Don’t get me wrong I love playing Hammond, he’s super fun but I feel like he’s just so bad, anything Hammond tries to do a Winston or D.Va could do better, and I know the meta right now doesn’t really leave him with a good spot, but lets face it even if this wasn’t such a harsh meta for him, nothing would really change.
Here is why I think Hammond is bad and how I think it could be fixed:
He still practically stuns himself with Adaptive Shields, the ability that’s already on a 15 second cooldown, the ability that’s already only useful when you’re near 3 enemies meaning they’ll eat right through it in less than a second, and just when it couldn’t get any worse, it completely takes him out of Ball Form, putting his Grappling Claw on cooldown since you were most likely already trying to enter/escape with it and he loses all momentum so he’s stuck there like a sitting duck while he awaits his death.
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His Ammo is a joke, he needs more than 80 bullets, anyone who knows how to strafe is going to end your life way faster than you end theirs considering you’re a gigantic target that spends half their time reloading which might I say feels like the LONGEST time ever. I feel like the only person Hammond can reliably kill is a Zenyatta if he’s not being pocketed, anyone else will either Stun him, Outgun him, or Outrun him leaving you to either run away achieving nothing but feeding the enemy Support ultimates since you didn’t secure the kill, or you’re just dead.
TL;DR:
Adaptive Shields should not force Hammond out of Ball Form plain and simple.
Give Hammond at least 100 bullets or shorten his reload animation.
Totaly agree with your first two arguments. The third tho… Piledriver is an extreamly good abillity as it is. Its nececaary to having it be something you need to set up properly. If u could piledrive from the ground it would just be Doomfists uppercut but a million times better.
You may be aware, but he can reload after the same amount of time as reload is while you are in ball form. You almost always want to start rolling away when your ammo runs out.
I agree so far as Hammond does really well when the other team isn’t directly focusing on him, but he’s also the weakest of the three high mobility tanks by a long mile. It’s problematic to justify a hero’s weakness by saying “well, if nobody pays attention to him he’s good”–like, yes, all the heroes in the game have that advantage.
Of the buffs OP proposed, the only thing I feel could stand to be buffed is Hammond’s reload speed. He spends way too long reloading relative to how long he can shoot, and yes, I’m aware you can reload in ball form, but you still have to wait the entire reload time anyway. It’s not a flash reload like Reaper going in and out of Wraith form, you’re still committed to a 2.5 second wait before you can shoot again.
That would be a very nice QOL change for him and not unreasonable IMO. I can support allowing adaptive shields while in ball form. (relatively minor buff)
I am unsure if changing ammo quantity is what is needed. maybe spread, fire rate, etc would make the difference. There are enough options that some should be explored on this front.
It is important to not overbuff or overnerf him. There are QOL changes that should be applied - I’m not sure he’s the strongest tank when being focused, but he has his place in the Roster and for sure adds some level of interesting dynamic to team fights. With a Zarya bubble many tanks become extra strong.
Those seem like fair changes to me.
I’ll be totally honest and say I never really got into Wrecking Ball cuz everytime i play him, I just feel like I’d be doing better if I swapped onto D.va.
Its really off putting how some of his abilities combo together so poorly. Your changes would make him feel a lot smoother. I respect that.
Hammond can reposition a Orisa or Rein, thats huge. Winston and Dva can not do that. A main tank battle is essentially a chess match, fighting for positioning to create a opening. Hammond is the Blue Eyes White Dragon storming through and picking off the queen
With over 50 hours on Wrecking Ball so far, I can honestly say he’s fine. His only real issue is that of chain stuns and feeding.
Much like how Soldier: 76 cannot reload while running, or Mei cannot reload during Cryo Freeze, or Reinhardt cannot stop his charge, some abilities need to have some sort of what I call “inner counter” which is when a hero’s ability impacts their other abilities for a short time, in this case, Adaptive Shield and Ball Form.
