Add headshot back to Bastion

[LawTider-2190]

I always find this game to go one buff or nerf too far. Bastion was reworked back in the day to be more viable, but they then nerfed the last thing of his kit that MADE him even REMOTELY viable, his headshot multiplier.

[Akaras-1659]

Recon mode is head shotting turret mode is tank busting

[idSurge-1468]

And how’s that working out for the guy?

[NighthAwk-13514]

I’m not opposed to bastion getting a buff, but it needs to be very carefully done, and I don’t think the headshot multiplier in sentry mode is the right thing to do.

[Terranguard-11978]

Recon mode is head shotting turret mode is tank busting

Guess what? It doesn’t “bust tanks”. They took away a minimum of 2x his damage and nerfed it way more at ranges. That screams “don’t bust tanks”.

[SassafrasTea-1914]

Honestly, I’d like to be on board with such an idea, but I think the real problem is the power of Bastion when coupled with Orisa, etc. I feel like headshots in turret mode might over do it. Any other ideas of changes for him?

[Terranguard-11978]

@HDuckingShip-1356

Any other ideas of changes for him?

@Terranguard-11978

Some suggested changes

Self-Repair

• reduce/remove Self-Repair startup delay

• Allow healing while transforming

Bastion will be able to activate Self-Repair sooner allowing it to be used in reaction to burst damage instead of after the burst damage as well as making his whole kit work a little smoother

Ultimate

• reduce ultimate transformation time

• allow reduced movement during ultimate startup

• reduce ultimate “footstep” sound

• remove ultimate self damage while maintaining self knockback (he’s landbound like Junkrat and rocket jumps alot)

• increase ironclad to 35% while ulting (or for an alternative, see: Rework\new ultimate)

• apply ironclad the second you start ulting instead of after you finish the transformation

He is usually on the ground and in your face with his ult and sometimes that leads to his death, similar to how Junkrat worked before. With the increased survivability and the removal of self damage he will be able to fight like he’s supposed to instead of just melting

Sentry

• remove 100 ammo

• remove Iron-Clad

• reduce the transform time to what it was before (this one can maybe stay)

• revert the 50% spread increase

• revert to being able to headshot

Sentrymode needs to be a damage dealing mode again instead of a “tank/barrier busting” one. It busted both just fine before. It used to be damage for mobility with no strings attached. Now it’s damage and an inability to hit almost anything for mobility with +60 effective HP

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Possible Rework

General Changes

• Sentry: remove Iron-Clad

• Sentry: revert spread nerf

• revert headshot nerf

E ability: Tankmode

• you transform into a weaker tankmode

• 120 damage per shot

• “footstep” sound decreased to normal audio instead of the echoing ultimate sound

• configure time 1 second down from 1.5

• 5-6 ammo in a clip

• 2 second reload time

• no self damage

This will give him some vertical mobility as well as a way of dealing with fast, flighty heroes. It has less damage potential than recon and sentry but has a higher burst with a splash radius.

New ultimate: Overclock

• boosts and gives 150 armor in any mode

• You can change modes during the duration at twice the speed

This will allow rapid switching between modes so you can adapt to the situation at hand vastly increasing his ability to change his specialization in a fight

Overclocked Recon

• 30% bonus speed (7.1 meters per second)

• double reload speed

This will double down on the main point of recon, movement while making his gun not suck during his ultimate

Overclocked Sentry

• immune to CC (like Orisa’s fortify)

• gains infinite ammo

This will increase his effectiveness as an immovable defensive structure while ulting, much like Torb’s level 3 turret

Overclocked Tankmode

• damage restored to 205 damage per shot

• infinite ammo

This will just be old tank so you can still assault with higher burst like normal but you don’t get the damage of sentry like Overclocked Sentry or the mobility of Overclocked Recon

Thanks to Zirkel for the rework suggestion. I made some adjustments to either clarify or to change some things to be more balanced. (Such as 150 armor instead of 200 and solidified unboosted tankmode’s damage)

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This is a megathread I created for Bastion. It has suggestions on changes or a rework. click the arrows to expand it to read more. It is categorized under the different sections of his kit.

headshots and lower spread will be balanced by the fact that ironclad would be removed. It would not stack with armor anymore meaning Reaper can kill him even with an Orisa pocketing him.

[wit-21479]

I’m not opposed to bastion getting a buff, but it needs to be very carefully done, and I don’t think the headshot multiplier in sentry mode is the right thing to do.

Correct. My personal idea is make mode switching a little longer but make him less loud. That would mean he can’t unfairly flank, but he COULD flank. Bastion’s problem is if someone even suspects there a bastion, even mercy whips out her gun and its 6v1. If bastion is to work on a team most of it has to protect him. Give him just a little potential to surprise people and he’d be golden.

[NighthAwk-13514]

525 damage per second for 8.5s straight without stopping is literally the best tank busting in the game. The goal is also not to just kill the literal hero themselves, but also the barriers. No other hero in the game can come close to destroying a rein shield in <4s, an orisa shield in 2s, and a Winston shield in just over 1s.

[Curiosity-21298]

I dont get it, why Blizz cant just give him like 15-30% dmg increase on critshots ? We dont ask for 2x multiplier, it’s just little dmg bonus for proper aiming. Which he deserve.

[Terranguard-11978]

525 damage per second for 8.5s straight without stopping is literally the best tank busting in the game.

Not when most of them can kill you first anyways. You have to be so close that it’s not that hard to just hook+shoot.

[NighthAwk-13514]

Why on earth would you need to be so close to the tank? Bastion’s sentry falloff damage starts at 35m. At that range even with the amount of spread he has, hitting a tank (let alone their shield) is a trivial task. Use some clever positioning and or some help from your own team’s tanks and it’s trivial.

[Terranguard-11978]

Why on earth would you need to be so close to the tank?

Remember the +50% spread nerf? That’s why.

At that range even with the amount of spread he has, hitting a tank (let alone their shield) is a trivial task.

At the ranges you’re suggesting (35m) the spread will make almost all of your bullets miss. Hitting the tank isn’t the problem, it’s hitting more than half you bullets that is. It’s only 525 dps if all of your bullets hit.

some help from your own team’s tanks and it’s trivial.

So in order to counter tanks he needs his team to babysit him? That sounds like a problem. The “tank buster” can’t bust tanks unless his team is pocketing him.

[NighthAwk-13514]

If you can’t hit a shield at 35m due to the spread your aim is garbage.

[Gojak-1569]

Bringing back crits would do a lot I think. Figure it would be very easy to do for the team too. I mean they turned them off, just turn them back on.

He isn’t even on their radar to fix. So this is something easy they could do right now. It’s either small fixes like this or he remains useless for the next year while they fix the other 6 heroes they are looking at first.

[Terranguard-11978]

If you can’t hit a shield at 35m due to the spread your aim is garbage.

When did this turn into shields? We were specifically talking about tanks, like Roadhog, not their shields. Do not change the argument.

[NighthAwk-13514]

I specifically mentioned shields as part of what the “tank busting” meant.

525 damage per second for 8.5s straight without stopping is literally the best tank busting in the game. The goal is also not to just kill the literal hero themselves, but also the barriers. No other hero in the game can come close to destroying a rein shield in <4s, an orisa shield in 2s, and a Winston shield in just over 1s.

[Terranguard-11978]

Headshots and decreased spread won’t effect barriers at all, only the tank underneath, which is what he has trouble killing.

We’re both biased here so I don’t see this argument going anywhere. I main Bastion and you main Phara who, if he gets these buffs, will get shot out of the sky quite alot.

[FreeHongKong-1742]

His spread will make many ranged shots accidental headshots.

[Halofreak90-2566]

Bastion shreds barriers and tanks like no other. If you think he’s weak or not viable, you’re not running him in the right comps.