As a Kiriko main with over 250 hours on kiko & experiencing all part of her kit. After reading the new changes for kiriko today… Well im ashamed. Also Tbh Sad. Also a fyi, ive written this over a few hours as it matters alot to me so sorry if my first paragraph is a little unfulfilling by the end but i do hope to show you ways i have consistently use suzu’s boop
Though the dev’s Believe this feature to be as good as unless, Id state this is more down to a general lack of knowledge that it can boop so if u don’t mind, i would like to first provide myriads of use cases that I have used suzus boops for to carry games and save teams. To pair with this i seek to point out the value of kikos suzu.
Firstly, Are there abilities in OW that can be used in. Anna’s nade. The perfect mirror of kikos suzu can do multiple things. The ability can either amplify or mitigate healing depending on its use. It allows the character to either support there team offensively or defensively, In fact this is not Anna’s only ability which has multiple parts. Nano does more than one thing and top Anna mains like Karq use the nano in 4 different ways:
Combo
Tempo
Saving
Aggresive
This is only able to occur since nano has multiple components
DMG Boost
Dmg Mit
250 health
In fact Kiko has an Ability which does more that 1,2,3,4 things
Move. speed:
+30%
Rate of fire:
+50%
Reload time:
+50% reload speed
Cooldown:
2x cooldown reduction
A button able to do different things is not a problem. To go back, Anna’s nade is a good example. Anna nade ofc isnt the only ability like this but, Let me ask you, Is an ability with 2 completely different uses a problem?
Zarya bubble? Moira ball? Soldier rocket and bastion grenade? Maybe Even, say Dva Boosters. After all that can boop too. Sure its an engage tool but u can boop kill with it too. Its rare. Its not common, But this has never been a problem. An ability you can use in multiple ways and get multiple. Even if rare outcomes is still something.
So as I promised above and as i will go over again. Here are ways a 250H+ Kiko main uses Suzu’s Boop in every game
1: The simple elimination suzu
I have to admit, This type of suzu is the most useless type of suzu and but as its all you seem to think this is for… But There are ways to make it consistent still, Firstly the rein pin. Reins when they go to pin a team mate of the map as kiko, theres nothing u can do to save a team mate BUT there is something u can do to kill him. When rein reaches the end of his pin you can to your teammate and push him over the edge with ur team mate. This can make a game changing play and is the reason for my Record 3 suzu kills in one QP game that only lasted 7 mins as we held second. The Ult economy i derived from this made it so we were able to turn a lost fight into a winnable one.
This isnt the only way but is the one which best explains how to use her boop
2: The recontest boop
Suzu has the ability to not just knock someone off but more notably keep them off the point. I PERSONALLY use this type of suzu close to every game. Not just in final fight where it has GAME CHANGING IMPACT, but even during the mid game when i seek to stop them from getting little bits of push, This suzu is usually good on certain game modes more than others but can be used to save many a tight game. It works the same as body blocking except Kirikos famously small hit box cant do well so i use her suzu to do that.
3: The combo suzu boop
Well Any AOE or Los Ability(weapons) this can work with most things and is the most common type of boop kirikos should use. This type of suzu I use every game without fail but for demonstration i shall explain it with Orissa and her ult as it is easy to see how it works. When Orissa ults she pulls enemies in, When they have chosen a direction to run, Throw suzu now infront of them and make you tank invulnerable to hack whilst securing a kill on a squishy that otherwise would have escaped. Ofc In all previous and future suzus i shall explain, You can use with ur team mates as well as enemies. Again just like annas nade.
4: The Denial suzu boop
When an enemy uses a movement ability, your omni-directional boop is able to secure a position. This is popularly seen by Kirkos messing JQ Ult Or Reins Pin, But this is not all. Every time i face a reaper, i love to control the high ground. When Reaper Tps To me, I use suzu to knock him off high ground. This keeps me and my team safe from a threat.
*5: The Spacing Suzu boop.
Now One of the most important thing in Overwatch is playing your range. We don’t see Reapers sniping or Widows in the enemy back line. This isnt common, because positioning and spacing matters. When giving a team mate invulnerability for the .85 seconds, a CQB character is usually still hot on the heals of a teammate. By throwing the suzu between, not at your team mate, you can help open the distance to mitigate future dmg that can be delivered onto them, increasing you chances of supporting your teammate.
Tbh its late and ive spent alot of time trying to make sure this is as clear as possible so i will wrap it up now.
Ofc in the end, Every time I use a suzu to boop I have to give up on suzu for something else, Sometimes this hasn’t worked out, sometimes I miss, But rarely do I regret it. Now, If it doesn’t matter to most people if i have it or not as no one complains that the boop is busted and isn’t negatively affected by it whilst those who use it must lose out on what is to me, a Key integral part of my ability and not to mind, an ability with multiple uses is never a non strategic choice. Why Cant we #KeepKikosBoop
Kinda extra, But want to say it.
But just to remind devs an ability which has close to 0 use cases in half of overwatch’s games is not a good ability or balanced ability. It makes it a counter swap choice to annoy and frustrate the community, not make and enjoyable experience as well as giving kiko players one less ability for the other half of those games. Also to make clear, Cleanse exist in some of the casts kits which means this buff wouldn’t even apply if say my reaper Wraiths which is a common self cleanse method, Would punish a kiko or using her ability correctly. Ofc this also still currently occours but the punishment happens more now with this change.
People Don’t even hate the cleanse part most, People hate the invulnerability. So why make her more inconsistent and again, please give her the boop back.
Finally i will address what I believe is the best use case for suzu balance wise as i would say it needs a nerf, but that should be a healing and only healing nerf. I would be happy if suzu had its season 5 state but with 25 & 0 (base) healing per ability cleansed. Depending if it cleansed an ability or not because I do like the idea that you have introduced but i dont and never have thought suzu should heal. If kiko thinks her ally needs healing, she should track her target with ofuda. Not suzu heal.
This still punishes Greedy self suzu’ing kikos that don’t use ability management well and still limits kikos healing with suzu.
Please #KeepKikosBoop