One of the things that Blizzard persistently hopes on changing in Overwatch is how the game is played. Up until now, even the pros admit that there are a few issues with the game’s meta, but one pro player has an idea of what the root is.
When the game launched, Overwatch had three supports only – Mercy, Lucio, and Zenyatta. At the time, Symmetra was also a support character, but she didn’t have healing capabilities, unlike others.
Since launching, the game has added numerous supports already. SureFour believes that it’s the support heroes that are affecting how the game is played.
AoE healing should be changed
More specifically, SureFour is blaming heroes that have AoE healing like Lucio, Brigitte, and Moira. As compared to pocket healers, those healers greatly increase the group’s survivability. That being said, winning a match now often means prioritizing damage over heroes that can heal in an area.
Effective HP in OW
Read: https://t.co/qaI4W7DRUY
— Lane (@Surefour) July 13, 2020
The dive meta is still the most popular and effective way to win matches. In the dive meta, teams simply have to take or defend an objective as a group. If two AoE heroes are reinforcing the team, then the success of winning becomes much higher.
If Blizzard wants to change the meta, SureFour suggests that there should be a cap on AoE healing or that more pocket or burst healers need to be a part of the game.
Problematic supports
One of the most problematic supports in the game is Brigitte. When she was added to the game, the dive meta was even more effective. The support heroes’ healing depended on the aggressiveness of the character. When she launched, partnering her with a few tanks and another support AoE almost meant victory.
Another problematic support in the game is Moira. However, she’s problematic in a way that people forego her healing capabilities to do more damage in games. She has been nerfed and buffed again and again, but persistent players still choose to go damage Moira.
The next set of characters for the game will launch in the sequel. This means unless Blizzard makes a complete overhaul of AoE healing, the meta might remain more or less the same.
Overwatch is far from being a balanced game. The developer needs to understand the areas where the game is currently lacking. For now, it seems like SureFour is making a lot of sense with his statements.
Image used courtesy of Overwatch