So I think we can all pretty much agree that if your hero isn’t working, it’s time to play somebody else. But something I’m curious about— when do we consider a hero “not working?”
After the first team fight?
After we lose the point?
After the round is over?
After a certain number of deaths?
If they’re just not getting kills/“not doing anything” for half the match?
It’s obvious if a pick isn’t working out (usually for dps, since it’s the most visible role) but let’s say you’re the only tank and you keep getting melted? Or you’re a healer that’s basically getting farmed and spawn-camped, but you have a game-saving ult IF you can actually get it off?
I’m curious to see what other people think. If you wait too long then it becomes too late, but too soon and you aren’t even giving it a proper chance, not to mention losing ult charge.
When is the best time to switch?
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In my opinion the best time to switch is after you use your ult once. If you used it in a teamfight and it didn’t work, switch to another hero, that way you aren’t losing ult charge too.
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If the dps isn’t working it is most of the time the Tanks fault.
Not to blame them, but usually the tank player are forced to tank dps players that do not know how to create space.
Dps is the easiest role of all. Thus, usually they are the least responsible for the problems.
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Imo it’s best to switch if it doesn’t look like you made a contribution in the first or second team fights or if it doesn’t look like your hero is getting consistent value.
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If you can get your ult out, use it and swap. Wasting an ult by swapping can hurt yout team.
But sometimes it’s not worth it and it’s better to swap right away.
Say you’re playing Pharah and getting countered. You have your ult but cannot find an opportunity to use it before you’re killed. Continuing to try to use your ult and dying is hindering your team.
In the case of not having any ult build up then
Is pretty sound advice. Continuing to use a hero when you’re not getting any value is a waste.
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If you have to ask the question, just switch. Forget about your ult.
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when you feel like you are being shut down constantly and you are not able to perform your role and your team is losing because of it. you wanna swap very soon.
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When I had to flex to damage yesterday. I was Sombra at the start and got destroyed. Enemy were pushing the payload into checkpoint 3 too and emp was only at 60% and my damage was 137. I was so tilted.
There was no point in staying Sombra. I just went Soldier 76 and won the game. And my damage went from 137 to 12k silver damage.
Soon as you see the enemy team comp. Unless in the first fight you managed to get serious ult charge
Like everything in Overwatch, it’s about context, so no blanket answer can really answer this question.
Playing Hammond but the enemy have a Sombra, Hog, Brig, and Mei? Switch off immediately, regardless of your ult or whatever.
Just think about the situation, what you hope to achieve on your hero, and if that’s achievable given the enemy comp, your comp, and the map. Usually critical thinking is the best solution.
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Everyone keeps saying after you ult but that isn’t the case and could result in you throwing the game. If I stayed sombra because my EMP was at 60%. I would have been throwing the game because my damage was only 137. I was doing nothing at all and even blamed the healers for not healing. Team flexed and we won. I went 76 and my damage went from a mere 137 to 12000 something silver.
My visor even killed 12 people altogether. Ignore your ult. If you getting hard countered. Switch.
I like to think I’m pretty good at switching up when necessary, but I catch myself pretty often unable to realize it through the salt.
If I’m just getting completely wrecked and countered, I’ll swap immediately. Otherwise I’ll try to hold off until my ult and play the k/d game.
The only times where you have a clear and definite answer are the times where you should have never left spawn.
depends on the situation…
are you a hammond and enemy now has a mei…switch immediately
enemy pharah and you have no hitscan…switch immediately…
enemy took the point…not really
enemy won a round…not really
you have an ult…might want to wait
etc etc
You really should be able to tell without any of the listed events happening. Look at your composition, and look at the enemy composition. If after doing that, you think “Huh, my character isn’t going to work here,” then switch. If you think your ultimate is close enough and will be valuable enough to justify staying until you use it, then use that before switching.
There is some variance related to player skill that you won’t see so easily. For example, Widowmaker might be a perfectly good pick, until you realize the enemy Widowmaker is outplaying you in every fight to the point that you’re useless and never get a shot off. At that point, you switch to a third tank or something else that better answers what you now recognize as a threat.
Thats a joke right?
If the dds run genji tracer into brig, bap, hog and orisa with a cree its sure as hell not the tanks fault.
Most of the time the dds dont want to addapt to the situation and stick to the useless pick for the game or when the swap they make it even wores.
Swaping from ash to widow is not going to make a diffrence mate.
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Usually right before the round is lost, just to say you did.
Never switch if you can help it. Blame everyone else for not switching instead.
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I think a good metric for me is if I’m getting shut down and don’t have a way to answer it on my current hero (which I probably realize on my 2nd or 3rd fast death). Maybe I don’t have a good answer because I’m bad, or my hero is limited, or my enemy is amazing—it’s almost irrelevant at that point. If the enemy team / player is keeping me locked down, it’s time to try something else that doesn’t share the same vulnerabiliy.
I also think that if I’m just flatly failing to get value—i.e. missing all my shots, unable to make a dent in the backline, etc.—and I don’t have an idea of how to fix that on my current hero (“getting gud” doesn’t count as fixing it), then it’s time to switch.
In either case, once you recognize a), you have A Problem, not just a bad teamfight, and b) you aren’t sure how to fix it on your current hero (or don’t have the skill necessary to fix it), then a switch is in order.
You should have swapped when they capped first point and 2bd point without resistance. Not last second. You generally are supposed to have ult by then
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