I already mentioned this as not RNG as it actually comes down to when players decide to queue, in which the game puts them into the first game within range of their skill level.
I also already mentioned Weapon spread as RNG.
and im agreeing in case people think otherwise.
just to put it out there even the algorithm that gives you a random number doesn’t generate an actual random number it takes a number (seed) and runs it through the formula and returns the result so if you use the same seed multiple times you alway get the same number (if you don’t specify a seed usually it uses the current unix timestamp as the seed)
so if you don’t count the people you get matched up with as random you can’t count anything in the game as random because everything is created through formulas that always give the same results (given the circumstances ofc)
Well, human players are random in their behavior, your teammates, your enemies and yourself.
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yes, but that isnt what OP is referring to. OP was referring to RNG specifically. the players are not generated numbers so they are disqualified from the original question.
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Yes, the people you get matched with are random; however, if I count them as random, then everything in every match is random and that isn’t what I was trying to talk about in the post.
EDIT: And even then, I’m talking strictly “in-game” mechanics pertaining to the heroes and the objective.
I already mentioned not counting player behavior as that is not Overwatch creating the randomness.
People often use RNG and ‘random’ interchangeably, so I just assume that OP talks about randomness in general. He even touches on this matter in his first paragraph, but doesn’t go further than the mere choice of players.
Well, the interesting thing is that the random factor of human agency interacts variably with different aspects of the game. For example, the random aspect caused by human behavior on a basic hitscan weapon is much smaller than on an ability with rather complex mechanics (from a programming viewpoint) like Moira’s orb (or Hanzo’s scatter arrow back in the day)
maybe Winston’s tesla cannon? im not sure how it works with multiple targets and how its decided where the arc’s go.
I might be wrong, but isn’t actually just an AOE attack in a cone, but with a visual cue that shows as if it latches on to people?
Any under the hood secure data transfer of your password etc, makes use of a random number generator. A very good one too
none of that causes any of the weapons or abilities to behave randomly. perhaps unpredictably, but not random.
Well, randomness is defined as ‘the lack of pattern or predictability in events’. 
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We could go back and forth about the randomness of humans and their interactions with the different stimuli within each different match, but that was already assumed from the start.
Every player will react differently given different stimuli, so obviously the fickleness of humans becomes a factor; however, the point of this post was to talk strictly on programmed RNG within the game to see if there was anything that was truly out of control by either team and any player.
Winston’s Tesla Cannon is a cone-shaped AoE attack. The arc to other enemies is determined by the position of the player(s) in reference to the player being electrocuted already.
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ok, then ignore what I said 
yes but RNG (random number generation) has a very different definition that does not apply to human behavior. thats what OP is asking for, if anyone knows of actual RNG utilized by weapons or abilities in game
Wait. Is this sarcasm?
alright then that exhaust’s the only ability i can think of that might. other than maybe shotguns.
Oh no, definitely not. I agree with what you said and my original reply turns out to not be relevant to the topic.
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I dont think so. RNG is what TF2 has in the form of random crits what no one wants in OW believe me.
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i have tried to like tf2 for a long time, but its design is just to infuriating for me. the RNG being a large part of that disliking.
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