I don’t really understand why people in lower ranks think that a buff or nerf to their character means so much to them. Yeah it sucks that your character got nerfed, but at this point in the game’s lifetime everyone has had a hero nerfed that they like a lot. At lower levels of play, meta doesn’t matter nearly as much as it does at the top level, so trying to balance around lower skilled players benefits/disadvantages them less than it does a GM. Making proper balance for higher levels of play is better because it will give a more enjoyable experience to viewers that watch top level players and it will keep professional players from hating the game they play for a living. This is mainly a response to the brig nerf. A lot of top level players believed this was a good change, but many on the forums and in lowers ranks feel it is bad. But again for those at lower ranks something like this doesn’t mean nearly as much, especially considering that they are not being payed to play the game professionally.
I understand why people are upset at this change, but I feel they are missing something bigger. If you disagree, that’s fine. It’s just how i feel about the matter.
27 Likes
All things in all games and competition is balanced around the top level of play- it is certainly not exclusive to Overwatch and isn’t something Overwatch was the first to do- it has always been the default. It is really weird people are so insistent on making character changes based around people who have poor positioning, poor ult timing, and poor aim.
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ANY game that wants to have a competitive environment HAS TO BE be balanced this way…anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves
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Stats show that lower ranks can, and do, feel the effects of balance changes. We have had plenty of examples of heroes being buffed to balance high-rank play and completely destroying low rank balance.
I do think the upper end of the ladder (people who know how to play the game) should be Blizzard’s main reference when deciding if heroes are performing the way they’re supposed to, but for Christ’s sake, can we make this argument without writing lower-ranked players off like they’re not even sentient?
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Thing is that being good at shooting in a video game doesn’t make you a game developer. There is a LOT more complex issues that go into game design rather than knowing how to use it well. Having GMs and pros say what they dislike about the game is going to be very different from what a silver might think.
Obviously, there should be a middle ground because can you imagine the game if Bronzes could dictate balance?
Game should be balanced for the people that bought the game, not for the 0.1% of players. Im not sure how to do that, but what they’re doing now isn’t working
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Yes let’s balance solely around 10% of the community. The other 90% don’t matter, right?
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I think the hate is more because they balance around opinions from pro players instead of stats
And another reason is because brig is DESIGNED to give armor, That’s like her fundamentals, so removing it is like saying
Genji no longer double jumps
Tracer no longer recalls
Sombra no longer hacks
Etc
They could’ve done so many things, but no, let’s hammer instead
15 Likes
It’s funny how much they complain about the top-level players deciding whether a character gets nerfed but when they get those players in their games they will make an essay on the forums about how high-level players shouldn’t be in quick-play
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and that design has proven over the last 2 years to have been a bad idea, so they’re removing it.
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Going by that logic, its completely fine for you if they buffed a hero that still wouldnt be an issue at GM but everywhere plat and below that said hero can basically be a 1 man army and carry games?
1 Like
Tbh, high ranks are really really good at telling you how the game is right now at their skill tier. Impressive and great feedback at identifying problems.
But they are usually kinda indifferent to how the game functions outside their skill tier, and usually not that imaginative to changes to the status quo.
I.e. “Hammond is a main tank for all skill tiers, and Sigma is forever an offtank.”
https://old.reddit.com/r/Competitiveoverwatch/comments/gkntrz/bruiser_role_queue_modified_132_that_can_play/
It’s like pulling teeth to get them to pull their heads out of the status quo, at their skill tier.
Let’s not even get started on how entrenched the idea is that Tanks carry games. When it’s more like Tanks throw games, but don’t carry.
(Not making misplays isn’t really the same as making clutch outplays)
Or that Tanks can’t get buffs, because we somehow need to protect against stacking 3-4 Tanks in 2-2-2
That said, problems that effect high tiers do need quicker solutions. But high tiers are usually pretty bad at coming up with solutions that are appropriate across all skill tiers.
4 Likes
What do those two things have to do with each other?
1 Like
Overwatch should be balanced so as many people as possible have the best experience, not just the 1%,
and not based around making OWL more exciting to watch and keeping viewership
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Id prefer balance across all ranks. Imagine OWL viable mei, roadhog, pharah, bastion lol. Youd have people goldstuck from those 4 alone
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Because they’re subject to biases and prejudices just like all humans on this earth they are emphasizing their own gameplay experience over what other gamers enjoy, and act like they represent ALL gamers.
That is the problem with Overwatch specifically.
9 Likes
Nah.
Balancing around the top tier sets the standard so that satisfactory performance requires top tier play. This is particularly the case for Supports and Tanks, but also for some DPS. Because of the way they balance, for many of those characters, you have to be playing at the highest tiers for them to be “viable.” Gatekeeping content in this way is not good for a game. Players should be rewarded for achieving high levels of skill, not expected to reach those levels to have an enjoyable experience in the first place.
That’s not even to comment on the seeming reality that high tier “balance” by Blizzard doesn’t even seem to pursue balance at all but simply engineer imbalance in a way that’s most favorable to revenue. tl;dr make things fun to watch for OWL.
The most ideal solution IMO is to split balance. Have Quickplay and Competitive, and introduce League Style. Balance Quickplay and Competitive around and across the ladder, probably with a focal point around Diamond where you have a nice mixture of skill and casual play, and balance League Style around top-tier play and the OWL. Let high-tier players have access to a balanced experience, but also don’t punish ladder for not being ultra instinct sweaty god mode.
3 Likes
I wonder how many problems would be fixed if the hero balancing between competitive and QP/Arcade modes was different. Uber-pro tryhards who want to earn wins get their perfectly tuned heroes, and casual 99%-ers get their fast-paced casual FPS to play for fun.
Otherwise, it feels like someone saying “Ja mate, let’s balance our cartoony casual 2D platformer around these world-record speedrunning times”
2 Likes
OW should be balanced to be fun for everyone, not just the 1%.
Bungie tried this with Trials of Osiris for Destiny 2 and it resulted in players leaving.
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