Lúcio should no longer be a “mandatory pick” in Overwatch and Winston can look forward to improvements.
On Reddit, the Game Director of Overwatch, Jeff Kaplan, addressed pretty much all questions from the community. In particular, topics regarding the balance of the game were highly desired. However, it was not about the new hero Orisa, but about the two troublemakers Lúcio and Winston.
A particular headache for the development team currently is Lúcio. He is considered an absolute must-have hero in almost every game mode on nearly every map to lead the team to victory. No wonder, as he is perfect for group healing and providing a speed boost to quickly return to cover or back into battle from the spawn area. At the same time, playing Lúcio isn’t “super interesting” for many players.
Kaplan had this to say:
“Currently, we are trying out different things with Lúcio. We believe that many players see him as a “must have” in matches, while it simultaneously doesn’t feel significant to play him. We are experimenting with some ideas to make him a bit more active and at the same time less of a “must have”. Let’s see if these changes make it onto the PTR.”
The second round of changes is being prepared for the gorilla Winston. He is currently the least popular hero, at least in terms of pick rate. Although there are some players who can achieve truly magnificent plays with Winston, the science-loving gorilla seems to be too weak.
However, no specific changes were mentioned here either, and the Overwatch team does not want to make hasty decisions. “It would not be wise to overdo it with the buffs for Winston along with the release of Orisa. We need to proceed with caution. We do not want barriers and tanks to spiral out of control.”
