When Overwatch launched back in 2016, the CC available through abilities was spread across the moderately sized hero roster. With it came with the simple yet annoying combos that we still see today like Flash -> FTH and Freeze -> Headshot. CC was also packed into the primary fire of some of the heroes like Reinhardt, Pharah, Junkrat, and Mei. However, said heroes were spread thin enough across the different team comps so that you never saw more than 1 or 2 on the same team at a time.
Fast forward almost three years to today. 9 heroes have been released since launch, and with them came 12 new different kinds of CC: Sleep Dart, Hack, Halt, Rocket punch, uppercut, seismic slam, Sheild bash, rocket flail, grapple, Piledriver, and coach gun. Some are worse than others, some are used more for mobility than for stunning, and some have been completely changed for better or for worse.
The newly released heroes also added to the number of heroes in OW with a completely CC based kit, ie heroes whoâs main role or roles involved applying some kind of CC onto the enemy. At first it was just Mei, Roadhog, Reinhardt, and arguably Lucio, but Sombra, Doomfist, and Hammond increased that number. These heroes are currently a complete nightmare to face as a result of recent changes.
In the three years since OW launched, CC has crept its way more and more into different team comps. Buggy CC abilities got patched to be even better. CC abilities were changed to have more than one charge or a smaller cooldown, and each new hero release seemingly brings more and more CC to the game. And the game is worse off for it.
The main case for more CC is that itâs required to counter high mobility targets like Tracer, Winston, Genji, and Hammond, and this certainly is a valid argument. Tracer and Genji specifically would dominate in a CC-less environment. However the amount of CC that has been added and the quality, or lack thereof, of said badly afflicts the entire OW roster, not just Tracer and Genji. Meiâs freeze, for example, in its current state, is an almost a guaranteed kill on any 200 HP hero without any kind of movement ability (ie. Tracer Blink/Recall or Genji Dash). Shield Bash is perhaps the best example of how bad CC makes a fast-paced game like Overwatch. At launch, Brigitte was able to Stun an enemy every 5 seconds, even through barriers.
The case for countering high mobility also doesnât explain the need for knockback on the primary fire of heroes like Reinhardt and Junkrat. While it isnât as severe as the CC that comes from abilities, it adds fuel to the CC fire. A boop from a hammer swing or a junkrat bomb is often enough for prevention of movement.
To top it all off, recently Blizzard changed the way knockbacks work in the game, changes that, in my opinion, push the CC in this game from tolerable to intolerable.
The Recent Knockback changes:
Knockback
- Knockback distance is now more consistent
- Heroes that are flying can now be knocked back and slowed
Developer Comments: Knockbacks are now less affected by how the enemy was moving when they were hit. Instead of having small or large knockbacks that depend on chance, knockbacks will feel similar regardless of the enemyâs movement leading up to the knockback. Allowing flying heroes, like Mercy when using her Valkyrie ability or D.Va using her Booster ability, to be properly knocked back makes for more fluid, realistic gameplay.
These changes are essentially a buff to any CC in the game that could be considered a knockback, and it shows in game. Lucio boop, Winston primal, Hammondâs entire kit, and Doomfist are just a few of the abilities that got buffed.
The feeling of being totally out of control of youâre character, in my opinion, is one of the main flaws of Overwatch. The preexisting CC, the new heroes and the CC they brought, The completely CC based kits of certain heroes, and the new changes to knockback, have added to that feeling.
With all that said, here are my suggested changes:
First and foremost, a complete revert of the knockback changes applied in Patch 1.34.0.1
Reinhardt changes:
-
Knockback from Hammer swing reduced by half, if not entirely removed.
-
1-second stun after pin removed.
-
Range of Earthshatter reduced to 15 meters.
Doomfist changes:
- Tough to balanced because his entire kit is CC. Might be balanced if knockback changes are reverted
Junkrat changes:
-
Knockback from Primary grenades completely removed
-
Knockback from Concussion mines reduced by half on enemies
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Stun from Trap removed, root effect remains.
McCree changes:
- Flashbang is arguably the most balanced of the CC abilities given itâs short range high cooldown, and low stun time.
Mei changes:
Another hero with a CC based kit, but a little bit easier to fix the CC problem:
- Period of slowness in the absence of Meiâs primary fire drastically reduced.
- Time to freeze increased to 2.5 seconds, compensated with a lingering damage effect (flamethrower effect essentially).
Pharah changes:
Pharahâs CC on her primary rockets has since been removed.
Concusive blast is fine in itâs current state as it doubles as a mobility option, similar to Asheâs Coach Gun.
Sombra changes:
Another hero with a CC based kit
- Hack Cast time increased to 1 second on enemies, remains 0.65 on health packs and other hackable equipment
- EMP radius reduced to 10 meters from 15 meters
Symmetra changes:
- Slowness from turrets reduced to 10% down from 20%.
Roadhog changes:
-
Time between getting hooked and getting pulled in reduced drastically
-
Max knockback from Whole Hog reduced
Wrecking Ball changes:
Another hero with a CC based kit-
Minimum max speed knockback reduced drastically from 10 meters to 5 meters
-
Piledriver max knock up height reduced by half
Brigitte changes:
Remove shield bash entirely and give her another ability. Rocket Flail should be fine if Knockback patch is revertedAna changes:
Sleep dart is balanced in its difficulty to hit and has a high cooldown.
Lucio changes:
Should be fine if Knockback patch is reverted
Understand that these changes are a nerf to CC overall. Heroes could and should be compensated in other areas to make up for the lack of CC, especially CC reliant heroes like Mei and Sombra.
I feel that this would create a much more pleasant Overwatch experience, where players get to spend more time playing and enjoying the game, and less time stuck in a âstunnedâ animation or unable to move in the air.
TL;DR = The title. CC is more abundant in Overwatch now than it has ever been. The feeling of not being able to control your hero is a detrimental experience in a fast-paced competitive shooter and should be reduced significantly. Most if not all the CC needs to be toned down.
