically use the spawn teleporter the first time it finishes charging and after that it's the shied, is there a button I can press to switch between the two options? Photon Barrier seems out of place in that it encourages advancing behind it, while the rest of her kit is of the immobile area control variety.
• Zenyetta: I thought I would like him back on release. No, he's fucking lame. Again, I repeat having to target allies is fucking lame because it impacts my ability to focus on enemy positioning. Now, at least I can't miss my allies because his orb aim locks onto people, but his healing is fucking garbage anyway. Not only does it heal like shit, but you don't have the other support tools that encourage you to keep an eye on your allies more to keep moving it around. Orb of Discord is pretty legit against tanks though, and admittedly he is actually a competent fighter unlike a more pure support character. That said, he doesn't feel like a "Support" character so much as an Offense character with a modicum of utility ala Soldier 76. His weapon is also kinda clunky, more so than Genji even, but the ability to charge it makes him good at cover fire.

also whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy does the game KICK YOU OUT OF FUCKING TRAINING MODE

Ultimately, my initial impression of the game was mostly reinforced. It's League Fortress 2. And I still think it's ridiculous to charge $40 for it let alone $60 (for console where I believe they didn't have the choice to buy it cheaper like PC on release), nor did Blizzard receive any media/public backlash for it like the few other multiplayer-focused titles that charged full AAA game price in the past. Not because they didn't deserve criticism over it, of course, but because they're the infallible Blizzard.

The current asking price of $30, considering its polish, should've been the release price... but considering the game has received nothing but praise regardless, clearly the company's businesspeople made the right call overcharging for it.

That doesn't mean I didn't have fun playing though. I'd dabble in it if I owned it, but I'm still not paying $30 for it either. Not when Hearthstone is free, HotS and League and DOTA2 are free, Team Fortress 2 standalone was $20 on release (and has been free for years now), etc. I don't think any incarnation of Counter-Strike has been more than $20, though it's hard to find historical pricing data considering their age.

And I wish anyone actually played with me instead of just playing by myself over the free weekend. :(

 

[earl]

I thought it'd be fun for the vets to make fun of me me too so I thought I would give my impression as a player of a few hours (and having missed the previous free OW weekend):

I had fun. I barely eked out nine wins for the extra loot boxes in the 6v6 rando mode before free weekend went to die. I won my lone 1v1 5-0. Of course, half my brief time was spent in tutorial + target range trying all the heroes out.

Tutorial doesn't even tell me the basic controls? I mean yeah, I didn't need to be told to use WASD to move around and shit but I imagine there are people out there that maybe haven't PC gamed before that need all the handholding they can get. Do it right, yo. Nice try, but improve it. Honestly, I think it'd be really awesome if every hero had their own unique tutorial that could teach you some more advanced tricks and that seems more doable in a game with OW's hero total.

The target range definitely needs some improvements, but it was workable just to get a feel of gun ranges and shit I suppose. Ults should charge faster or be always-available, need to be more aggressive bots for testing defensive abilities, arena needs to be set up better to test mobility options, etc. Then I found the in-game descriptions on the hero list page which also helps, but again it's a little incomplete in that it doesn't adequately show you the full range of utility of many abilities. The full Ability Overview on the website I'm looking at right now is more complete in that regard, the newer ones anyway that actually show your damage potential and stuff, but I don't think that's in-game.

Replays all having that retarded Overwatch fade outro is snore-worthy.



Seriously, this one really pisses me off though. I want to play with my settings IN GAME so I can, you know, see how changing graphical options directly affect my display and get a feel for any controls I change. The first time I entered the target range, automatically after finishing the tutorial, I WAS KICKED OUT AFTER WHAT, A MINUTE OF "INACTIVITY" WHILE I WAS READING THE FUCKING SKILL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE NEW HERO I PICKED. WHAT THE FUCK, BLIZZARD? Are you fucking retarded? Who is the idiot that thought this was a remotely good idea? Why would you kick people out of a local practice area for inactivity and not leave that setting to strictly matchmade games anyway? I think it's a bit of a strict timer at that. And that was before I even discovered that also applies to futzing with game settings too.

I enjoyed the character variety. Not every character follows the same format, the same number of abilities on the same buttons like MOBAs. Specialists are wildly dependent on the situation, like Reinhardt is a slow moving wall of "good at holding a point or payload" but "slow and does ass damage offensively." I don't have much of an opinion on the individual maps though.

Offense:

• Genji: No real opinion on since I never played him in a match. Kinda genericky with the reflect gimmick though, and his ult seemed pretty weak against at least the sentry bots in the target range. Restricting yourself to melee range and you're barely faster than anyone else should score you with consistent one-shots at least. I find his weapon clunky too.
  
• McCree: Super-generic shooty mcshooter who is totally alright with a sick ult.
• Pharah: Super-generic rocket mcrocket who I hear is OP. She's pretty cool though, I love high-mobility heroes that let you utilize flanking paths to the enemy team.
• Reaper: Speaking of which, I love his teleport ability and the fact he can two-shot squishies. Edgy McEdgerson aesthetic be damned, I really like him.
  
• Soldier76: Super-generic shooty mcrocket, and what's with the super lame ult?
• Sombra: Really cool spread of abilities. Aggressive support is kind of a unique role, she has invisibility and a teleport and shit. I didn't get to play her but I love the concept. Doesn't seem very strong though, weak weapon (for teleportation assassination ala Reaper) and hacking is a far cry from killing.
  
• Tracer: Jesus Christ she hits like a wet noodle, why am I playing her over Reaper? Double-tapping squishies with two discrete shots is a hell of a lot easier than training her machine pistols on someone for a solid second, and I value his long-range mobility over her doofy short-range teleport which is more analogous to his invulnerability cloak and disorients the user as much as it does anyone trying to shoot her.

Defense:

• Bastion: Thought his minigun was kinda OP, till I realized while using him in a real match that he can't transform while someone is shooting at him cuz his recon gun is kinda ass. He's okay though.
• Hanzo: Oh boy it's a Huntsman Sniper. His ult looks pretty sick though.
• Junkrat: Literally Demoman. Theoretically that means I really like him, but the only time I played him I was just really annoyed I couldn't kill the Hanzo camping the roof on Route 66 that nobody else on my team seemed to acknowledge existed because I didn't have a hitscan weapon (until I died and became Reinhardt and basically carried the payload to victory on my own).
• Mei: Her slow is aggravating in close quarters, though understandably I suppose that's kinda her specialty.
• Torbjorn: Engineer with a lame ult and his turret kinda sucks a lot more.
• Widowmaker: Super-generic sniper mcsnipy with an ultra-lame ult since it doesn't actually let you shoot opponents through walls. That said, I do like her mobility, self-protection ability, and her quick charge time makes her somewhat of a reasonable mid-range fighter as much as she can stand as far back as possible too.

Tank:

• D.Va: Seems pretty simple but effective at being a frontline fighter with her infinite-clip guns and high base health. The second life bar is a cute gimmick and short-range mobility booster appreciated. also I got the EL OH EL voice line in my last box and that makes me ^____________^
• Orisa: She's like a Mass Effect Vanguard with the Adept's Singularity, love it. Seems really versatile with a weapon that's reasonably effective at all ranges and above average base health, the shield for team defensive posturing, Fortify that lets her muscle her way through chokepoints, and OP Singularity. Too bad her ult is lame as balls.
• Reinhardt: I can't say I particularly enjoy playing as a dude who just walks at people with a billion health and melees them, and he feels really clunky to play because all of his abilities (even his basic melee) are so delayed. I really like his design though, really unique.
• Roadhog: Yeah yeah, hook. He's alright. I kinda like that his weapon makes you think about which button you're clicking, gives him some gameplay depth and also acts as a skill differentiator. His ult is really weird though, seems out of place to stick a utility ult on this guy more so than Orisa who already has other supportive abilities.
• Winston: Don't like him at all. His weapon is short range and doesn't seem to be especially damaging (albeit it mostly aims itself), and he doesn't really do anything. He feels like a crummy D.Va with a slightly better shield but he's fucking useless at range. And what's with his ult? He just runs really fast and knocks people around? He turns into a Pyro spamming compression blast? Yeah, actually, his character does remind me of Pyro, except he deals shit damage and his utility tools don't compare favorably to compression blast at all.
• Zarya: Not a fan of ally-targetted abilities since it means you constantly have to shift camera between allies and enemies... and you can easily shield the wrong target in a group, considering this is a first-person view game. Still, her shields give her a lot of staying power in a different manner than other tanks and her weapon is versatile. She's okay.

Support:

• Ana: "My rifle's getting hotter!" I love her design but I'm not sure I care much for her gameplay. Granted, her stand-back positioning as a sniper means I don't really have to divert my attention from the enemy to aim at allies... but I still have to aim at allies. Her ult is the lamest thing ever and she is pretty bad at actually defending herself. Makes sense for Mercy, not so much for her.
  
• Lucio: Boring but effective I guess? Movespeed is often low-key OP in these kind of games, and his wide AoE probably makes him the best overall healer to boot. But his support is all passive and his weapon sucks, so mostly he just stands around being a force multiplier. I don't mind it as much as most people probably do, I'm just pointing out the fact.
  
• Mercy: Quality take on the combat medic archetype. Guardian Angel is a neat, restrictive mobility ability and Rez is pretty unique for an FPS game.
• Symmetra: How the fuck do I control her ult? Is it just I automatically use the spawn teleporter the first time it finishes charging and after that it's the shied, is there a button I can press to switch between the two options? Photon Barrier seems out of place in that it encourages advancing behind it, while the rest of her kit is of the immobile area control variety.
• Zenyetta: I thought I would like him back on release. No, he's fucking lame. Again, I repeat having to target allies is fucking lame because it impacts my ability to focus on enemy positioning. Now, at least I can't miss my allies because his orb aim locks onto people, but his healing is fucking garbage anyway. Not only does it heal like shit, but you don't have the other support tools that encourage you to keep an eye on your allies more to keep moving it around. Orb of Discord is pretty legit against tanks though, and admittedly he is actually a competent fighter unlike a more pure support character. That said, he doesn't feel like a "Support" character so much as an Offense character with a modicum of utility ala Soldier 76. His weapon is also kinda clunky, more so than Genji even, but the ability to charge it makes him good at cover fire.

also whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy does the game KICK YOU OUT OF FUCKING TRAINING MODE

Ultimately, my initial impression of the game was mostly reinforced. It's League Fortress 2. And I still think it's ridiculous to charge $40 for it let alone $60 (for console where I believe they didn't have the choice to buy it cheaper like PC on release), nor did Blizzard receive any media/public backlash for it like the few other multiplayer-focused titles that charged full AAA game price in the past. Not because they didn't deserve criticism over it, of course, but because they're the infallible Blizzard.

The current asking price of $30, considering its polish, should've been the release price... but considering the game has received nothing but praise regardless, clearly the company's businesspeople made the right call overcharging for it.

That doesn't mean I didn't have fun playing though. I'd dabble in it if I owned it, but I'm still not paying $30 for it either. Not when Hearthstone is free, HotS and League and DOTA2 are free, Team Fortress 2 standalone was $20 on release (and has been free for years now), etc. I don't think any incarnation of Counter-Strike has been more than $20, though it's hard to find historical pricing data considering their age.

And I wish anyone actually played with me instead of just playing by myself over the free weekend. :(

dont really have much to say about the rest of your post (which was a great one) but winston is actually quite powerful ATM with his high mobility and ability to take our squishies with ease. He creates the backbone of the offense "Dive Comp" which is a high mobility focused comp that aims to basically take out key treats as quickly as possible and snowball from there.

Won't let anyone soil the monkey's name.

 

[Joim]

It's funny because Reaper is the worst dps live whereas Tracer is arguably the strongest and Ana is the support that best defends herself :D

 

[earl]

Hey that reaper buff will make him an even better tank buster (pls make his teleport better though).
Live Mccree is arguably worse than live reaper in this dive meta tho

 

[Harsha]

I thought it'd be fun for the vets to make fun of me me too so I thought I would give my impression as a player of a few hours (and having missed the previous free OW weekend):

I had fun. I barely eked out nine wins for the extra loot boxes in the 6v6 rando mode before free weekend went to die. I won my lone 1v1 5-0. Of course, half my brief time was spent in tutorial + target range trying all the heroes out.

Tutorial doesn't even tell me the basic controls? I mean yeah, I didn't need to be told to use WASD to move around and shit but I imagine there are people out there that maybe haven't PC gamed before that need all the handholding they can get. Do it right, yo. Nice try, but improve it. Honestly, I think it'd be really awesome if every hero had their own unique tutorial that could teach you some more advanced tricks and that seems more doable in a game with OW's hero total.

The target range definitely needs some improvements, but it was workable just to get a feel of gun ranges and shit I suppose. Ults should charge faster or be always-available, need to be more aggressive bots for testing defensive abilities, arena needs to be set up better to test mobility options, etc. Then I found the in-game descriptions on the hero list page which also helps, but again it's a little incomplete in that it doesn't adequately show you the full range of utility of many abilities. The full Ability Overview on the website I'm looking at right now is more complete in that regard, the newer ones anyway that actually show your damage potential and stuff, but I don't think that's in-game.

Replays all having that retarded Overwatch fade outro is snore-worthy.



Seriously, this one really pisses me off though. I want to play with my settings IN GAME so I can, you know, see how changing graphical options directly affect my display and get a feel for any controls I change. The first time I entered the target range, automatically after finishing the tutorial, I WAS KICKED OUT AFTER WHAT, A MINUTE OF "INACTIVITY" WHILE I WAS READING THE FUCKING SKILL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE NEW HERO I PICKED. WHAT THE FUCK, BLIZZARD? Are you fucking retarded? Who is the idiot that thought this was a remotely good idea? Why would you kick people out of a local practice area for inactivity and not leave that setting to strictly matchmade games anyway? I think it's a bit of a strict timer at that. And that was before I even discovered that also applies to futzing with game settings too.

I enjoyed the character variety. Not every character follows the same format, the same number of abilities on the same buttons like MOBAs. Specialists are wildly dependent on the situation, like Reinhardt is a slow moving wall of "good at holding a point or payload" but "slow and does ass damage offensively." I don't have much of an opinion on the individual maps though.

Offense:

• Genji: No real opinion on since I never played him in a match. Kinda genericky with the reflect gimmick though, and his ult seemed pretty weak against at least the sentry bots in the target range. Restricting yourself to melee range and you're barely faster than anyone else should score you with consistent one-shots at least. I find his weapon clunky too.
  
• McCree: Super-generic shooty mcshooter who is totally alright with a sick ult.
• Pharah: Super-generic rocket mcrocket who I hear is OP. She's pretty cool though, I love high-mobility heroes that let you utilize flanking paths to the enemy team.
• Reaper: Speaking of which, I love his teleport ability and the fact he can two-shot squishies. Edgy McEdgerson aesthetic be damned, I really like him.
  
• Soldier76: Super-generic shooty mcrocket, and what's with the super lame ult?
• Sombra: Really cool spread of abilities. Aggressive support is kind of a unique role, she has invisibility and a teleport and shit. I didn't get to play her but I love the concept. Doesn't seem very strong though, weak weapon (for teleportation assassination ala Reaper) and hacking is a far cry from killing.
  
• Tracer: Jesus Christ she hits like a wet noodle, why am I playing her over Reaper? Double-tapping squishies with two discrete shots is a hell of a lot easier than training her machine pistols on someone for a solid second, and I value his long-range mobility over her doofy short-range teleport which is more analogous to his invulnerability cloak and disorients the user as much as it does anyone trying to shoot her.

Defense:

• Bastion: Thought his minigun was kinda OP, till I realized while using him in a real match that he can't transform while someone is shooting at him cuz his recon gun is kinda ass. He's okay though.
• Hanzo: Oh boy it's a Huntsman Sniper. His ult looks pretty sick though.
• Junkrat: Literally Demoman. Theoretically that means I really like him, but the only time I played him I was just really annoyed I couldn't kill the Hanzo camping the roof on Route 66 that nobody else on my team seemed to acknowledge existed because I didn't have a hitscan weapon (until I died and became Reinhardt and basically carried the payload to victory on my own).
• Mei: Her slow is aggravating in close quarters, though understandably I suppose that's kinda her specialty.
• Torbjorn: Engineer with a lame ult and his turret kinda sucks a lot more.
• Widowmaker: Super-generic sniper mcsnipy with an ultra-lame ult since it doesn't actually let you shoot opponents through walls. That said, I do like her mobility, self-protection ability, and her quick charge time makes her somewhat of a reasonable mid-range fighter as much as she can stand as far back as possible too.

Tank:

• D.Va: Seems pretty simple but effective at being a frontline fighter with her infinite-clip guns and high base health. The second life bar is a cute gimmick and short-range mobility booster appreciated. also I got the EL OH EL voice line in my last box and that makes me ^____________^
• Orisa: She's like a Mass Effect Vanguard with the Adept's Singularity, love it. Seems really versatile with a weapon that's reasonably effective at all ranges and above average base health, the shield for team defensive posturing, Fortify that lets her muscle her way through chokepoints, and OP Singularity. Too bad her ult is lame as balls.
• Reinhardt: I can't say I particularly enjoy playing as a dude who just walks at people with a billion health and melees them, and he feels really clunky to play because all of his abilities (even his basic melee) are so delayed. I really like his design though, really unique.
• Roadhog: Yeah yeah, hook. He's alright. I kinda like that his weapon makes you think about which button you're clicking, gives him some gameplay depth and also acts as a skill differentiator. His ult is really weird though, seems out of place to stick a utility ult on this guy more so than Orisa who already has other supportive abilities.
• Winston: Don't like him at all. His weapon is short range and doesn't seem to be especially damaging (albeit it mostly aims itself), and he doesn't really do anything. He feels like a crummy D.Va with a slightly better shield but he's fucking useless at range. And what's with his ult? He just runs really fast and knocks people around? He turns into a Pyro spamming compression blast? Yeah, actually, his character does remind me of Pyro, except he deals shit damage and his utility tools don't compare favorably to compression blast at all.
• Zarya: Not a fan of ally-targetted abilities since it means you constantly have to shift camera between allies and enemies... and you can easily shield the wrong target in a group, considering this is a first-person view game. Still, her shields give her a lot of staying power in a different manner than other tanks and her weapon is versatile. She's okay.

Support:

• Ana: "My rifle's getting hotter!" I love her design but I'm not sure I care much for her gameplay. Granted, her stand-back positioning as a sniper means I don't really have to divert my attention from the enemy to aim at allies... but I still have to aim at allies. Her ult is the lamest thing ever and she is pretty bad at actually defending herself. Makes sense for Mercy, not so much for her.
  
• Lucio: Boring but effective I guess? Movespeed is often low-key OP in these kind of games, and his wide AoE probably makes him the best overall healer to boot. But his support is all passive and his weapon sucks, so mostly he just stands around being a force multiplier. I don't mind it as much as most people probably do, I'm just pointing out the fact.
  
• Mercy: Quality take on the combat medic archetype. Guardian Angel is a neat, restrictive mobility ability and Rez is pretty unique for an FPS game.
• Symmetra: How the fuck do I control her ult? Is it just I automatically use the spawn teleporter the first time it finishes charging and after that it's the shied, is there a button I can press to switch between the two options? Photon Barrier seems out of place in that it encourages advancing behind it, while the rest of her kit is of the immobile area control variety.
• Zenyetta: I thought I would like him back on release. No, he's fucking lame. Again, I repeat having to target allies is fucking lame because it impacts my ability to focus on enemy positioning. Now, at least I can't miss my allies because his orb aim locks onto people, but his healing is fucking garbage anyway. Not only does it heal like shit, but you don't have the other support tools that encourage you to keep an eye on your allies more to keep moving it around. Orb of Discord is pretty legit against tanks though, and admittedly he is actually a competent fighter unlike a more pure support character. That said, he doesn't feel like a "Support" character so much as an Offense character with a modicum of utility ala Soldier 76. His weapon is also kinda clunky, more so than Genji even, but the ability to charge it makes him good at cover fire.

also whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy does the game KICK YOU OUT OF FUCKING TRAINING MODE

Ultimately, my initial impression of the game was mostly reinforced. It's League Fortress 2. And I still think it's ridiculous to charge $40 for it let alone $60 (for console where I believe they didn't have the choice to buy it cheaper like PC on release), nor did Blizzard receive any media/public backlash for it like the few other multiplayer-focused titles that charged full AAA game price in the past. Not because they didn't deserve criticism over it, of course, but because they're the infallible Blizzard.

The current asking price of $30, considering its polish, should've been the release price... but considering the game has received nothing but praise regardless, clearly the company's businesspeople made the right call overcharging for it.

That doesn't mean I didn't have fun playing though. I'd dabble in it if I owned it, but I'm still not paying $30 for it either. Not when Hearthstone is free, HotS and League and DOTA2 are free, Team Fortress 2 standalone was $20 on release (and has been free for years now), etc. I don't think any incarnation of Counter-Strike has been more than $20, though it's hard to find historical pricing data considering their age.

And I wish anyone actually played with me instead of just playing by myself over the free weekend. :(

it is pretty funny that you have somehow managed to miss the point of what makes every hero strong/weak. consider watching streams/pro play because many of your conclusions are completely backwards.

there are certainly numerous flaws within the game, but this post entirely ignores context too.

 

[Joim]

What he says holds true in lower brackets of the game, though. Like, Reaper is the king dps in bronze-silver. Besides Junkrat.

 

[Mr.E]

I wasn't exactly trying to make for high-level competitive commentary or anything, it was just my initial impressions of the game and characters as a newbie.

RE: Ana though. Compared to Widowmaker's venom mine which can choke a flanking point, nevermind her increased mobility and her rifle doubles as a not-terrible close-range weapon, Ana's piddly poison damage-over-time is arguably worse than Mercy's peashooter in terms of sheer inability to defend herself (and Mercy can at least dash toward allies). I assume Ana sleeps a dude on her ass and lets her team take care of the rest. She's a support character, I totally understand, not every character is a 1v1 god and she's very intentionally designed to be weak as an individual. Doesn't make what I said any less true, I'm not sure grandma could 1v1 me IRL, but it wasn't meant to say she's a bad character competitively. What would I know?

pretty sure I was spot on with Lucio tho

 

[earl]

I wasn't exactly trying to make for high-level competitive commentary or anything, it was just my initial impressions of the game and characters as a newbie.

RE: Ana though. Compared to Widowmaker's venom mine which can choke a flanking point, nevermind her increased mobility and her rifle doubles as a not-terrible close-range weapon, Ana's piddly poison damage-over-time is arguably worse than Mercy's peashooter in terms of sheer inability to defend herself (and Mercy can at least dash toward allies). I assume Ana sleeps a dude on her ass and lets her team take care of the rest. She's a support character, I totally understand, not every character is a 1v1 god and she's very intentionally designed to be weak as an individual. Doesn't make what I said any less true, I'm not sure grandma could 1v1 me IRL, but it wasn't meant to say she's a bad character competitively. What would I know?

pretty sure I was spot on with Lucio tho

Lucio tends to see higher usage on attack and king of the hill for his speed boost and group healing (defenders tend to be a bit more spread out) and while his damage is pretty bad, the boop can put in a lot of work on certain maps.

Ana actually doesn't stay as far back as widow would in a game, and the sleep dart is 5.5 full seconds of time to retreat to your team if you were to be flanked. And the damage over time is so quick it basically doesn't matter. (Given her damage is pretty terrible after being nerfed).

 

[sandshrewz]

Disregarding the inaccuracy of Mr.E's post, thanks for the effort you put into that post as a completely new / inexperienced player. Don't think I'm going to try correcting anything, since that's purely what he observes as a new player even if it's way off or whatever haha.

But, I do agree on the fact that Overwatch doesn't do itself service for new players. The game really doesn't teach you anything at all, which leads new players like Mr.E to have all sorts of misconceptions about the game. For starters, the game doesn't even tell you the statistics of each hero, like their cooldowns, damage numbers, etc. Any dedicated player would have to dig those up on wikis and YT videos themselves, and let's not forget how many inaccurate things are on the internet. It's quite a disservice to players that they have to learn the game on their own, and not really know whether they're doing things right or not. Even experienced players get things wrong pretty often.

I think the game does need to start looking at guiding newer players, and making basic information much more accessible so that they can have a stable stream of new players in the long run. That would also help to bridge the already huge gap between casual and more competitive players.

And ya if Mr.E wants to be corrected or anything if he feels like touching the game again, we're all here hahaha.

 

[HailFall]

I thought it'd be fun to let the vets make fun of me and all, so I thought I would give my impression as a player of a few hours (and having missed the previous free OW weekend):

I had fun. I barely eked out nine wins for the extra loot boxes in the 6v6 rando mode before free weekend went to die. I won my lone 1v1 5-0. Of course, half my brief time was spent in tutorial + target range trying all the heroes out.

Tutorial doesn't even tell me the basic controls? I mean yeah, I didn't need to be told to use WASD to move around and shit but I imagine there are people out there that maybe haven't PC gamed before that need all the handholding they can get. Do it right, yo. Nice try, but improve it. Honestly, I think it'd be really awesome if every hero had their own unique tutorial that could teach you some more advanced tricks and that seems more doable in a game with OW's hero total.

The target range definitely needs some improvements, but it was workable just to get a feel of gun ranges and shit I suppose. Ults should charge faster or be always-available, need to be more aggressive bots for testing defensive abilities, arena needs to be set up better to test mobility options, etc. Then I found the in-game descriptions on the hero list page which also helps, but again it's a little incomplete in that it doesn't adequately show you the full range of utility of many abilities. The full Ability Overview on the website I'm looking at right now is more complete in that regard, the newer ones anyway that actually show your damage potential and stuff, but I don't think that's in-game.

Replays all having that retarded Overwatch fade outro is snore-worthy.



Seriously, this one really pisses me off though. I want to play with my settings IN GAME so I can, you know, see how changing graphical options directly affect my display and get a feel for any controls I change. The first time I entered the target range, automatically after finishing the tutorial, I WAS KICKED OUT AFTER WHAT, A MINUTE OF "INACTIVITY" WHILE I WAS READING THE FUCKING SKILL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE NEW HERO I PICKED. WHAT THE FUCK, BLIZZARD? Are you fucking retarded? Who is the idiot that thought this was a remotely good idea? Why would you kick people out of a local practice area for inactivity and not leave that setting to strictly matchmade games anyway? I think it's a bit of a strict timer at that. And that was before I even discovered that also applies to futzing with game settings too.

I enjoyed the character variety. Not every character follows the same format, the same number of abilities on the same buttons like MOBAs. Specialists are wildly dependent on the situation, like Reinhardt is a slow moving wall of "good at holding a point or payload" but "slow and does ass damage offensively." I don't have much of an opinion on the individual maps though.

Offense:

• Genji: No real opinion on since I never played him in a match. Kinda genericky with the reflect gimmick though, and his ult seemed pretty weak against at least the sentry bots in the target range. Restricting yourself to melee range and you're barely faster than anyone else should score you with consistent one-shots at least. I find his weapon clunky too.
  
• McCree: Super-generic shooty mcshooter who is totally alright with a sick ult.
• Pharah: Super-generic rocket mcrocket who I hear is OP. She's pretty cool though, I love high-mobility heroes that let you utilize flanking paths to the enemy team.
• Reaper: Speaking of which, I love his teleport ability and the fact he can two-shot squishies. Edgy McEdgerson aesthetic be damned, I really like him.
  
• Soldier76: Super-generic shooty mcrocket, and what's with the super lame ult?
• Sombra: Really cool spread of abilities. Aggressive support is kind of a unique role, she has invisibility and a teleport and shit. I didn't get to play her but I love the concept. Doesn't seem very strong though, weak weapon (for teleportation assassination ala Reaper) and hacking is a far cry from killing.
  
• Tracer: Jesus Christ she hits like a wet noodle, why am I playing her over Reaper? Double-tapping squishies with two discrete shots is a hell of a lot easier than training her machine pistols on someone for a solid second, and I value his long-range mobility over her doofy short-range teleport which is more analogous to his invulnerability cloak and disorients the user as much as it does anyone trying to shoot her.

Defense:

• Bastion: Thought his minigun was kinda OP, till I realized while using him in a real match that he can't transform while someone is shooting at him cuz his recon gun is kinda ass. He's okay though.
• Hanzo: Oh boy it's a Huntsman Sniper. His ult looks pretty sick though.
• Junkrat: Literally Demoman. Theoretically that means I really like him, but the only time I played him I was just really annoyed I couldn't kill the Hanzo camping the roof on Route 66 that nobody else on my team seemed to acknowledge existed because I didn't have a hitscan weapon (until I died and became Reinhardt and basically carried the payload to victory on my own).
• Mei: Her slow is aggravating in close quarters, though understandably I suppose that's kinda her specialty.
• Torbjorn: Engineer with a lame ult and his turret kinda sucks a lot more.
• Widowmaker: Super-generic sniper mcsnipy with an ultra-lame ult since it doesn't actually let you shoot opponents through walls. That said, I do like her mobility, self-protection ability, and her quick charge time makes her somewhat of a reasonable mid-range fighter as much as she can stand as far back as possible too.

Tank:

• D.Va: Seems pretty simple but effective at being a frontline fighter with her infinite-clip guns and high base health. The second life bar is a cute gimmick and short-range mobility booster appreciated. also I got the EL OH EL voice line in my last box and that makes me ^____________^
• Orisa: She's like a Mass Effect Vanguard with the Adept's Singularity, love it. Seems really versatile with a weapon that's reasonably effective at all ranges and above average base health, the shield for team defensive posturing, Fortify that lets her muscle her way through chokepoints, and OP Singularity. Too bad her ult is lame as balls.
• Reinhardt: I can't say I particularly enjoy playing as a dude who just walks at people with a billion health and melees them, and he feels really clunky to play because all of his abilities (even his basic melee) are so delayed. I really like his design though, really unique.
• Roadhog: Yeah yeah, hook. He's alright. I kinda like that his weapon makes you think about which button you're clicking, gives him some gameplay depth and also acts as a skill differentiator. His ult is really weird though, seems out of place to stick a utility ult on this guy more so than Orisa who already has other supportive abilities.
• Winston: Don't like him at all. His weapon is short range and doesn't seem to be especially damaging (albeit it mostly aims itself), and he doesn't really do anything. He feels like a crummy D.Va with a slightly better shield but he's fucking useless at range. And what's with his ult? He just runs really fast and knocks people around? He turns into a Pyro spamming compression blast? Yeah, actually, his character does remind me of Pyro, except he deals shit damage and his utility tools don't compare favorably to compression blast at all.
• Zarya: Not a fan of ally-targetted abilities since it means you constantly have to shift camera between allies and enemies... and you can easily shield the wrong target in a group, considering this is a first-person view game. Still, her shields give her a lot of staying power in a different manner than other tanks and her weapon is versatile. She's okay.

Support:

• Ana: "My rifle's getting hotter!" I love her design but I'm not sure I care much for her gameplay. Granted, her stand-back positioning as a sniper means I don't really have to divert my attention from the enemy to aim at allies... but I still have to aim at allies. Her ult is the lamest thing ever and she is pretty bad at actually defending herself. Makes sense for Mercy, not so much for her.
  
• Lucio: Boring but effective I guess? Movespeed is often low-key OP in these kind of games, and his wide AoE probably makes him the best overall healer to boot. But his support is all passive and his weapon sucks, so mostly he just stands around being a force multiplier. I don't mind it as much as most people probably do, I'm just pointing out the fact.
  
• Mercy: Quality take on the combat medic archetype. Guardian Angel is a neat, restrictive mobility ability and Rez is pretty unique for an FPS game.
• Symmetra: How the fuck do I control her ult? Is it just I automatically use the spawn teleporter the first time it finishes charging and after that it's the shied, is there a button I can press to switch between the two options? Photon Barrier seems out of place in that it encourages advancing behind it, while the rest of her kit is of the immobile area control variety.
• Zenyetta: I thought I would like him back on release. No, he's fucking lame. Again, I repeat having to target allies is fucking lame because it impacts my ability to focus on enemy positioning. Now, at least I can't miss my allies because his orb aim locks onto people, but his healing is fucking garbage anyway. Not only does it heal like shit, but you don't have the other support tools that encourage you to keep an eye on your allies more to keep moving it around. Orb of Discord is pretty legit against tanks though, and admittedly he is actually a competent fighter unlike a more pure support character. That said, he doesn't feel like a "Support" character so much as an Offense character with a modicum of utility ala Soldier 76. His weapon is also kinda clunky, more so than Genji even, but the ability to charge it makes him good at cover fire.

also whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy does the game KICK YOU OUT OF FUCKING TRAINING MODE

Ultimately, my initial impression of the game was mostly reinforced. It's League Fortress 2. And I still think it's ridiculous to charge $40 for it let alone $60 (for console where I believe they didn't have the choice to buy it cheaper like PC on release), nor did Blizzard receive any media/public backlash for it like the few other multiplayer-focused titles that charged full AAA game price in the past. Not because they didn't deserve criticism over it, of course, but because they're the infallible Blizzard.

The current asking price of $30, considering its polish, should've been the release price... but considering the game has received nothing but praise regardless, clearly the company's businesspeople made the right call overcharging for it.

That doesn't mean I didn't have fun playing though. I'd dabble in it if I owned it, but I'm still not paying $30 for it either. Not when Hearthstone is free, HotS and League and DOTA2 are free, Team Fortress 2 standalone was $20 on release (and has been free for years now), etc. I don't think any incarnation of Counter-Strike has been more than $20, though it's hard to find historical pricing data considering their age.

And I wish anyone actually played with me instead of just playing by myself over the free weekend. :(

Press the ult button again after pressing it the first time to swap ults with symmetra

 

[Joim]

Ana could combo to death any 200hp hero before, now it's not as good but if you don't miss you can win most 1v1s, including 250 heros. I can safely solo Roadhogs too. The strength of Ana comes from its grenade, healing herself and damaging enemies, making her effective-HP higher and enemies' lower. Sleep dart is a stun, it also breaks channels, deals 5 damage, and allows you to chain another hit in the combo without being attacked back.

All of this makes of Ana in higher brackets of the game the best support at defending themselves.

 

[Mr.E]

Oh I guess Ana's grenade does do damage, though not very much.

But, I do agree on the fact that Overwatch doesn't do itself service for new players. The game really doesn't teach you anything at all, which leads new players like Mr.E to have all sorts of misconceptions about the game. For starters, the game doesn't even tell you the statistics of each hero, like their cooldowns, damage numbers, etc. Any dedicated player would have to dig those up on wikis and YT videos themselves, and let's not forget how many inaccurate things are on the internet. It's quite a disservice to players that they have to learn the game on their own, and not really know whether they're doing things right or not. Even experienced players get things wrong pretty often.

Obviously it's not as pick-up-and-play as Counter-Strike, which is just a gun sandbox, but I've seen far worse. The tutorial could be a little more comprehensive but it did a good job of explaining stuff out of the box. It just glosses over the very basics (How do I move? I haven't even had a chance to access the options yet to see my controls!) and doesn't tell me that oh, every character has slightly different options than Soldier 76. The fact there's a compendium in-game is nice, just the videos are a bit too brief to showcase the full range of utility of many skills (and the lack of hard numbers stymies even vets). The target range shouldn't force me to go back to spawn to change heroes and should give me more options in general (better focus on mobility, aggressive bots, infinite ammo and ults). AND SERIOUSLY WHY DOES IT KICK ME OUT AFTER A MINUTE WHILE CHANGING GAME SETTINGS OR READING HERO DESCRIPTIONS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. It doesn't hurt that Overwatch doesn't have billions of characters like the DOTA clones, in addition to weapon/item differences because there aren't any, so it isn't that difficult to learn on one's own.

It's probably still the best overall attempt I've seen at making the information accessible to newbies, even if there's still improvements that can be made.

 

[LightningLuxray]

I thought it'd be fun to let the vets make fun of me and all, so I thought I would give my impression as a player of a few hours (and having missed the previous free OW weekend):

I had fun. I barely eked out nine wins for the extra loot boxes in the 6v6 rando mode before free weekend went to die. I won my lone 1v1 5-0. Of course, half my brief time was spent in tutorial + target range trying all the heroes out.

Tutorial doesn't even tell me the basic controls? I mean yeah, I didn't need to be told to use WASD to move around and shit but I imagine there are people out there that maybe haven't PC gamed before that need all the handholding they can get. Do it right, yo. Nice try, but improve it. Honestly, I think it'd be really awesome if every hero had their own unique tutorial that could teach you some more advanced tricks and that seems more doable in a game with OW's hero total.

The target range definitely needs some improvements, but it was workable just to get a feel of gun ranges and shit I suppose. Ults should charge faster or be always-available, need to be more aggressive bots for testing defensive abilities, arena needs to be set up better to test mobility options, etc. Then I found the in-game descriptions on the hero list page which also helps, but again it's a little incomplete in that it doesn't adequately show you the full range of utility of many abilities. The full Ability Overview on the website I'm looking at right now is more complete in that regard, the newer ones anyway that actually show your damage potential and stuff, but I don't think that's in-game.

Replays all having that retarded Overwatch fade outro is snore-worthy.



Seriously, this one really pisses me off though. I want to play with my settings IN GAME so I can, you know, see how changing graphical options directly affect my display and get a feel for any controls I change. The first time I entered the target range, automatically after finishing the tutorial, I WAS KICKED OUT AFTER WHAT, A MINUTE OF "INACTIVITY" WHILE I WAS READING THE FUCKING SKILL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE NEW HERO I PICKED. WHAT THE FUCK, BLIZZARD? Are you fucking retarded? Who is the idiot that thought this was a remotely good idea? Why would you kick people out of a local practice area for inactivity and not leave that setting to strictly matchmade games anyway? I think it's a bit of a strict timer at that. And that was before I even discovered that also applies to futzing with game settings too.

I enjoyed the character variety. Not every character follows the same format, the same number of abilities on the same buttons like MOBAs. Specialists are wildly dependent on the situation, like Reinhardt is a slow moving wall of "good at holding a point or payload" but "slow and does ass damage offensively." I don't have much of an opinion on the individual maps though.

Offense:

• Genji: No real opinion on since I never played him in a match. Kinda genericky with the reflect gimmick though, and his ult seemed pretty weak against at least the sentry bots in the target range. Restricting yourself to melee range and you're barely faster than anyone else should score you with consistent one-shots at least. I find his weapon clunky too.
  
• McCree: Super-generic shooty mcshooter who is totally alright with a sick ult.
• Pharah: Super-generic rocket mcrocket who I hear is OP. She's pretty cool though, I love high-mobility heroes that let you utilize flanking paths to the enemy team.
• Reaper: Speaking of which, I love his teleport ability and the fact he can two-shot squishies. Edgy McEdgerson aesthetic be damned, I really like him.
  
• Soldier76: Super-generic shooty mcrocket, and what's with the super lame ult?
• Sombra: Really cool spread of abilities. Aggressive support is kind of a unique role, she has invisibility and a teleport and shit. I didn't get to play her but I love the concept. Doesn't seem very strong though, weak weapon (for teleportation assassination ala Reaper) and hacking is a far cry from killing.
  
• Tracer: Jesus Christ she hits like a wet noodle, why am I playing her over Reaper? Double-tapping squishies with two discrete shots is a hell of a lot easier than training her machine pistols on someone for a solid second, and I value his long-range mobility over her doofy short-range teleport which is more analogous to his invulnerability cloak and disorients the user as much as it does anyone trying to shoot her.

Defense:

• Bastion: Thought his minigun was kinda OP, till I realized while using him in a real match that he can't transform while someone is shooting at him cuz his recon gun is kinda ass. He's okay though.
• Hanzo: Oh boy it's a Huntsman Sniper. His ult looks pretty sick though.
• Junkrat: Literally Demoman. Theoretically that means I really like him, but the only time I played him I was just really annoyed I couldn't kill the Hanzo camping the roof on Route 66 that nobody else on my team seemed to acknowledge existed because I didn't have a hitscan weapon (until I died and became Reinhardt and basically carried the payload to victory on my own).
• Mei: Her slow is aggravating in close quarters, though understandably I suppose that's kinda her specialty.
• Torbjorn: Engineer with a lame ult and his turret kinda sucks a lot more.
• Widowmaker: Super-generic sniper mcsnipy with an ultra-lame ult since it doesn't actually let you shoot opponents through walls. That said, I do like her mobility, self-protection ability, and her quick charge time makes her somewhat of a reasonable mid-range fighter as much as she can stand as far back as possible too.

Tank:

• D.Va: Seems pretty simple but effective at being a frontline fighter with her infinite-clip guns and high base health. The second life bar is a cute gimmick and short-range mobility booster appreciated. also I got the EL OH EL voice line in my last box and that makes me ^____________^
• Orisa: She's like a Mass Effect Vanguard with the Adept's Singularity, love it. Seems really versatile with a weapon that's reasonably effective at all ranges and above average base health, the shield for team defensive posturing, Fortify that lets her muscle her way through chokepoints, and OP Singularity. Too bad her ult is lame as balls.
• Reinhardt: I can't say I particularly enjoy playing as a dude who just walks at people with a billion health and melees them, and he feels really clunky to play because all of his abilities (even his basic melee) are so delayed. I really like his design though, really unique.
• Roadhog: Yeah yeah, hook. He's alright. I kinda like that his weapon makes you think about which button you're clicking, gives him some gameplay depth and also acts as a skill differentiator. His ult is really weird though, seems out of place to stick a utility ult on this guy more so than Orisa who already has other supportive abilities.
• Winston: Don't like him at all. His weapon is short range and doesn't seem to be especially damaging (albeit it mostly aims itself), and he doesn't really do anything. He feels like a crummy D.Va with a slightly better shield but he's fucking useless at range. And what's with his ult? He just runs really fast and knocks people around? He turns into a Pyro spamming compression blast? Yeah, actually, his character does remind me of Pyro, except he deals shit damage and his utility tools don't compare favorably to compression blast at all.
• Zarya: Not a fan of ally-targetted abilities since it means you constantly have to shift camera between allies and enemies... and you can easily shield the wrong target in a group, considering this is a first-person view game. Still, her shields give her a lot of staying power in a different manner than other tanks and her weapon is versatile. She's okay.

Support:

• Ana: "My rifle's getting hotter!" I love her design but I'm not sure I care much for her gameplay. Granted, her stand-back positioning as a sniper means I don't really have to divert my attention from the enemy to aim at allies... but I still have to aim at allies. Her ult is the lamest thing ever and she is pretty bad at actually defending herself. Makes sense for Mercy, not so much for her.
  
• Lucio: Boring but effective I guess? Movespeed is often low-key OP in these kind of games, and his wide AoE probably makes him the best overall healer to boot. But his support is all passive and his weapon sucks, so mostly he just stands around being a force multiplier. I don't mind it as much as most people probably do, I'm just pointing out the fact.
  
• Mercy: Quality take on the combat medic archetype. Guardian Angel is a neat, restrictive mobility ability and Rez is pretty unique for an FPS game.
• Symmetra: How the fuck do I control her ult? Is it just I automatically use the spawn teleporter the first time it finishes charging and after that it's the shied, is there a button I can press to switch between the two options? Photon Barrier seems out of place in that it encourages advancing behind it, while the rest of her kit is of the immobile area control variety.
• Zenyetta: I thought I would like him back on release. No, he's fucking lame. Again, I repeat having to target allies is fucking lame because it impacts my ability to focus on enemy positioning. Now, at least I can't miss my allies because his orb aim locks onto people, but his healing is fucking garbage anyway. Not only does it heal like shit, but you don't have the other support tools that encourage you to keep an eye on your allies more to keep moving it around. Orb of Discord is pretty legit against tanks though, and admittedly he is actually a competent fighter unlike a more pure support character. That said, he doesn't feel like a "Support" character so much as an Offense character with a modicum of utility ala Soldier 76. His weapon is also kinda clunky, more so than Genji even, but the ability to charge it makes him good at cover fire.

also whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy does the game KICK YOU OUT OF FUCKING TRAINING MODE

Ultimately, my initial impression of the game was mostly reinforced. It's League Fortress 2. And I still think it's ridiculous to charge $40 for it let alone $60 (for console where I believe they didn't have the choice to buy it cheaper like PC on release), nor did Blizzard receive any media/public backlash for it like the few other multiplayer-focused titles that charged full AAA game price in the past. Not because they didn't deserve criticism over it, of course, but because they're the infallible Blizzard.

The current asking price of $30, considering its polish, should've been the release price... but considering the game has received nothing but praise regardless, clearly the company's businesspeople made the right call overcharging for it.

That doesn't mean I didn't have fun playing though. I'd dabble in it if I owned it, but I'm still not paying $30 for it either. Not when Hearthstone is free, HotS and League and DOTA2 are free, Team Fortress 2 standalone was $20 on release (and has been free for years now), etc. I don't think any incarnation of Counter-Strike has been more than $20, though it's hard to find historical pricing data considering their age.

And I wish anyone actually played with me instead of just playing by myself over the free weekend. :(

As someone who's not really knowledgeable on a ton of games, why do people find the $40 / $60 price tag so bad? Honestly I prefer it over games which have low prices but nickel and dime for DLC, and the game feels full to me. I mean yeah there's no story mode but there are many games with horrible / boring / basically never played single player modes (CoD) that are for the same price, and they charge for DLC. Much rather have what Overwatch has with no single player but free DLC than something like CoD or even Halo, ya know?

Besides that though I love the post on all your initial thoughts, I feel like the opinions on Reaper / Winston especially are ones most players had at the beginning, reminds me of the release days haha...

 

[earl]

Oh I guess Ana's grenade does do damage, though not very much.


Obviously it's not as pick-up-and-play as Counter-Strike, which is just a gun sandbox, but I've seen far worse. The tutorial could be a little more comprehensive but it did a good job of explaining stuff out of the box. It just glosses over the very basics (How do I move? I haven't even had a chance to access the options yet to see my controls!) and doesn't tell me that oh, every character has slightly different options than Soldier 76. The fact there's a compendium in-game is nice, just the videos are a bit too brief to showcase the full range of utility of many skills (and the lack of hard numbers stymies even vets). The target range shouldn't force me to go back to spawn to change heroes and should give me more options in general (better focus on mobility, aggressive bots, infinite ammo and ults). AND SERIOUSLY WHY DOES IT KICK ME OUT AFTER A MINUTE WHILE CHANGING GAME SETTINGS OR READING HERO DESCRIPTIONS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. It doesn't hurt that Overwatch doesn't have billions of characters like the DOTA clones, in addition to weapon/item differences because there aren't any, so it isn't that difficult to learn on one's own.

It's probably still the best overall attempt I've seen at making the information accessible to newbies, even if there's still improvements that can be made.

The real strength of the Bio-nade, offensively at least, is that the after effect of no healing is the equivalent of marking someone marked for death in this game (as healing is very powerful due to Ana's existence).

 

[Mr.E]

Healing matters in a team context, in most cases it doesn't matter much in a 1v1/small skirmish context.

As someone who's not really knowledgeable on a ton of games, why do people find the $40 / $60 price tag so bad? Honestly I prefer it over games which have low prices but nickel and dime for DLC, and the game feels full to me. I mean yeah there's no story mode but there are many games with horrible / boring / basically never played single player modes (CoD) that are for the same price, and they charge for DLC. Much rather have what Overwatch has with no single player but free DLC than something like CoD or even Halo, ya know?

Look at the game I listed. None of them are the price of a full-fledged, AAA, single-player (or dual single/multi) experience. Similar games before Overwatch's release also received huge backlash for charging a premium price for a multiplayer-only game, granted I couldn't list them by name because honestly FPS games aren't really my jam anyway so it hasn't stayed in my mind. In a vacuum, I don't necessarily disagree with you, games like OW or League or whatever are ridiculously good value if you get into them and enjoy mashing games out, but it is overpriced compared to the rest of the market. Most MP-only games charge a relatively low price ($20 max) for the complete package and/or make their money off microtransactions that don't affect the core gameplay (cosmetics and grind shorteners for in-game loot/currency). OW charged $60 on console on release, and you had to pay attention to pay down to $40 for PC, and it's still going for $30 a year later. Full-price games like that ala CoD and Halo tend to have extensive 1P/coop campaigns in addition to multiplayer (and Halo campaign coop is fucking awesome so dun hate).

... Except for the part where consumers are apparently perfectly happy with paying the premium for Overwatch in particular, in large part because Blizzard is a popular developer known for consistently putting out excellent games and to publicly bash them would probably be career suicide for gaming journalists, which completely justifies Blizzard's decision as a business to charge a premium price. It doesn't hurt that Overwatch is also a pretty good game.