So many things in the game are being called oppressive that it’s beginning to lose its meaning. Can we actually define this term before we use it in our discussions?
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OP?
lol that’s the closest thing I can think of. It’s just another form of overpowered
Pushes other similar heroes out of the meta or prevents them/certain heroes from being played entirely
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A hero whose playstyle punishes the natural flow of the game or basic (but not necessarily high level) forms of teamwork. Example: junkrat’s spam is oppressive because he punishes teams for grouping up and attacking as a unit.
Better Example: Brigitte punishes players for playing tanks.
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Anything that I dislike or dont agree with
See also: not fun to play against
Oppressive for me is an hero that feels powerful to play, that overshadows other heroes, that forces a meta and that is unfun to play against
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People originally started using the term because it was used in a Blizzard post (or video?) describing Mei’s potential effects if she became too strong. In that context, “oppressive” basically meant “able to dominate other characters in a way that feels hopeless to play against.”
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Exactly
Heroes that force VERY specific playstyles and make a lot of heroes completely unplayable feel “opressive”
Like Doomfist forcing you too have cc and is raping heroes without it. Or Mei who has such a hard cc that you’re completely helpless once caught in it, or Snipers who lock down large parts of the map and force dive or countersniper.
Oppressive to me means a total loss of control. No matter what you do there is no way to change the outcome. So an oppressive hero would be somebody who is so strong that it doesn’t matter how skilled you are you still can’t beat them. They have no weaknesses to exploit.
On this forum:
Oppressive - any character or ability that makes it difficult to play a favored hero in a particular style. (i.e.; Brigitte is oppressive because she makes it difficult to flank with Tracer)
They think Sombra feels too “oppresive” to play against because of a hack on a LONG cooldown, but Brigitte is “fine” with her low cooldown stun that can interrumpt everything, lasts for 1 second, is extremely powerful in 1v1, and her combo does 155 guaranteed damage no matter what
I always took it to mean: “A hero/strategy/team comp that forces the meta to revolve solely around it, to the point where alternate options are not viable in the slightest.”
For examples, I would look at the charger situation in the original splatoon or the dynamic between cubelock and even paladin in hearthstone.
Being spawn camped by 6 Torbs at launch was the closest thing OW got to being “Oppressive” 
one-shots and CC. there you go.
op·pres·sive
/əˈpresiv/
adjective
unjustly inflicting hardship and constraint, especially on a minority or other subordinate group.
“an oppressive dictatorship”
synonyms: harsh, cruel, brutal, repressive, tyrannical, tyrannous, iron-fisted, autocratic, dictatorial, despotic, undemocratic; More
weighing heavily on the mind or spirits; causing depression or discomfort.
“a profound loneliness, an oppressive emptiness”
synonyms: overwhelming, overpowering, unbearable, unendurable, intolerable, burdensome
“an oppressive sense of despair”
(of weather) excessively hot and humid.
synonyms: muggy, close, heavy, hot, humid, sticky, steamy, airless, stuffy, stifling, suffocating, sultry
“it was gray and oppressive”
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Brigitte is oppressive in that, she requires you to counter her. (granted, her counters do counter her pretty hard)
If you don’t, then you’ll likely lose.
Her pressence on the field is so ‘‘oppressive’’ that you have to play around her with little wiggle room. Getting too close to her opens you up for a 190 damage stun combo as well as her team mates. Even tanks will often die to burst damage when she stuns them, because the rest of her team can now go berserk on your critbox.
You can’t play dive just because there is a Brigitte. She negates an entire team comp. But on top of that, she also provides armor to all her team mates. Certain weapon types can do close to nothing when armor is involved. Heroes like Reaper, Sombra, Soldier, Dva, Winston, Tracer, Ana and Roadhog are borderline unplayable when armor is involved, because armor reduces their damage by so much more than heroes like Hanzo and Widow.
Usually means “lack of accessible counterplay.”
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I feel oppressed as soon as I see the Competitive mode in the menu
Time and time again I see players on the forums fail to understand the meaning of this phrase. It’s from a competitive mindset. Can I learn how to avoid or stop it next time? Can I find out how to punish it with x hero? It’s about having the option to become a better player and adapt. In a lot of cases it generally is an option. Things that are out of your control aren’t and as such are generally viewed as unfun because it for the most part isn’t up to you.
Unjustly inflicting hardship and constraint, especially on a minority or other subordinate group. Brig is oppressive.