Overwatch has a never-ending issue with balancing characters, and I realized a gigantic strong reason for that is the need to please players on Competitive Mode, but in doing so really hurts and frustrates the casual players who really just want to have fun. So, I propose this: Make balances only for Casual modes (Quick Play, Arcade) and make balances only for Competitive Mode, make those 2 balances independent from each other. In other words: Segregation.
It would make things so much easier and happier for everyone. Things like SR, pick rate, win rate, meta, yadayadayada⌠are so worthless for casual play, I donât care about any of that; those irrelevant things should only be a concern for those players who care about going Competitive, âOverwatch Leagueâ pro players and such. Make those balances only for them, these âpreciousâ players.
In doing so, it would obviously make the characters feels different between Casual and Competitive mode. Letâs say Reaper, he could be much weaker in Casual mode and much stronger and Competitive Mode, or the other way around, whichever is most convenient for these 2 groups of players. Yes, I know players like to intertwine between Casual and Competitive but there is always a preference for either.
Besides, it is not like the characters would be different. Reaper would still be Reaper in both modes, same commands, same abilities, same quotes and skinsâŚ
I know it would be complicated at first, but both balancing teams (one only for Casual and one only for Competitive) would adjust soon enough and not bother each other and not having to care about the other is doing either. An exemplar application of âthe right hand doesnât know what the left hand is doingâ kind of situation.
I also suggest creating a new sub-forum, âCasual Discussionâ, designated to âdiscuss all thing related to âQuick Playâ, âArcadeâ and âTrainingâ modes with fellow Overwatch playersâ. And, of course, all players who wanted to complain or suggest balancing issues regarding Competitive mode should be directed only to âCompetitive Discussionâ sub-forum.
At medium term these changes should suffice very much to ease your handling with balancing Heroes.
you swear you werenât using the word segregate as a bait word
While I can appreciate the time and effort you put into constructing this solution, I donât think you fully appreciate just how BAD the consequences of this idea would be.
You also have a fundamental misunderstanding about how top-down skill balancing works. Simply âSegregatingâ balance for casuals out of competitive play is not going to magically make it a good idea for mechanics to be balanced around low-mid tier players. Highly skilled players still play casual modes, and the balancing model is based on the most effective tactics for the highest tier of player, because this is where player skill can be fairly removed from the equation of any given heroâs relative power.
Hypothetically, by balancing for two separate segments of the player population, over time you would end up with completely different games that look the same.
One of those games is going to be an unbalanced nightmare at the top end of the skill curve. Maybe not right away, granted, but as the two diverge from each other, it will continually get worse.
Since over time MOST players continue to get better and improve, eventually MOST players will reach the point where this nightmarish balance exists, and any sane player will quickly lose interest in a format where he or she believes skill no longer has any value.
This will ultimately result in the bulk of the playerbase abandoning âCasualâ play altogether, making queue times for even a simple quickplay game skyrocket.
I appreciate your perspective and even more you took my topic seriously.
Well, it just seems that Overwatch team cares too much about pleasing Competitive plays on detriment of Casuals, as the recent Reaper bad nerf. But then the solution backfires and most people be unhappy anyway, rinse and repeat.
I am aware Competitive players play in Casuals and vice-versa. For all I care, Competitive players should stay in Competitive and Casuals out of it, but if the most part of active player base of Overwatch nowadays prefer to play in Competitive then I can see where your grave concerns come from.
Hereâs a real issue with what youâre asking for. Casual is a springboard for comp. QP acts as a way to train on heroes that youâre not ready to play competitively. In your example playing Reaper in QP would throw off all the muscle memory when you step into Comp. Additionally, OW is in maintenance mode, theyâre not trying to balance out two separate modes.
I donât see any reason why QP isnât fun because the game is balanced around competitive play? Are you complaining about kill potential with Reaper? Well if heâs weaken there will be another character to step in, youâll start getting Ashe mains with great accuracy which will then become the target of the next nerf to keep QP fun.
It doesnât have to be that way, and everyone already knows balancing is living. There are no ACTUAL problems with his suggestion other than casuals who take the game too seriously, but not seriously enough for comp would be alienated. And good riddance, those players lowkey ruin the integrity of the game.
I think it was a buzzword.
Imagine if this was posted a month ago.
Whoa donât call me out like that 
Generally speaking, yesâŚalthough the sweaty 3k+ QP groups I like to join would beg to differ.