what if i told you…that some idiot whos spent way too much time on the forums, would also spend way too much time writing out this post because they thought they should do something to mark some completely meaningless post count milestone…
yeah…
…
anyway…30 things i can say about OW after 8 years of playing (semi categorized):
1 - OW is a good game
lets start with a blanked statement: Overwatch is a good game…
its got a ton of flaws (several below), but its still a good game…this game has been killed off more times than Kenny from south park, and yet here it is…why? because the formula still works (despite people’s obsessions with its flaws)…
if all you ever do is pay attention to the forums (you know, that thing that exists so people can basically complain about the game), then you probably think this is the worst game ever made…the exaggeration and hyperbole surrounding OW is ridiculous
BALANCE
2 - The community will NEVER be happy with the game’s balance
the most popular topic on forums since day one…and the most pointless one…there is no such thing as a “balanced overwatch”…Why? because the community’s definition of balance is not rooted in reality (or consensus) - the game will never reach a point where all heroes are equally viable (across the entire skill spectrum) and you can just play whoever, whenever…
that doesnt mean blizz is good at it btw (and there are plenty of terrible examples)…just that the expectations are not realistic…ESPECIALLY as more and more heroes and maps and game modes get added that only complicate things further with each addition…its not possible
the game will only ever go from one unbalanced state to the next and people will always be upset about it…THAT is balance in OW
3 - Game balance SHOULD be based on upper tiers and data driven
yeah i know that upsets most people (as most people are not in upper tiers - myself included)…but if you want a game to be any sort of a competitive then you balance the game around the tiers where its actually played properly…id go further but you can easily find plenty of more detailed explanations as to why that on here and on the web (if youre actually willing to listen of course)
as for data driven…its the only objective thing you can look at…“fun/unfun” is more of a design issue than a balance issue (people confuse the two)
4 - Metas do not “exist”
as in they are not something that gets created…they are just the community’s currently perceived optimal hero combination…it is not measured…there are no scientific experiments or studies conducted to determine who is the “best”…they are not designed (the devs couldnt pick a meta if they tried)…its just perception…there is no giant gap between them and other heroes…you dont HAVE to play them and plenty of other heroes will give you similar value…meta slavery is a thing
5 - nonRQ game modes need help
no that does not mean that the game should be balanced around them…nor does it mean that they need to go into them and indivually balance everything differently…it just means they require attention too (more often than the maybe once a year treatment they currently have)
simple things like the tank changes they did for OQ/MH where they nerfed tank’s HP (more on tanks laters), or restricted how many of a role you can have (MH), or altering ults for DM (echo, ana)
the game has had many changes over the years…tanks in particular…how about addressing the other modes as well…especially when those changes have far more impactful effects there
6 - counterswapping IS overwatch
you can switch heroes mid match because the point of OW is to adapt and use all the tools available to you (the heroes) in order to beat the enemy…furthermore, in a game with ever increasing number of heroes it becomes harder and harder to NOT have counters in the game…heroes have strengths and weaknesses, all of which are exploitable (some worse than others)…
this one gets a big fat DEAL WITH IT
MATCHMAKING
7 - people will never be happy with the matchmaker either
once again, blanket statement - i dont care whos in charge of it, i dont care what criteria they use, i dont care how transparent it is - PEOPLE BLAME MATCHMAKERS…everyone swears OW has this unique matchmaking issue, when you can basically go back 25+ years and find people complaining about competitive matchmakers in basically every game (same arguments everywhere)…its what people do…people seek to blame…there must be an explanation and it must be someone or something else messing things up
8 - the MM is blamed for tons of stuff it isnt responsible for
…furthermore…the stuff people put on the MM isnt even stuff its responsible for half the time
9 - there is no such thing as forced 50/50 - ELO hell is very real
if you were tasked with designing a matchmaker your GOAL would be to get to a point where people play at their “level” - which is not something you can actually measure, but they will generally win just as often as they lose if they are “there”…furthermore if they do better/worse than expected their level of competition should adjust accordingly…it SHOULD be a back and forth affair…
is the MM perfect? HELL NO (and there are several reasons for that)…but it does what its supposed to do…which is unfortunately to putting you in “ELO hell”
my biggest disconnect with the community in Overwatch is this topic right here…im not exaggerating when i say this - i have NEVER had any real issue with my matches…yeah i have streaks…yeah sometimes it feels like i cant win/lose…yeah ive had stomps…yeah ive gotten masters/GMs in my games (super rare)…none of those things mean “bad matchmaking” (cough #8 above cough)…MOST of my games are close and can go either way
also important to mention that people have a TON of influence on how matches are formed and how they play out…and not necessarily in a good way
10 - if im the best player on your team…good luck!
GAME DESIGN
11 - Biggest design issue: getting people to tank
5v5, 6v6, 7v7, doesnt matter…from the beginning the biggest design issue this game has had is getting people to play tank (and in enough numbers)
its how we ended up with RQ…its how we ended up with 5v5…and its why we’re STILL having the “what do we do about the tanking situation” conversation (which is what the 6v6 debate is REALLY about)
solve that and you actually FIX the game (good luck)
12 - 6v6 (is not a “fix”)
no im not a 5v5er…and no im not for or against 6v6…i really dont care which version the game is…just want to point out that it is not a fix to the problem listed above and if thats why people are suggesting it, then they are sorely mistaken and not actually thinking about underlying issue and only thinking about what they want or prefer out of the game without considering the repercussions
to the devs credit they seem to be taking a practical approach to this, and hopefully a reasonable solution is found (i can almost guarantee it will not just be 222/6v6 we had before though)
Note - it STILL wont be fixed 
13 - the less restrictions the better
that means NO the game should not have hero bans, NO the game should not have map bans, and nope the game should NOT have one rigid compositional format…so glad theyre looking at more flexible queue systems going forward
lack of variety and repetitiveness are not something we should strive for
14 - reworks NEEDED to happen
i want to stress that i have ZERO issue with people hating the reworks themselves…hate them all you want (some have admitedly sucked)…but people need to understand that they happen for reasons…it takes a lot of effort to actually do, and no they dont do them “just because”
every single one was the result of either community complaints and/or the thing in question simply not working and change was NEEDED
15 - reverts should NOT happen
if something warranted changing (see above), and the new version is not any good either, the response should not be “revert it”…there is ZERO point in doing that…that applies to heroes, maps, and even something like 222 (and im glad that there are precious few examples of actual reverts in the game’s history)
16 - report system should not be automated
even though people fail to realize that others still have to actually report you for any system to intervene (it doesnt JUST happen for no reason - figure out what youre doing if you keep causing that)…that doesnt mean that the intervening system should be automated
hey blizz…how about actually vetting reports? and penalizing those that are doing it erroneously/maliciously
17 - Skill expression SHOULD be a top hero design criteria
more than anything i think skill ceilings should be as high as possible…low skill floors is one thing (even though they can be annoying), but a low skill ceiling should never be the result of hero design. The healthiest heroes in the game are those where the player’s ability is what determines how good the hero is…not the abilities themselves
18 - the game doesnt NEED more heroes
its not like people didnt like it when it had less (hell i could argue people liked it more)…and every addition just complicates things further (not to mention bloat and creep and such)
how about just focusing on what we have and making it as good as possible??? besides more maps/game modes are way more interesting imho
19 - there was nothing actually wrong with 2cp
just like there isnt anything wrong with the new game modes either and people just love to whine (especially if theyre no good at the thing in question) - sorry not sorry
20 - leaver penalties are great
people are too selfish/stubborn to accep that they were even a problem so its not surprising that those people hate them…but theyre one of the best changes ever made to the game…STILL waiting on my first backfill!
21 - skirmish should be on front page
its what many people (those mentioned in 20 in particular) want QP to be…so why not just throw it on the front page and let people just play that?
22 - FTP is a plague…
…on the gaming industry in general, but especially in OW…
TY for taking the game and turning it into a shameless moneygrab that just seeks to take advantage of everybody…its wonderful seeing its influence in every aspect of the game (lack of rewards, cancellation of content, and all the lovely influences of accounts being completely devalued - cheaters, leavers, smurfing, mmr inaccuracy, etc etc etc)
speaking of cancellation of content…
23 - PVE - or lack thereof
well…it didnt happen…so OW2 ended up just being OW1 with predatory monetization…just sad and pathetic…where this game couldve been right now if corporate interests hadnt ruined the games progress in order to implement greed
24 - Most broken thing in all of OW? hero stacks (and now tanks) in MH
lets just allow for you to have 2 or more of any hero in a mode where you cant actually counter (when you already decided having no limits is not good or fun for the game)…even better…lets allow you to potentially have more than 1 super tank even though we dont allow you to normally have more than 1 specifically because theyre not designed like the other heroes…i wonder what effect that could have…hmmmmmmmmmm
MISC
25 - MH is STILL the best mode in game and fixes 90% of game’s issues
it aint perfect (see above) but it still fixes just about every single common complain about the game. seriously, go through the list in your head and its more than likely not an issue in MH…top 3 reason why ive had as much fun as ive had over the years (and still do)…having that curated experience is just too important i guess 
26 - Art team is amazing
not much to say here…the presentation in OW, whether it be visual or audio…is just top notch…kudos
27 - the game is most fun when your goal is to have fun
the more criteria that have to be met in order for you to have fun (game mode, hero selection, team comp, W/L’s etc etc) and the more you treat this game like work (no breaks, insane hours)…the less likely you are going to enjoy it
just play because you enjoy (games in general really)
28 - you cant control the other 9 people in the match
even if youre grouped, you should understand that the only thing that you can actually control is YOU…so focus on what YOURE doing and stop worrying so much about what everybody else is doing (ties into 26)
note - this is my only criteria for having fun actually…how well did i play
29 - one tricks…UGH
also ties into 26 - if you make everything about how that one thing performs…you are just setting yourself up (and everybody else) for constant disappointment…especially in a game like this
30 - people need to get “My Overwatch” out of their heads
the actual biggest problem with the game: selfishness
whether it be toxicity at others for trying to enjoy the game, or cheating, or throwing/leaving because your fragile ego cant take an L, or not being a team player (hello RQ), or demanding the game placate you (request for hero/map bans), or demanding others placate you (“play X”), manipulating your MMR, false reporting, “balance MY hero”, etc etc etc
the game isnt about you, you arent special
phew - if you made it this far - whats wrong with you?
anyway…that took forever…thanks if you read
ps - if i ever make it to 40k…someone stop me before i do this again!
