Your recommendations are in bad-faith
I cannot answer that question as it’s too vague.
That was a terrible way to go about that.
How the devs balance the game is a VAST subject, even the aspect of “how to compare heroes” is almost a synonym for game balance. So talk about what?
Here’s a simple 2 step process:
There is no step 3.
You can answer a question if it specifically states “only about Overwatch” by only talking about Overwatch, and not another question you want to answer about other games instead. No other game is Overwatch.
I know exactly how game devs balance a game, i’ve been a professional game designer/dev for 20 years. I’m trying to get you to understand the problems here. It would be nice if you’d stop dodging questions and actually talk about things.
I’m sorry, I COULD give you an answer and already partially have… but before that happens i want a clear and meaningful discussion as to why.
It would already help a lot if they reduced her max damage to 200.
She could still one-shot most of the DPS and Support roster, but now you can soft-counter her with 225 and 250 hp heroes.
It would also make her less effective against Tanks.
It’s completely ridiculous that she can 2 shot most of them taking their critbox size into account.
She could get her health and maybe some other part of her kit buffed in return.
That is not a question you are asking that I refuse to answer.
That is a question I am asking that you refuse to even consider.
I have asked why 1-shotting snipers are ONLY a problem in Overwatch yet not a problem in all other games. Explain that contradiction! You can’t even say why that is impossible to answer, as if you did then I’d adjust my question to make it possible to answer and you don’t want to answer it.
I’ve asked you to make your question less vague and you refuse.
But not Overwatch.
YOU said that other games don’t matter, so you want it both ways when you said:
Other games don’t matter when they support my argument but when it’s about supporting your argument suddenly other games matter.
I have dodged absolutely no questions.
When you openly say you’ll ignore other games, THAT is dodging questions.
I have directly addressed your question and said exactly why I cannot answer it, instead of improving your question you revel in the ambiguity. A textbook bad faith argument, you are trying to tie up the conversation as you know the conversation cannot go the way you want.
Why… why WHAT!?!?
Why ‘we are discussing this’? Why [insert (pro)noun] are [insert verb]?!?
That is an obviously incomplete sentence.
How can you want clarity and meaning when you won’t be clear what you mean?!
1 shots are a problem in many games - World of Warcraft is a particularly good example. I’ve not played much Paladins, but i hear 1 shots in that are rare. Those games aren’t Overwatch either.
I gave you an extensive list of problems for Overwatch with Widow that you didn’t have solutions for.
Do you have a reason to want to talk about other games instead of Overwatch? It feels to me like you’re trying to distract from what i’m trying to discuss with you.
Suddenly other games matter again.
World of Warcraft isn’t a multiplayer shooter, so you need to explain why that’s such a relevant comparison.
World Of Warcraft doesn’t depend on cover from the environment to the same extent, barriers in the same way nor does it have certain movement where it makes it harder to hit the head.
You gave a list of CHALLENGES in a game that is designed to be challenging, challenges that uncountable number of other multiplayer shooters manage perfectly well.
And now suddenly other games don’t matter.
To refute the idea that a 1 shotting sniper is could never work by citing all the games where a 1 shotting sniper DOES work.
You then need to say how Overwatch is so different from all those shooters with 1-shotting snipers.
You gave a SPECIFIC example of WoW and I gave SPECIFIC reasons why Overwatch is substantially different from WoW. Differences that are relevant to 1-shotting snipers.
No it doesn’t.
No one can say that 1-shotting snipers can never work and ignore the proof that it can work.
Other games dont matter, you seem to only want to talk about that though so i’m trying to join in.
Please give me a list of games you consider valid comparisons to Overwatch when it comes to 1 shots and healing.
You’re asking me to make an argument you know it weak.
To list any single specific game would only be a distraction, what would be the point in listing an obvious example like Team Fortress 2 for a pointless effort trying to compare and contrast TF2 to OW when that is not my argument.
My argument is not ONE other relevant game has 1 shotting snipers.
My argument is that almost all other similar games have 1 shotting snipers.
So single out one or a few would be an exercise in futility.
How about instead of me making an argument you know is weak I make an argument I know is strong: WHY 1 shotting snipers are less of a problem in games other than Overwatch.
The difference is due to core design decisions like Overwatch no having “flinch” when taking damage. Most other games balance snipers by flinch, you don’t have to kill the sniper just mess up their shot. But with no flinch the only way to counter Widowmaker is to outright kill her before she kills you.
If Ashe lands a headshot on Widowmaker that’s only 150 damage, Widow has 25HP remaining.
All that is needed is an intermediate state short of outright killing Widow. It could be a flinch on taking damage or it could be that her charge resets on taking damage or you are knocked out of being scoped in if you take damage.
I can draw the distinction that you cannot.
I can identify why snipers are different in Overwatch compared to other games.
That difference is the intermediate countering, with something like flinch or functionally equivalent of flinch which stops you being 1-shotted but short of outright killing the enemy sniper.
Why is asking you to explain yourself not relevant?
I already explained why flinch and your other solutions are irrelevant - it doesn’t solve any of the problems I listed, it just makes them happen less often.
It seems you dont want to enter into a reasonable discussion and you’re more interested in internet sparring, which is a shame.
You keep doing this same old trick and it’s getting tired?
You keep saying some variation of “Why is [insert some blatant falsehood] true?”
it’s bonkers.
Why is happening less not a solution?
Why should it NEVER happen?
FYI, if you can hit Widow’s body before she can click on your head (a reasonable challenge) then it won’t happen, you’ll only get 1-shot because you lacked the skills. The outcome of the fight is in your hands.
This is another tedious thing you do.
You dress up a baseless smear as “it seems you”.
It doesn’t seem like that at all, you’re just smearing me. That is “internet sparring”.
…what does this even mean? Elaborate plz.
When you hit someone, it does damage. A headshot might be 300 damage, for example. It doesnt matter how far you are or how hard it is to do it, it still does that damage. Other heroes do damage too, so if you want heroes to feel balanced, you need to make sure those numbers feel like they’re about the same, so its balanced 
Ahhh so you’re saying that difficulty to hit the shot doesn’t matter when comparing damage?
I don’t mean this antagonistically. Genuine question.
If it happens less, it still happens, therefore the problem still exists. If it never happens, the problem is solved.
I’m sorry, but if you dont want to actually discuss things in a genuine way, i dont want to either. Please stop attempting to attack how i’m discussing things and stick to the point - the other stuff is just wasted words on me.
It’s crazy how people reach out of their hero pool and demand that heroes they’re too garbage to play be changed so good players can’t play them anymore.
You’re repeating yourself.
I asked why it’s a “problem” for it to exist at all and you blatantly ignored me to repeat yourself as if my contribution to the discussion doesn’t exist.
You aren’t being genuine.
No, because the way you discuss things is unacceptable, you get clear and fair criticism.
Yes and no - it depends on the skill level of the player.
At low levels, a widow constantly misses and a junkrat who spams a choke might do more damage as a whole.
At higher levels, the widow player becomes more consistent with their shots and the junkrat might not keep up.
When you’re balancing heroes, the tricky part is comparing these numbers and making sure you don’t break either levels of play by making a hero OP.
But yeah, lets say widow does a load of damage when people are good at headshots. That means soldier (for example) needs to do a level of damage that feels like he’s still a threat, otherwise why pick him? So, he needs high damage too. In turn, every other DPS needs to feel a threat too.
So yeah, a 1 shot is the highest and most powerful point of damage in the game - instant and completely counters healing. That high point is static and every other hero is balanced so they’re competitive with it.
I listed the problems previously that are not solved by lessening the regularity of 1 shots.
Please stop attacking how i discuss things, at this point you should assume i wont even read it and certainly will not respond.
You never explained why those are such problems.
Why are those things such problems. I explained why they aren’t such problems, like how so many other games have healing and manage fine with 1-shotting snipers.
You haven’t really been responding to anything I say anyway, you just ignore it and repeat yourself.
Personally, I see Widow as a walking gun. She’s the most extreme form of damage, like you said. If you can’t hit shots consistently enough in your rank, you won’t do well. Without her one-shots, she would literally be budget-Ashe. Venom Mine is horrible on its own. Grapple is OK, but there are better mobility options. And her SMG is one of the worst close range weapons in the game because of the spread. She is literally putting every ounce of her power into her charged shot.
If she misses, she is probably gonna have the entire enemy team focusing her in a little while. I experienced this yesterday when I had an entire team swap to counter me…Didn’t help that one of our tanks threw because I picked Widow, but yeah that’s a tangent.
But yeah. I can see where you’re coming from, but…you gotta be careful with a design like Widow. I’d rather not have her become Ashe but with a fancy scope.