(There’s a tldr)
Ok, so tanks are somewhat of a hot topic lately (everything rly cause drama) with things like barrier nerf and the 1-3-2 role lock, so I just wanted to share my 5 cents. This topic will mainly adress sigma/orisa and roadhog as they kinda represent opposite sides of the tank spectrum but the ideas exposed should be generalized to all the roster.
I agree with the consensus that a good way to mitigate the actual DPS queue problem is to make other roles more desirable, in this case tanks, and at the same time make them more fun to fight with and against. In that regard, I think the way to go is to increase the tank roster and move the power (or tankiness) from barriers to the tanks itself. Im gonna discuss why and how to do so with actual tanks, but in the end, I strongly feel like this “philosophy” should be taken into account for future tanks rather than the ones we have actually.
IMO the purest tank right now is, funnily enough, roadhog, as he is the only one to actually TANK, whereas some recent introductions to the role, sigma and orisa, are more of a “the shield tanks for me” guys, which I think doesnt help make them fun to play with or against. IMO the way to go is to make tanks generally more brawly and tanky, creating space with interactions like roadhog’s presence per se (due to the raw tankiness and oneshot potential) instead of creating space with barriers, which feels lame. Barriers like reinhards I think used to be generally fine as you could easily manoeuvre around them, they coudlnt do anything else while shielding (making it more of a 5v6), and such barriers were more of an exception to what we have now. So, if we want tanks that can pump barriers and still be completely functional, those barriers should be very situational instead of being able to literally hold chokes. The tankiness should move from the barrier to the tank itself.
Summing it up, tanks should get a roadhogging treatment:
First off, make all tanks give less ultimate (half?) to the enemy so they dont feel as punishing to tank with, instead of things like roadhog being a free ult charger. Proly balance it out with supports gaining less ult from healing them too.
Then, make tanks more interactive by giving them a clear space where they have a huge impact. Things like roadhogs hook and reins hammer are the way to go imo.
My proposed changes to achieve that (just ideas to reflect the philosophy, not rly legit changes I want):
Sigma:
Nerf his barrier to half hp and revert the cd. This way, you get a very bland barrier with the benefit of being easily repositionable, which I think was the coolest and most unique part of it
In order to make him tankier, add some kind of passive that makes him instlanty start regenerating his shield hp portion on damaging an enemy instead of the regular 3s, and maybe with a greater effect (base shield recharge is 20 points per second, maybe 30 to make it like a zens orb). This is kinda Brig’s passive but it stops on damage taken. This way, you have a very durable tank that needs to be focused down in order to be substantially harmed or killed.
Maybe change primary fire/ultimate? Didnt have any ideas about those two.
Both changes should promote a more bodyblocky/sustainy gameplay.
Orisa:
Some bonker nerf to her barrier (250hp?) but give it some considerable hp regen per second (80hp/s?). This adds the interaction of being uncapable of holding a choke point as it will get easily focused and destroyed but it’s rly effective against alternate lines of fire. Just an idea to make the barriers more about unique mechanics and feel less oppressive overall
Rework her right click to some kind of beam that you need to charge and fire for up to 150 dmg, still tied to a cd. Maybe zaryas beam range. Halt is currently pretty dumb to play against and I dont feel like it adds any “space creation” to the tank itself. Being able to pump out high damage on close quarters should make orisa a much more respectable tank in terms of damage.
Proly change ult so it gives certain amount of shields per second instead of a damage boost (similar to old symmetra’s shield generator, we even have voice lines for it!). I feel like this makes sense as it feels more like a tank ultimate and it still keeps the interaction of being able to destroy it/LoS which I think is the coolest part.
Hopefully this makes orisa itself more dangerous and helps her create space instead of relying on her barrier, while making some QoL changes.
Note that those changes kinda kill barriers and will proly break the characters, which should be properly rebalanced.
TL;DR: Talking about the tank roster. Cooldowns > Barriers. Make actual and future tanks more about creating space with clear zones of influence that allow multiple interactions instead of relying on barriers -roadhog is in its essence more of a tank than e.g. orisa, so give tanks the roadhog treatment-. Sorry for the long post, you guys can thank the DPS queues hahaxd.
EDIT: Fixed some barrier/shield inconsistencies
