Overwatch: HYPETRAIN HAS LEFT THE STATION Spring 2016 Release Confirmed!

[Rakoa]

I opened up Battle.net last night and found that I had an Overwatch Beta invite just sitting there. Happiest moment of my life.

Then I woke up.

In sadness and pain, I opened up Battle.net. And guess what I had? A Beta invite.

TO GODDAMN STARCRAFT ARE YOU SERIOUS I DON'T EVEN PLAY STARCRAFT I NEVER HAVE ONCE

[AgentPaper]

I do! Thoughts on the new heroes:

D.va: This girl is a beast. Something you might not have noticed reading about her that's very important is that almost all of her health is in the form of armor, which makes her surprisingly resilient, and next to unkillable with a healer on them. Aside from that, her main attack does good damage at close range, and decent damage at mid-range, though she can't engage at long range really. Not needing to reload is nice, but not as OP as some seem to think.

Her defensive field is also great, and blocks just about anything, though there are some notable exceptions. It doesn't last very long, but there's some good uses, such as blocking a bastion or turret long enough for your team to take care of it, or nullifying various ultimates, like Pharah, Reaper, and Soldier: 76. Add in her mobility from her rockets (which have a very short cooldown), and she's basically bastion's worst nightmare.

Her ultimate is crazy powerful, but since it hits both friends and foes, you have to be careful when and where you use it. It's also fairly easy to avoid if you know how, since anything that breaks LoS will protect you, even a payload. Which is good, because trying to run from the blast is likely to end poorly. The radius and damage on this thing are both very large, so get behind cover and wait it out.

There are also two neat tricks that you can use with this ult: First, you can activate it just after using your boosters, and your suit will continue to rocket forwards before detonating, allowing you to "throw" your ultimate forwards quite a bit. Second, when you lose your HP and get kicked out of your mech, you can use your ult just after you die, and your suit will explode instead of just going away, which is especially useful when your team is being pressed hard and you need to buy some time. Also worth mentioning that after your suit self-destructs, your "call mech" ultimate charges to 100% instantly, even if you don't hit anything it seems, which can be pretty useful.

Overall, D.va is a powerful hero, but not over-powered. I'd put her on par with heroes like Bastion, Pharah, and Reinhardt. Powerful heroes that you need to know how to deal with, but which can be dealt with if you're conscious of their abilities.


Mei: Aside from being absolutely adorable, she's a great hero as well, especially on the defense, as you may imagine. At 250 HP, she's not as squishy as you might think, and both her primary and alt fire are fairly strong. The primary is great up close, especially against fast characters like Tracer and Genji, since once they're slowed down they're basically dead. It can also be good on other heroes though, allowing you to freeze them and then punch them to death, or line up a careful headshot with your alt fire.

Speaking of your alt fire, damn does this thing hurt. I'd compare it to sniper-level damage, as well as range and accuracy. If you can get a headshot, this will kill a lot of weaker heroes outright. The travel time makes hitting at long range difficult, but it's great for pot-shots, against large enemies (especially armored ones like D.va), and to finish off enemies at close range after freezing them, as mentioned before.

Aside from her weapons, she also has some great utility. Ice block is good for saving yourself in a pinch, but really it's the heal that you'll be using it for most of the time. This allows you to be much more aggressive than you normally could be, since you can just pull back a bit, ice block, and be right back in the action. The cooldown is pretty short so don't feel like you need to save it for an emergency. Better to heal and get back in the fight than wait for a clutch save.

And then of course, there's her signature ability, the ice wall. This can be a bit of a double-edged sword, since it blocks your ally' line of fire as well as your enemy's. The most common usage is to place it in front of your team to buy you some time to regroup, block an enemy ult or major push, or just stall your enemy in general if you're defending. You can also use it a bit more tactically though, for example by placing it in the midst of an enemy push to split them up and allow your team to fight half of the enemy team (who probably can't run because of the wall) instead of the whole enemy team.

Her ult has some potential, but unlike D.va's, it's not going to wipe the enemy team, at least not on it's own. You have to be very aware of where your team is when you use this, to ensure that they're able to capitalize on the slow and stun to wipe the enemy team, because the actual damage from the ult alone is pretty minimal. It's very easy to catch the whole enemy team with this ult, and then watch as it amounts to nothing because your team had just retreated, or was half dead, or just not in position to attack.

Overall, I think Sei is a strong hero, who probably won't show up on Play of the Game much, but nonetheless will prove pivotal in many matchups. No single ability of hers really stands out as incredible, but overall the package really comes together to make for a very solid and fun hero.


Genji: I don't have as much to say about Genji, mostly because I haven't played him much (and don't really plan to), but he seems pretty good as well, though with some weaknesses. Perhaps the most notable thing about him, though, is that he probably has a very high skill cap, perhaps the highest in the game. He's very mobile, and his dash attack and especially his deflection ability can be incredibly powerful if used well, being the difference between your team being wiped out by bastion, and instead wiping out the enemy team by reflecting his shots back at them. Used at the right time, against the right incoming fire, and with good aim, you can probable do some really nasty work with this. His ult is also pretty strong, but like Reaper's, McCree's, or Soldier: 76's, it doesn't make you invincible, so you need to be careful to use it at the right time to get the most out of it.

Overall, you're probably going to run into a lot of mediocre Genji's who just do OK, but in the hands of a truly skilled player I could see him becoming a real monster.


Finally, the new map. Not a ton to say about this, it's a lot like Numbani, where you have to capture a point that's pretty hard to defend, then move a payload to the finish. It'll take some time before I really get a handle on the layout, but nothing really stands out as especially amazing or terrible. Just another pretty great map among a lot of pretty great maps.

[Rakoa]

Excellent! Glad that at least ONE of us had some luck.

I haven't been watching many streams or anything like that, so I was wondering if you could help me get a feel for some of the characters I want to play. For example, you've done a great rundown of D.va who I love, but I also really like Reinhardt and I was wondering how the two of them compare and in which ways one is better than the other given a specific situation. Reinhardt seems less mobile overall but more dependable in terms of damage output and absorption, but I don't know for sure.

On the Offence spectrum, it is a tossup between McCree and Reaper for me. They seem to have surprisingly similar playstyles from what I can tell (get close, shoot 'em dead) and they both have ways to facilitate that (stun grenade vs. shadow man). What would you consider the primary differences between the two? And in what situation would you play one over the other?

For Defence I have no idea. I think I'd really have to play the characters myself to figure out who I want to play most between Junkrat, Widowmaker, and Hanzo. Junkrat looks really difficult to play properly (knowing the map really well for trap planting, aiming those explosives looks unpleasant, and even his ultimate looks unreliable without a lot of skill), whereas Widowmaker seems dead easy (camp spot, headshots, grapple away when your venom mine goes off), and Hanzo feels somewhere in between.

The characters all seem great, of course. I fully intend to play them all at some point, even the ones that really didn't grab my attention immediately like Lucio, Symmetra, and Torbjorn.

How are you personally enjoying the game so far? Which heroes do you use the most frequently and why?

[AgentPaper]

I haven't been watching many streams or anything like that, so I was wondering if you could help me get a feel for some of the characters I want to play. For example, you've done a great rundown of D.va who I love, but I also really like Reinhardt and I was wondering how the two of them compare and in which ways one is better than the other given a specific situation. Reinhardt seems less mobile overall but more dependable in terms of damage output and absorption, but I don't know for sure.

Sure thing! Reinhardt was actually my most-played character before D.va came out, I suspect once D.va's novelty has worn off I'll be playing him more often again.

As for Reinhardt's kit, he's definitely one of the better tanks, if not the best tank. His absorption shield has a massive health pool, and regenerates quickly when you take it down, allowing you to absorb a truly tremendous amount of damage over the course of a match. I think my record so far is close to 25,000 damage blocked in a match, in a game where 500 is a lot of health. Of course, not all of that damage would have been directed at your teammates, your shield is big and will take a real beating, but with a good team who actually uses your shield for cover and protects you from being flanked, you can do very well indeed.

As for his offense, he doesn't have anywhere near the mobility that D.va has, and his damage output isn't as high, but he has better methods of control with his charge and his ultimate, and his fire strike (ranged line attack) and rocket hammer (basic melee) both do respectable damage. Something funny about Reinhardt is that he's actually one of the best equipped heroes for taking down enemy Renhardt's, since all of his abilities save his ultimate ignore physical shields like Reinhardt's and Winston's.

On the Offence spectrum, it is a tossup between McCree and Reaper for me. They seem to have surprisingly similar playstyles from what I can tell (get close, shoot 'em dead) and they both have ways to facilitate that (stun grenade vs. shadow man). What would you consider the primary differences between the two? And in what situation would you play one over the other?

I don't play offense much (I usually play tank or support when attacking), so I can't comment too much, but Reaper is more of a dedicated close-in combatant, since his shotguns drop off in damage very quickly, making him useless even at medium ranges. McCree used to be amazing at all ranges, but with the most recent patch he's been nerfed a bit so he isn't as powerful at long range as he used to be. Probably the main difference between the two is that Reaper has much better mobility, especially for getting behind enemy lines, allowing him to sneak up behind enemy positions and wreak havoc (or get caught on his own and smashed, if you aren't careful). McCree isn't as mobile, but has better damage, probably even at close range. He can take out even the toughest tanks in just a few clips. If you get hit by his stun, you're probably dead, even though it only lasts for a very short time.

In general, Reaper is probably better when your enemy has a strong defensive line, with heroes like Reinhardt, Bastion, and Widowmaker, since getting behind those heroes can have a lot of benefit. McCree is just generally a good hero to have around in any situation, though at least until he was nerfed, he was one of the best heroes to take down Pharah, as long as your aim was good. With the range dropoff nerf he might have a harder time with her now, but probably still pretty good.

For Defence I have no idea. I think I'd really have to play the characters myself to figure out who I want to play most between Junkrat, Widowmaker, and Hanzo. Junkrat looks really difficult to play properly (knowing the map really well for trap planting, aiming those explosives looks unpleasant, and even his ultimate looks unreliable without a lot of skill), whereas Widowmaker seems dead easy (camp spot, headshots, grapple away when your venom mine goes off), and Hanzo feels somewhere in between.

I don't play any of those heroes much, but from what I've seen and what little I've played, I'd actually say that Junkrat is the easiest to play, followed by Widowmaker and finally Hanzo as the hardest. With Junkrat, it's pretty easy to just sit back and lob grenades and mines at your enemies all day, and even if that's all you do, you're going to be helping out your team a lot. There's definitely room for a skilled player to use mine jumps (which aren't as difficult as you may think), traps, and precise ricochets to improve their performance, but that isn't necessary to contribute.

Widowmaker and Hanzo are more difficult, mostly because you have to have really good aim and reflexes to get the most out of them. You can really feel the difference when you're fighting a good Widowmaker versus a poor one, especially if you're playing a character with low health who just gets killed again and again and again by headshots. Hanzo is even harder, since his arrows have a travel time and (I'm pretty sure) a slight dropoff, so you can't just point and click like you can with Widowmaker. He relies on being more mobile, and isn't as good at extreme ranges, but his ricochet shot and enemy-sensing shot help out a lot, letting a new player contribute at least somewhat. A very good Hanzo can be just as oppressive as a very good Widowmaker, if not moreso, but seems to be much more rare, I suspect largely because of how much more skill it takes to really master him.

The characters all seem great, of course. I fully intend to play them all at some point, even the ones that really didn't grab my attention immediately like Lucio, Symmetra, and Torbjorn.

Lucio, Symmetra, and to a lesser extent Torbjorn are actually some of my favorite characters in the game, and fairly powerful in their own right. Not as flashy and less likely to get Play of the Game (but absolutely possible, I've done so as all 3 multiple times), but really good at amplifying your team to allow them to reach greater heights than normally possible, whether from direct buffs (Lucio > Symmetra > Torbjorn) or by creating a solid back line that your team can use as a springboard (Torbjorn > Symmetra > Lucio). And all 3 are actually quite good in direct combat as well. You're not going to beat an Offense character in a direct fight, but if the enemy is distracted by your team, caught out of position, or simply under-estimates your capabilities, you can really rack up the kills very quickly.

How are you personally enjoying the game so far? Which heroes do you use the most frequently and why?

A whole lot. My most played hero fluctuates quite a bit, at first I played Reinhardt almost exclusively, but since then I've been branching out and I think Lucio might actually be my most played hero at the moment, though D.va and Mei are catching up quickly. I also often play and consider myself decent at: Symmetra, Winston, Torbjorn, Roadhog, and Soldier: 76. Exactly which one I play depends mostly on whether we're attacking or defending, the rest of my team, the enemy team, the map, and how I'm feeling, roughly in that order.

If you're new to the game, I'd suggest trying out all of the heroes at least once, as you may be surprised by which hero you prefer the most. I certainly wasn't expecting to like Lucio as much as I do, for example. Aside from that, try to pay attention to the team building tips in the hero selection screen (ie: no support/tank, low team damage, no builder/sniper, too many snipers/defense, etc.). There are definitely some outlier team comps outside of their formula that can do as good or better than a more "standard" team comp, but as a rule of thumb it's pretty good for making sure you have no glaring weaknesses. And though the developers have said this a lot, don't be afraid to switch heroes mid-match! Changing your hero to counter an enemy, better work with your team's composition, or just because certain heroes are better or worse at different stages of the map is a huge part of the strategy of Overwatch, and can very easily mean the difference between an easy victory and a crushing defeat. You don't need to master every hero in the game, but you should try to have a decent stable of heroes you know well or at least well enough, and be willing to switch to them when the need arises.

[Rakoa]

Thank you so much. You certainly know your stuff, I gotta say, even outside of your zone of expertise. The only downside is you've inflamed new heights of excitement within me for this game. Time to go F5 my Battle.net account again....

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I opened up Battle.net last night and found that I had an Overwatch Beta invite just sitting there. Happiest moment of my life.

Then I woke up.

In sadness and pain, I opened up Battle.net. And guess what I had? A Beta invite.

TO GODDAMN STARCRAFT ARE YOU SERIOUS I DON'T EVEN PLAY STARCRAFT I NEVER HAVE ONCE

Oop.

Side note: are beta invites still going out? My Overwatch launcher changed to the "preorder" icon, which makes me kinda dread that all beta has stopped.

[AgentPaper]

Beta invites are still going out, slowly. Apparently there was a new wave after Blizzcon at any rate. I'm sure there'll be more in the future, but never all that much, especially compared to Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone's betas, which were basically just everyone who wanted in. Which made sense for those games, since they're both free to play, but Overwatch isn't so don't assume you'll get in.

That said, I do suspect that they'll be getting lots of people in near the end, probably through some kind of weekend stress test where anyone can jump in, just to make sure their servers can handle the inevitable onslaught that release day will bring.

[Rakoa]

My sources say that another wave went out a few hours ago.

Not for I.

I drink my problems away now.

[Ionbound]

I too have been morphed to pre-order. I hate that a certain amount of the launch population are going to have thousands of hours of practice over everyone else in what Blizzard seems to want to be a competitive game.

[Rakoa]

Stress test weekend coming up, starting Friday. Accounts will be flagged and allowed to pre-load the game tomorrow. Anyone else have their fingers crossed?

[Ionbound]

Yes. Dear god yes.

[AgentPaper]

Some pro tips to hopefully prevent too much misery for new players:

1) Bastion is god. Do not fight a turret-mode bastion head-on, he will win. Yes, even with that hero, using that ability. Yes, even if there are four of you. You need to get behind bastion, or shoot him without letting him shoot back. Use cover, lob grenades, jump behind him. Reaper, Winston, D.va, Pharah, and Junkrat are all great counters to Bastion.

2) Torbjorn's Turret is dangerous. If you see one, treat it with respect. Don't run in front of it (or behind it, or next to it, or anywhere near it really), seek cover, tell your teammates preferably, and shoot it either from outside it's range, or by ducking in and out of cover quickly. Pharah, Junkrat, Hanzo, Mei, and Widowmaker are all great at taking it out from long range.

As an addendum to 1 and 2, D.va with her defense field and to a lesser extent Reinhardt, Winston, and Zarya can use their shields to allow someone else to take bastion or the turret down if you're quick and well-coordinated, but you need to communicate with your team and tell them what you're doing. Don't just run in and expect your team to follow naturally, especially since most other people you're playing with are going to be new as well for the weekend.

3) Kill/death ratio is meaningless! There is no team deathmatch mode in Overwatch for a good reason. The player on your team who died 10 times and got 2 solo kills could very easily be your MVP, even if they aren't a healer! You have to work together as a team to win in this game, don't run off on your own unless that's specifically what your hero is built for (ie: Tracer, Reaper, Widowmaker). Even then, try to fight, if not alongside your team, then at least nearby, and against people who matter. Killing one person next to the payload is worth much more than killing someone on the other side of the map (unless they're a sniper or bastion who's killing your team).

4) Stick with the tank! This is kinda part of "stick together and work as a team", but it really deserves two point. Your tank has shields or some other way of protecting you, so take advantage of that as best you can. Everyone following one person is also just an easy way to keep the team working together when you're playing with strangers.

5) When you hear a hero say something menacing sounding (ie:" I've got you in my sights." "It's high noon." "Nerf this!" "Die! Die! Die!"), that means someone has used their ultimate. Your first instinct should be to run for cover as quickly as possible. As you learn the ultimates and how to specifically react to each one, you can do more specific counters, but in general running and hiding like a little girl is a good idea. Also note that they say something different when it's an ally using their ultimate, so you can learn to recognize these and react accordingly. Using multiple ultimates at the same time is often a great idea.

For some specific ult reaction advice:

Spoiler

Show

D.va: Find cover, or throw up a shield. Don't try to run directly away unless you're already pretty far from the blast. Anything that blocks line of sight will block the explosion, whether it's a wall, a cart, a shield, an ice wall, or whatever.

McCree: Similar to D.va, find cover or put up a shield. Try to spot him as quickly as possible, but start running for cover regardless. Note that McCree can sit with his ult pending for a long time, and the lock-on time doesn't reset when you're out of sight, so stay behind cover and don't try to peek out to kill him. Just wait for him to use it or cancel the ultimate.

Reaper: While he does a lot of damage with his ult, it provides no protection. Find him and kill him ASAP if you can, or put down a shield if you're a tank. A stun or other CC is good too, if you're quick enough. Running or seeking cover will probably take too long unless you're a tank, so just try to kill him as best you can.

Pharah: Similar to Reaper, try to kill her ASAP. She doesn't move while it's active, so she should be easy to hit.

Soldier: 76: Don't underestimate how much damage he does. Get behind cover, or shoot him if you get the chance. Range will not help you, as his bullets can hit you across the map through a tiny opening while his ult is active. It's not instant death though (unless you're Tracer or something), so fight him head-on if you think you can beat him.

Roadhog: Just run away or get behind cover. His ult is only really dangerous if you're close. If you can get any decent distance away, you'll be fine. Shields won't help much here though. Use them, but only to cover your retreat, not to soak all the damage.

Junkrat: You can shoot the tire to detonate it early, do that if you can. Really though, you should try to spread out or run away if you can. It can travel quite a long ways.

Genji: Like Reaper and Pharah, just kill him. You can't really run or hide from him, as his is mobile and his ult lasts a while, so just take him down ASAP.

Mei: One of the less dangerous ultimates, not a ton of counterplay, just try to run out of the area if you can. The damage is pretty small, everyone can survive it, it's only really dangerous if the enemy follows up, so if you can kill them before you get frozen, you'll be safe.

Lucio: His damage shield is massive, but doesn't last very long. Just pull back when he uses it, then re-engage once it runs out.

Tracer: Not a ton of counter-play, kill her before she can use it, and if you've got a shield throw it up in response if you can. It detonates quickly though, so running away or finding cover usually takes too long. Doesn't hurt to try though.

Zarya: Use movement abilities to get out if you can, otherwise use a shield if you have it, or especially if you can, kill her or her teammates to prevent them from capitalizing on it.

Widowmaker: You probably won't even know she's using it until you see the killcam, so just bear through it.

Winston: Angry monkey can be scary, but doesn't actually do all that much damage. Don't let him distract you from more dangerous targets. Spread out and take him down from range once more pressing matters are taken care of.

Reinhardt: Don't group up in front of Reinhardt, or you're going to regret it. Any kind of cover or shield will block the shockwave.

Symmetra: Kill that teleporter. If you're an offense character, this is probably your job. Especially if you're Reaper or Tracer. Just don't forget about the enemy team and the objective while you're looking for it.

Torbjorn: Shoot him, or his turret if he just put one down. You probably won't see his ult often, though, since he's probably using it way in the back to put up a quick level 3 turret, so watch out for that.

Hanzo: It's big, it's colorful, and you can hear it coming from a mile away. You should really never be killed by this in most circumstances. Just run out as best you can, cover and shields won't help you.

Zenyatta: His team is being healed very fast, so they're nigh-unkillable. Zenyatta himself is actually unkillable while this is up, so don't even try. Burst down his teammates if you can, or just fall back a bit until it's over.

Mercy: Kill mercy first, or you will regret it. She can be killed during her ult to cancel it now, but she shouldn't even have the chance to use it. Kill her first.

Bastion: His tank mode is surprisingly scary, but not as crazy as many ultimates. Either kill him or fall back until it's over.

6) Switch heroes often! There's nothing wrong with having a favorite hero, but you need to be able to recognize when you need to switch, whether to fill a weakness in your team, or to counter a specific enemy that's causing your team problems. Getting wrecked by Bastion? Switch to Junkrat! Can't seem to hit Pharah? Switch to Soldier: 76! It'll take you some time to figure out what heroes are best in what circumstances, though, so don't be afraid to experiment. There's a (very bare-bones) single player mode so you can jump into that if you just want to try out a new hero and figure out how to use their abilities before going into a real match, but don't be afraid to just suck for a few matches until you get the hang of it. Try to build up a stable of heroes that you're at least decent with, and switch between them often.

7) Finally, just to save everyone some time, unless you've never played an FPS in your life, skip the tutorial. It's literally just "Look up. Good job! Ok now look down. Great! Now walk over here. Hooray! Now press LMB to shoot. Amazing! etc. Play around in singleplayer for a bit if you must, then just jump into multiplayer as soon as you can. You'll learn as you go!

[Rakoa]

These tips...they are incredibly useful! Thank you. It seems Junkrat is a good counter to quite a few things, which is good because I really like him quite a bit. I'm planning to use him when Defence is needed (unless another Hero would be better, of course). Offence, though, I gotta work with before I know what to do. So many good looking choices, so I gotta play around to make sure that I know what I'm doing. You know, that I can actually PLAY this cool looking Hero. Tracer looks cool for harrassment and what not, but Reaper might be a better fit for me.

I'm playin' McCree and Zenyatta if it kills me, though.

[AgentPaper]

These tips...they are incredibly useful! Thank you. It seems Junkrat is a good counter to quite a few things, which is good because I really like him quite a bit. I'm planning to use him when Defence is needed (unless another Hero would be better, of course). Offence, though, I gotta work with before I know what to do. So many good looking choices, so I gotta play around to make sure that I know what I'm doing. You know, that I can actually PLAY this cool looking Hero. Tracer looks cool for harrassment and what not, but Reaper might be a better fit for me.

I'm playin' McCree and Zenyatta if it kills me, though.

Yeah, he's quite useful to have around, though he has some notable weaknesses as well. Notably, he simply can't fight Pharah whatsoever, what with the flying and all. He'll also struggle against long-range heroes like Widowmaker or Hanzo.

[Ionbound]

I got into the Stress Test! Woohoo!

[Rakoa]

I have also made it into the stress test. Here's hoping that the servers allow for actual play this weekend!



...and that Monday never comes.

[ChaosOS]

Did not make it in :/

[DaedalusMkV]

Did not make it in :/

Me neither. Which is fine, because I'm so busy this weekend I would only have been saddened by having access to it. Now instead I can curse Blizzard for passing me by!

[Yana]

I managed to score access. Here's hoping my fps skills haven't completely atrophied.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I got in! I'm also visiting friends in another city this weekend! I have the best timing ever!

[Legoshrimp]

I got in! I'm also visiting friends in another city this weekend! I have the best timing ever!

Clearly you should change your plans.

I also got it.
So I will probably be playing some(legoshrimp#1722)

[Seerow]

I got access for the stress test as well.


Plus I'll be building my new computer sunday afternoonish. So I'll probably be playing late Sunday night/monday morning, breaking in the new desktop. If anyone expects to be on that late on a Sunday (awful time, I know. But it's what my schedule will allow) feel free to look me up. Battletag Oshi#1354

[Rakoa]

Yes, I encourage anyone here to add me and we can shoot up some fools. Rakoa#1460

[Yana]

I suppose I could use assistance as well, NA: Raltis#1807

[Ionbound]

You could always use another hero, right? Firedaemon#1486

[The_Jackal]

So do you wonder if its' more like "Blizzard's Marvel Universe: where heroes fight other heroes rather than villain" (Mostly since it would be common to see many heroic characters going against eachother), which also kinda not consistent with the lore due to Reinhardt (most moral) working with psychopaths (Junkrat) and villains (Reaper, Widowmaker).

Eh, my understanding is that the backstory is just leftover from spit-balling over the aborted Project: Titan. In any case, Blizzard has always been gameplay first, story second. And, finally, yeah, in lots of genres, Heroes turn heel and Villains turn face all the time, and then there's the 'alliance of convenience'.

[AgentPaper]

Eh, I see it as the same as Marvel vs Capcom fighting games allowing anyone to fight anyone. And also Superman in any fighting game not just winning every match effortlessly. It just works like that for the sake of the game, it doesn't mean that Winston and Reaper fighting against Tracer and Widowmaker is something that could even possibly happen. Doubly so when you realize you could have a match with 12 Winstons fighting it out.

[huttj509]

Questions:

1: Do commendations at the end have any mechanics, or just a voted "good job!"
2: What are the medals by my after game stats?
3: Why was I the only one who seemed to be trying to escort the objective? Am I missing something (for example, "winning doesn't matter so have fun running round shooting guys")?

[Ionbound]

1. Nothing, though I suspect that upon full release that they'll be a karma mechanic of some kind.
2. The medals are where you placed on your team. If you're getting one that means you did a good job.
3. Welcome to multiplayer games.

I have to say that the character I've been having the most fun with so far is Bastion. No complicated mechanics, no hair-splitting reaction times, just find a nice corner to sit in and rain hot lead down upon your enemies.

[AgentPaper]

1: Do commendations at the end have any mechanics, or just a voted "good job!"

They're new, and apparently being used to help them gauge how well their matchmaking system is working. So ideally you'll use it to vote for players that made the game less fun by being too good or too bad compared to the rest of the players.

3: Why was I the only one who seemed to be trying to escort the objective? Am I missing something (for example, "winning doesn't matter so have fun running round shooting guys")?

Because you're playing with new players who haven't figured out that they aren't playing Team Deathmatch. Don't worry, they'll learn. Or at least, by doing better you'll move up and be placed with other people who know how to play the game.