The upcoming patch for Overwatch is being hotly debated. Not everyone is pleased with the changes to the heroes, especially among the professionals who have mixed opinions.
The upcoming patch for Overwatch is likely to be one of the most important balance patches in the history of the game. It not only alters the barriers of numerous tanks and reduces their values but also changes the calculation for armor and its damage reduction. However, even among professionals and major streamers, the changes are controversial and are being passionately discussed.
Armor as the new problem: Each point of armor now reduces the damage taken by 5 points instead of just 3. This not only buffs characters with an armor value massively but also makes Brigitte significantly stronger as a healer. Her healing provides armor, allowing fragile characters to become quite resilient heroes. Former professional Seagull (Brandon Larned) critically notes this:
Shields are now a piece of cake for many heroes: A few more details are very interesting. For example, Roadhog can now destroy Orisa’s protective barrier with 4 shots – provided he stands right in front of this barrier. Thus, he doesn’t even need a full magazine and can breach the protection in no time.
Orisa faces criticism despite nerf: Although Orisa’s barrier has been significantly weakened, there is criticism of the tank-omnics. The issue here is the Defensive Protocol, which reduces Orisa’s damage taken by 50% for a few seconds and makes her immune to knockback effects and stuns. The cooldown of this ability has been reduced from 12 seconds to 10.
With the interplay of the Defensive Protocol and armor, Orisa has become even more powerful and, according to professional Samito, has an effective HP pool of 800. He hopes that Orisa’s damage reduction will be toned down.
What is the general sentiment? Overall, the patch seems to be received positively by the community. The weakening of the shields has been long requested and should help Overwatch achieve a “healthier” gameplay where players are not permanently huddled behind shields. The accompanying changes to the tanks are welcomed – except for Orisa’s change. Despite the weakened barrier, she is now considered too strong.
Whether the patch will have the desired effects in the next season of Overwatch remains to be seen. At least the changes are likely to disrupt the current meta and lead to shorter, more intense battles.
What do you think of the upcoming patch?
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