Of all of the characters in Overwatch, it’s Symmetra that has confronted the largest identification disaster. A not insignificant feat contemplating she’s been current because the vanilla model of the sport shipped. While her present package, composed of an auto-aiming beam weapon and set of turrets, fare effectively in low-level play – and, as such, are nice for novices to the sport – Symmetra doesn’t precisely maintain up as soon as issues will get aggressive. She is, in reality, the one hero to this point to not be picked for an Overwatch League match. Ouch.
Symmetra mains could have one thing to rejoice over quickly, nonetheless, as Kaplan and the group have proposed an in depth rework of the architect. Speaking on the Blizzard boards, Geoff Goodman detailed a number of of the potential modifications to Symmetra – the tweaks signify the largest adjustments to a hero in Overwatch so far. Most notable amongst them is the possibility that she shall be transferring from a help to defense position in step with her new skills.
Come on Blizzard – how a couple of single-player Overwatch game?
To match into the protection position, her package is getting a major overhaul, too. The group is proposing a fleet of beefier turrets you could hearth onto partitions or buildings, whereas her teleporter final would turn out to be a regular ability with a cooldown. Weapon-wise, Symmetra’s gun could now not mechanically lock-on, and can as a substitute hearth a protracted, straight beam (assume Zarya’s Particle Cannon) that will get extremely highly effective in a short time. Her right-click will nonetheless hearth a projectile, nonetheless, however a a lot sooner one with added splash harm.
The most fascinating modification within the proposed rework is Symmetra’s Photon Barrier, which has now turn out to be her ultimate – sorry, followers of the protect generator. Instead of a small, transferring protect that Symmetra may deploy whereas cellular, it’s now a static wall that’s infinite in measurement and has 5,000 well being. Goodman famous that this may work equally to Mei’s Ice Wall, with gamers in a position to deploy it from a distance and alter its orientation.
Symmetra’s transfer to protection is one many have speculated would occur since Blizzard started discussing heroes with hybrid roles, and the concept of transforming older characters to suit with the altering meta. Many argue that Symmetra by no means actually belonged within the help position within the first place, resulting from her lack of therapeutic skills and her package as a substitute emphasising her skill to again up groups as they maintain or push onto choke factors.
If applied, the rework offered will lastly make Symmetra’s skills reflective of her in-universe lore and character. In the world of Overwatch, Satya Vaswani is an clever architect, able to creating bodily objects from mild sources, and is known as a manipulator of actuality who strives for perfection. Her present in-game package fails to display this, her skills as a substitute feeling uninspired and affected by an total decrease ability ceiling than most characters.
The nature of her present turrets and supreme additionally prevents Symmetra from assembly the tempo of Overwatch matches – she feels gradual and passive as she requires time to arrange her skills. Many gamers select to stay static and guard their teleporter or protect generator as soon as deployed. In her new position, Symmetra will be capable of turn out to be an energetic a part of matches, rapidly reacting to enemy groups and utilizing her newly versatile turrets and right-click to discourage pushes from the opposing facet.
The new package additionally has the potential to shake up widespread formations in all ranges of play. Teams working round an anchor tank could wrestle if their Reinhardt or Orisa is being utilized by an enemy Symmetra to feed their DPS boosts. The pirate ship formation – composed of Bastion, Orisa, and Mercy, and widespread in decrease degree play – may run into bother in opposition to Symmetra’s newfound mobility and shield-melting capabilities. Symmetra even has the potential for sniper management, in a position to block total maps off from a sniper’s line of sight together with her final, or utilizing her teleporter to permit characters to succeed in sniper perches far more simply.
It’s exhausting to evaluate whether or not Symmetra can have any affect on the present dive meta, or if her package shall be highly effective and cellular sufficient to cement a coveted spot in a dive formation, however she undoubtedly has potential. Her new teleporter is able to sending by objects, which might be devastating for an unaware group when mixed with D.va’s mech final or Junkrat’s rip-tire. Her teleporter additionally has the potential to permit characters with decrease mobility, like McCree, to succeed in excessive floor with ease – lethal together together with his weapon vary. Her proposed final additionally has potential to counter uncoordinated dive groups, with the barrier having the ability to lower off dive tanks like Winston and D.va from the remainder of their group, briefly stopping them from receiving help.
However, Symmetra’s proposed adjustments elevate just a few considerations of their very own. Her reworked gun will now not eat ammo when fired at shields, making her significantly efficient in opposition to shield-dependant tanks – most notably Reinhardt and Orisa – who shall be at an enormous drawback. Symmetra gamers, in the meantime, can deploy their shields, and simply cost up her beam, rising its DPS output, with little threat and at no ammo price, turning these tanks into what are basically glorified ammo dispensers.
Even Winston, a cornerstone of the present dive meta, could wrestle in solo matchups in opposition to Symmetra, together with his projector protect once more serving to feed her weapon and DPS boosts.
The largest fear, nonetheless, is whether or not the adjustments to Symmetra’s essential weapon will have an effect on her total accessibility. Symmetra is continuously referenced as being one of the accessible heroes within the recreation for disabled gamers, alongside heroes like Mercy and extra just lately Moira, as a result of computerized lock-on on her weapon.
All in all, it’s fairly a shake up. As Overwatch evolves, and introduces characters with new skills and rising complexity, it’s necessary that the event group revisit older characters and provides them a brand new lease of life within the altering panorama. Blizzard have proven that they’re not afraid to provide characters like Hanzo and Mercy drastic makeovers, and characters akin to Torbjorn and Doomfist are additionally dealing with probably giant reworks over the approaching months. It’s an indication of a wholesome recreation when longstanding characters aren’t solid apart and are as a substitute retooled to suit the sport’s inevitable energy creep.
Source
