Firstly I’d just like to say I love the Sym changes overall.
As someone who played Sym (with a successful 64% WR over all previous seasons & QP) for almost 200 hours, I knew how to make old Sym work, but new Sym provides so much new utility, strategy and fun to the character. I’ve played all iterations of Sym, all the way back to Season 1, and have seen nothing but overall improvement regarding the hero.
In this post, I hope to cover all parts of Symmetra’s ever-changing kit and my insight into what is done right and what can be improved regarding each.
Photon Projector: Primary Fire -
There is one glaring issue with Sym 3.0. I’ve seen numerous Symmetra mains and non-Symmetra mains alike stating that the new primary fire is useless.
While at first I believed this was just people having trouble tracking with it, I realised that it is, imo, heavily underpowered.
Most of the players I’ve seen address this prefer to use the secondary fire, even in close range, myself included. The only exception to this, imo, is against barriers and tanks. The new primary fire is extremely strong once tier 2 and 3 are reached, but the only realistic way to do that regularly is to use a barrier to a large hero that Sym can keep the beam focused on long enough.
My problem with the beam isn’t the aiming part.
I believe that achieving the next tier on the weapon takes too long, and decreasing between the tiers is too fast. This makes the weapon incredibly inconsistent at dealing damage and honestly just not worth the risk of getting up close and personal with the enemy.
There are a number of changes, that I have listed from my personal preference to the least preferred, that could be tested to remedy this weakness:
- Speed at which tiers are reached could be increased
- Speed at which tiers decay could be decreased
- Damage of her standard tier-1 primary fire could be slightly increased, as it is laughably low.
- Symmetra could be provided with 50 extra shield HP to compensate for having to get dangerously close to the enemy, especially now that her old photon barrier is gone.
- Reverting to Sym 2.0’s primary fire: My least favourite option, but it would solve any issues with the new one.
Photon Projector: Secondary Fire -
I haven’t much to say on Sym’s orbs. While I do miss them being able to pierce through multiple enemies and barriers, the new orbs are clearly far superior.
Finally giving Sym a weapon that can actually fight against certain heroes (cough Pharah & Tracer cough), she is still at a disadvantage when against them, as counters should work.
The slight explosive radius on them also helps to secure kills.
With the old orbs, I found myself using them in a certain ratio. To help visualise this, I’ll be using S:M:L, ‘S’ being small orbs, ‘M’ medium orbs, ‘L’ large orbs.
- With Sym 1.0/2.0, the ratio for myself was roughly 10:5:100
- With Sym 3.0, it’s more balanced at a 25:10:100 ratio.
- Large orbs are clearly still the best to use, imo, but I find myself able to utilise the other orbs way more, instead of simply forgetting they exist.
Overall, I believe that no changes to the secondary fire are needed.
Sentry Turrets -
Wow. What an excellent job Blizzard done with these turrets. Credit where credit is due, I can’t deny that the new turrets are flawless.
Gone are the days of constantly managing 6 1hp nuisances. Gone are the days of slowly building each turret one by one.
Now with 3 stronger turrets, I can more freely throw them around and use them to my advantage. Deploying them is no longer a dangerous thing to do.
I also love that they can be deployed and teleported, making use for fun tactics such as TP bomb while also providing some extra help when using the TP to ensure you are safe.
Once again, overall, no changes needed.
Teleporter -
The TP is also an example of something done right. Bugs aside, it’s able to be utilised for strong new strategies and offer Sym some much needed mobility options and the element of surprise.
While I do miss the clutch TP of Sym 1.0/2.0, finally not having to worry about it being hunted by flankers is a relief.
I haven’t much more to say on TP, except:
No changes needed overall.
Photon Barrier -
I just wanna say as a bit of a sidenote, that visually, the PB is stunning. I love erecting this huge glowing wall that blocks huge portions of a map.
In terms of gameplay, overall, the PB is strong. 5000hp is nothing to be shaken off. I know people argue that it can “just be walked through”, and yeah, that is true. But when utilised correctly, cutting off half of an objective for example can be game changing.
The current ult lasts 15s, which is quite long. However, I find that on average only ~1500hp of the barrier is used at a time. To increase this number, I believe the duration could be raised to 20s.
I do miss the old Photon Barrier, I find myself dying to ultimates more often now, but I think the 5000hp barrier is better for the hero.
Overall, the PB is strong but could use a small buff to its duration
Shield Generator -
I know, I know, SG is gone. It’s very sad.
However, I would like to offer some input about the now absent ultimate ability.
I believe that Shield Generator fit well into the game, and would be wasted if it was never seen again.
I think that it could be used for a future hero’s kit, likely as an ultimate.
Perhaps if another Vishkar hero was added, such as Sanjay Korpal.
Bugs -
It has to be done.
Bugs are important to resolve and so I’ve been able to compile as many as possible regarding Symmetra’s most recent rework.
-
Bug 1: TP self destruct -
The teleporter, when placed in some areas that clearly say it is ok, will destroy itself. -
Bug 2: Turrets around corners -
Not necessarily a bug, but a hitbox issue that should be fixed. Turrets can get caught on corners and ledges very easily and unintentionally. -
Bug 3: Teleporters on fences -
This one is very glitchy. Attempting to place a TP on a fence requires a careful hand as even the slightest movement can end up ruining the entire placement.
Reaper’s Shadow Step has the same problem. -
Bug 4: Beams vs Walls -
The beam can sometimes get stuck on wall hitboxes, despite a clear path with no blockage. A video example is here:
- YouTube
Conclusion & TL;DR -
To conclude, the Sym 3.0 rework was mostly successful. There are still some weak parts of her kit and quite a few bugs that should be fixed ASAP.
- Her turrets, TP, and secondary fire are perfect and should not be altered, except for bug fixes.
- Her PB should receive a slight buff to its duration to ensure more dmg blocked is acheived.
- Her primary fire takes too long to ramp up in stages and could receive one of the tweaks I mentioned above to help its use.
- Shield Gen would be wasted if never used again
Thank you for reading my huge post, if you have any constructive input then please feel free to post below, I’d love to hear all of your thoughts both from non-Sym and Sym mains
- Moon