With the changes happening in Overwatch, some players believe it may be time for Mei to become a tank, here’s why.
Blizzard’s implementation of the new hero pool system in Overwatch has stirred up some feelings within the game’s community. Players have begun to think of ways to change the game’s conventions, and one suggestion from an Overwatch veteran is to transition the character of Mei as a damage dealer into a tank.
Tanks play an important role in any tactical team-based multiplayer game. Their high survivability and ability to take incessant damage makes them an ideal front-liner to protect allies, disrupt enemy positions, and deal with crowd control.
Interestingly, Mei already has the qualities that make up a tank without being one.
Experimental Mei Tank Mode
In a post on Reddit, user BoisterousBuddy requests Blizzard for an experimental game mode featuring Mei as a tank. The Redditor explains that the character already has the necessary skillset needed by a tank.
For instance, Mei already has a range of protective skills such as her Cryo-Freeze and her Ice Wall. More than that, the character can heal herself and already has an effective crowd control. BoisterousBuddy says Blizzard will only have to make a few additional changes to the character in order for Mei to become a fully-fledged tank.
“She’d need tweaked [sic] a little bit, for her to be a proper tank she’d need an armored health pool and increased hitbox. Bring back damage falloff to her icicle. Tweak some cooldowns to better fit a tank,” the Redditor explains.
The problem with Mei
Mei could be considered somewhat of an anomaly in the game’s current system. Overwatch’s current Role Queue role limits the number of character classes that players can choose in a team at a given time. This basically means that only two of the same classes can exist in a team: two damage-dealers, two supports, and two tanks.
This rule was implemented in order to enforce a balance between teams, but Mei could be considered an exception to this rule. Having Mei on a team almost equates to having three tanks, despite her being a damage dealer, due to her current skill set.
Players have noticed this too, and the character received a number of complaints. Re-working her and turning her into a tank just might fix the problem.
Mei as a tank may not happen in Overwatch, yet
While the idea of Mei as a tank is definitely plausible, Blizzard may not take this suggestion to heart. This is because it takes a considerable amount of time and resources to re-work a character, and since Overwatch 2 is also slated to arrive next year (hopefully), Blizzard may forego any development plans for Mei’s character in the game.
However, this could still be a strong possibility when Overwatch 2 arrives.
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