Ive noticed a trend that if a hero has a unique kit or playstyle eventually it shifts towards generic shooter hero.
Sym 1.0 is nothing like current Sym
Torb Lost armor packs and t3 turret for a buff that makes him fire faster
Hanzo lost scatter arrors (thank god) for a buff that makes him fire fast
Mei lost her freeze for a better beam
Orisa Lost her pull orb and curved shield
Doomfist went from DPS to Tank and changed him
Then we get a hero like LW who kit is unique and interesting to use, and people suggesting that he should be more like X Hero or X ability.
Now some of these changes were good or needed, but it just feels like if a hero has some interesting ability or kit, eventually they will be changed to be more “competitive” but lose what made them interesting or unique.
This is just a rant becuase it feels like this game is just becoming another CoD
I mean, there’s nothing wrong with heroes having kits that are similar. Torb and Sym have always been similar: They’re builders, they use turrets, they’re primarily defensive.
Now look at Reinhardt and Ramattra. They’re both big, melee oriented Tanks that hit hard, are tough to take down, and can create tons of space with large, AOE ults with limited tools to poke long range targets with. They also have a big shield to protect their team.
Or Brigitte and Moira. They’re both close to mid range dps oriented Supports, that rely on damage to output as much healing as they can, while being tough to take down and being able to protect their backline from flankers, with good, but somewhat limited, mobility.
But these heroes all have different astetics. They all fill their similar roles in different ways, and have different strengths and weaknesses. Their cooldowns are also completely different. As more and more heroes are added, there’s going to be less uniqueness kit by kit. Lifeweaver may be the first Support to create a platform, but now we’ve got it done once, chances are we’ll see it again. Ramattra will likely be the first of many stance switchers. Uniqueness comes from the character and how they apply their tools, not necessarily the tools themselves. Multiple heroes can have a Cripple like Cassidy. But, instead of being a single target, maybe it’ll be a small AOE that follows the user, crippling the enemy while they’re standing too close to the user?
Its not that they are similar, it that they are changing heroes who were different and making them similar.
You can have similar heroe, but i just dont like when you take a hero who was different and make them more like other heroes.
The game felt more unique early one, but over time as they changed, reworked, and added in new heroes, they just start to feel bland or just like other heroes.
I feel this is really hyperbolic. Like super hyperbolic.
This is a game where you have a character who uses a big hammer, a cyberninja (aka dollar store grey fox), a flying robot lady, really out of shape Scorpion from MK who got a shotgun, and a giant robot ball mech piloted by a literal hamster.
Its not in danger of becoming “another CoD” clone.
It wont ever become just a CoD clone, but when they change or remove abilities that separated Overwatch from just another FPS for something similar, it feels like the game is heading towards that directions
like i said some were good, but what made them intresting back then was changed and im my opnion Sym is closer to being just another shooter now then she was before. She was shifted away from a unique and different play style to something closer to the rest of the cast, and im not a fan of that.
Just Widow and Ashe, off the top of my head. Maybe McAss. Maybe Ana if you squint at her kit because she has a gun, a lethal, and a tactical, but honestly,
is subjective at this point, and imo, has been since games like COD BO3, Titanfall, maybe even way back at COD BO2 in some regards.
At this point, someone could make the argument that Bastion has become a
and I wouldn’t even argue with that. Doesn’t mean it proves an important point, or is relevant to the health of the game, but it’s there I guess. It’s a thing that exists. That’s about it.
If 3-5 characters in a game with 40+ characters are somewhat generic, I’m not too concerned. There has to be something generic somewhere, this game is supposed to be about representing many different playstyles, and generic is a playstyle too.
They still are unique, but they have moved closer to being another shooter. Torb lost his upgradable turret and armor packs, sym lost alot and after this latest patch turrets are almost useless, Mei lost her freeze, hanzo lost scatter arrow, ect
Now some of the chanages were needed and some were good, but they lost a part that made them unique and what replaced them was something more generic. Hanzo and Torb just shoot faster, mei lost freeze for just more DPS, Sym is mainly a orb fireing and less of a builder, ITs not that they now are generic but they feel more generic then before.
Yeah, they made the characters more active instead of passive.
Also, syms turrets are not useless, they serve a different function. they are no longer “lol i got a free kill cus the person walked into this room too fast lolz”, cus come on that was lame. Use them like a security system to let you know when people are flanking.
You keep calling them generic, but they’re not even remotely generic. They’re just not builders anymore. Overwatch, OW2 specifically is fairly fast paced, a slow passive builder playstyle just doesnt mesh well with the rest of it.
I actually love new Sym and Torb. They feel less cheese and more fun.