With 2-2-2, we NEED more hybrids!

At first I hated hybrids because they are so niche and pretty awful compared to characters who are 75% of 1 role. But with 2-2-2, it may benefit the game to have more characters who are a nice 50/50 split. Sometimes a team needs 2.5 Tanks, Supports, or DPS. Not a strict 2-2-2.

Utility - Supportish and DPSish
Healing - Support
Damage negating or soaking - Tank
PEWPOWOUCH - DPS
AoE OUCH - DPSish and Tankish
Crowd Control - Tankish and Supportish

So overall we need:

  1. A Tank that is capable of healing team members, albeit, it’d be a very mild heal.
  2. A Support that is capable of protecting allies regularly/without Ultimates.
  3. A Support that is capable of dealing consistent damage.
  4. 1 more Tanky character in DPS*
  5. 1 more Supporty character in DPS*

*because DPS is the biggest group and probably will remain the biggest group. May as well give them +1 extra of each hybrid.

Many characters don’t have passives, so simply adding a passive to somehow help allies would ofc work. So that’s an option too. Below is how I’d propose to hybrid-tize our current roster… If for some reason you want to read a novel’s worth of changes that will probably never happen. :^)

#1 would require a new character, most likely. I think it’d be hard to shove a heal into any current tank’s kit. Unless it’s an extremely weak heal.

  • Perhaps Winston’s bubble can heal allies (not himself) by 7.5HPS.
  • Roadhog’s heal extends to allies who are 5m or closer to him during the portion that heals him. They receive 35HP total from it.

#2 can be achieved by reworking Brigitte and lowkey Baptiste I guess.

  • Perhaps make Repair Pack instantly give an ally 30 armor that lasts 2 seconds while healing 35HPS over 3 seconds; “overheal” armor stays for 6 seconds.
  • Rally’s armor stacking interval is doubled, but the armor amount per interval is cut in half (same max total, just more non-burst-damage negation).
  • If Brigitte hits the crouch key while holding her shield up, she will be immobile (can still turn around) but the shield will become 100% or 150% larger. Durability is still 200. It’s just now capable of actually covering allies. If the shield is broken during it’s big state, Brigitte will fall down. The shield’s recharge timer gets a 0.75 second delay (about the time it takes for her to get back up on her feet).

#3 can be achieved by fixing Baptiste a bit more consistent with his gun.

  • Reduce ammo to 36, usually no recoil, reduce damage to 20. Recoil will only kick in if he has fired 4 bursts without pausing for at least 1.2 seconds before beginning the bursts again (1 burst = 1 LMB push).
  • Amplification Matrix also reduces enemy damage that passes through it by 20%, but nerf outgoing ally damage to 80%.

#4 I suppose the easiest method for an additional DPS-tank would be just to fix Symmetra up since she’s basically screaming to be anything but DPS atm anyway lmao.

  • Give her a passive that gives allies 25 shields if they are within 40m of her (lasts only 1 second after leaving the radius, but doesn’t require LoS). To apply the shields, she needs direct LoS and to be within 40m of the target. It happens passively ofc, no button pushing required. Her shields also begin regenerate after 2 seconds instead of 3. If she dies, everyone loses their dinky shields instantly.
  • Photon Barrier lasts 12 seconds and has 4000 durability. -7.5% charge requirement to allow more frequent usage. Using Photon Barrier also grants her 1 Sentry charge (doesn’t go above 3, still).
  • Enemies hit by a Sentry’s beam are slowed by 40% and multi-Sentry slows do not stack (technically a nerf, once the slow bugs are fixed). However, even a tickle from a beam will result in a 2 second debuff that cuts a Hero’s damage output by 20% but the slow only persists as long as the beam is on the target. ofc if they stay in the beam the weaken debuff just keeps refreshing. Sentry’s beam range is increased to 12m and the deployment time is 30% quicker.

#5 Soldier76, Sombra, or even Mei can fill this role. Or just a new Hero entirely.

  • Biotic Field’s cooldown just gets 10 second cooldown that starts after Biotic Field disappears. The heal gets knocked down to 28HPS though. +5% or +10% to Soldier’s Ult charge requirement.
  • Sombra’s Translocator doubles as a Small Medkit pad (maybe a Sugar Skull with a nurse cap for cutesieness). Takes 1 second to spawn after the Translocator his a solid surface to set up. Heals 1 ally for 75HP and it respawns every 10 seconds. Recasting the Translocator does not mess with the respawn timer. Sombra cannot use the Small Medkit herself. Doesn’t count towards her Ultimate %.
  • Those standing 5m or closer to her Cryofreeze receive a refreshing 18.75HPS heal. Cryofreeze can only block 800 to 1000 damage now before breaking; the forced break functions like a normal manual break. +5% or +10% to Mei’s Ultimate charge requirement.
  1. If hybrids become more of a thing, which I hope they do now that 2-2-2 SHOULD make balancing easier… Then healers probably need 5% to 10% cut off their Ult Charge requirement. Since 2.5 healers = less Ult charge for the taking in regards to healing.

A lot of what you ask already exists.

Bring a Brig.

Orisa, Sigma, Zarya can DPS.

Zen.

DVa, Sigma

There’s plenty of those.

Sigma

A stronger Brig? No thanks.

No. Tanks have already enough to pay attention to.

Like what? Support spamming Zarya shields?

Zen exists. Moira exists.

Reaper, Mei and Doomfist already exist.

So more Soldier heal type of abilities?

2 Likes

Yes. But MORE.

Also, Brig is not a tank. She kind of is for herself, but not anyone else. I meant legit damage negating the old fashioned way (not fighting damage with healing).

So hog’s not a tank either?