That is a huge assumption there. You’re assuming he isn’t played because people don’t like him for what he is, not because he’s underpowered.
I admire the fact that you’re trying to preserve the current way Bastion operates, but the thing is the way Bastion works now is also his most glaring weakness, and the reason why he’s considered a refuse-tier pick.
The point about Bastion’s kit isn’t one mode or the other, but the fact that he can switch modes on the fly to deal with different circumstances. Sentry is still a core part of his kit, but when the difference between his two primary modes is, as I said, just sitting down and shooting faster without being able to headshot, we’ve got a problem.
Moving Tank to Bastion’s Shift ability at least gives some diversity to Bastion’s basic kit, and gives him more flexibility when the situation calls for it. Sentry as a primary ability simply doesn’t offer that.
It’s because people complain when they die after doing the same thing that killed them every time they’ve done it before (walking right at Bastion. He’s “camping” if he kills you in the same way more than once and apparently some people think he takes no aim.
I would argue that his most glaring weakness is Ironclad. Sentry was great before it was added. Since a passive damage resistance is so strong, a lot of power had to be taken out of Sentry to accommodate for it (I think there was too much accommodation, but whatever). If Ironclad was a more active ability, for example if the user had to use self-heal to get it’s benefits, then it would allow a lot of Sentry’s power back in, which would fix him pretty well.
Yes, switching to match the current situation is important, but if he “loses” Sentry mode (by putting it on his ultimate), then he loses a massive way to deal with a lot of problems.
I do agree with that part. He needs to have tighter spread and headshots back, even if that means giving up some base DPS. Sentry is meant to be his primary, but right now it’s lacking as a primary, which is why he’s struggling.
Why not just move Tank to E though? He doesn’t have an E ability, and this would make him much more versatile than simply trading abilities. If they do that, then Recon can be for ranged accuracy, Sentry for high sustained fire, and Tank for burst damage and mobility.
I would rather Ironclad get moved to Bastion’s E. Activating it grants him additional damage resistance, without the CC immunity that Orisa’s Fortify also grants. If Tank mode was moved to Bastion’s E, what would become his new ultimate? Bring back the old remote mine he had in early development versions?
As for your opinion regarding Sentry being Bastion’s primary, it’s been said a number of times (by not only myself) but that design philosophy causes problems. Sentry mode is laughably easy to counter when flanked; that’s why Ironclad was added in the first place, yet that still hasn’t solved any problems.
Regardless of how you spin it, the current state of Bastion’s design is inherently flawed. People don’t like playing a character who’s base kit requires they be stationary to get their maximum damage potential, people don’t like having to fight the “el presidente” team comp, the list goes on.
What’s usually suggested is an “Overclock” ability that affects his different modes in different ways… Here’s my post on it, but there are a lot of others too.
That’s one of the things that you have to learn when playing him, and there’s a few options to play around it. Set up in places that are hard to get flanked, anticipate the flank and point your gun in that direction at the appropriate time, or don’t set up for long enough to get flanked. Before his rework, this was one of the most enjoyable parts of his kit, learning to anticipate flankers, and surprising them when they thought they had you.
Most people don’t. Bastion is not for those people. Bastion is for the people that do like that playstyle, and he should keep it because of that. The game was meant to be accessible to all different kinds of playstyles, and Bastion’s is one of them.
Bastion mains don’t like the “el presidente” comp. That’s why we want him to become more independent and reliable. It seems kinda counter-intuitive that removing/reworking Ironclad would make him more independent, but if you allow him to deal consistent damage, then he’s able to deal with threats on his own, and doesn’t really need the pocket. Plus, with the addition of new Torb, bunker comps like that are going to be pretty easy to counter. I really just wish they’d allow his ultimate to pass through barriers. Maybe he and Mei can work well together, she freezes them all, and he melts them…
Simply adjusting Bastion such that Sentry mode is still his primary source of damage means people will still think “El Presidente” is the way you play Bastion.
I understand that there are a select few Bastion mains who have refined their gameplay such that they can work around Bastion’s counters and weaknesses, but that number is so few they might as well not exist.
Making Bastion more independent, in my opinion, involves changing him in such a way that everyone else doesn’t feel like they need to play around him. There is a very good reason why people default to Bastion requiring a “build around me” playstyle, and that’s because people like you are too few and too far between. On top of that you do nothing to try and break the stigma.
Let them think that…? Good Bastion players will let their team know that they don’t need all of the protection, and bad ones will just be countered by Torb until they learn.
That just means more people need to learn to play Bastion… working around your counters and weaknesses is just called learning a hero
If people don’t have to play around him, then they won’t. It’s not very fun running a bunker comp, so if people are given the choice, then they most likely won’t do it. You’ll have some Mercy mains protecting him occasionally, but it wouldn’t be like it is now. He was independent enough before his rework. He worked well with a team, but he also worked pretty well without them for a while (he would need to return after a sneaky setup or flank, but that’s good). If he could deal reliable damage again, then he would have that back.
Not entirely sure what you mean by that…
I mean, Look at mei, Shes a very strong hero and is still not played
and if he was beeing played, we would know because the forums would be filled with complaints
Everyone hates Hanzo but plays him.
people hate playing AGAINST hanzo
but he is fun to play
people hate playing against bastion and dont have fun playing him, because they prefer other heroes
How are you going to prove anything about that? Even Seagull says he wants to play Bastion more.
I cant prove it,
im just saying, thats probably the reason bastion is not picked
a lot of people dont value his power, and he´s kinda niche but can be played outside of it, not many people have the courage to try though
probably isn’t good enough considering there also no proof.
You could call that a rework though.
here at blizzard a rework = turn their ult into a ablity
That’s a good thing. For Bastion at least.
What about the Hanzo, D.va, and Lucio reworks?
the only ones that didnt do that, but most of them are ult on E
No ult on E:
Bastion
Lucio
D.va
Hanzo
Sombra
Total: 5
Ult on E:
Mercy
Torbjorn
Symmetra 3.0
Total: 3
E on Ult:
Symmetra 2.0
Total: 1