Geoff appreciation thread

[Lotus-13637]

@VenusArmani-1354

Geoff, why have you guys abandoned separate console balancing? Why do you feel console is so drastically different right now from PC?I don’t think the difference has ever felt so extreme.

If it’s alright with you, mind if I just modify this question of yours a slight amount? My modification isn’t as much as you might think.

Perhaps this might just be my opinion, but I would modify it to, “Why have you guys abandoned Console in general?”

I know that Geoff manages balance, but the fact that they don’t even respond to Console issues is a bigger concern in my humble opinion. And while I can’t speak for others on this, I can say that it’s partially the reason why I haven’t really touched OW in a long time, even despite being able to play it on PC now. It’s the fact that I can relate to Console Players in this front that has amplified my bitterness in their lack of communication to the Console playerbase.

With that in mind:

@GeoffGoodman

Thanks!

Overwatch is certainly a challenging game to both tune and continually add new/interesting content. When I think back to how the game was in beta, or even launch, I feel like we’ve come a long way since then. Remember, there was a time when McCree’s fan the hammer did full damage per bullet, Zenyatta had 150 health, Pharah’s Conc Blast did 700 damage to shields/barriers (poor Zen…), Reinhardt’s charge had no “wind up”, it would just come out instantly and pin/kill anyone in front of him.

That said we’re committed to continue to update and tune the game. Although there will always be some changes that will not be popular with some players, know that the the goal is always to keep every hero unique and powerful for everyone.

While I’m here i might as well clear up a couple minor misconceptions I see occasionally about my history at Blizzard. Previous to the Overwatch team I worked on World of Warcraft as an encounter designer. I made a ton of different content from dungeons like Shadowfang Keep, Deadmines, and Gnomeregan, to raid encounters like Onyxia, Blackwing Lair, C’Thun and Lich King. From there I moved directly onto Titan which eventually became Overwatch. While I have great respect for the designers over on the the Heroes of the Storm team, I never worked on that project other than occasionally sending feedback or talking to various designers over lunch etc.

Geoff, can you answer the question that I’ve posted above please? Why have you guys abandoned Console in general? Not just in terms of separate balance, but in regards to other issues as well. I’m not arguing against the fact that patches take time to release because of Sony/MS certs. But with the lack of communication that I’ve seen from you guys with regards to issues on the Console versions of the game, I feel like you guys are not treating your Console playerbase the same as your PC playerbase.

Surely you guys on the Overwatch Team have seen this thread by now; haven’t you?