Widowmaker isn’t broken or overpowered

I really don’t understand all this common hate now she gets. Yeah 5v5 may make her a lot stronger, especially with lack of barriers, but she isn’t by any means centralizing to the meta. Yeah whatever one-shots can feel frustrating. Roadhog, Sojourn, Widow, whatever.

She has a much higher skill floor than most other heroes, and so it’s fair that her skill ceiling also be higher as well. The calls to remove hitscan from the game, especially for her, is ridiculous. Yeah fine less HP, whatever you want. But changing her entire kit? Making her grapple interruptible? Removing her headshot entirely? Removing hitscan from the game altogether?

She’s incredibly weak and vulnerable in close range. The majority of heroes in the game have movement abilities that make them quite difficult for most Widows to hit. Yeah Widow can devastate heroes with no movement, but counters will always exist in a game like this. Trying to make every hero and every role fit into a cookie cutter layout makes the game boring and predictable.

I’m glad Blizzard doesn’t listen to the atrocious balance changes proposed by armchair-devs who think the game is only balanced when the characters they don’t like or who counter their main completely suck and never get picked.

There seems to be this vocal minority that wants everything to be the same. No abilities or qualities that make a hero unique are allowed. No Resurrect, no damage boost, no Immortality Field, no Hook, no Cleanse, no Grapple, no turrets, no Teleporters, no barriers, no self-heal other than on supports, no CC, no Magnetic Grenade, no interrupts, no snipers allowed to kill in one hit with a headshot, and no hitscans now (every character has to be a projectile hero with bullet drop and travel time apparently)? And counter-picking is bad? The game has to be balanced in a way that no team comp or individual hero should ever have an unfavourable matchup against any other team comp or hero?

This game would be dead if most of you had your way.

7 Likes

I don’t think Widow is op by any means, but she’s definitely in a better spot than is healthy for the game. A character like Widow should always be a gamble pick. Not a comfort pick.

She’s supposed to have huge risk. And huge reward. The risk being she’s diveable and moderately difficult to play compared to someone like Reaper or Soldier. The reward being she can one shot from a large distance away.

But right now the lack of barriers has made the risk less. And her 200hp has made the risk less. Blizzard thought that Widow needed less risk because flankers would counter her. But right now only a better Widow truly counters Widow.

I’m not gonna pretend that everyone who wants Widow nerfed has good reasons. But you also shouldn’t pretend that everyone who wants Widow nerfed is either bad at the game or a “vocal minority”.

21 Likes

I will make it simple:

She needs to be reworked, because one shots have no place in OW2 anymore. In OW1 it was balanced, because we had much more shields and sustain and more straight forward maps. In the new OW2 world, where a shield tank is rare, maps are much more complex and deaths are more impactful, one shots have to go.

And I dont mean one shots like Rip tire (ult) or Rein pin. I mean consistent one shots like RH hook (“combo”), Hanzos arrows, Sojs railgun (with boost) and Widows sniper shot.

I even say “rework”, because a power shift needs to happen. That they nerfed Roadhog is a sign and a good one. Things will change and Widow will 100% be the next thing that had to go.

Fact is: no matter what people say, if you have to hope that the enemy misses, to survive and nothing you can do to counter it, it’s bad gameplay.

12 Likes

so OTPs should always break a sweat playing their most played hero?

3 Likes

OTPs will always have problems no matter what. We can ignore them, because they dont play the game like its supposed to. They can do things they want, but if they get punished because they play only one hero, then be it.

3 Likes

If they one trick Widow, then yes. The game isn’t supposed to be balanced so that every one trick is able to perform equally well. That’s simply not how it is.

If I one trick Brig, and she’s not performing as well as another hero would in this scenario, that doesn’t mean my hero needs buffed. It means I have to either switch or put in more effort.

1 Like

but using Brig as example is stupid because her ult is JQ shift

so in your example, Brig actually needs buff

and is Widow behind barrier? or protected by her team? surrounded by 4 other teammates?

I picked Brig at random. The basic premise still remains the same. One ticking doesn’t mean my hero should always be as good as other heroes. It means I have decided I will only play this hero, even if it handicaps me.

I don’t understand what the last questions are asking.

A hero does not have to be broken. As with HotS, Blizz devs there also stated that “unfun heroes and mechanics” can be the subject of change. There were multiple changes for example targeting stealth heroes.

For no one but for Widow players this hero is any fun. It is no fun being one-shotted. It will never be in any game. This is an anti-fun mechanic. Especially being one-shotted from range which often takes like 0 skill. If you would need to calculate in projectile flight, then it might be a different story, but it is point and click. And with all of those mechanics and heroes, they are devastating the fun of new or casual players more than high-level players. But his game is not played only by the top 5% of best players. The majority is just mediocre. And a one-shot mechanic then is just frustrating. The better you get at this game the more you can exploit those heroes by a better positioning etc. which makes it even worse for the standard players.

Maybe game devs should start having different sets of game mechanics and heroes for different skilled players. While GM players might laugh at a Widow and should be able to deal with her, the story is completely different in Quick Play. There Widow ist just ruining the fun.

1 Like

if ur handicaped as an OTP, the hero is weak

it’s quite simple really

No, it’s not that simple. Overwatch isn’t designed to have every character be equally good. If that were the case heroes couldn’t get as complex as Wrecking Ball or Sombra.

If your handicapped as an OTP it’s because the game has always encouraged swapping. From the start you have been able to switch when you die. It’s for a reason.

If I one trick Winston into Bastion, Junkrat, and Hog and keep getting shredded, is the hero weak? Or am I playing a hero into an unfavorable scenario?

1 Like

there are more complex heroes than those 2

no

sure, but not being able to switch would be annoying, so switching possiblilty is just convinient

neither, it means ur probably bad

The biggest problem I have with widow is really a problem with the game itself - the cheaters. Widow attracts the most cheaters because of her osk. I am fine with taking cover and losing to someone who is really good. My problem is the cheaters who are using mods and hacks to ruin the game via osks

1 Like

I never said there wasn’t. What are you even talking about?

Why would it be annoying? If Overwatch doesn’t encourage swapping and every character should be equally good for one tricks, then why is not being able to swap annoying?

Alright so now you’re just flat out jumping to insults because you can’t admit the truth. Don’t be ridiculous.

1 Like

idk, you play Junk into good Pharah, go… and see if not being able to swap isn’t annoying

what truth? that ur imagination is poor to see Overwatch in a balanced state?

try memory, Overwatch used to be pretty balanced

And according to you this means either the hero is bad or the player is bad.

So when a Junkrat struggles against a Phara, is Junk bad or is the player bad?

Do you believe that counters exist?

neither, Junk is countered by Pharah

go ahead, and type your explanation how Brig is same as those 2 in the situation, I will be glad to prove you wrong

yep

neither, Junk is countered

But you specifically said:

If you believe that OTP’s are perfectly fine and should be able to play without any handicaps, then counters simply can’t exist.

I don’t understand why you don’t see this.

yes, but I didn’t say this applies 100% of times

so like I haven’t said that, that is just your interpretation

No, but you also didn’t specify the exceptions. If you want I’m happy to hear you try and dig yourself out of this.

You have gone from this:

To this:

[quote=“YourGuardian-21643, post:10, topic:780514”]
if ur handicaped as an OTP, the hero is weak

To this:

You keep bouncing between arguments when one stops working for you. In order for OTP’s to be able to put in eqaul effort to flex players, counters simply can’t exist.