Overwatch

[Aikouka]

It's pretty safe to say that my salt levels paralleled The Dead Sea last night. I was just getting so tired of awful matches that I did the one thing that I hate doing: leaving before the match is over. Essentially, my teammates had watched all the "What not to do when playing Overwatch" videos on YouTube and literally did those instead. I mean... you had everything from trickling in to vastly uneven engages and poor ultimate use (e.g. Soldier at <50% HP using his ultimate while alone vs. 4+ enemies). I think I eventually got into some good matches, and there were some that I even lost, but they didn't feel so awfully unbalanced.

The one thing that I'm wondering about is whether or not Ana's ultimate is a bit too strong. I think the problem is that you can really only counter her ultimate by focus firing the target, but if we look at other DPS-oriented ultimates, they can usually be countered by a single person. Although, if we consider other healer ultimates, they can't really be countered by a single person either, but they also don't provide strict DPS boosts. (Ana's ultimate is +50% damage, -50% damage taken, and +30% speed.)

Removed the damage drop off from LMB. So he's doing 70 damage at most engagement ranges now. Head+body kills most people.

To be clear, they didn't remove his fall-off, but they increased the range at which his shots deal full damage. Back in the beta, McCree had no fall-off at all, and he was better that Widowmaker at sniping (if you ignore the obvious scope benefits). They stated that this was to bring him in line with Soldier's damage fall-off range.

The hardest part about the change for me has been realizing that I need to be more cautious around McCree at further distances. Prior to the change, I mostly worried about him at close range (especially considering that would put me in range of his flash bang), but now, his damage is good enough at medium range that I can't really engage him head on.

 

[JeffMD]

Ive stopped playing until they create some kind of lobby system. The match making is just a bunch of fail, no one uses mic's. No communication. I updated planetside 2 and had a blast instead.

 

[BoberFett]

Removed the damage drop off from LMB. So he's doing 70 damage at most engagement ranges now. Head+body kills most people.

Every time I got killed by Mcree yesterday, the killcam showed me getting sniped from pretty far out. I can't believe that was their intention for him...

Also, played a bunch of Competitive matches yesterday, did six qualification rounds grouped with my daughter. I can only assume we were on teams of all solo players going up against organized groups, because nobody was working together and we were getting steamrolled. That was horribly unfun.

 

[Aikouka]

So, we got a small patch last night, which featured two large changes:

1) McCree got nerfed. (Surprise!) His fall-off has been reduced from starting at 35 meters to 20 meters. (Blizzard said -10, but Reddit testers found -15.) Apparently, his original was 18 meters, but I don't know how severe the fall-off was there.

2) Ana got buffed. She now fires 20% faster and has a 10-round magazine instead of 8. Also, her sleep dart will now last for .5 seconds regardless of damage taken (to stop enemies from waking immediately if they just happened to take damage directly afterward).

 

[Worthington]

McCree's right click got buffed.

 

[Aikouka]

McCree's right click got buffed.

Yeah, it fires faster and the recovery after using flash bang has been reduced by 30% (.5s to .35s).

 

[blurredvision]

Just picked this up today and messed around with some of the characters in free-play mode. Looks like it will be a fun game but I can already tell from your comments that it's very dependent on team play, which is a near impossibility playing randoms. I'm gong to try to hop into some games with some guys from work.

Gorgeous game, though. It definitely has that Blizzard vibe going for it. On a 6700k @ 4.4GHz and a 1070 with stock boost, it does 4k resolution at ultra settings just fine. Still have to turn on vsync because the tearing is awful.

 

[NoSoup4You]

Still have to turn on vsync because the tearing is awful.

I don't think that's recommended in a competitive multi-player shooter, unless something's changed recently vsync can introduce input lag which is not ideal.

 

[Aikouka]

Just picked this up today and messed around with some of the characters in free-play mode. Looks like it will be a fun game but I can already tell from your comments that it's very dependent on team play, which is a near impossibility playing randoms. I'm gong to try to hop into some games with some guys from work.

Yeah, you'll get to experience a team full of wanna-be John Rambo players that think they can take the whole enemy team 1v6. :\ Just finished a game where someone complained that I wouldn't heal him. Buddy, you ain't communicating with me, and all that I know is that you're beyond the rest of the group. If you're overextending, I will most likely ignore you, because if I die, I've screwed over the rest of the group.

Then, of course, earlier in that game, I had someone give me shit for a rez. "optimal rez" Oh, pardon me for just not asking the enemy team to let me set my self up in the optimal position for a resurrection! They were spread out the entire first point on Numbani, and I had a hell of a time keeping them all up, because I'd go to heal two of them and the others would start dying. :|

Sometimes, I really hate this game.

Gorgeous game, though. It definitely has that Blizzard vibe going for it. On a 6700k @ 4.4GHz and a 1070 with stock boost, it does 4k resolution at ultra settings just fine. Still have to turn on vsync because the tearing is awful.

Sounds like you need to get a G-Sync monitor!

 

[blurredvision]

I don't think that's recommended in a competitive multi-player shooter, unless something's changed recently vsync can introduce input lag which is not ideal.

I haven't noticed any input lag nor am I good enough for it to matter, so I'm set.

 

[Aikouka]

So, the latest rumor is that we'll be getting some Olympics-themed skins for Overwatch. Someone took a photo of what appeared to be a weightlifter Zarya (surprise there) and a Track & Field Tracer. Although, the big hullabaloo is that these will be from special crates, and people are all worried that they'll be time-limited.

 

[s44]

Yep, special crates. Buy or earn only, no item unlocks with coins.
https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/blog/20216482

Pics/vids of all the new stuff here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/4vtvp4/all_new_skins_from_the_summer_games_update/

The main problem at the moment, though, is that the servers have been DDOSed all evening, perhaps due to salty cheaters caught in the latest banwave.

 

[BoberFett]

Does anyone else find it amusing that they've added these special Olympics unlocks, while the rate at which you earn crates basically mean that the people who have the most digital Olympic doodads by the end will be the people who care the least about the Olympics and probably won't watch a single second of them? How many hours of playing would it take to get all of the Olympic items before they vanish?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertc...-olympic-items-feels-impossible/#56596dc41668

/facepalm worthy decisions by Blizzard.

Edit: Dang, there's apparently a lot of venom around this issue.

 

[s44]

Yeah, I had the same thought. The more you want the Olympic skins, the less time you'll have to actually watch the Olympics.

 

[Aikouka]

I don't necessarily look at the Summer Games items as something specifically celebrating the Olympics. It sounded more like the Olympics were around this year and Blizzard wanted to release some seasonal skins, so... we get sport-themed skins and stuff.

I do think their whole "we don't necessarily want you to be able to get them all" is a bit... odd. My biggest qualm with it is that it appears that the skins and such will always show up in the Hero Gallery, which is kind of a dick move if you're on able to attain them over a three-week period once a year. I'd be fine if they only showed up during the event or only showed up if you received them.

I think what gets people in the biggest uproar is that this pushes the obsessive compulsive toward buying boxes rather than waiting the 5-6 matches to earn a box. I told myself that I'd never buy a box, but here I am contemplating it, because I have to have them. D:

 

[KMFJD]

I don't necessarily look at the Summer Games items as something specifically celebrating the Olympics. It sounded more like the Olympics were around this year and Blizzard wanted to release some seasonal skins, so... we get sport-themed skins and stuff.

I do think their whole "we don't necessarily want you to be able to get them all" is a bit... odd. My biggest qualm with it is that it appears that the skins and such will always show up in the Hero Gallery, which is kind of a dick move if you're on able to attain them over a three-week period once a year. I'd be fine if they only showed up during the event or only showed up if you received them.

I think what gets people in the biggest uproar is that this pushes the obsessive compulsive toward buying boxes rather than waiting the 5-6 matches to earn a box. I told myself that I'd never buy a box, but here I am contemplating it, because I have to have them. D:

Good lesson in 'you can't have everything'? , really not a big deal unless you are super compulsive and makes the ones you do get more worthwhile imo, if everyone has everything then who cares it ain't special why use it?

 

[Aikouka]

Good lesson in 'you can't have everything'? , really not a big deal unless you are super compulsive and makes the ones you do get more worthwhile imo, if everyone has everything then who cares it ain't special why use it?

I think the problems stem from how Blizzard presented that even if you played and only received free boxes, you could always wait and buy something with the in-game currency.

Also, I don't think the point of using the items is because they're special. The items are cosmetic items that people usually choose because they like the look, or they think it's funny -- Roadhog's belly flop is my new spray!

 

[BoberFett]

I got the GBR Tracer skin. I've run into more than a couple jealous people.

 

[Worthington]

From Blizzard in regards to Season 1 (ends Aug 17th):

SEASON 1 REWARDS

If you completed your placement matches during Season 1, you will eligible to receive a special spray and player icon. These will be unlocked automatically when you log into your account the first time after the season ends. If at any point during the season you managed to break into the Top 500 players on your platform (and in your region), you&#8217;ll receive an extra player icon and animated spray on top of the other seasonal rewards.

Aside from sprays and icons, you&#8217;ll also receive a number of Competitive Points based on the maximum skill rating you achieved during the season.

Here&#8217;s the Skill Rating (SR) to Competitive Point (CP) breakdown for Season 1:
SR 0-39: 10 CPs
SR 40-45: 20 CPs
SR 46-49: 40 CPs
SR 50-52: 60 CPs
SR 53-55: 80 CPs
SR 56-59: 120 CPs
SR 60-64: 200 CPs
SR 65+: 300 CPs

I need to spend more time in Competitive. All i need is a few rounds to bump me up over 65. I just don't play ranked enough. Too busy goofing off in quick-play.

 

[Aikouka]

Ah, it'd be nice if I could get up to 60. My highest so far is only 52 and I'm 51 at the moment. So, getting 53 should be a fairly attainable goal, and also net me 1/3 more CPs.

 

[zerocool84]

I haven't even touched competitive play. I've only been in quick play. I'll probably play in the next season. I'm just having so much fun with quick play. I don't take this game crazy serious where I get super pissed if I lose.

I'm just wondering when the hell we are getting just one new map. Why release new characters when we don't need new characters to play. We need new areas to play the existing ones.

 

[sze5003]

I was thinking of picking this up but I'm not very big on online fps gaming. If my brother got it I would probably play but I feel like I would spend a good solid month or two and then it would be sitting there like titanfall.

 

[zerocool84]

I was thinking of picking this up but I'm not very big on online fps gaming. If my brother got it I would probably play but I feel like I would spend a good solid month or two and then it would be sitting there like titanfall.

I will say that this is MUCH better than Titanfall. All the different characters you play are totally different so there's very good variety in that. Plus you don't have to pay for any DLC. Blizzard supports their games for a long time.

 

[s44]

This is hilarious

I have removed the direct youtube as it violates the no profanity allowed in Tech rule.

Moderator Aigo.

 

[sze5003]

I will say that this is MUCH better than Titanfall. All the different characters you play are totally different so there's very good variety in that. Plus you don't have to pay for any DLC. Blizzard supports their games for a long time.

That's one thing I forgot about. Blizzard really does support a long time. I'll try and pick it up when I find a sale. It was available for a good price a few months back but I missed out.