But the problem on the forums is that often people have a bad experience and come here to vent right after a game. Then we get the “hog is so OP”, “hog is ruining every game”, “nerf hog hook”, “hog is in every game”, “hog is making me lose SR” and so on. Most of these can be disproven by looking at the stats. Others are obvious hyperbole.
You really can’t take topics on the forums too seriously. Blizz will be looking at stats to decide what is OP and what isn’t, which heroes are picked way to often and which aren’t (although they seem to like heroes like Rein and Ana always being top picks for some reason, especially Ana).
What would be nice would be if Blizz would create a hero stats website with their internal statistics, including a lot more detail than is avaiable on overbuff. Then we could argue about some real data.
It’s part of a wider problem, which is all the tanks are weak and not very tanky. This is clearest when you look at those most played tanks, the only main tank to make any of the lists is Rein, with one Ball mention last month. Anyone will tell you Rein does not feel good to play right now, it’s only because the other options are useless. Plus that Ball mention is the only main tank in GM at all, and he’s the least tanky main tank, so for a while now “peak OW” doesn’t have hard tanking in it at all.
This is a huge problem as we all want tanks. Maybe not to play them sure but we want them in our teams, we want the gameplay options provided by tanks, and none of them are really up to snuff. Obviously not Orisa and Winston but also not the Off-Tanks like Dva and Zarya. Yeah they’ll do cus we have to pick someone but they don’t feel great and aren’t very tanky, which is why they work as tankyness sucks.
So whats this got to do with Hog? Well he is the worst offender. Yeah is isn’t really OP but he also isn’t really a tank is he? He’s obese DPS that’s main ability as a tank is tactical feeding. No one wants that. We don’t want DPS overload, we want defenses and order and strategy in our matches, that’s were the uniqueness and joy of OW come from. If you want a deathmatch play CoD or Halo, OW is about teams with structure and purpose. You need tanks that can actually tank to get that. So this fat DPS being better than 3/4 main tanks across all ranks tells us OW isn’t delivering right now.
The balance is massively off when it comes to the entire role of tanks and as a consequence the game. Hog is not the worst element in that dynamic, but he is by far the most obvious element to spot. When people aren’t enjoying the game they look for reasons and he is the clearest symptom of the underlying sickness.
Because getting killed by hog feels bad. Getting killed by hook combo just makes you feel stupid or helpless. So in turn we get more people complaining. Even though he is balanced and fairly mild in terms of performance.
Likely we will see a nerf or side grade. Something to require more shots from hog so players get a fair shake even after hook.
The issue isnt that Hog is overpowered, really. Hell I dont have any real issue with countering Hog.
BUT I can perfectly understand why people dont like having a hog in their team. Almost every Hog can and will play against their own team as often as they play against their enemy.
And then OW2 is moving into solo tanking, and you have a LOT of valid complains about a hero whose most likely way to solo tank is to not tank at all and leave their team to fend for themselves.
That might work with OW2 cus the game will be built around those interactions. Plus the tanks that aren’t going that way (e.g. Rein) seem to be getting buffed so they can solo tank.
Now I don’t like the look of 5v5 at all, but building the game for that would be better than what we have now. The fact you can build your tank line to tank and do dmg is the problem, as the tanky elements get overrun buy that bonus DPS and you lose all structure. 5v5 you won’t be able to do that, you either go tanky or DPSy in your tank line or a hybrid hero like Sig, but it’s one moving part, way easier to balance around.
Right now we’re caught between 2 systems. OW in the good old days was way more tank focused, OW2 will be way less. Both are built to that idea though and it worked then and should work in the future. Now though we have the philosophy of new tanks imposed over the old template. It doesn’t fit, it doesn’t work, the current tank role is broken and makes no sense. Hog just showcases that fault line better than the others. When they actually transition fully to the new philosophy it should be better. I’ll gladly admit that as a guy who doesn’t like the new philosophy.
What is wrong with expecting your teammates to be able to fend for themselves? It is just my deep trust and respect for them which enables my decision to let them fly.
I’d rather face a Hog as tank rather than deal with cree or hanzo.
Once a hog’s hook is used he isn’t a threat to me or my team for a good while because he needs to run and hide. Mccree and hanzo can blow their cooldowns and still hit like a truck, no thanks.
Hog isnt situational he can be played all the time except against double shield which low elo players cant play properly. Zarya IS THE WORST TANK IN THE GAME except on kings row L tower and oasis rush points. When you only play a hero when they are the most optimal ofc they will win alot. ( also this is coming from the rank 2 console hog player so i should be biased right? )
You are going against bad hogs I currently have 26 elims per ten and 10.2 damage mostly from secondary fire. Most roadhog players get alot of value from the entire kit
It’s all subjective.
In my rank (or lack thereof) I should be getting rolled by hogs but he’s never an issue unless I turn a corner and there he is. In that case it’s my fault as I overextend/Broke formation/didn’t pay attention to my flanks.
If your team keeps tabs on Hog’s position and communicates that information, you drastically reduce Hog’s effectiveness.
When I look at the overbuff stats, Hog is consistently very close to Zarya’s pickrate and above plat he surpasses her, which is also within the top 5 most picked heroes overall in most ranks.
What these statistics are missing though is the frustration he creates by simply existing. Most don’t even flank anymore, they just stand in the middle of the pack and if the opponents dare to play dive, everything around him is a death zone. Okay cool, that means he pushes all the other tanks to play either Rein/Zarya or double shield (which nobody wants, even if it’s good when played well). In a way he is influencing what people play on tank and it’s that role already has very limited choices to begin with.
Personally I find playing double bubble very enjoyable, but if a Hog is in the game, it’s an uphill battle.
I wouldn’t call him OP, but making the game less fun for anyone involved.
