Month: November 2016

Overwatch: 3 duets to defend the point

Posted on by When Duty Calls

Best defensive combo in Overwatch

If you decided to choose such combination of heroes, then your enemies will be disapointed, because then can not easily win the point. And we all know what happened when enemies can not win games – they lose them, and this is mean that your team win!

Winston and Zenyatta: Transcendence shield.

Zenyatta

Best description to this duo – “soft defense“. Your comand can use it from 1st of 2nd point on the map. Winston is a heavy tank that have a huge shield. And Zenyatta’s Transcendence allow him to live much longer and charge his ultimate in furious battle. This defensive duo unite team and awake their team spirit. Best defense – good offense.

Bastion and Symmetra: Turrets on line.

Bastion Overwatch

Only weakness of Bastion – flangs. While he in turret mode he can not just change his position and he left his flangs open. And right here Symmetra comes. She start a perfect synergy with Bastion by placing her sentry turrets to defend him.

Also when Bastion’s and Symmetra’s ultimates are ready they can push front line further on. Bastion will clean the way and Symmetra place an Teleport fo reinforcements.

Torbjorn and Mercy: We can just build them anew!

Torbjorn on Turret

This is a hardcore defence. You literally just say to enemies “We are not going to leave this place ever!“. Turret of Torbjorn is a perfect defensive weapon that will spot every enemy before you ever seen them. And Mercy – super strong support that heal her team, and can revive them in a moment even if they all die in battle. True power of this combo – ability to “reload” the battle if something goes wrong. Torbjorn with his overheated turret can defend point alone, while Mercy is Flying to the fallen allies to rise them again.

But any attempts to push front will be tradical. If Mercy will be killed, then it almost means that the team is Doomed.

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Overwatch: Can Symmenta be saved?

Posted on by When Duty Calls

The Indian architect with a fancy name at the moment has the most unenviable position in the game. Despite the fact that the percentage of winrate of Symmetra has always been higher then all the other characters, and she is chosen often enough in the professional and amateur games, she is – the most highly specialized character in Overwatch, which dramatically loses its value depending on the mode , maps and stages of the match.

How blizzard can save Symmetra?

Symmetra

In a recent address to the players Jeff Kaplan, general producer of Overwatch, said that they are aware of the problems of Symmetra and they are going to change her in the near future.

Meticulous players found in the files of the game, several new Indian replics, in which she reports that “10 charges left” and warns that she is ready to “strengthen shields.” It is unclear what exactly it means. Perhaps Teleport charges will increase to 10, and maybe she will have some new ability that can be used a limited number of times. Strengthening shield can also mean that one button will impose symmetra’s shields, and then temporarily “blow” them from 25 to, for example, 100. Then, the shield will be blown back as the “sound barrier” Lucio.

Overwatch Symmetra

We know that the developers do not like to clone abilities, so it is unlikely that they will introduce something so similar to barriers of Zarya and Lucio, but the other options it is difficult to imagine.

Before Halloween update players on the forums have started to dream about how it would be possible to change the character, Jeff Kaplan is clearly aware of the most popular proposals, so he thought it necessary to say, that the Symmetra will not heal any one, in any form. Symmetra is not a doctor, and she will never be. Well, sad, ideas about healing turrets were curious.

Fantasizing on what would change this arrogant woman into a more universal character, it is quite interesting, but first you need to understand the disadvantages of its current set of abilities.

Symmetra’s Teleport

Symmetra's teleport

It is the main advantage and the main curse. If we imagine that each character has a fixed set of “coolness points“, then the teleport is too expensive, and the two basic ability and her basic attack have no points to became better. Any other abilitie will make that Indian too powerful.

If the enemy team has a sensible Genji or Tracer and they saw the first red ball flying at them at the beginning of the match, they realize their mission. Listen carefully as some of the allies did say “enemy have a teleport”, then – go into the rear, ignoring the object and capture enemy fire, rummage all the most obvious places for teleport, find it and destroy it. If they succeed, their team gets the advantage. If in the fear of the enemies Symmetra begins to put teleport away from the point, in less obvious places, it has reduced its value as the amount of time that it saves reduced. In the cargo mode you can sometimes not even look for a teleport, because it will be destroyed each time you capture a control point, so simply drop off cargo and not to worry about the enemy reinforcements.

Other articles about Overwatch:

Greatest rebalance of Overwatch since the release

Posted on by When Duty Calls

For a few weeks developers of Overwatch test some changes in balance on PTR (Public Test Realm), and they saying that not all of them will go on live servers. At 15 november all these changes go on live servers. Blizzard add 1 new hero – Sombra, and new game mod – Arcade.

All this new nerfes and buffs will completely change game and heroes Meta.

Change log in brief:

  • all ultimates now charges for 25% longer
  • No more “all D.Va” teams in quick games. 1 pick for a team just like in competiteve matches.
  • D.Va now feels much more cooler.
  • Pharah became stronger.
  • Soldier now can kill someone.
  • Nano boost from Ana will not increase movement speed no more.
  • Added new hero – Sombra.
  • Added new game modes.

So let look at these changes more closely:

D.VA

Now she has 600 units of health (was 500), movement speed while she fire is increased, and many people talks that Blizzard stealth buff her attack power in mech. If you meet her and she fly right up to you, then you will be probably dead, before you can run away.

Pharah

Those egiptian fall out from professional meta, when developers give to McCree ability to shoot at any range without lose of damage. Blizzard now try to bring her back from dead by some buffs like:

  • Jet pack now by 35% more powerful
  • Minimal damage from her missles increased by 13%

Soldier 76

Damage from each bullet increased from 17 to 20, and bullet spread increased from 2.2 to 2.4.

And that realy useful, now Soldier 76 can kill enemies and deal a good overall damage. And maybe he can challange McCree for a spot into competetive matches. 13% damage increase is not feel as some big deal, but in game this little buff can turn the game.

Torbjorn

Our little boy now changed, his hammer attack speed increased by 25% but damage decreased to 27%. And now you do not need to run on battlefield to find some metal scrap, now scraps start to generate automaticly and you can protect your team without any risk.

Zarya

Zarya

She was nerfed, but many people suggested that this nerf only make her stronger. Now 1 barrier charge her cannon only at 40% no at 50% as before, and amount of gaining energy was reduced by 20%. This is unpleasant, but this is not enough to knock her from the throne.

Also her beam now start to deal damage right after it hit the hitbox of enemy, without strange delay as before.

This buf greatly increase damage from her beam, and now she can deal with small heroes like Genji, Traces, Sombra.

Widowmaker

Widowmaker

Blizzard decided to increase speed of charging of her rifle by 20% and this is a giant number. Now she start to appear in competiteve matches more often, and now teammates stop whine when they see her in pick.

Mercy

Her selfheal now activates after 1 sec delay (was 3 sec), and now when ultimates charged by 25% slower her main ability (ressurection) may be even better.

Mei

Her ultimate charge rate was slowered by an additional 15% (yes 25% from all nerf and then again 15%) so now you can not use your ultimate 2 times per 1 teamfight. But the main power of this hero is in iceicles and ice walls, so we will still see that hero in competiteve.

Lucio

With each patch Blizzard tries to knock down this dj from his Healer Throne, and again they are not succseded. Nerf of his active ability by 10% is not a such great nerf. But if blizzard will continue to nerf this guy, some day he will leave his throne.

Ana

Ana amarie

She was a mother of 3-3 formation (3 tanks absorbs damage, and 3 healers charge their ultimates on tanks) due to her Nano boost on Reinhardt. Now with nerf of Nanoboost Reinhardt (and all tanks) are not the best options. It is a chance that without additional movespeed he just can not catch any of the opposite team. So with this buff formation 3-3 now with high probability will be dead.

 

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Why it is worth to buy Overwatch

Posted on by When Duty Calls

New king of team FPS genre? Meet – Overwatch

Tracer Overwatch

Multiplayer shooters live for as long as they can maintain the interest of the audience, it is critical to gain the attention of gamers and hold it. Not all games can do that, but Overwatch, Blizzards debut in the genre of the team FPS, inspire us with great hope.

Until now, the king of the genre of team shooters with different character classes was Team Fortress 2, which is 9 years old, hard to belive to that. And tens of thousands people still play it every day – and I was among them.

The first step to winning the TF2 audience was its widespread availability. But it was enough just to try it and it will dispel all doubts – it was intuitive, rich, bright and extremely addictive shooter game that is not a bit bored and it was possible to spend days and weeks playing that game. I’ve played enough in TF2 (more than four thousand hours), and of all the games in the past many years, only one seriously could covet the throne of shooter from Valve – Overwatch.

Overwatch team

And there were many candidates. Yes, but where are they all? Does anyone now remembers Battlefield Heroes? APB (2010)? Brink? Primal Carnage? Loadout? Even large and hyped multiplayer shooters from industry giants, like Titanfall and Evolve, became “extinct” shortly after release: almost no one plays in them. However, there are much reasons to believe that in the case of the Overwatch that will not happen again.

King is dead all hail the king

Blizzard managed to create an incredible buzz around the game. Open Beta of Overwatch gathered more participants than any other, and Blizzard beat past record from Ubisoft – Tom Clancy’s The Division, and winged with hype around the new “Star Wars” Battlefront. Unlike Valve with TF2, Blizzard did not have to impose their game to the public – the people themselves flew at her, biting own elbows while waiting for Overwatch release, and then just after release servers was immediately dropped, but Blizzard was ready for almost anything.

Widowmaker Overwatch

People will remain in the game – just for the reason for which many blamed Overwatch. It is not free-to-play, and people that are willing to pay $ 40-60, by default a lot more interested in it than one who ran to “play game or two” in the shareware game simply because it does not cost anything.

The absence of other game modes, except multiplayer, ensures that all who have bought the game are interested in it and not in something else.

Finally, Overwatchs user base will not be fragmented. Blizzard has promised that all the characters, modes and arenas will go free in the future, which means that all the players will always be on a par.

Try to read my other articles about FPS games: