Overwatch does not function as a team game

General Discussion
1

There is basically zero actual teamwork besides ult combos and certain hero synergies.

You need communication but the playerbase simply don’t like talking. In my countless hours of playing Overwatch, I think less than 1% of games would actually have people talking.

However, I don’t think this is a playerbase problem. It is a game design problem because you can’t fix a player.

Some heroes, mainly tanks help give an incentive for teamplay. The best example of this is Reinhardt. People know that when you have a Reinhardt to optimise your own survivability that you should group around him, which in itself helps promote teamplay.

However, a lot of tanks don’t function like this at all.

Take Hammond, Roadhog or now Doomfist.

When these heroes operate as your tanks. There is no team. It is just chaos and a lot of small skirmishes until 1 team wins. You are not pushing together, you are not focusing down enemies. You all just end up flanking and trying to get picks separately.

The truth of current Overwatch:

  • If an enemy is at 1hp, if you don’t finish them then no one will.

  • If a Rat is hiding behind your backlines, if you don’t kill them. No one will.

  • If one of your teammates is at 1hp, if you don’t save them. No one will.

In Overwatch you have to treat your entire team as completely unreliable. There is no focusing. Finishing. saving. etc

Even the very act of peeling for your supports is difficult for the average Overwatch player.

It also explains why some heroes are so hated in Overwatch. I call these “teamcheck” heroes. Heroes that actually require team coordination to deal with but are easy once you do. Heroes like Roadhog, Doomfist, PharaMercy, Bastion (lower-ranks). etc

How I would improve Overwatch:

Overwatch needs to introduce mechanics that actively encourage teamwork. Just like Reinhardts design encourages grouping, we need mechanics that encourage focusing, healing, saving, peeling etc.

My recommendations:

If any enemy falls below 50% hp, they automatically get wallhacks placed upon them which flashes and their outline is a brighter red.
Note: This makes it super obvious that this hero is low and should be focused.

If any ally falls below 50% hp, a similar effect but green wallhacks is placed upon them which flashes and they are given a bright green outline. Supports receive this as soon as they take any damage.
Note: This is to make it more obvious which one of your teammates are in danger and are about to die.

When your HP falls below 50% HP, you get wall-hacks on your supports which appears as a bright-blue.
Note: This is to help locate your support as quickly and efficiently as possible and gain LOS on them.

4 Likes
2

TBH, the way I see it.

  1. Removing barriers and CC = DPS have much more Solo potential, and more offensive opportunities
  2. Removing Tank synergy, CC and Tank buffs = Tanks have much more Solo potential, and more offensive opportunities
  3. ??? = Supports?
1 Like
3

Which makes role queue entirely pointless for randoms. It only works for premade stacks. For everyone else it makes the game a waiting simulator to play the role they want to play or forces them to play a role they hate.

2 Likes
4

I would agree if roles weren’t balanced wildly differently.

Tanks, supports and DPS all provide massively different value to a team. Especially in OW2.
You need role queue simply to stop 5 tanks, the other problem is players really don’t like being forced to play heroes they don’t want to.

It is all well and good 5v5 and the changes they are making but it 100% doesn’t actually make Overwatch operate more as a team game.

I would argue that 5v5 is going to be even more chaotic. Once again Hammond as your main-tank means you don’t really have a “tank”, he does his own thing while you do yours.

Would be fine if Overwatch actually had some communication but it doesn’t. The only thing the devs have done is the new ping system but so much more could be done IMO.

1 Like
5

Well the problem is OW never should have gotten to this point. This game has been a total disaster since Brig was introduced and broke the game and every poor choice for Blizzard to “fix” it has snowballed into what OW2 is going to be. All they needed to do was have someone stand up and say “lets not add Brig to the game” and OW would be probably be fine right now.

Brig caused GOATs. GOATs caused role queue. RQ caused double shields. Double shields caused removing 1 tank.

Brig killed the game.

6

I encounted these problems last night in eichenwald

We were attacking and going up the hill after the first point. We are about 1/4 to1/3 up

On the top of the hill next to the bridge is a rein dva

Mid was down in flanking positions are a junkrat and soldier with their mercy and Moira.

I get Nano from our ana.

I turn and engage the immediate theat of the junkrat mercy closest to me and then deal with the soldier shortly after.

My team however is screaming at me why I didn’t just charge forwards and engage the tanks.

My reply being
I am stronger but not invincible with Nano and a junkrat and soldier shooting me in the back will be a quick death no matter what.
Secondly I can far more quickly deal with dps and supports while Nanod

Leaving my " dps" to pressure them while I have reduced their team to either 3/6 or 2/6.

Then re engage their tanks while they have disadvantage.

They don’t understand rein and try to dictate how rein should be played

7

The ping system fixes this.

Yeah, you gotta put in effort

8

the sad thing is the average/common player plays the game like a deathmatch game. so probably should just put the mode in there. first team to 50 kills or something wins lol

9

Specifically at higher ranks.

The boosted players are so obvious and really ruin the experience for people who actually are the rank they belong.

10

Overwatch ONLY functions as a team game. For 99% of the matches, the team with better teamwork, even if it was serendipitous, wins.

11

No, team with better DPS usually tends to win, regardless from teamwork.

Working together with someone gets you nowhere, if DPS just kills you both.

Their intended direction is opposite, so players could win 1v2 or 1v3.

12

If this is how you really feel then why would you ever play a role that isn’t DPS? You’re flat out saying that you personally believe only DPS can decide a match. So by your logic if you play tank or support you are fodder and nothing more.

You’re also proven wrong by the tanks and supports that can climb to high ranks on multiple accounts and stay there. You absolutely can make a difference on those roles. The problem is that too many players have the mindset that only DPS matter so tanks and supports fall into the woe is me thought process of “I exist so I should be carried”.

13

Because I find DPS boring, easy.

14

Then you have no right to ever blame them. If you think only DPS can carry and you refuse to play the role then just accept it when the enemy team has better DPS.

15

No, I want to push my DPS into same winning condition. However, usually I can not.

Mainly because for whatever reason supports just aren’t designed for fixing flaws of DPS. No overheal, no aim assist, nothing of that - just buffs, that work better on tanks.

16

I’m not sure which Hammond or doomfist players you are getting on your team but when I play Hammond I coordinate big time with my DPS teammates.

1 Like
17

The highest level Ana/Bap/Zen/Lucio players are basically DPS with the ability to heal. It can be done.

18

They do not fix their flaws, they merely do their job for them.

19

What flaws? You can heal yourself while doing damage. The only flaw is if the player is missing too many shots.

20

I meant fixing your DPS teammate, if they aren’t good at what DPS supposed to be good at. Flaws like bad aim, or poor dodging skills, that lead to DPS dying with nothing achieved.