🐦 The Last BASTION of Hope (A Community Made Bastion Ultrathread) OVER 300 LIKES!11!

[DekuNut-1500]

The last BASTION of Hope (A Community Made Bastion Ultrathread)

This is a thread that I can not claim that I made by myself, this is a culmination of all the ideas that us Bastion mains have put together to try to see some form of change happen for our favorite “Walking-Gatling Gun”
Currently, as of today (The day that I started making this) April 10th 2018, Bastion is the lowest picked character at every tier gold and above.

Bastion Pick Rates

Bronze 2.09%
Silver 1.10%
Gold 0.56%
Platinum 0.33%
Diamond 0.21%
Masters 0.15%
Grandmasters 0.23%
Overall 0.58%

Since feel like I can’t do quite as good of job at explaining his issues like many of the Bastion mains can I am going to leave a quote here.

Click here to see The Problem

@PharHǝntoi-1208

Where did he go? Where is he now?

F-tier, straight after his rework. Funny enough, he’s been there for over a year now, which he only got out of for a week when he became OP. Prior he was also F-tier, but he was at least usable back then.

Wasn’t his rework suppose to fix him and make him better?

I thought that too, but the problems that the rework fixed were either bandaids over a broken bone or created new problems altogether.

The net result of his rework.

The positive:

• Recon is better
  • Healing while moving
  • More accurate

The negatives:

• Tank is now more fragile than before
  • 20% Ironclad only equates to 60-ish HP, and before his rework he would get 150 extra armor.
  • Said armor would be applied AS SOON AS he pressed Q, but now IC only gets added after his animation so he’s stuck in a 1.5 second animation (twice) without any protection. I can’t think of any other hero needed protection while ulting.
  • He’s basically old Hog’s self heal when it locked him in place, and Hog then needed the mobility AND the 50% DR. Bastion is suffering like Hog used to.
• Sentry was suppose to trade DPS for sustainability, but now it’s gutted.
  • Headshot removal and extra spread were given in exchange for 35% Ironclad, but everyone, including me, realized that was a bad idea.
  • 35% IC was then nerfed to 20% without any compensation.
  • This turned him from a Glass Cannon into a Glass Pea Shooter.
  • 20% IC only equates to 60 HP, so his TTK (Time To Kill) being gutted was for nothing, when he only got 60 more HP in return.
  • Recon is not suppose to be his primary mode since if you want to recon, you’re better off playing Soldier 76, since he has smaller hitbox, more mobility, more reliable healing, and burst damage.

Leftovers:

• His tank-tread sound is louder than the air raid sirens during WW2, which was added during uprising and gave his ult a free “avoid me” feature.
• Still no gold tank cannon (But Genji has a gold melee knife).

Why does no one care about him.

I think it’s partly because of Pirate Ship, aka his only relevancy. The other half was because people still have PTSD from his rework that invented the OG Pirate Ship… aka Protect the President.

Ever since his niche became ‘barrier busting’ he has fallen behind, because before his rework he was a tank counter. Currently, he sucks at his job and that’s because he can’t punish (TTK was lowered) but in return gets punished for anything he does.

Why his niche is trash.

• Orisa has hers on such a low CD (which promotes the Pirate Ship)
• Rein has enough counters already
• Dive can literally jump right past any barrier, making Bastion’s existence null.
• Every hero counters Bastion aside from Winston since his damage is so low.
  • I’ve even done it as Mercy, and before you say “well the enemy Bastion was bad” just note than when you’re jumping around him it’s hard for him to track, on top of his TTK being gutted then being slapped with 60 extra HP that does nothing for him.

TL;DR:

The main crux of his problem was that his rework brough in elements that were unnecessary for him, made him OP, and Blizzard reacted with nerfs a week after his rework so NO data was collected and said nerfs completely changed how he plays out now. Neither Mercy, Dva, or now Sombra had to deal with these gut reactions that crippled him.

The biggest problem currently is how low his TTK is. Ironclad was nerfed but his damage was not adjusted. The mutual agreement was Bastion traded sentry damage for sentry survivability. When his survivability got gutted his damage is still at the rework level, and it severly limits how good he is at any type of combat.

Now There are four main camps that Bastion mains fall into when it comes to changing this character

The Camps

@DekuNut-1500

I feel like there are four main camps for a Bastion Buff.
Camp 1
Buff Bastion’s TTK while nerfing his mobility.
Camp 2
Make Bastion tankier while not touching anything else.
Camp 3
Make Bastion more mobile in Recon/Give him utility.
Camp 4
Make Bastion more adaptable

I’m cool with all 4 tbh

Did I miss anything?

Here is a more fleshed out version of the camps as seen by my friend,

@SunderGold-1892

I would like to re-define the camps based on the specific Mode(s) we want to see buffed, and what sort of buffs we want to see for the Mode(s) we feel should be improved.

BUFF RECON (Rifle)

Rifle

Reduce the speed at which the Recon Rifle’s bloom expands. If this is supposed to be Bastion’s only reliable long-range weapon, it needs to actually be reliable. His enormous hit-box doesn’t allow him to duel at a distance like Soldier:76, and the nerfs to his Sentry Gun prevent him from trading fire with Widowmaker and Hanzo like he used to. The current bloom recovery also isn’t good enough to let Bastion out-play other heroes in close-to-mid-range duels, because he’s as big as a Tank Class hero without having the same toughness or close-range damage as a Tank Class hero. Even his Sentry Mode isn’t good at dueling, because it cannot maintain medium range and has trouble tracking opponents who stand inside of him.

BUFF RECON/SENTRY (Mobility and Positioning)

Speed Burst

As a cool-down E ability in Recon Mode: Bastion transforms his legs into his tank treads, allowing him faster horizontal movement and the possibility of making farther jumps. Either way, Bastion gains a little more ability to safely and quickly traverse the map, as well as to reach better firing positions for Sentry Mode, while still being less mobile than the other Defense heroes. This ability might also work in Tank Mode, or else Tank Mode might get a passive buff to speed.
.

Climbing

As a cool-down E ability in Recon Mode: Bastion climbs walls at half the speed of Genji or Hanzo, or fires grappling wires like Widowmaker which fly out just as fast, but which reel him up at half speed or less. Either way, Bastion gains a little more ability to safely and quickly traverse the map, as well as to reach better firing positions for Sentry Mode, while still being less mobile than the other Defense heroes. This ability might also work in Tank Mode.

BUFF SENTRY (Resistance)

Anti-CC

As a cool-down E ability with short duration: in Sentry Mode, Bastion applies anchors to the ground which prevent him from being moved from that position or knocked out of Sentry form by abilities like Halt, Charge, or Hook. The cooldown for this ability doesn’t start until he leaves Sentry Mode.
.

Extremely Weak Shield

Give Bastion’s Sentry Mode an even more limited version of Zarya’s shield as an E Ability. He cannot fire while using it. It can only recharge in Recon Form. It has a short duration, and only protects from the front. Can protect against Charges, Hooks, and explosives like Pulse Bombs, Helix Rockets, and Pharah primary shots. He can still heal while using it.

BUFF SENTRY/TANK (Toughness)

Ironclad

Apply Ironclad as soon as transformation to Sentry or Tank Mode begins; increase Ironclad percentage for Tank Mode to 30%.
.

Armor

Remove Ironclad, bring back bonus armor that applies as soon as transformation begins; apply lesser armor bonus to Sentry.

BUFF TANK (Toughness)

No Self-Damage

Remove self-damage from Tank Mode shots. This is a minor buff which can be applied together with any other buff on this list. Seriously, Bastion’s Tank Mode accuracy beyond short range is horrible, it can’t gain altitude like Pharah and Junkrat, and Junkrat doesn’t even take self-damage from any of his explosives anymore.

BUFF TANK (Accuracy)

Projectile or Reticle Size

Increase the hit-box size of Bastion’s tank projectiles to something much larger than a tiny bullet, such that clipping someone or something with the animated projectile will trigger its explosion. Currently, you can miss anything by a hair as the projectile clips through it and keeps sailing far past your target. Or at the very least, remove the large hexagon around Bastion’s tank-mode reticle – it’s deceptively large and inaccurate.

BUFF TANK (Unpredictability)

Abort Ultimate like McCree

Allow Bastion to end Tank Mode prematurely by pressing Shift to enter Sentry Mode, just as McCree can prematurely end his own Ultimate when he needs a faster firing rate.
.

Variable Ultimate Duration

Change the duration of Tank Mode so that the Ultimate does not end until Bastion has fired a certain number of shots, so that Bastion may continue to behave like an ambush predator by laying in wait for prey… and allow Bastion to end Tank Mode prematurely by pressing Shift to enter Sentry Mode, just as McCree can end his own Ultimate.

BUFF TANK (Flexibility)

Additional Ultimate Mode: Artillery

Give Bastion’s Ultimate an additional, immobile Artillery Mode as an analogue to Sentry Mode, which fires the explosive shells in an arc that can clear walls and land on roofs, like Junkrat’s primary fire.

MAJOR REWORK

Change Bastion's Modes

Remove Tank Mode from the game entirely, make old Sentry Mode into Bastion’s Ultimate, and replace current Sentry Mode with an immobile Artillery Mode that arcs explosive shots over walls and onto roofs, like Junkrat’s primary fire.
.

Overclock Bastion's Modes

Nerf Tank Mode’s firepower, buff its speed, and make it an E Ability reconfiguration. Bastion’s new Ultimate would instead improve the performance of all of its modes, returning Sentry Mode and Tank Mode to their former glory for a short time and making the Recon Rifle better as well.

REVERT

Blasphemy

Revert Sentry Mode to its old bloom and restore its headshot ability. Reward Bastion players for having good aim.

Which one do you agree with? Maybe I’ll make a poll later

Camp 1

Any ways let’s begin with camp 1

@Terranguard-11978

Use this thread: https://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20759286904#1

It’s on the old forums but it has 272 likes and 40 dislikes in favor of reverting sentry.

This Camp basically asks for a full revert of Sentry while leaving the Recon Changes. In a nutshell that means this:
Old Spread and Headshots are reinstated.
Old transformation time reinstated.
200 ammo clips
As my friend here says,

@ChibiFox-11511

Mobility isn’t really what Bastion needs… Mobility is for flankers, and squishy small targets… Bastion is a Machine Gun.

Bastion needs better self sustain. Better: “Holding down areas”
And less: “Run away from any danger” -.-

A Bastion Should Be Hard to Deal with.
Hard to uproot.

Bastion isn’t a genji. Bastion is a Machine Gun.

Camp 2

Very good video demonstration for A shield idea. For those of you who do not want to watch it. It gives Bastion his own shield that that has 300hp, drains from the same resource as his healing, and only recharges in Recon.

@Proxillus-1241

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzhaKlaZ5Tc

It’s unfortunate I’ve made final adjustments to the video (3 times), this is all I’m going to edit because its all I can do lol

I’ve just basically made the resource meter more nicer? and added music to the no sound parts.
It’s still cluttered at the shield part but maybe its a bit easier to understand.

Camp 3

Here is kinda the catch all area so I’m gonna post a few ideas that I liked.

@SunderGold-1892

What if Bastion had an E ability to climb walls in Recon Mode? Slower than the ninjas, so it can’t be used as an escape.

Just for reaching the GOOD sniping positions.

@SunderGold-1892

I think the spring is much sillier, and would sooner fit Symmetra, who is actually about building odd gadgets from nothing.

A more fitting idea is Bastion have a super-jump. It would have a casting time as Bastion crouches and coils, building up power in its legs, before leaping to a chosen location. Sort of like Reaper’s Shadow Step.

It would be less effective as an attack than Winston’s jump because of the casting time.

@predat0r-2569

Give bastion slow movement in sentry mode! (he has tracks right?)

@DekuNut-1500

I also thought of giving him a ‘pulse’ ability in sentry as a form of CC in the areas immediately close to him. Like letting out some excess energy almost like the plasma rifle from Doom 2016.

You could make it so Bastion had to walk for so long in Recon to “Charge” it. I don’t know about any numbers for it but I think that would make him less diveable with out changing his effectiveness against RoadHog, Hanzo, or Widow.

Idk Food for thought. Maybe someone can come up with a better idea from this

Idk if it is even a good idea I just want to bring more ideas to the table

@DrZack-1452

Which hero is Bastion again? Is it that the bearded gnome or the French oo-la-la? (Sarcasm)

Personal thoughts on how to help Bastion:

#1 - Get rid of the current passive. Replace with a new passive that when enemies are eliminated Bastion can pick up scrap to gain 25 armor (max 400 HP/Armor). That way Bastion can reap their own rewards continuously instead of relying on a very situational and easily ignored passive.

#2 - Assign an ability that is similar to S76’s Tactical Visor. As a robot it makes sense Bastion has some kind of assisted targeting program. This ability cannot do critical shots (Like Tact Visor). This ability would work in Sentry Form as well, though by placing it on a resource greatly limits the duration.

@JaredMnstr-2554

Another thing we could add to bastions recon mode, You guys know the emote “Alert! Alert!” where bastion is in this defensive stance, well that would be the animation for it.

Now imagine he can do that on the move:

reducing the dmg taken (he is armoring up in that emote so it makes sense i guess) or simply increasing his damage, this would probably had to decrease his walking speed other wise we could end up with another roadhog (healing and running away)
It would be an “E” ability that you can turn on for few seconds
short well timed ability should give bastion more skill to use against enemies in tense non tank fights.

But that buff would be for all ya that want some change to the recon mode, as we have discussed the sentry changes already.

Feel free to modify this idea to balance it more

These are some ideas it doesn’t mean that they are exactly fleshed out though and probably will need some work, but they were the ones I felt should be mentioned.

These are some ideas it doesn’t mean that they are exactly fleshed out though and probably will need some work but they were the ones I felt should be mentioned.

Camp 4

@Terranguard-11978

---

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)

---

ArcticGator's Suggestions

@ArcticGator-1857

TL/DR: Bastion's main problem is being taken out of the fight by a dive. This can sometimes be mitigated with the help of his teammates through different defensive abilities.

---

To help make him less drastically reliant on his team and more viable not only against dive comps, he should get one of three tools that would give him more options for counterplay against the other heroes: Offense, Defense, or Mobility.

---

Click the triangle at the top right for a more in-depth walkthrough.

Bastion’s main problem is that if he gets dove on, he will almost certainly die. He can’t avoid this on his own due to his low mobility. He can try avoiding this with the help of his teammates with something like a Reinhardt shield, Zarya bubble, or massive amounts of healing. You can also totally ignore the dive and instead get resurrected by mercy. However, with mercy’s recent changes that’s less of a possibility.

Out the number of ways we have, all of them involve Bastion relying solely on his team for survival. The way to make him less reliant on his team is to give him a tool of his own to counteract a dive. We could do this in a number of different ways. There are three ways that I can think of to prevent or dissuade enemies from diving on you:

Offense - A temporary increase in fire-rate bound to an E ability

• Overclock
• Cooldown: 8 seconds
• Duration: 3 seconds
• Cast time: 1 second

Bastion can counteract a dive as well as be more effective against tanks and barriers while using this. Since your spread will stay the same, squishies (or 200 health targets) will not be good targets because of all the potential damage you’d be wasting. They could also just avoid your attacks by using a movement ability or just disengaging and then you’d be left with few resources to prevent their subsequent attack. In the situation of a typical dive, this would be super effective when used against a diving Winston or D.va trying to get in your face.

As a side note, it also adds another layer of skill to the hero by introducing ammo management. Ammo isn’t typically a concern for the current bastion as he usually has more than enough ammo to last during an entire fight. You may often find yourself running out of ammo more often than usual! Reloading at inopportune times can cost you the fight or worse, the match.

Defense - A temporary increase in damage resistance bound to an E ability

• Siege Tactics
• Cooldown: 8 seconds
• Duration: 2 seconds
• No cast time.

With this ability, it would take the role of a Zarya bubble, or Reinhardt shield. It behaves similar to Orisa's fortify ability, except Bastion won't be able to move, whereas Orisa can. When you activate it, your damage resistance is increased to 35% for the duration of the ability and you are immune to crowd control effects. Keep in mind this only lasts for 2 seconds though!

This will put Bastion into a more defensive role. The important part of this ability is that it gives Bastion the opportunity for counter-play to abilities like hook, sleep dart, and charge. In the situation of a dive, instead of trying to disengage, you will have to time this correctly to take on the full brunt of the assault. When the enemy D.va, for example, dives you, you should use it when she uses her micro missles. If you are lucky, you might get a Gengi to waste his dash during that period.

Mobility - A temporary increase in movement speed bound to an E ability

• Overdrive
• Cooldown: 10 seconds
• Duration: 4 seconds
• No cast time.

This ability will cause Bastion to move at twice his normal movement speed allowing him to quickly engage in a fight or quickly leave a losing battle. An important thing to note with this ability is that when it's used in sentry form, you are immediately transformed into recon form and ready to retreat.

It would perform like a temporary Lucio speed aura, except it only works for you. Using your ability can help you get into positions quickly on control maps, for example. This would also be Bastion's get out jail free card if he finds himself being dived on or focused heavily. In the situation of the dive scenario, you would use this to escape their dive as they use all their movement abilities trying to get to you before you re-engage.

General Changes

@willthegreen-1549

On top of other things mentioned in this thread, I think it’s a good idea to consider having Bastion be immune to self-inflicted cannon shot damage. Correct me if I’m wrong but I can’t think of another hero that has to deal with self-inflicted ult damage.

Plus, getting onto high ground and sneaky places would be a lot easier without having to worry about your own explosive damage.

Also Blizzard Golden Tank Barrel and Flight of the Valkyries voice line please!!!

There you have it, A culmination of the thoughts that we had Discussed, not just Bastion mains, but people that took their time to respond. Special Thanks!

Terranguard

ChibiFox

Sundergold

TheCook

Proxillus

ZDamned

PharahHǝntoi

BullRose

JaredMnstr

DrZack

Orion

ArcticGator

Astrobiology

predat0r

And Kolorblind for playing Bastion the best out of all of us

But of all you Blizzard for making this game and this character that we love.

Sources

Overbuff

`https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/overwatch/t/stop-sign-bastion-is-being-forgotten/32040

`https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/overwatch/t/bastion-megathread-on-his-current-situation-bug-fixed/11925/189

EDIT: Thank all of you for your views and your likes! Hopefully the Devs will find this and bless us with some word on our nature loving omnic.

[kaMMakaZZi9-1674]

Or you could post in the 995 post topic right below yours entitled Bastion is being forgotten.

h ttps://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/overwatch/t/stop-sign-bastion-is-being-forgotten/32040/3

[Krampus-11809]

blizzard literally doesnt care what we want. This thread will go unnoticed, nothing will change. Typical blizzard

[Wijione-2530]

Why can’t you play bastion?! pick whatever heroes you want, why should we care about bastions pickrates

[DekuNut-1500]

It has been stated a few times that Blizzard doesn’t post in long threads, plus the ideas are spread through out that topic. I tried to make the ideas more accessible for others

[DekuNut-1500]

Most of us are tired of out character being considered a throw pick in comp.
The point for the pickrate is it is showing that there is very rarely anytime that you can play him.

Even Pirate Ship on Junkertown is no longer a viable option like it was before.

[JaredMnstr-2554]

We prefer to give constructive feedback on current state of bastion, in hope that devs can look into him at one point.

Right now all we gotta do is wait.

[Astrobiology-1687]

Ah here’s the thread

[Danbowdler-2954]

Typical blizzard

*Classic Blizzard…

[Boarman-1920]

Bastion can be a really strong charcter at the start of games, but once players know he is being used, his effectiveness decreases greatly.

Now that headshots have been removed, spread at range gets maybe 2-3 shots for ever 25+ bullets you shoot.

Characters can just run into your face and jump around you to make aiming difficult.

Its sad because bastion can be fun, but at the same time he can be a massive pain to deal with.

[Proxillus-1241]

From this thread I still love the idea that he should get up and move around to pick up scrap? or something similar and put a recon mine somewhere. Anything to encourage him to move around for the max efficiency use of Bastion. I feel like Blizzard wont work towards making his sentry better, might as well give him a new ability or something in recon.

[DekuNut-1500]

Honestly I just want something for him.

[ZDamned-1903]

It’s about value in competitive. Bastion currently offers less value as a glass cannon than Tracer does, less Tank busting than reaper does, and less area protection than Torb does. His niche is done better than other characters, while having too many negatives to make up for it all. Lack of Mobility is not just a nail in the coffin it’s all the nails, and a 50 foot burial. He needs more damage in order to compensate for that mobility problem.

[ZDamned-1903]

Recon is a worse Soldier 76, it should not be encouraged more than sentry. That’s like telling Phara to just pretend she is a Junkrat who can’t bounce his grenades. Recon should ALWAYS be the crutch between sentry set up points, else just play soldier. (IMO!)

[anon46487552]

Even specialer thanks for putting me on the list.

Damn I’m glad our voices are getting heard though.

[ZDamned-1903]

Even Pirate Ship on Junkertown is no longer a viable option like it was before.

I wouldn’t go THAT far, but like all strategies, there will be a counter found, and a way to deal with it learned over time.

The reality is that it’s his best spot in the game currently, and ever since the 20% IC change, it became his only viable spot… =(

[DekuNut-1500]

Like I said it’s a Bastion main community thread. I didn’t make this on my own.

[Proxillus-1241]

You don’t get what I’m trying to say. People will complain if sentry gets more powerful because “it takes no skill not fun to play against blah blah blah” Do you think blizzard is going to do something for sentry. I wish they would but I am just imagining what they could do to not encourage turtling or whatever people hate to fight against.

[anon46487552]

Oh yeah, Btw just wanna let you know I made a forum to make Eradicator from Null Sector a playable character. Check it out, Maybe if Blizzard keeps nerfing Bastion this could be a unique shield tank for Bastion if no one likes the rest.

It’s called “The Null Sector Eradicator would’ve made such a good tank to play as”

[ZDamned-1903]

If they only make recon better, then I will never play Bastion again. It defeats the purpose of being a turret. I love the barrier bust, brute force high risk high reward style. But again, Soldier already exists, why make Bastion a carbon copy with less utility, and a vastly larger hitbox?