Kiriko’s Design Is Fundamentally Flawed, and the Devs Clearl

General Discussion
1

I’ll keep this direct.

Reducing Swift Step’s duration isn’t going to fix Kiriko. The issue is not the uptime. The issue is that she has long-range, high-frequency mobility with virtually zero risk or consequence.

She can dive the backline, bait cooldowns, escape instantly, and repeat the cycle—over and over again. There is no punishment window, no commitment, no vulnerability. That is a design failure.

Mobility in Overwatch should come with tradeoffs. Kiriko’s doesn’t. She bypasses entire layers of positioning, tempo, and spacing, and she gets away with it for free.

This isn’t just about balance numbers. This is about a mechanic that fundamentally breaks the flow of team fights.

You nerfed heroes like Junkrat because they created “frustrating experiences” for others. That was your justification. But now, Kiriko is one of the most frustrating heroes to play against, and you’re not even acknowledging it.

So what changed? Is it only frustrating if it’s explosive damage and not slow, drawn-out attrition? Or is it just inconsistent philosophy?

This is what frustrates players: when you apply design principles selectively, and when it’s obvious that the people balancing the game don’t understand how the game actually plays out at a high level.

And frankly, it feels like you don’t play your own game. Or if you do, it’s at a rank where these issues don’t show up clearly. Silver and Gold tier players often cling to their perspective and dismiss higher-level play, and I can’t help but feel that same kind of tunnel vision in your recent design choices.

Play your own game. Seriously. Play at Diamond or above, watch how Kiriko completely undermines pressure, and ask yourself: is this the kind of hero interaction that creates a fair, readable fight?

Because right now, it’s not. And players feel it.

2

They told us she has a like 43% win rate (besides Stadium), but she is barely changed. Kiriko can be way too strong but people in lower ranks don’t know how to play her correctly or can’t utilize her weapon since it requires you to land headshots on an unwieldy projectile.

Changing her swift step to require line of sight would discourage this type of playstyle and require Kiriko to position better. This also prevents Kiriko from simply escaping from failed engagements for free at the end of a lost fight. In exchange for the loss of mobility, she could probably receive 250hp again.

I also think toning her kunai headshot damage down to 90-100 in exchange for a larger projectile or more projectile speed would be preferable. She just has way too much going for her in a duel right now; 120 damage head shot, immortality with self-heal, and instant escape for free button. Suzu currently offsets that she only has 225hp. DPS shouldn’t be deterred from attacking supports because supports have a better TtK than they do.

The only other support ability even comparable to Swift Step is Moira’s Fade (instant TP with cleanse and i-frames) and that only moves her like 7 meters before perks. Moira also only deals 65dps with her primary fire. I just dislike how Kiriko can basically do whatever she wants and is difficult to punish in any meaningful way. Stadium just exacerbates this issue, but it’s worse now with her clone aimbot build.

3

Well there is a ban system, right? Ban her then if you don’t have enough skills against her game.

4

Kiriko can’t be banned in Stadium, which I think is where most people are currently having the problem at. If they nerf her clone build, though, she’s just not gonna be played anymore probably for Juno missile again or whatever the next broken support build is.