Overwatch: Boop!

[Velaryon]

So, who, as your main, do you hate to face? And who do you enjoy fighting that surprised you? I mean some are obvious so...

My mains are Soldier 76, Symmetra, and Lucio these days (though I also have lots of time on Mei, D.Va, and a few others). My most hated character is Genji. I will actively chase him down as Winston or Symmetra just to make up for how much trouble he gives me as Soldier 76.

A good Reinhardt is also a big source of frustration sometimes.

Also, anyone have an "offense" hero suggestion for someone enjoying Lucio, Junkrat, D.Va, Symmetra, and Hanzo so far?(with a little Zarya thrown in since the skin I got seems a fun motivation to learn her).
I mean, I enjoy Genji, but with my current setup, it's proving hard to pull off the shuriken-dash-melee finisher combo attack thing. Maybe 76? Like, is he worth learning more? Or is he a sort of "somewhat under powered but easy to play" character?

Soldier 76 is anything but underpowered. He was for quite awhile, but some months ago he got a buff to damage, so he's a very solid pick now. He's very straightforward to play, especially for people who play a lot of shooters, but he's also a strong and versatile pick. His role is to be a primary DPS character, usually sticking with the team, and he can also provide a bit of support healing (though not enough to be a good solo healer). I play a lot of the same characters as you (except Hanzo and Zarya), so I think you'll find him enjoyable. He's definitely better if you've got good aim, but even if you don't you can still be competent with him just by using smart tactics and trying your best.

[Togath]

I never said I was good with Zarya yet.
Just that I want to be~
One issue I'm having is ending up with... well, kinda bad teams for her. And usually when a tank slot is open, a Reinhardt or D.Va has seemed a better choice(either for shielding allies as Reinhardt or D.Va's amazing mobility).

[The_Jackal]

I never said I was good with Zarya yet.
Just that I want to be~
One issue I'm having is ending up with... well, kinda bad teams for her. And usually when a tank slot is open, a Reinhardt or D.Va has seemed a better choice(either for shielding allies as Reinhardt or D.Va's amazing mobility).

I think Zarya is objectively better for low-level play, where both teams are less coordinated. You're less reliant on your teammates to get kills, and can even use bubbles to counter enemy picks when your timing and anticipation gets good. Someone gets hooked by Roadhog? Bubble them for live-saving and big energy. Starting to take some serious damage? Bubble yourself and get back to cover. Plus she's got the best ultimate in the game, hands down.

The main drawback of Zarya is mobility. She's got NO escape moves, where D.va can boost around and even Reinhardt can charge out of a pickle from time to time.

[Mutazoia]

I think Zarya is objectively better for low-level play, where both teams are less coordinated. You're less reliant on your teammates to get kills, and can even use bubbles to counter enemy picks when your timing and anticipation gets good. Someone gets hooked by Roadhog? Bubble them for live-saving and big energy. Starting to take some serious damage? Bubble yourself and get back to cover. Plus she's got the best ultimate in the game, hands down.

The main drawback of Zarya is mobility. She's got NO escape moves, where D.va can boost around and even Reinhardt can charge out of a pickle from time to time.

I wouldn't say her Ult is the best in the game. At most it's a temporary inconvienence, unless you can coordinate a two hit combo with some one like D.Va or McCree, so you herd them all into one spot and they get the kills. Otherwise you're just slowing them down for a few seconds. Mei's Ult is better than Zarya's, since Mei's ult not only stops the other team with in the AOE dead in their tracks, it also does DOT.

[Togath]

Okay, advice for tanking? Guides? Videos?
I... suck. Whether Reinhardt, D.Va, Zarya, Winston, or Roadhog.
I mean, I'm doing best as D.Va so far, but I have yet to pull off a self destruct.
I think part of the issue is fighting super mobile enemies with poorly coordinated teams, I think? And Hanzos and Meis are my biggest issue right now, followed by Tracers. Not quite sure why(D.Va tends to fair best, but I keep dying as Reinhardt before doing anything, and I'm concerned about Zarya and Winston since I lack any knowledge of how to play them. Or at least, how to do anything aside be a bullet sponge as them.).

Also, I MUST be missing something about McCrea. I have a ton of trouble hitting even practice bots with his attacks, or the rapid fire+grenade combo anyway(normal pistol shots seem much easier).

[Mutazoia]

Okay, advice for tanking? Guides? Videos?
I... suck. Whether Reinhardt, D.Va, Zarya, Winston, or Roadhog.
I mean, I'm doing best as D.Va so far, but I have yet to pull off a self destruct.
I think part of the issue is fighting super mobile enemies with poorly coordinated teams, I think? And Hanzos and Meis are my biggest issue right now, followed by Tracers. Not quite sure why(D.Va tends to fair best, but I keep dying as Reinhardt before doing anything, and I'm concerned about Zarya and Winston since I lack any knowledge of how to play them. Or at least, how to do anything aside be a bullet sponge as them.).

Also, I MUST be missing something about McCrea. I have a ton of trouble hitting even practice bots with his attacks, or the rapid fire+grenade combo anyway(normal pistol shots seem much easier).

If your team sucks, being the best tank in the world isn't going to help you. Rein is only good, as long as your team watches your back and makes it hard for the other team to get behind you. Too many PUG players simply run around like they're playing a skirmish, and leave you to the mercy of enemy Tracers.

Although Rodhog is classified as a tank, I personally think that classification is in error. He's more of an offensive character, so I would steer clear of him as a tank.

It's easier to "tank" as D.Va if you have a crappy team, because she can go solo if she has to, and rocket away if she get's in trouble, but you have to get in close and chew away at people with her guns if you want to charge your Ult., so that can get annoying if you are having to carry a lousey team. Pulling off a good self-destruct just takes timing...catching the enemy team off guard when there is little cover for them to duck behind quickly. Standing on top of a payload, means they can't use it for cover, and rocketing into the air above them before triggering it, will let the mech drop down on top of them (and maybe scoring an air-burst), which is a good way to surprise people, as most look for that mech zipping in from ground level, not from above.

Zarya can at least shield herself, 360 deg. for a short time, which is good if you hear a D.Va or McCree shout out their Ult. line, but it doesn't last very long. It's saving grace is that you can throw it on some one else, so you can throw it on a D.Va and let her run in close, guns blazing, to quick charge her Ult. (and you'll charge yours while she's bubbled). Her Ult is rather bland, unless you can stack it with a D.Va, or other AOE damage Ult., otherwise, just save it for when you need to stop an enemy blitz through a choke point.

I've never really been fond of Winston. His Tesla rifle is an auto hit wonder, but the range is worse than Symmetria's original range, and unless I've gotten my numbers mixed up, it does less damage then her leash does. At least you can throw his dome down on a payload and it will move along with you for a bit, to stop those pesky flankers, but it's probably best use to shield multiple team mates from a D.Va or McCree Ult. His Ult is probably one of the most useless in the game right now. Unless you have your team there backing you up, you pretty much just become a big, red target to be focused down.

[Togath]

That pretty much matches what I've gotten the impression of about Roadhog and Winston.
Maybe I could try grouping with some of you guys sometime for less of a "zero teamwork pugs all day" risk?
I mean, I'm new, and still learning stuff... buuut I've also been reading up on classes, and understand that teamwork tends to = more wins.
I also tend to do pretty well as a Lucio(who seems to fair pretty well against Roadhog's hook combo, thanks to his knockback attack) or Soldier 76 against anything but a Tracer. Though as I've said here, I'm looking to learn more classes.

Also, Sombra... good, bad, neutral, banana? I've not really been able to judge how effective she is. Maybe a good counter to some healers(Ana and Zenyatta being the primary ones to come to mind, plus it cuts off Mercy's flying I think) or ability rotation heavy characters like Genji?

[Mutazoia]

That pretty much matches what I've gotten the impression of about Roadhog and Winston.
Maybe I could try grouping with some of you guys sometime for less of a "zero teamwork pugs all day" risk?
I mean, I'm new, and still learning stuff... buuut I've also been reading up on classes, and understand that teamwork tends to = more wins.
I also tend to do pretty well as a Lucio(who seems to fair pretty well against Roadhog's hook combo, thanks to his knockback attack) or Soldier 76 against anything but a Tracer. Though as I've said here, I'm looking to learn more classes.

Also, Sombra... good, bad, neutral, banana? I've not really been able to judge how effective she is. Maybe a good counter to some healers(Ana and Zenyatta being the primary ones to come to mind, plus it cuts off Mercy's flying I think) or ability rotation heavy characters like Genji?

Sombra is one of those characters that really depends on the player to be good or bad. I've seen a lot of sombra's spending more time hacking health packs than they do getting behind enemy lines and hacking the bastion out of turret mode, for example. She's a good hit-and-run fighter if you use her teleport beacon correctly: Lay it down someplace hidden but close to an objective, start taking the objective, and pop out when the enemy comes back to stop you. Rinse and repeat. Or getting behind Rein and hacking his sheild, hacking Mercy so she can't rez...you get the idea. But if your just going to run up behind people and shoot them, you might as well just play Tracer, since your not using all of Sombra's abilities. A good Sombra will juggle the cool down times on her invisibility and her teleport beacon so as to have one available at all times, as much as possible so she can get in, hack somebody (or fire off her Ult) and then zip out before they can turn around. Only hack the health packs that are behind enemy lines if you have the chance and no other safe alternative for attack at the moment (such as your invs an teleport both on cool down).

[Actana]

Also, Sombra... good, bad, neutral, banana? I've not really been able to judge how effective she is. Maybe a good counter to some healers(Ana and Zenyatta being the primary ones to come to mind, plus it cuts off Mercy's flying I think) or ability rotation heavy characters like Genji?

The best I could possibly describe Sombra is that she's an offensive support character in a game where there's no room for an offensive support character in a team. Used well she can certainly be effective, but she requires a lot of coordination that is unlikely to happen very often, and even then her spot in the group could be replaced by someone more straightforwardly effective. But used really well she can be very effective (but the same goes for every hero, really).

So somewhere between bad and banana, assuming a typical group.

[Mutazoia]

The best I could possibly describe Sombra is that she's an offensive support character in a game where there's no room for an offensive support character in a team. Used well she can certainly be effective, but she requires a lot of coordination that is unlikely to happen very often, and even then her spot in the group could be replaced by someone more straightforwardly effective. But used really well she can be very effective (but the same goes for every hero, really).

So somewhere between bad and banana, assuming a typical group.

You CAN have some fun with her, if you have a good team. Once, on Temple of Anubis, I went invis and ran straight to the last objective. My team took the first one fairly easily and I immediately started taking the next one. The other team panicked and turned their back to our turretted bastion and an an Ulting D.Va. Team kill, objective 2 taken with out a fight.

[Avilan the Grey]

Zaria works best as a secondary tank unless you are godly with her or the opposing team sucks
She, like Roadhog is a harasser with extreme survivability. she can take a charge from Rein and walk away.

[Actana]

You CAN have some fun with her, if you have a good team. Once, on Temple of Anubis, I went invis and ran straight to the last objective. My team took the first one fairly easily and I immediately started taking the next one. The other team panicked and turned their back to our turretted bastion and an an Ulting D.Va. Team kill, objective 2 taken with out a fight.

Oh, absolutely. She is tremendously fun when she works, and can wreak havoc when used right precisely due to the element of surprise and panic she causes. It's just that in most cases her presence and play needs to be coordinated with the entirety of the team, otherwise it can easily turn into an effective 5v6 in the enemy team's favor.

Somewhat in relation, headshotting a cloaked Sombra as Widowmaker is something I have finally achieved (and I'm terrible at Widowmaker); a mixture of intuition and pure luck. I'm just sad I didn't have it recorded at the time, as it was glorious.

[Morty]

I tried Zarya recently, and I did far better than I'd expected. Of course, that quickly evaporated when the enemy team got their crap together and coordinated. Particularly when they prioritized be with Ana's dart in one game. Still, I like her.

Meanwhile, I really feel like Winston doesn't really have anything going for him. A short range, wimpy auto-attack, and an inaccurate leap that's likely to dump me straight into crossfire. The barrier's nice, but immobile and with a very long cooldown.

[Actana]

Meanwhile, I really feel like Winston doesn't really have anything going for him. A short range, wimpy auto-attack, and an inaccurate leap that's likely to dump me straight into crossfire. The barrier's nice, but immobile and with a very long cooldown.

Last I heard, Winston's barrier cooldown will be reverted to how it used to be, so that the cooldown starts when it's placed, not when it is destroyed (as it is with Orisa's shield right now). It was originally changed due to the excessive amount of Winston spam back when you could herostack which culminated in six angry monkeys scientists jumping onto the point and spamming shields.

The change was sorely needed back then, but ever since herostacking was removed the reverting has been sorely needed as well. I'm really glad they're finally doing it.

[Morty]

Yeah, I've heard about this change. It'll help, though I'm not sure if it'll be enough. It'll at least be easier to hold down a position as him.

[Avilan the Grey]

Yeah, I've heard about this change. It'll help, though I'm not sure if it'll be enough. It'll at least be easier to hold down a position as him.

I think it will help more than you think. It will increase the mobility, which is vital for the character.

[Togath]

Lesson learned: you can blink, mid-air, backwards as Tracer. And retain enough momentum to go flying off a cliff behind you while you were trying to zoom forwards because you didn't know blink could work like that.

[NeoVid]

Meanwhile, I really feel like Winston doesn't really have anything going for him. A short range, wimpy auto-attack, and an inaccurate leap that's likely to dump me straight into crossfire. The barrier's nice, but immobile and with a very long cooldown.

Winston's another character in the tank category who can't really tank. He's best used for jumping into the enemy back lines and melting their sniper and/or healer before jumping out. Though he is a lot better at stopping damage to the team than Roadhog can manage.

[Rising Phoenix]

Winston's another character in the tank category who can't really tank. He's best used for jumping into the enemy back lines and melting their sniper and/or healer before jumping out. Though he is a lot better at stopping damage to the team than Roadhog can manage.

He's a tank in that he creates space for his team by distracting the enemy team. If he jumps the backline- the enemy team HAVE to respond quickly to him or risk losing someone. This in turn creates a window off attack for his own team.

He's clip size is just big enough that he can down most 200 hp squishies if they don't have cooldowns in a single one.

[The_Jackal]

He's a tank in that he creates space for his team by distracting the enemy team. If he jumps the backline- the enemy team HAVE to respond quickly to him or risk losing someone. This in turn creates a window off attack for his own team.

He's clip size is just big enough that he can down most 200 hp squishies if they don't have cooldowns in a single one.

Winston does NOT create space, not without his ultimate. Winston is a flanker/sniper counter, that's all. He's got ~300 damage in his gun, which is enough to knock over anyone without a healer on them. His bubble gives him enough time to unload a clip of his gun without dying, then he needs to jump to safety. Except he often won't even be able to do that, because his bubble is super-fragile, and it's of course immobile once placed, making it pretty easy to work around. High power heroes like Roadhog or Reaper can step in and wreck him, and less dangerous heroes can just leave, forcing Winston, with his crummy range, to follow them away from safety. Winston needs a damage boost and/or a range boost to fix his problems, or a LOT more armor.

[Pendulous]

The extra shields he will be able to create will be a major nuisance for the enemy team. Winston is still offensively weak, but his mobility was always what he was meant to do.

[Morty]

Yeah, trying to do the "jump and flank" thing usually puts me in the line of fire of an enemy offence hero, which ends predictably. Maybe being able to drop shields more frequently will help with that... but it still leaves me with a small window where I can actually chase a fleeing enemy and not get killed.

[The_Jackal]

Yeah, trying to do the "jump and flank" thing usually puts me in the line of fire of an enemy offence hero, which ends predictably. Maybe being able to drop shields more frequently will help with that... but it still leaves me with a small window where I can actually chase a fleeing enemy and not get killed.

Honestly, I'd argue that Winston is the most team-dependent Hero in the game, even more so than Reinhardt. You've GOT to have teammates capitalizing on his disruption, keeping everyone from focus-firing your behind into cat food. With a good team backing you up, and an Orb of Harmony topping you of, you can be a freight train, but otherwise, you're the biggest punching bag with the weakest attack in the game.

Definitely, the faster recovering shield is an improvement, we'll see if it's enough to profoundly improve his usage rate.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Definitely, the faster recovering shield is an improvement, we'll see if it's enough to profoundly improve his usage rate.

Personally, I'd be interested in seeing his health changed to something like 300 health, 250 shields, 0 armor, since I think this would synergize better with his hit+run playstyle -- jump in, mess up a few people, jump out, recharge shields, go in again (or, heck, drop his own shield and recharge while behind it). I'd also consider if he might need the ability to retarget his leap mid-air to crash at the target point, which might help it more reliably deal some damage. Alternatively, making the leap deal damage to targets it passes through in addition to those when it lands, so Winston could actually jump THROUGH a target to finish them off and reposition.

[Morty]

I've found the leap to be far too inaccurate to actually hurt anyone, and just use it to move forward quickly.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

I've found the leap to be far too inaccurate to actually hurt anyone, and just use it to move forward quickly.

Yep. Hence those suggestions above -- if it's part of his damage budget, I'd like it to be more universally useful for that purpose.

[Rising Phoenix]

Winston does NOT create space, not without his ultimate. Winston is a flanker/sniper counter, that's all. He's got ~300 damage in his gun, which is enough to knock over anyone without a healer on them. His bubble gives him enough time to unload a clip of his gun without dying, then he needs to jump to safety. Except he often won't even be able to do that, because his bubble is super-fragile, and it's of course immobile once placed, making it pretty easy to work around. High power heroes like Roadhog or Reaper can step in and wreck him, and less dangerous heroes can just leave, forcing Winston, with his crummy range, to follow them away from safety. Winston needs a damage boost and/or a range boost to fix his problems, or a LOT more armor.

If enemies have to leave the choke to deal with Winston than that IS creating space for your team. A rein keeping his shield up with no won behind him isn't a big threat. Of course he works better with other dive heroes or you know...teamwork...

Winston is not underpowered, he's fine even in his current state. The shield buff will be welcome offcourse. Edit: as for his jump, you become better with practice. It's easily the hardest part of his kit to master.

We've been running a lot of dive lately in comp including triple dps line ups. Hogs at choke are not problems for us, in fact we're happy to have them as they are easy ult charge with discord.

[Togath]

So playing Mercy a bit today... and she seems way less frustrating than Lucio.
Yes, Lucio can heal a whole team at once, but it relies on the team being willing to stick together, understand walls block my healing, and on the other team not having a good sniper(Hanzo sometimes causes problems for me as Lucio, but more often it's Widowmaker[and sometimes Ana], thanks to her instant-to-hit scoped shots. And given the walls issue, I keep having to sit out in the open as Lucio, while I can duck behind walls as a Mercy, or fly-dash to distant allies rapidly).

So now that I have recording equipment set up(including software to record anything on my desktop)...
Anyone have thoughts on what a good length for Overwatch videos might be? Maybe aiming for 2-3 matches?

[Avilan the Grey]

One big problem with Winston is that people assume he's easy to use because he has auto aim when in reality he required a lot of skill and team members who can use an opportunity when they spot one.

Edit: speaking of why is shield was nerfed... Apparently a 4 Winston 2 Lucio combo was really popular on payloads. One Lucio permanently on heal, one permanently on speedboost.

So playing Mercy a bit today... and she seems way less frustrating than Lucio.

Haven't been trying Mercy. I like Lucio enough. Lately the team scatter has been less bad so that helps but even with it... I refuse to blame myself if everyone scatter away from me. No, I will not come and try to rescue your sorry behind if you show up as critical on the other side of the map. Limp your ass over to the objective or die.

[The_Jackal]

One big problem with Winston is that people assume he's easy to use because he has auto aim when in reality he required a lot of skill and team members who can use an opportunity when they spot one.

Edit: speaking of why is shield was nerfed... Apparently a 4 Winston 2 Lucio combo was really popular on payloads. One Lucio permanently on heal, one permanently on speedboost.

Winston's has to be able to aim alright: You've got to be able to aim jumps. Landing a jump on top of an enemy gives you a 50 point head-start on whoever you're killing. Also, Winston has great mobility, but that's mobility to get INTO trouble or to get out of it, and therefore positioning is HUGELY important. Winston IS the thinking man's tank.

Haven't been trying Mercy. I like Lucio enough. Lately the team scatter has been less bad so that helps but even with it... I refuse to blame myself if everyone scatter away from me. No, I will not come and try to rescue your sorry behind if you show up as critical on the other side of the map. Limp your ass over to the objective or die.

I don't do Lucio, but this is absolutely correct. If you've got teammates running off away from the team and dying, that's on THEM, not YOU, and flying to them as Mercy is likely to get the both of you killed, which is that much the worse for the rest of your team.