✅ Buff Barriers, counter at close range

General Discussion
1

Overwatch Tank meta is kinda stuck.
Over 90% of the time, it’s Rein or Lose.
Which isn’t horrible, but it’s getting kinda bland.

So I’ve been thinking of a variety of different ways to fix this, but a lot of them involve changing gameplay balance midgame.

Realizing that, I’m thinking back to one concept that doesn’t change midgame balance.

Conceptually, the real problem with Orisa/Sigma was a lack of critical weakness.

Here was the real problem with Orisa/Sigma:

  1. At medium range, it’s near impossible to burn down 2-3 barriers plus 1-2 a matrix-like ability issues, before they crack your one Barrier. With the help of two medium range damage tanks with bottomless clips.
  2. At close range, Fortify/Kinetic Grasp, plus an unmatrixable giant flashbang, and a big AOE 50% Slow, make it so that Sigma/Orisa are really hard to kill at close range.
  3. Especially when you stack on Lucio boops, Ana darts/nade and a speedboosted Reaper/Mei.

And while you can’t really do much to change #1 and #3, (without condemning them to offtank status), you can change #2.

Reduce that SelfPeel, and return them to MainTank glory.

Orisa

Protective Barrier

  • Increased to 900HP, up from 600HP
  • Cooldown reduced to 8 seconds, down from 10 seconds.

Fortify

  • Reduced to a 2 second duration

Halt!

  • No longer applies a Slow effect to enemies.

Sigma

Experimental Barrier

  • Increased to 1300HP, up from 900HP.
  • Regeneration rate to something reasonable.

Kinetic Grasp

  • Duration reduced to 1 second.

Accretion

  • Does not stun enemies at all within 10m range.

They still have barriers worthy of Main Tanks.

And they still have firepower that keeps them interesting to otherwise DPS players.

But they don’t have tons of selfpeel to make them nearly immune to close range attacks.
Which makes it so that not having an offtank that can provide Peel is a big downside.

5 Likes
2

Here we go again with the double shield meta. The only way this could make sense is if they introduce the forced comp of 1 shield tank, one off tank, and that would kill the game for good.

5 Likes
3

No need to destroy two barriers, when you can just rush into close range, and walk right through the barrier and melt the tanks.

Or did you not read the concept?

3 Likes
4

You have an entire team with them, it would be just another deathball, when you’re gonna basically have orisa sigma on both sides, and one of the teams trying to figure out who’s gonna rush in first.

5

The forums: Don’t nerf Rein’s shield, all main tanks will be bad.

Also the forums: Don’t buff Sigma and Orisa’s shields, doUbLe ShiELd mEtA!

Reinhardt can’t have almost 2x the health of Sigma’s shield, be the only viable main tank, and be left like that. They’ve tried buffing almost every other part of Sigma and Orisa’s kits but it isn’t good enough. Main tanks need decent shields.

4 Likes
6

Which is a good thing. It would promote rushdown gameplay, instead of standoff gameplay.

7

No it’s just gonna introduce a new meta, and it’s gonna go on for months before they nerf/rework it. WHat’s killing this game is mirror matches.

8

Look
Forum guy thinks any sigma/orisa buff to get them out of trash tier is bringing back double shield

Those are facts

Now
What do I think?
I think orisa could have a buff to fortify instead of the barrier, to bring up something different, or buff both, to make her a main tank, and make sigma the off tank, by making his barrier an additional thing instead of a crusial ability (sigma off tank would have a 300-500hp barrier but with his other abilities enchanted)

But if we take in consideration what you suggested, I’d either reduce the cooldown of fortify a bit or increase the duration to 3sec

As far as sigma, I don’t really feel like the regeneration health per second of the barrier is an issue, I just think it takes a long time to start, so they could reduce that

I think it’s way easier to make sigma an off tank, since making him a main tank is bringing back double shield no matter what. People think double shield existed because of 2 shields, but this isn’t true, otherwhise rein+orisa would’ve been meta. It existed because halt into hyperspheres/accretion was an amazing combo, kind of like halt to hook but with greater dmg and AoE, which hog didn’t have

So, it’s good to try buffing them, but I hardly see sigma as a viable main tank without being too oppressive. We’d need to shift power from his primary to the barrier (so he deals less damage and has closer range, the only way to make them viable is to completely remove halt->hyperspheres. They’re too good)

1 Like
9
  1. They can throw out a balance patch every week if they feel like it.
  1. How exactly do you expect variety, when there’s only 1 good anchor tank?
10

This game truly needs to be reworked from the ground up.

11

Notice how this post kinda gutted the effectiveness of that combo at close range? Almost no slow and no stun, just a bit of damage.

Oh and you reminded me, Matrixable rock.

12

It certainly did with accretion, but hyperspheres are still being a very good combo with halt… So there’s that

13

The only possible solution is more tanks. If we cut the dps roster in half then it’s fair to assume there will only be like 2 or 3 viable dps. But only with tanks/supports do we think the answer is constant buffs/nerfs instead of more variety.

14

Thanks for the reminder.

15

Unless you increase Sigma’s base HP, these changes would completely ruin the hero. Harsh Accretion nerfs combined with harsh self sustain nerfs are not fair when he gets a measly 200 extra HP on a still clunky barrier. He would be better off left alone.

16

Perhaps you’re missing the 1100HP barrier can get healed up 500HP with Kinetic Grasp.

That said, if he’s getting dived on, it’s time to get an offtank that can provide Peel.

You keep DoubleBarrier balanced, by making it so that Not having an offtank has a major downside.

1 Like
17

People keep wanting shield value to be redistributed amongst the rest of tanks’ kits, but forget that shields are what keep 4/6 of your team alive.

18

well shoot, now that this came at a coincidental time as my balance post, what do you think of these ideas

19
1 Like
20

Where’s the variety in orisa and sigma. They’re both shield bots just like rein.
There were so many ways to go about them, plus they never created main and off tanks (that’s what they said), but you have no choice in a game where there’s one shot mechanics and burst damage. I’m saying this since I started playing overwatch. Tanks should’ve been like paladins tanks.