Lets take a look at all the “problems” with this game that we all “love”…because there are a lot of them and theyre the reason why we are where we are…theres too many so i wont be able to list everything but i think i can cover the major “game breaking” ones…by all means feel free to add anything i egregiously miss…and definetly feel free to argue anything i say (my opinion after all)…but i want to actually discuss/think about what is being said (by myself and others) and not just say it because im/we’re emotional and/or extremely opinionated about what i/we individually want to see in “my/our” game
This is going to be a long topic because there is lots to be said…so if youre allergic to reading (or in depth discussion) you may stop here…i wont get mad 
-a TL:DR here would just be an injustice to the discussion (sorry)…though i do try to summarize at the end of each section
first of all a blanket statement:
what is overwatch? - a team-based fps shooter with moba elements that is soon to be 3 years old
i say that because we should at least acknowledge what it is before we complain about it…no point in arguing something should be here if thats not the type of game it is…just because some other game does something does not mean it needs to be in OW…its never tried to be like another game…lets keep it that way (i can already see eyes rolling…dont worry we’ll get to you)
anyway…in no particular order…they are ALL partly to blame so please dont look at any one thing on here as THE reason for anything
Balance Issues
Balance this game!
no particular order but this is a biggie…how to balance overwatch?
well for starters who do you balance this game for? - ive seen this puppy every possible way almost daily on here…we have a LARGE variety of people playing this game with hugely different skill levels…what works at the top may not necessarily work at the bottom and vice versa…
the chief complaint i see on here is that they balance the game around the top tier players which only account for a tiny percentage of the population (or around OWL since thats basically the top anyway)…case in point: current META (more on this later) is GOATS and so they attempt to make changes to IT even though it has very small presence as you go down the skill ladder and those changes can drastically affect those players…ie - changes for the pros…for example Reaper just got a buff that will be a major problem for people (already is prob more accurate) in lower brackets
yet in the same vein we also fail to mention/or point out how many examples there are of changes that cant possibly be for those people…case in point we have plenty of characters who are considered unusable at those levels of play…surely thats on purpose??? how for example are the most recent changes to doomfist of any benefit to anyone playing in OWL?
however many (myself included) will tell you that you HAVE to balance the game from the top down…you have to reward skill since the game is after all a skill based game…as you get better those problems cease becoming so…again feel free to debate this but im going to agree with this sentiment and frankly i would say this is going to be the case in most games anyway…
what should balance look like? - this is going to bleed into another section below but the actual changes themselves have always been contentious…
from a purely analytic pov we have soon to be 30 heroes in this game…each one has 4-5 abilities (upwards of 120 abilities basically)…each of those interacts in various ways with each other and those of the other characters in the game…all of that being influenced by which game mode, which map, what skill tier, etc etc
that number grows with each new addition to the game and we want THAT to somehow be perfectly balanced so that every single hero has equal pickrates and 50% winrates…you know this is true because everyone LOOOOVVESSSSSS pointing out those numbers…
this topic always bothers me because it feels like if anyone took any time to really think about this that it would be painfully obvious: balance (in terms of equality) is inherently impossible for this game…it simply cannot be done…the BEST possible outcome is that some characters will be pretty close to each other…some will be bad (trash tier)…and some will be good (the META)…(this has been the case at every single point of this game’s history btw)…any time you change one it makes another a better or worse pick…and youre right back to where youve started…
reality is there will always be a META (which begs reminding is something which the community determines)…we need to get that “no META/perfect balance” idea out of our heads…if there is any combination that does even 1% better than the rest it will be THE META…thats just human nature…what that is and what it looks like will vary but it WILL exist…
what about the fact that the same characters always seem to be in same places?..the NICHE (ie “trash tier”) and the MUST-PICKS…this question i like better but again i feel this falls under the category of “nature of the beast” to me…and frankly i dont think theres anything wrong with being niche…its not like there is no value…its just harder to get value…and again at top level of play people are going to use the “best” possible (and easiest) option…i also defy you to point out other games with large character selection that DONT have niche options…plus we’ve seen niche options become OP options several times before…its actually quite easy for this to happen…everything in the real world has its niche…a meta is just a top end niche
as for MUST-PICKS…if we want to make a distinction between this and current META (in other words have ALWAYS been must pick)…im not really sure that anyone qualifies other than DVA really?..and its not like she hasnt had changes made…i just think her kit simply has worked better than the other options at off tank…hopefully that changes with more tanks…but 1 example is hardly a “problem”
the important thing (to me at least) is that there is a response(counter) to every option that the enemy throws at you…individually i dont think theres any discussion to be had here…all characters have someone that causes them issues…as long as youre willing to change there is no reason why you cant handle individual characters…collectively this is way more complicated…but blizz has shown that they are at least willing to make changes that are purposely directed at addressing collective strategies…how successful they are is very debatable but lack of effort i dont think is one of them
Overbuffing/nerfing - another common issue…and the above 2 subheadings factor into this…but if there is a unequivocal flaw in the balancing of this game i think it lies here…blizz does have a tendency to go overboard and while i acknowledge that the idea/reasoning behind them is sound…the execution is terrible…it should be more incremental…a large part of this is the fact that we cant really give them feedback until the changes are in game…yes the ptr exists but even i will say its pretty useless…we need more incentive to go on there (as selfish as that sounds its true)…but even then i think we would benefit from more iteration on there even with the small amount of feedback we can give there…also think its ridiculously unfair to blankly claim whatever gets on ptr goes straight to live…thats not accurate at all and you know it
VERDICT (“my” verdict cause i know we’ll argue about this one til the day the game no longer exists) - i think if we really sit back and look at this we should at least be able to acknowledge that balancing this game is RIDICULOUSLY HARD because of the many challenges that this game uniquely presents the devs…furthermore we all have different opinions about what balance should like, they literally cant make everyone happy…we should acknowledge that realistically there’s very little reason to expect it to be drastically different…its always going to look something like this (and it always has)…the core idea of balance (ie - always having an option) is there if we choose to use it…if there is a place where they can really improve its in making better use of the PTR so that they dont have giant sweeping changes imo
Lack of Content
Where is it? the new shiny thing?!? GIMME GIMME GIMME
What do we have? - lets at least acknowledge what we have…~30 heroes, 20 main game maps (5 of each type - paris will be 6th assault), 7 arcade maps, 2 main game modes, ~13 arcade game modes on a weekly cycle (MH the exception), a custom game mode maker/tool, 6 seasonal events (4 of which have associated game mode(s) with them), assortment of cosmetic items, OWL
in terms of schedule the heroes and the maps are added on a steady release schedule that hasnt changed since the game was introduced…i note this specifically for anyone that wants to say the development has slowed down
fact: there is more content today then there has ever been in game - also mentioning this because we easily forget what this game actually had in year 1 when it was still “fun”…we have more now…yet apparantly not good enough
how much content is “required” for there to be “enough content” - thats a personal question and one that the game has no direct say in…they can always add more…it doesnt mean it will be enough…
Repeat special events - a frequent complaint on here which ive covered on many occasions most recently here What should we expect for Chinese new years? - #22 by Baja-11423
i always try to point out how much our own wants and needs play into this argument…yes it would be nice to have new game modes with the events (the game in general) but this isnt exactly something that was ever promised or even indicated would ever happen…like yes they were cool and obviously different the first year…but we immediately expected and/or demanded more the second time around just because watnted it (how different have the events in WoW been over the years for comparison? very little)…
aside from archives (more below) the only one that got something resembling a new mode in year 2 was the winter event with the yeti hunt…ask yourself if more yeti hunt-like modes for the other events is really what you want to see? considering you probably only ever touched that one for the first 2 days when it first came out…maybe never even touched it the 2nd time around…new doesnt necessarily mean sufficient or adequate
i think we have turned something that from the looks of things was always intended to just be something different we can do for a few weeks into this game changing thing that archives is…Archives IS the one special thing they do during the year…i can easily see why you would want more like THAT…but perhaps people dont realize what kind of an undertaking that is to put together…theyve told us (even if we want to ignore it) that Retribution last year was a year long endeavor…if THATS what we expect then we are out of our collective minds because you cannot possibly expect them to do that 6 times a year (especially in light of recent news)
i think archives is the BEST and WORST thing that couldve happened with regards to expectations in this game…if they could do something like that of course it would be fantastic…it would also be an entirely different game
new events in general? - i can absolutely get behind this idea…they dont HAVE to be tied to events…but again keep in mind what i said above with regards to man hours (small indie company…blah blah blah)…there are plenty of viable options and theyve no doubt have considered many…what keeps them from pulling the triggers i dont know…but i dont think we should go overboard with this either…is a new game mode going to all of a sudden fix things i dont know…we got deathmatch…its not for everyone and the complaints about the game havent exactly change…i would imagine anything we get is going to probably have similar results
pve content/lore - the pve content thing theyve spoken about plenty and why they dont do it…pls do yourself a favor and google it before you blindly yell for more more more…again see the above as i think it plays into it…
the lore part i dont know…i personally feel like theres plenty of it…clearly others dont…im not exactly sure how more lore fixes gameplay issues…or really drives forward whats going on in game either outside of archives…all the lore in the world gets lost as soon as that timer starts…or are you really thinking about soldier’s sexuality when youre trying to cap an objective?
VERDICT - Demand vs Necessity vs Expecations…while i wont argue that more content is necessary…i think as a community we set expecations exceedingly high…i have little doubt that anything they do add will only ever be a bandaid to appease that desire for something different…but in the end it probably isnt going to do too much
Lack of Communication
Hello?
Adequate communication? - just what exactly is this? for the better part of the last year i have seen this topic come up and i wonder exactly what people want to see…is there less? yes…i dont think thats arguable…but i think its important to look at this from a development point of view as well…
we are for lack of a better phrase “opinionated on EVERYTHING”…do we need yes or no responses to every single brigitte buff/nerf thread that pops up on here…to each and every single change they have considered each day…to every speculation of whats going on?
speaking of which…how often do they have to respond? how many outlets? does it have to be specifically in the form of developer update videos with Jeff? and when they do give feedback do they then have to respond to all the responses it gets? like i know we all seem to think they do nothing all day but just how much time do they need to dedicate to communication?
Quality of our Feedback - communication is a 2 way street…the forums exist as a means by which we may communicate our concerns to the devs (as well as each other)…usually its just shouting to see who’s loudest…or trolling…often people will ask for things on here just BECAUSE…doenst even have to be because of the game (buff tracer! no reasons given)…“in the interest of the game” often finds itself way below “in the interest for ME”…and we’re not exactly ncie about it either…things arent necessarily done properly or politely around here…the devs arent slaves but i could easily label some comments as demands rather than requests…
As a community i think we’ve honestly devolved in many senses…and i think this is something that the devs have had to cope with more and more over the course of the games history…the devs are people first and foremost and just like in RL when the conversations cease being fruitful undertakings…when it no longer matters what is said and the other party is going to tear you apart anyway - the point of the conversation no longer exists…its not that the devs do not want to communicate with this forum anymore (and i specify this forum because its not like this is the only means of communication)…its that there is very little point to doing so anymore…
i invite everyone to watch some of the recent interviews theyve been giving which believe it or not is also a form communication
"they dont listen/care" - THIS…this right here…im going to keep this one short - THIS IS THE MOST LAUGHABLE SENTIMENT I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY HISTORY PLAYING THIS GAME
10000000 suggestions for anything and you do one of them…how many people feel like they were listened to and how many think theyre being ignored…
pls stop this…it makes us sound like whiny children…MANY of the things that exist in this game exist because we WANTED them…The "they listened" thread
stop dive (brig), mass res gone, scatter gone, lfg, many buffs, many nerfs - just to name a few
not liking the results is completely different than not listening or caring
roadmap - this one pops up often and i do agree some more transparency would be appreciated…it would be nice especially in light of the current OW situation…i dont really recall this being a major issue before though so i openly wonder IF its an issue just because of that…overpromise and underdeliver i would imagine is a concern…jeff has been pretty forward in recent updates about things that we should not expect or have been cancelled…which is a good thing (i think)
Verdict - yes they are not as vocal as they were before (but its mostly on here)…but we are also hugely responsible for this…its a 2 way street…there can be no communication if we’re not willing to have proper discussion or willing to accept what we hear…the devs do listen/care - but there is always going to be more people listened to than not because thats all they can do…would a roadmap help? iono…but at best a bandaid probably
Toxicity
This is all your fault!!!
Community is Toxic - Yes…
non-blunt answer: if there is a constant aggravation for me in game its the people playing it…i dont know if its a product of age…or the internet…or whatever…but this community is TERRIBLE…and frankly if you really want to boil it down…this is probably the #1 thing thats wrong with this game…thats right…not the game…the people…
i go back to the statement i made at the very beginning about what the game is…i dont know if this is a result of people coming from different types of games or not…but the game is a TEAM based shooter…there is no TEAM if people come at this game with an entirely ME based mentality…
like im not saying this simply because…but if thats you then this game is NOT for you…and frankly everyone involved will be better off if youre not playing it…i dont care if that means OW is left with 30000 players and 500 views on twitch (whoopdeedamdoo)
you dont want to talk? fine…you dont want to be in chat/comms? fine…but dont sit there and expect things to go how you want them to just because…and definetly dont begin to chime up when they dont…everyone has an opinion on who should play what, when to switch, how to play, and most importantly…who to blame (never themselves)…team discussion? WTF is that???
like as much as i would like to play competitive…i usually dont… and its simply because of the toxicity (not the matchmaking - more below)…it seems to only be a place where the 6 most stubborn mindsets imaginable meet to determine which one can shout the loudest…i include myself in this as ive noticed myself doing this on occasions when i do happen to play comp
and it trickles down to all the other game modes too, but mostly comp
false reporting - yeah all of you need to just dissapear from the game (i assume many are and thats a good thing)…everyone KNOWS what IS and isnt reportable (person just picked torb…guess that means i can immediately report for trolling)…thats all that needs to be said here and im going to be completely honest and say that if blizz has a way of somehow determining that someone is false reporting that the punishment should be immediate permabans…
VERDICT - yes…and we should acknowledge that we’re all terrible…many of us should not be playing this game…it is the single worst part of this game and as a community we need to do some serious introspection about this…it has no place in this game and frankly the best option should be to stop playing if youre guilty of it…i personally would not be opposed to permabanning toxicity if it was blatant…sorry (but not really)
Matchmaking
Why am i playing with these people?
Why am i on this team - i am not going to pretend to be an expert on the MMR/SR system but this much i do know: you are paired with similar SR players…and you are also rated on your play to determine if you should be playing against better people or not…all the math behind it i leave to the mathematicians…but the effect is that you SHOULD be getting paired with similar skilled individuals or groups…and because of this it means youre more than likely not going to climb or drop much especially when you consider people throwing, smurfs, leavers, etc (all of which are actually people problems…)…ie- elo hell (yes its real)
im not going to sit here and claim its a perfect system…but i would love to see suggestions on how the system can be made better…with the stipulation that you keep the idea of being matched against similar people…
i say that because i feel as though there is underlying mentality in the community that you SHOULD be winning more than you do…that you should be rewarded with climbing in the ranks the more you play…when the reality is that a skill ceiling is a very real thing and that you might be exactly where you should be…you should be losing as often as you once you get to that point (which im sure contributes to the toxicity issue)
this is also further complicated by the fact that you are playing a TEAM game and it is not solely dependent on what you do individually
Role Queue/Flexibility/Enforced roles - ok, probably the most debated thing on this topic…im not going to sit here and say THIS is the system we should have…i will just reiterate that ‘Flexibility’ is probably THE core design element of this game…youre supposed to adapt to situations on the fly…which to means enforced roles shouldnt be a consideration really…but it does mean that role queue should work as long as you can get it to still allow for that…and any queue system presents many challenges in that regard which is why Blizzard has said time and time again that theyve been reluctant to do so…not impossible…complicated (recent Jeff interviews are great places to go to for this)
But i think it bears repeating that for all the constant arguing and aggravation that this topic has caused that Blizzard DID provide us with a means to do it ourselves with the LFG system…you can literally design a team around your desires that you specifically want to see
…BUT nobody uses it
and i do want to discuss the 2 main reasons i see given as to why…
time - it takes too long…if you mean time to form a group yes…it does take longer to create…we also told them we would be ok with that as long as we got a system…apparantly we all lied…
if you mean how few people use it…then yes nobody is using it anymore…im sure theres laziness involved (dont act like its not)…“just get me in a game” or “game do it for me” im sure is what we would like…but if the lack of proper group comps is an issue that shouldnt matter…you have the means but wont use it says to me its not as important as you make it out to be…if people actually used it it wouldnt take long would it? (it works both ways)…it wasnt a problem when it first came out no? in fact the only things you ever heard then were how great a system it was and how OW had been saved for many…yet here we are…
difficulty - this one ive heard a lot and it also bothers me…“if i group up via LFG im going to lose more often because it matches me up against harder comps”…ok…yes its true you might be placed against a group of RL friends who have been playing together since they were children…its also just as likely that youre going up against another group doing the same…like come on…the purpose of the group finder is to improve your chances of playing the game that you WANT to play…not to guaranteed you victories…the same thing happens even without the system…any time you group with others you might also play against a group friends…
to me this seems extremely weak argument against the system and a jarring contradiction: “i WANT/NEED a better group…but i dont want to make it…and i dont want to play against other people that are also trying to gain an advantage by playing together”…keep that in mind in competitive as well…“i want to have a better chance of competing…but not against a competitive group”
smurfing/leavers/throwers - im also going to mention this here (couldve been in toxicity section too) because im not exactly sure how you address this issue other than allowing players to report the activity…i know people bring up binding accounts, ip banning…but there are so many ways around this…i actually pose the question to you guys as to what other games DONT have this issue and how they deal with it? i will say that there needs to be a better way of dealing with this because i know that the general response from people is going to be to report even though none of the three might be malicious or real…usually its perception
avoid feature should definetly be improved (more slots)
note - if you think smurfing is an issue now…what do you think is going to happen if the game actually goes to f2p?
Verdict - yeah there are issues with it matchmaking BUT im not exactly seeing solutions…its always “why?” or “fix this”…and even then MANY issues would be solved if people actually treated matchmaking as important as they make it out to be and used the LFG option…pls improve game sabotage detection/reporting system (somehow)
OverWatchLeague
eSports? i dont care about eSports....give me those sexy skins though
“OWL ruined this game!” - I know that pretty much every single thing ive mentioned up until now has been blamed on the eSports league by many people…blizz’s admission last year that resources were taken from the game to help get the league started certainly did very little to help ease that sentiment…im not here to tell everyone theyre wrong…fact is without knowing exactly what that admission actually involves/means, we’ll never know how much it actually affected the game: what features we mightve had, what wouldve been different…
heres what i do know: the above stuff all couldve very easily happened (or actually already existed) without OWL…so im not about to sit here and blame it for everything…BUT it is easily one of the biggest moneymakers for the company and by proxy this game…so IF you actually care for the health of the game then you actually have an interest in the league doing well…im not saying you have to support it…dont watch a second of it if it doesnt interest you or if you truly believe its the fault of everything…but you better hope the league actually does well or all those layoffs and such that we had this week are going to end up happening all over again in areas that will ACTUALLY lead to things that will directly affect the game in a negative fashion
i will be watching as i found it incredibly fun watching the game played at the highest level
if you made it this far…good…lets actually discuss…i personally dont want to see this game fail as i have invested an enormous amount of time in it and do enjoy the game thoroughly…i dont however like to take these incredibly one sided stances on the games issues that lead to nothing but negativity and do more harm than good and honestly get us nowhere…take emotion out of it and try to think about things objectively…