Rein is dead in OW2 if he stays as is. He’s literally useless without a Lucio. He has a big shield yeah, but less range and/or mobility than basically every other tank. The game itself has evolved around him- all tanks are bulkier and harder for him to kill, all DPS are faster than him and he cannot chase without Lucio, and all supports play a bit farther back and safe, so they aren’t in a position where he can get to them often
IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.
I’ve got a suggestion for Rein that makes him better, more able to do his job, and reduces his dependency on Lucio without getting rid of their natural synergy
As Steadfast was removed to become part of the universal tank passive, I think Rein should have a passive where while swinging his hammer only, he gains a 15% speed buff, 5% faster than the DPS who are mostly not melee range heroes. If even Orisa gets a speed boost to chase after javelin spin, Rein needs something to get himself into a position. He doesn’t have mobility other than charge which is literally his most vulnerable state. And he’d be normal speed when just walking and still slowed a bit with shield up.
As for the Lucio part, Rein would take 50% of speed boost passively, totalling 27.5% speed boost- 2.5% higher than current Rein gets. But when amped he’d receive 75%, totalling to 60%, exactly the value speed amp currently gives allies. So if they work together and use maximum speed, Rein wouldn’t be much different from current Rein with a Lucio. But without a Lucio, Rein still isn’t crippled by having base movement speed while swinging, allowing him to pose a better threat as a brawler
The game no longer allows Rein holding shield to pose any major threat. He needs to brawl more, Orisa is literally a better brawler and has 3 cooldowns that can all make Rein’s ability to do Rein things way harder. So I say we make him self sufficient at getting into his brawl range, a hero you actually TRY to avoid getting close to you because he is a big scary tank and not whatever OW2 Rein is rn. If needed his damage could even find a middle ground between the current 85 per swing and the original 70, maybe 80. But it doesn’t matter how much his hammer does if the game and how it’s played prevents him from getting to use it outside of specific circumstances