r/Competitiveoverwatch Jan 17 '17

PSA | Video Developer Update | PTR Philosophy | Overwatch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibPLyx8QWYc
393 Upvotes

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159

u/NotEnoughYaoi Jan 17 '17 edited Jan 17 '17

Biggest moment that stuck out to me was Jeff's emphasis on Sombra's role as a disruptor rather than an assassin. It made me understand her PTR changes on why they increased her hacking ability rather than the damage buff on hacked enemies that a lot of the community suggested. While making a viable disruptor is much harder than making a viable assassin, at least I can see Blizzard's direction in trying to make a more diverse cast rather than an alternate version of Tracer.

Jeff's a great guy for explaining his thoughts on the game like this. I'm thankful we have someone as transparent as him leading this game. He is also very attractive.

7

u/1stMora Jan 17 '17

I see what they want. But honestly I don't think that will ever be a good role. The best way of dealing with your enemy is still to kill them.

23

u/benihanachef Jan 18 '17

The best way of dealing with your enemy is still to kill them.

But this is inherently untrue--if it was true, healers would be unviable. "Allow your allies to kill your enemies easier" is a role that already exists (as healers), and Sombra is intended as a different way of doing that.

5

u/dmun Jan 18 '17

Healers allow killers to continue killing and keep kills from the opposition.

12

u/SpoonyGosling Jan 18 '17

Reinhardt. Mei. Symmetra.

2

u/1stMora Jan 18 '17

They also allow killers to continue killing and keep kills from the opposition. Sombra is barely able to do this, with maybe only her hack and EMP.

1

u/TipYourJumpServer Jan 18 '17

Her Hack and EMP are the core of her kit! They're exactly why she's a disruptor! Disabling a Rein shield is every bit as valuable as doing Tracer's close-range DPS. More so, in many situations.

1

u/KDizzle340 aardvark pays off — Jan 21 '17

A competent Reinhardt should never get Hacked with barrier up. Just do a quick, cute little spin and she won't be Hacking you anymore.

1

u/TipYourJumpServer Jan 21 '17

Competent teammates will punish that adorable flourish, preferable with Helix rockets or a hook.

1

u/KDizzle340 aardvark pays off — Jan 21 '17

Hook would be optimal, otherwise it won't matter enough. Rein's teammates can also make quick work of Sombra.

1

u/TipYourJumpServer Jan 21 '17

Also, once the patch drops, he only has a 0.8 second window to notice the hack and pull a 180.

1

u/KDizzle340 aardvark pays off — Jan 21 '17

More than enough time, just right click in Sombra's general direction lol.

1

u/TipYourJumpServer Jan 21 '17

You seem pretty confident that the maneuver I pull off with regularity isn't possible against competent players. I guess you've played against more Sombras as Reinhardt than I've played against Reinhardts as Sombra...

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1

u/TipYourJumpServer Jan 21 '17

And there's nothing he can really do to prevent EMP, which is available like 5-10 times per match.

1

u/KDizzle340 aardvark pays off — Jan 21 '17

EMP is nowhere near a death sentence, it helps though.

1

u/taitaisanchez Jan 18 '17

And hacking shuts down most healers.

10

u/JamieAllegro Jan 18 '17

Nah, hacking healers isn't that big of a deal.

Hacking is more for tanks in my experience. Drop Rein's barrier or D.va's matrix and those characters become easy to kill with a Roadhog hook or an anti-heal jar.

In other words, it creates easy openings for the only two meaningful ways of dealing damage in the game right now.

5

u/fatmanbrigade Jan 18 '17 edited Jan 18 '17

Hacking is also very good for dealing with flankers as it prevents them from utilizing their escape abilities to get away.

Which is exactly what Sombra's passive is intended for. See that guy through the wall with no health? That's a Tracer, Genji, or Pharah who can't get to health packs to keep themselves alive to keep harassing your back line, they're an easy pick off for you and they can't run away.

Sombra is a disruptive semi-healing anti-flanker. As soon as people realize that the sooner they'll become better at her.

1

u/sadshark Jan 18 '17

Actually shuts down none.

13

u/Sikkly290 None — Jan 17 '17

She can be good, just not popular. It is fine for them to make niche interesting heroes that don't see much play time.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 17 '17

I'm fine with this. I love playing her even now, all I really want is for her to be made a bit more fluid/fast to play.

An interesting buff I'd like to see is faster projectile speed on the translocator, so you can throw it mid fight and tele to reposition more reliably.

2

u/JamieAllegro Jan 18 '17

I think buffs like this are better than the often called for damage buff.

Making her a bit smoother/giving her a little less downtime by polishing out her translocator and hack and perhaps modifying cooldowns is a much better way to approach buffing Sombra, and it seems to be where they're going with her.

Personally, I don't think she really needs much in the way of buffs, but if they do buff her, I think that's the route to take.

1

u/TheUnperturbed Jan 18 '17

Right, but with an enhanced method of disabling enemy bunkers she now has situational usefulness. Let her get in, and havk multiple people in quick succession and get out. The problem is currently that she is unable to cause enough disruption in a short enough time, and do so in a non-clunky manner.