This version of Sym is very simple. The TLDR:
Primary fire: Energy Balls
Secondary fire: Personal Photon Barrier
Ability 1: Sentry Turret
Ability 2: Teleporter
Ult: Auto-Lock Energy Beam
I don’t want to wait another year for Sym 4.0, so I’ll just make 4.0 right now.
Photon Projector - Primary Fire: Energy Balls
Removing the lock on beam from Sym was a terrible mistake. It was unique to Sym. It was fun to use and it felt so much different from everything else in the game.
Now, Sym just has a really terrible version of Zarya’s gun. It just feels like a cop out because they couldn’t think of anything else to do with it.
I think its time to embrace the Energy Balls!
- Energy Balls are now Sym’s primary fire
- Photon Projector now has 100 ammo
- Energy Balls cost 10 ammo
- Energy Balls are always the same size (same size of current max charge Energy Ball)
- Energy Balls no longer have a manual charge up time
- Energy Balls now work like Mei’s Icicles with automatic charge up included in the shot
- Cast time: 0.3 seconds
- Energy Ball damage and projectile speed is dependent on Photon Projector charge level
- When a Energy Ball does damage, it rewards a charge on Photon Projector, up to level 3
- After 2 second of no damage, Photon Projector loses 1 level of charge
- When a Energy Ball hits a barrier, Photon Projector does not gain a level, however it instantly refunds the ammo of that Energy Ball
- Reload time of 1.30 seconds
Photon Projector Levels
- Photon Projector Level 1
- Energy Ball damage: 100 (40 impact/60 explosive)
- Projectile Speed: 25 meters per second
- Photon Projector Level 2
- Energy Ball damage: 120 (60 impact/60 explosive)
- Projectile Speed: 28 meters per second
- Photon Projector Level 3
- Energy Ball damage: 140 (80 impact/60 explosive)
- Projectile Speed: 31 meters per second
Photon Projector - Secondary Fire: Photon Barrier
Another mistake was removing Sym’s personal survivability and utility with her own personal Photon Barrier. This should return to Sym but in a new and improved way.
Sym now uses her secondary fire slot as a way to protect herself and others behind her with a new Photon Barrier. Think of this as a type of Zarya bubble.
Holding down secondary fire causes the Photon Projector to encases Sym in a large bubble shaped barrier that projects out from the gun.
It would use the same texture as the current Sym wall.
Sym has used this technique already in a lore comic:
https://d1u5p3l4wpay3k.cloudfront.net/overwatch_gamepedia/b/bf/Symmetra_Rescue.PNG?version=2dfe86caaa1c48294904b74a203300b8
Here is a rough visual of what it would look like, but surrounding herself instead:
https://youtu.be/-0TPg0rgmBo?t=46s
- Photon Barrier is now Sym’s secondary fire
- Maximum Barrier uptime is 4 seconds
- Barrier has 600 HP
- After the barrier is destroyed/dropped or 4 seconds have passed, secondary fire goes on a 8 second cooldown
You can not use primary fire or any other Sym abilities while inside Photon Barrier, but you can move like normal and interact with a Teleporter that’s already been set up.
Ability 1 -Sentry Turret
Removing 6 turrets down to 3 has been a slight improvement but they still get destroyed too fast. You now spend too much time constantly sending out Sentry Turrets because most of your damage is now coming from Energy Balls and Turrets.
Making Turrets into projectiles has been mostly a good change but they shouldn’t pass through enemy barriers.
I think it’s time to actually go all in on the Sentry Turret. One Sentry Turret.
- Sentry Turret now prioritizes the closest target to the turret instead of first target hit
- Sym can now only place 1 Sentry Turret
- Turret can still be launched as a projectile
- Turret is automatically destroyed if it hits enemy barrier
- Turret can not be damaged in mid air
- Turret takes 1 second to deploy once it lands (invulnerable during set up)
- Sentry Turret now has 25 HP/75 Shields = 100 HP (up from 30 HP)
- Damage: 75 per second (up from 50)
- Range: 12 meters (up from 10 metes)
- Cooldown: 6 seconds (cooldown starts after Turret is destroyed)
- Sentry Turret slow -15% (down from -20%)
Ability 2 - Teleporter
Making the Teleporter an ability is the single greatest change for Sym 3.0. It really opens up the map for her and her team. With teamwork, this ability is insanely strong.
There are a few issues with the current version that could use some changes:
- Teleporter HP changed to 50 HP/300 Shields (from 50/250)
- Max Range: increased to 30 meters (from 25 meters)
- Teleporter placement now ignores destructible objects (fences, boxes, etc)
- Teleporter deployment time reduced to 1 second (from 2 seconds)
Also:
- Interact keys - we need a way to double bind keys. We need a contextual interact option. The same way that reviving someone in Uprising worked or how you interact with the telescope on Horizon. I want my reload button to ALSO be my interact button when standing close enough to the Teleporter.
- Auto-Interact - under general hero options we should have the ability to turn auto-interact ON/OFF for every hero so that as soon as you are close enough to a Sym Tele, you automatically interact with it like you used to do.
- Teleporter deployment methods - there should be 2 methods of deployment for the Tele:
-
Quick Deploy (which is what we have right now)
and -
Manual Deploy (deploy each pad separately)
Pressing the button again would allow you to change between these 2 modes. In Sym’s Hero Options, you could change which mode is displayed first before switching.
- Teleporter: Duration vs Destructible - its very simple:
-
Limited duration = Tele is NOT destructible
-
Permanent duration = Tele IS destructible
I think Tele should be permanent duration and destrutable.
- Teleporter cooldown is now 5 seconds
- Cooldown begins after Teleporter has been destroyed
- If Sym destroyed her own Tele, cooldown is 2 seconds
After the Teleporter is deployed, Sym will then have the ability to destroy her own Teleporter by holding down the Teleporter ability button for 1 seconds. Doing this will put the ability on cooldown for 50% of normal duration.
If you wanted to keep the Teleporter with the 10 second duration with a 12 second cooldown, then the Teleporter SHOULD NOT BE DESTRUCTIBLE
Another idea that I would love to see on the Tele (but it has potential to be way too strong) is to allow the TP to be placed through the walls allowing for MEGA flank potential. But… that might be pushing it.
Ultimate - Energy Infusion
(If you have a better name for this ult, then please, Id love to hear it. Im not hooked on Energy Infusion)
Im sorry but the current Photon Barrier wall is SUCH nonsense for a DPS. It looks cool but it is incredibly lack luster and 99% of the time, you can just ignore the fact that there is a giant wall and just walk through it.
Not to mention when there are 2 Sym’s there is so much visual clutter on the screen it makes me sick.
Sym infuses her Photon Projector with a special energy source that overclocks the gun AND her Sentry Turret and brings back AUTO LOCK BEAM! YAY!
The best part: since you get the bendy auto lock beam back, we can keep that AMAZING new Sym ult line: “Yahí param vaastavikita hai!” and “Reality bends to my will!” (friendly) because it still fits.
https://d1u5p3l4wpay3k.cloudfront.net/overwatch_gamepedia/6/6c/Yah%C3%AD_param_vaastavikita_hai%21.ogg
When you activate your ult, your primary fire is transformed from Energy Balls to the Target Lock Beam
- Target Lock Beam is now primary fire
- Range: 10 meters
- Duration: 8 seconds
- Damage: 125 per second
During your ult, your Sentry Turret also gets a slight upgrade if deployed.
- Sentry Turret gets a range increase to 15 meters from 12
- Sentry Turret applies a 30% movement speed slow from 0%
- Sentry Turret HP remains the same
Besides maybe some minor balance tweaks here and there with this build, I honestly think its better than current Sym 3.0
Sym 3.0 is hands down the worst rework ever done in Overwatch. I still stand by my ideas in this thread.
I understand wanting to move her to DPS slot and giving her more flexibility to help her become a viable pick but after all this time, it has not improved her stats. That isn’t a good thing.
Sym 3.0 just isn’t good enough and even though there has been lots of negative feedback on it, it was just pushed to live and now we will have to wait another year for Sym 4.0.
They said they weren’t done with Sym 3.0 in some recent interview but unless they have something that completely changes her again, I guess its going to be another year or so of useless Sym.
Ill say I told you so when we get Sym 4.0