Shields that are very tough to destroy seem to force the game into one of 2 win conditions.
A) Pick heroes that can avoid the shields
B) Pick Heroes that can spam ults through the shields
With super strong shields dive heroes were the number 1 meta for a long time because they could simply dive past the shields to get the required picks.
If your not a mobile hero you just sit there blasting away on a shield all game which would never get you a pick as fast as dive could.
After Nerfing dive. Things switched to snipers because they can shoot OVER shields to get the required pick.
When noone can get a pick the match boils down to an ult combo like Grav + DragonStrike or Bayblade during the tank meta
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hmmm… as a support main, I would love if all current shields in game were reduced by 50%
so rein’s, orisa’s, winston’s and brigitte’s?
I said all shields idk why i need to elaborate on that
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because zarya does not need her alreayd 200 helath shield that usually goes away before its gone to be 100 health
I mean since her bubbles are primarily used to get charge i don’t see the problem
Yes because the thing that these large hitbox tanks need most is their only form of protection being halved in power. And for brigitte, she doesn’t even need a shield, so thats a good idea.
because health is linked to charge, also it is her only way to survive due ot her low health pool
I mean shields that you can keep putting up that protect the whole team for long periods of times.
This would mainly only be Orisia and Rein specifically.
The other shields are weaker and smaller so they can’t protect the whole team for long
or are meant for personal protection
Shields can still get shredded. Even faster than ever now. How are shields a problem.
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Barriers have little to do with this meta or the last one for that matter.
Dive was popular because dive was relatively lacking in counters and dive heroes allow for taking, holding, and regaining important high ground (and Overwatch maps have a lot of high ground). Snipers aren’t popular because of anything to do with barriers, they’re popular because dive heroes aren’t in a great spot right now. Playing for ults is a thing because that’s what Zarya-based team comps do and it’s easy to play for ult with Zarya just spamming right click and Hanzo farming tanks.
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Symmetra says hi to you all!
Also Bastion, Junkrat, Pharah, and Sombra!
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I still think photon barrier ability is better than her ult
remove snipers, lower the shields and it’s fine.
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Cause the game is about getting picks.
Who kills a target first.
4 immobile heroes who are shooting into a Rein shield
or 4 mobile heroes that can dive past the shield onto one targert.
Look at the meta for GM. It’s all snipers that can shoot over the shields and then DIVE heroes STILL.
They all have one thing in common. They are mobile enough that they can get around shields.
So where does a hero like 76, McCree or Mei for example fit into to this?
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Snipers being too strong is causing the problem. There’s plenty of DPS capable of bursting shields, but neither of them are good alternatives vs Hanzo/WM; what good are characters like Junkrat, Pharah, Reaper or Hog when they die as soon as they leave cover due to sniper one-shots?
The combination of Brigitte, overbuffing Hanzo, and nerfing dive made sure snipers will remain uncontested, and until dive becomes viable in some form again that won’t change.
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Well… not necessarily.
I think metas where it’s just two opposing sides holding m1 into Rein until one Rein drops their shield… just have never really been fun on the top end.
That’s largely where dive came in as they can negate barriers, and you’d have a cool interaction where you’d have people distracting Rein, going for healers, all that fun stuff.
Now that deathball and snipers are the only viable options it gets dull fast. It’s not the fault of the barriers, though. It’s just they crushed all other meta opportunities at once and we get this dull mess.
I’d also say that armour restricts the meta. Every hero currently viable either synergises with or counters armour heavily. There’s just no room for the Orisas, Roadhogs or S76s when you could just pick burst damage heroes and not get that damage reduction.
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Shields are fine as they are. There is so much burst damage in the game that they come down pretty quickly. Dive heroes can get over the shields with impunity. And let’s also not forget that soon we’re getting a hero that can spawn a teleporter in your backfield and hot drop the entire enemy team behind your shields.
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What strong shields? Even Rein’s shield gets shredded quickly by most opposing comps currently.
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