Context: DPS Queue Times are bad. More Tank players is the answer.
That said, as someone who has been trying to fix this stuff for… too long. This is a really simple an elegant approach to this problem. I really like it.
Kudos Kierkegaard.
Devs should really give this a try on Experimental Card:
Orisa
Projected Barrier
Increased to 900HP, up from 600HP.
Cooldown reduced to 8 seconds.
Sigma
Experimental Barrier
Decreased to 600HP, down from 900HP
No cooldown delay when deploying and canceling the barrier.
Sigma is always going to be a Tank with too much Peel and SelfPeel. Which makes him more suited to being a hybrid offftank.
Also making his equipment feel less “clunky” in the bargain, by taking away the cooldown on his barrier is a solid tradeoff.
With this, it restores Bunker as an option, which also enables Roadhog.
Could maybe even bump up the firepower on barrier tanks a bit, without fear of “Double Barrier” being too strong.
Which would do a better job at pulling otherwise DPS players into the role.
I think if they can do this, maybe bump up Barrier Tank firepower a bit, that the existence of hybrid heroes somewhat approximates the other compositions.
But it would be nice if they showed Quickplay and QPC together side by side, in the Quickplay menu.
And also had QPC in the Arcade. And have it offer lootboxes as usual.
change Orisa’s gun from a pea shooter to something like an energy sniper from halo or something (with less damage ofc) its REALLY monotonous to play her
Sigma kinda needs the shield health to be reasonable since he can’t just regenerate it on a whim like Orisa can
Also people say Sigma’s shield is paper thin and is why they think he sucks. How does this change solve that problem? Public perception plays a big role in who plays what
Of course, but he’s designed around needing it to function like Rein and Orisa. It needs to be reasonable or else Sigma will just be another Zarya case, only good with one or two other tanks.
I figure he’s already got a ton of Peel and SelfPeel, so he’s already halfway there to being an Offtank anyways.
He’s basically a hybrid hero regardless of what they do.
And if it solves the DoubleBarrier problem, we can get back to having Orisa be a decent anchor tank, and possibly buff all barrier tanks firepower to make them more enticing to otherwise DPS players.
You can’t buff Orisa back to being the bulky beast she was before and increase her firepower
I don’t think double shield will come back as a dominant comp at this point though if Orisa just gets a cooldown buff for her shield. And if Rein gets the reigns pulled back just a little more, then Sigma works just fine as the main tank as well.
Like, Sigma can work as the main tank even against Rein, but it’s most certainly an uphill battle if they’ve got Zarya and a Lucio. As it should be of course, but it’s a little too steep of a hill for the average player and makes Sigma look like trash since Rein is in every game.
I just personally don’t think Sigma needs any changes as he currently is. His shield blocks enough damage because of grasp, and he does just the right amount of damage for a tank.
If Orisa got a small boost and Rein got another small drop, I think tank balance would be in the best spot it’s been in for a long time.
Reinhardt is just holding back all the other combos with the walk speed buff, he closes the gap too fast now and I think that’s the main problem with tank balance.
I like it. I’d even say lower Sigma’s shield to 500 or even 400. Make it into a very situational barrier, used more to block line of sight of snipers than protection. Once it breaks you could have it regen quickly so he’s not without it for too long.
I’m very much of the mind set that he should be an offtank. I also think he needs his accretion combo back.
That’s a scary increase in damage, I already compete with other players on damage and eliminations with Sigma and Orisa. Wouldn’t that just make damage and support roles feel underwhelming?