Among the many “Symmetra Mains”, I often find people who insist they still have the shield generator. honestly … we should say that it makes no sense to insist on getting it back, and there are so many valid reasons:
first of all, what was the shield generator actually? simply the TP platform with a different effect. you could also put a star and any function on it, but that doesn’t change that it’s just the recycling of the same evocation of the old TP.
I’m quite shocked that no one remembers at all the BOREDOM it felt to have placed the shield generator and … you had finished your work on the map. how could you make your experience decisive compared to teammates who used ultimates? you didn’t load any ultimate, you basically didn’t have to decide anything about where to intervene apart from the turrets. poor … just bodyguard a piece of equipment?
another flaw, the predictability of this kit. it doesn’t take any fantasy to place the shield generator close to the defense respawn point (especially at point B of the conquest maps), because it is quite easy to understand that applying it in attack is rather … static in every sense.
I’m a Main Symmetra before and after the rework, and … I think the infinite shield ultimate is infinitely Superior to the shield generator, in terms of emotion: I can literally rewrite the positional advantage of my teammates and opponents with a wall, and it makes the Symmetra architecht concept.
I’m not criticizing giving Symmetra back a support mechanic, but whenever it is claimed that the shield generator was “fun” … I just don’t believe it. I rather think this is about the nostalgia of seeing Symmetra as an alternative support, acting on shields rather than healing. do you want this kind of Symmetra? So let’s start thinking about proposing truly innovative mechanics for give HP shields in other ways rather than focusing forever on that “shield recycled TP”. At least, in your “back symmetra in support teams” feedbacks.
I think one of the main problem about SG was there wasn’t any statistic about SG. You couldn’t tell how much value it gave you and your team unlike with TP.
There was no “team mates saved” or “shields regenerated” statistic.
No? I could actually survive duels up close with the extra HP? I had to DEFEND the SG, often from multiple enemies? Dropping it near the point but hidden was possible on all maps back then and likely possible on all newer maps now too, allowing you to defend both the point and your construct.
That was core Symmetra 2.0 gameplay. In fact, removal of SG has meant that Sym is forced to be MORE passive since she effectively lost 50 extra hp that helped her survive up close and against long range dmg.
If you are claiming deploying it was ‘‘the end’’ of Symmetra’s gameplay then you are literally just talking out of crap hole.
Knowing where SG was literally just the beginning. Good luck killing it with a hero who excelled at killing mobile flankers.
It was definitely boring, but still interesting with how it effected the game. Teleport softened the blow of mistakes for your team, while shield generator gave your team more room for error.
Neither was interesting for Symmetra herself, but the effect on the game as a whole was unique.
ok, but how long did this fun last, after getting to know the maps well?
point B, in defense, map conquest: “in front of the respawn, now”.
maybe you are someone who dares to put the SG a little further but simply in any situation you create a standard rule on the best place to place that instrument. and this is simply wrong, as well as lazy. the thrill of summoning an ultimate not only regards the where, but also the when. I don’t think it’s really fun to create a preset pattern in a game as fast-paced as Ow. on the contrary, the current ultimate creates this “intervention” in position and timing.
we can all complain about the lack of ideal stats, but they don’t change the static and predictability of the gameplay when you or others know 100% the map you play on.
it is exactly the same fixed gameplay of those who limit themselves to using the current TP only from the respawn point to act as “Taximetra”: but what gameplay is it? and I say this from main symmetra, for wuanto I would like to see Symmetra again as support, the proposals of the validity of the SG are chilling on how much they ignore the defects it had in many contexts: attack with the payload, attack in a control point, defense in a point A, etc.
“defend the SG”? but do you see that this is the problem? Symmetra was literally a character who might as well not coordinate with any of the teammates, if he simply had to just defend his SG or sometimes blame his teammates for not doing so.
did you create a security system to defend your precious TP / SG, but do you know that this eliminates the effective tactics you had to create around your teammates (which, remember, was the priority to follow as a support)? do you create more HP for companions? great, but you were handicapped by the enormous predictability of your positioning, no matter if your defense was supported.
I’ve always said this: Sym 3.0 has the paradox of having become an excellent defense hero … in the period when defense heroes no longer exist as a category.
it is a correct analysis, but not without defects and constraints dictated by the repetitiveness of how you managed situations. today symmetra undoubtedly has greater versatility in all situations without a double ultimate. there are no TPs that remain on the battlefield forever as the Payload advances (unless you did a quick hero switch.), nor do you have any SGs abandoned at the first checkpoint because opponents have moved forward on the map.
today we have a symmetra that summons turrets in very uncomfortable potions to be intercepted even in unthinkable heights, and the ultimate creates a lot of pressure on the battlefield, but also more confidence in the companions to advance and take advantage.
sym 3.0 can be improved, perhaps again convertible to support … but I strongly disagree in defending such a situational "kit as the SG, and to be honest it is still difficult to define the problem of perception on the TP in all situations solved. .
SG defense was amplified by coordination but didnt require it, so I will take it over the ‘‘pwease take the TP or else Sym is a subpar pick uwu’’ that we have now.
Symmetra was never a support lmao
She had utility that could defend her teammates, but she never, ever replaced a healer, and its the main reason why people thought 2.0 was weak: tried to use her as a ‘‘support’’, she failed to support because she wants to be supported, and then was treated as a troll pick.
And no, there is no such thing as ‘‘non-healing support’’. Thats literally just an utility dps.
Symmetra 3.0 is a WORSE defense hero than 2.0 starting by the fact that she unable to even defend herself in the first place. 3.0 is in fact more supporty because she depends on her team to be a worthwhile pick by using team TP and the texture_02.png wall while her own agency over all this is near zero.
You dont know what you are even talking about. This entire topic is pure clownery.
I found shield gen really fascinating at a high level in dive meta when I was GM otping her. You had to use gen as a bait to pull tracers and things and it was honestly really interesting, it wasn’t about the +75 at all it was more timing, counter initiation, wasting the best hero’s cooldowns etc
trying to get gen faster than enemy tracer got pulse 24/7, and if you could keep it alive, your own tracer having 225… idk I found that really fun. I liked the campy playstyle. I love current sym as well tho, I think she’s really cool tbh atm
I personally liked Shield Generator for the aspects of playing Symmetra at a galaxy-brain level. Old Sym was more about finding ways to outsmart your opponents by using your high-value buildables as bait. Sure, you could win without destroying her ultimates, but it was much more difficult and even punishing to ignore them.
Finding spots for it that were borderline game-breaking like the Propane Store on Route 66 to cover most of the entire third area, for instance, was one of the best parts. Protecting it from a variety of ultimates or abilities with her deployable shield was also fun. It was like a mini secondary objective for Sym and any other teammates that wanted to have it up.
Plus, it was a free 75 extra health which made a huge difference to the experience of playing Symmetra since she was an immobile, short range damage dealer. Even if her weapon locked on, it still took time to ramp up in damage and her hitbox is, to this day, HUGE. Shield generator made it a lot easier to be aggressive on both attack and defense as Symmetra. There were also a lot of benefits to her old ultimate duo, like getting it refunded when the enemy team captured a point. You say it’s boring, but it worked well for a long time before they reworked her into a DPS.
I wouldn’t mind if it returned as a PVE talent to sub-out TP.
^ This.
You could get a card saying how many teleports used but not how much shields got generated. I think the only card you could get for shield generator was ultimate uptime.
It was the same with Torbjorn and Brigitte’s over armor. Helped me survive a few times against snipers and brawl like I was a true tank. Still remember a Route 66 game where Torbjorn spouted Rocky quotes while throwing armor packs onto everyone.
It was just one of the many gameplay aspects that changed overtime. Sometimes better sometimes for the worse.
Although as much a people will hate to hear this, I was never a fan of teleporter as her ultimate. Had too many games where Symmetra would screw over her own team by teleporting us off the map, hell it was the example for reporting gameplay sabotage so it must of been wide known.
I disagree, sym has a lot of agency and doesn’t depend on her team to get tp or wall value on ladder. You can play a support counter initiation style against dive, but its also really good to just flank and slaughter squishies with a charged beam. Wall, while optimally abused by teammates, can still be a wincon simply by giving you m1 uptime in close range, which is all you might need to win a fight
the only excitement from shieldgen was taking those flanker/duels trying to defend it. good teams would send a diver to “hunt” for it and it would be up to you to protect it. ofc in the end those kinds of breakaway sideline fights got phased out, as every1 played for clumped all-in teamwipe scripts.
the era of daring small-scale fights and map finesse sorta came and went the more ppl expected raw tanking raw healing raw damage aka the true boring.
For me it was one of the most fun parts of her kit, if Symm was defending the SG against a flanker it was a 5v5 fight +75 shields for the symm team, or bait the enemy into traps, placing the shield gen in broken spots like volskaya hotel reaching 2nd point, etc. Nowadays she is just spam m2 and hold m1 on shields, another flat and boring DPS.
shield gen was good and would be even more fun with the current symmetra’s kit loadout (with a few nerfs) being able to make the decision on what is more useful to the team to TP or to shield. By removing shield generator they removed options and that’s always a bad move.
