Overwatch Hero Analysis: Widowmaker and Hanzo

Hey everyone! My Zenyatta Guide posted last week seemed to have some positive reception. I wanted to express my thoughts on 2 characters that I tried in particular to get to play. It was a simple comment on a reddit post but it got me thinking. I haven't really played either of these characters but I thought that it would be a good effort to try them out.

Now before I continue on I want to note the difference between this analysis and my Zenyatta guide. I played almost solely Zenyatta during the Beta periods and experienced him when both before and after his changes. I only seriously started playing these other characters upon game launch. A lot of these are more of my own observations rather than an actual guide used to help advise better gameplay with there Heroes. I hope that I can offer insight on the Hero Mechanics but I do not want to pretend that I am extremely proficient with these characters. 

The two characters that I really wanted to get my hands on and experience were Widowmaker and Hanzo. These are two characters in the Defense category who are the two sniper classes. Similar to the Sniper in Team Fortress 2 however they seemed to have split his iconic weapons. The sniper rifle and the bow (and arrow). I had stated that Zenyatta is similar to that of a sniper with his long range and stable projectiles. I thought that I would be able to make an easy transition with these heroes.

And boy was I ever wrong. You see one KEY point about Zenyatta is that he doesn't have to charge up his shots. These Heroes do and that constrains their mobility. What they make up for in this area is their raw power in each of their shots. Zenyatta needs to hit multiple shots however a well aimed arrow or bullet can be an instant death for many characters. I believe that these 2 characters have some of the higher skill caps in this game due to their ability to have more of an impact on the game than others. I've noticed that many people only like to use these heroes when playing Defense. It works to the advantage of the Defending team to have snipers but I believe that they can be effective on Offense as well. It's true that the offensive team needs to be physically present at the objective and snipers being close to the battlefield puts them at a serious disadvantage. However the sniper can apply pressure by eliminating defensive threats that would normally stop an offensive push. The Bastion hiding to the side or Torb's turrets are making a push to hard. Opt for a sniper to take out these priority targets.

Let's talk more in depth about these characters. I'll start with Widowmaker. I chose her first because when I got my grubby hands on the game I wanted to rock off that Noice Noire skin. Very nice. (Although the hair is a little odd) 

Widowmaker has 200 base hit points. As stated before she is a sniper and when playing Widowmaker it's important to have good understanding of the map. It's clear that she is for advanced players that already have a good grasp on mechanics and knowledge of the game. Let's go over her abilities.

Widow's Kiss[Assault](Left Click): 
Ammo: 30
Damage: 13
Fire Rate: 10rps
Reload time: 1.5 seconds
 
Widowmaker's rifle has two main modes. The first of which allows her to shoot a fully-automatic rifle that allows her to deal damage in close to medium range. I used it mainly to apply pressure to an enemy as I got away or for the last bit of quick damage.

Widow's Kiss[Sniper](Right Click):
Ammo: 30 (Each sniper shot takes 3)
Damage: 17 - 150
Fire Rate: 1rps
Charge Rate: 1 second

This is Widowmaker's primary weapon mode. By holding down RMB you will enter the zoom sniper mode where the LMB allows you to fire off. You'll notice in the middle that there are 3 triangles that build up for charge. This shows how much power a shot will be where 100% charge is maxed out at 1 second. These sniper shots are loud and reveal where they have been shot from. While in sniping mode Widowmaker's movement is slowed and she cannot jump while in this form. It's ideal for Widowmaker to be at a height advantage on the battlefield for the best field of view. That said don't get too comfy and pitch a tent at a place you like. The dynamic pacing of Overwatch forces Widowmaker to constantly move from place to place as she will be found out by the enemies. By those that she was unable to finish off cleanly or upon respawn when they come to take vengeance.
  
Grappling Hook(Shift):
Cooldown: 12 seconds

To move from place to place you will be using Widowmaker's movement ability: her grappling hook. It allows her to scale cliffs and buildings quickly. Additionally by pressing space bar in mid air allows Widowmaker to swing up in the direction that she was hooking to. Allowing for air time and some pretty sweet plays. It's important to note that the grappling hook can be used at directly in front of you and not just to the skies which allows Widowmaker to close the gap or make an escape. There is no cooldown upon missing this ability which is how I found myself spamming the hook on any nook and cranny I could in an effort to see what is hookable and what isn't.
 

Venom Mine(E):

Damage: 75
Duration: 5 seconds
Cooldown: 15 seconds 

The Venom Mine is a small displaceable item that alerts you when an enemy is in range which will then trigger it's DoT poison gas. The Venom Mine is normally used to be propped behind Widowmaker by the corner of the staircase leading up to her or near the floor to alert her when enemies approach. The trigger effect of this ability is very apparent and really serves as a useful indicator for flankers. It can be used offensively by being shot in an arc to be put at a distance but due to it's low damage it's not used often. The sniper shots are more accurate, damaging and can be done in quick succession.
  
Infra-Sight(Q):
Duration: 15.5 seconds

 A map hack allowing Widowmaker and EVERYONE ON HER TEAM to see an infrared outline of all of the enemies and any thing they may have deployed such as turrets or teleporters. This is one of the best ultimates due to the fact that it helps the entire team, is global, and will still be active even if the Widowmaker dies. An ultimate like this should be used whenever possible but coordinate with your team to save it in conjunction with their abilities or to wait to use it for a or more opportune push or final defensive measure.

Final Thoughts:
Widowmaker made me question my abilities at playing a shooter game. I wasn't an MLG 360 no scope pro however I was certainly able to accurately hit most of my shots regardless of what weapon I played when given a clear shot. The one shot one kill motto that she stated always made me feel nervous when I played her. I felt as if I had to aim for headshots to guarantee the kill. This caused me to miss...a lot. I felt miserably guilty whenever we won because I knew that I hadn't contributed much personally and I also felt responsible whenever my team lost. Sooner or later I would get outsniped by an enemy Widowmaker and I watched through the kill cam in awe.

This person had such a great accuracy with Widowmaker and I noticed something particularly interesting. She primarily went for body shots. As close to the center as possible. I realized that with more mobile characters her damage would suffice to finish off the character if even a little damage was done to them or a quick follow up shot with no charge would seal the deal. After practicing this myself I noticed that my efficiency at playing the character skyrocketed. This was also when I made mental notices of how her grappling hook cooldown wouldn't apply if she missed. 

I have a lot of respect for Widowmaker players especially the talented ones. She's a difficult character to play and is merciless in punishing you for missing your shots. The task of a Widowmaker is simple to eliminate targets and in the proper hands a skilled Widowmaker can carry a team. (Get ready for Ranked) 

Moving on I'd like to address Hanzo. Like Widowmaker he also has 200 HP and is similar in the sense of being a sniper. We'll address how they differ in styles with their abilities.

Storm Bow (Left/Right Click):
Damage: 29 - 125
  
Hanzo's stormbow is his choice of weapon. It needs to be drawn back and this can be shown by a visual cue on his targeting reticle how far back the arrow is pulled. Unlike Widowmaker Hanzo isn't as restricted in moving and can actually jump while drawing his bow. An effective strategy I found to shoot over cover or help aim (also a remnant from CS:GO) 

If you use a custom targeting reticle (like I suggested previously) then it is highly advised that you switch to the default only for Hanzo. The reticle that Hanzo uses shows the circle getting smaller showing his charge levels and it switches crosshairs based on what arrow modification he is using.
 
Sonic Arrow (Shift):
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Duration: 10 seconds
  
Hanzo can choose to add certain properties to his arrows. The first is by using shift he can make his arrow a sonic arrow. After hitting its mark an orb grows around where the arrow hit revealing all enemies nearby. This is very useful and is a mini Widowmaker ultimate in essence.

Use this while pushing to see who is nearby. I like to shoot the sonic arrow right at enemy spawn before the doors open to see who comes out of a certain doorway and prepare accordingly. Additionally I shoot this arrow at the doorway of a checkpoint right as it opens and prepare again for the opponents.

The sonic arrow doesn't have to hit anything to use its effect but it it still an arrow meaning that it does damage and can potentially kill.
 
Scatter Arrow(E):
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Arrows: 5
Bounces: 3 
Damage: 75 per arrow (375 max)

Another arrow modification: the scatter arrows are multiple arrows that will spread out and bounce around several times (3) and deal damage 75 on each hit. This is best used inside a hallway or confined space where the bounces have the most chance of hitting an enemy.

Even though it is also an arrow like the sonic arrow a direct hit from a scatter arrow won't do as much as a normal shot because they will bounce off the target. I notice that a lot of Hanzo's will use both arrow modifications as often as possible. While it doesn't hurt to have extra vision with the sonic arrow the scatter arrow can be used if someone flanks you. You quickly go inside and unleash the arrows. Since it isn't effective in open spaces I stick to mainly shooting with my basic arrows when outside.

Wall Climb (Passive): 

Hanzo's passive is the ability to wall climb. He can use this to scale walls and quickly reach a rooftop ledge for height or getting away. It's really fun to climb over a pillar, jump and get a clean shot off before you even reach the ground.


RYUU GA WAGA TEKI WO KURAE Dragonstrike(Q):
Cast Time: 1.5 seconds
Damage: 200+DPS

A signature move that is near meme status. His ultimate has him fire an arrow which after a while 2 dragons will spiral around and deal a ton of damage to anything that it touches. If you've ever been caught in a Hanzo ult you will see that your health depletes extremely quickly. It's a good thing that this ult doesn't hinder your mobility because you will want to get out of it as quickly as possible. The cast time followed by the japanese shouting is a huge cue to scatter away from the imminent damage and what I primarily use it for. I use the ultimate as an extremely effective zoning tool. It will clear opponents off of any point or hallway as they try and dodge.



Final Thoughts:
I found Hanzo to be easier to play in comparison with Widowmaker. Widowmaker put too much on the line of being able to perfectly hit your shots where if you didn't you then gave off your location which made it very stressful playing her. Hanzo can fire arrow after arrow much faster and they still do enough damage to one shot several characters. I actually had a lot of fun with Hanzo that I want to continue playing him and refining my control over him. I think that like Widowmaker he has large potential to swing a game in favor. I also found myself being able to be more aggressive and being able to help out the team by being closer to objective points. This means that I could cap a point if needed and I was able to be right near my team to provide pressure as a teammate capped.

Thank you for reading! If you have any Heroes that you would like to hear my thoughts on please let me know! As always:

Feel free to add me and ask for a game!

Battle.net: LrdRwekien#1110

Overwatch Hero Guide: Zenyatta

Hey everyone! Last time I wrote a general guide on setting optimizations which you can check out here. Admittedly it was a little rushed with the Overwatch Beta soon but now that all we can do now is wait

There's plenty of time to go over another guide. I'm now going to start going in depth on Heroes. If you couldn't tell before with the screenshot on my previous guide (and /r/Overwatch flair) my favorite hero is Zenyatta. 

Zenyatta is a Support class Hero that helped Genji come to terms with himself. I will let you come to terms with Zenyatta when I say that he is probably the best support in the game. I am only slightly biased in this opinion of mine.
 
So Zenyatta has the lowest "health pool" tied with Tracer with 150 overall HP. It helps that 50 of this is base HP and 100 of this is Shields. The way that HP tiers work is that the base overall HP is left last. Unless the hero is Mercy this HP will not regenerate naturally. Next is Armor which reduces damage taken but will not regenerate or can be healed up. Once a layer of armor is lost (unless you are a character which innately starts with Armor such as Bastion) then it will not be taken back. This is primarily in relation to Torbjorn's armor packs. The next tier that comes is Shield which will regenerate over time when out of combat. This allows for effective sustain and holding a position. After that comes alternate modifiers such as Lucio's Sound Barrier.

 If it wasn't already hinted at, it should be known that Zenyatta stays in the back with such a low health pool.

Orb of Destruction(Left/Right Click):
Each orb of Destruction (left click) deals 45 damage and does not fall-off damage over distance. The projectile is fairly fast and always go the full distance that it is aimed at. The name Destruction isn't to be taken for granted. Aiming well with any character will mean that you can perform well with them but by proper aiming with Zenyatta means that this hero can contribute his own damage along with a large arsenal of various utility tools. You hold 20 ammo at a time. 

His alt fire charges and can hold up to 5 projectiles which deal 35 damage each meaning that a burst of 175 can be achieved with this. The only time that I use this is if I know where my enemy is and they won't know where I am. It's useful to know that you can charge up to 5 projectiles even if you have less than that ready. This is a great way to hold back opponent's despite being low on ammo.

In general between the two you will primarily be using the left click single fire option. The DPS is much higher and there's losing a few shots is negligible due to the fast traveling projectile speed. As stated before the only time that I will use the alt fire is if I know where the enemy is and can go for an ambush. 

A widowmaker ults and I see an enemy behind a structure: there is someone hiding behind the corner. Flanking Bastions, Widowmakers, or Hanzos is effective to utilize this burst damage. Zenyatta's greatest strength is based on his projectile range, speed, and the fact that it doesn't fall off. He's an effective sniper despite his Support role.

Floating:
Before I go on to Zenyatta's active abilities, I wanted to direct attention to his "passive". I call it this as its his innate trait that he doesn't make any footsteps while moving. This is what allows him to flank around and use his burst alt fire without being noticed. Now since I primarily use him far in the back line his passive isn't used to its greatest capabilities but its the small things such as this which allow you to move deep into enemy territory.

Orb of Discord (E):
On the E key we have Zenyatta's Orb of Discord. A debuff that marks an enemy, reveals where they are and increase all damage taken by 50%. It helps shred through tanks or really anyone in fact that has this marked on them. It's essentially marking someone for death. Now I made a point to consider focusing targets based on roles in my last post. This can be largely disregarded when using this ability. This is a controversial point so I will explain it in further detail. Normally the supports should be taken out first and while they should be if you apply Orb of Discord to each target you see and the team effectively mows them down then you will push much faster. I found myself trying to mark such characters but they would break Line of Sight easy or they would be too slippery to take out.

When I get into game, I immediately start spamming the E key as I walk around. It doesn't affect my movement speed and allows for instantaneous marking of an enemy. Knowing where even 1 enemy will be in the first few moments of a game allows for a huge swing advantage for your team. Even when a tank pops out first, they are at so much risk by taking more damage with Orb of Discord on them that it effectively will force them to retreat. That's how I use my Orb of Discord as a suppressive fire mechanic. It puts the enemy team in a position to retreat or force to take a large amount of damage. The great thing about Zenyatta's utility tools is that they have effectively no cooldown and so you can constantly shift Orb targets if a higher priority target comes closer. If they retreat swap it onto another enemy and burst them down until another target comes out and then repeat.

Orb of Harmony (Shift):
On the Shift key we have Zenyatta's Orb of Harmony. A healing target skill that allows for 25HP/sec to be gained by the target. A skill that like the Orb of Discord should be up at all times. The strategy for how I use the Orb of Discord is similar. Instead of the closest enemy I would heal the teammate with the lowest HP. When they are full then I swap to a priority target. My order is this, always throw an orb on to a mobile Attacking Hero. The line of sight will break soon as they go off and you should not follow them. You are not a pocket healer. Allow the orb to break off but in the moments that you had the orb on them it should have helped them with their initial backline infiltration. Next the heal should go on the tank. Normally the Support or Defense characters won't take damage that often if you have a good tank and healing him/her is your priority. Feel free to constantly tap shift and jump the orb from person to person. I find that it keeps me active and tense throughout the game keeping my instincts on high alert.

Transcendance (Q):
Last, we have Zenyatta's ultimate: Transcendance. It makes Zenyatta invulnerable while healing all nearby allies. The range is quite long and can help turn the tides in a teamfight or be a pre emptive buff for a final team push. Be aware that you can still be knocked back which should deter you from going all the way to the frontline. I feel like a lot of people wait to use this ult as if it were a Mercy ult and use it at the last possible moment which makes its potential lost. I use the ultimate quite liberally if even if I could heal my whole team with Orb of Harmonies being able to heal them all at the same time which saves a few seconds can be imperative for sustaining in the fight. This can mean the potential to win the game there, being able to not give up a pivotal point or team position, you keep the enemy under suppression, or you stop the enemy team from advancing further. Any of these outcomes will be worth it and are enough reason to use the ultimate. You will heal a lot with Orb of Harmony and getting effective snipes with your Orb of Discord and Orbs of Destruction build up ultimate quite fast.











Closing:
You can play Zenyatta on any team comp or any map. He's very flexible and allows for a safe splashable pick in any team. He pairs very well with Lucio as his heals are not strong enough to warrant him as a long support. Their ultimates work well when followed up with each other. A great shield and then heals to keep the push/sustain going. 
 
I find Zenyatta particularly best at Payload maps. Decent at Hybrid and Control maps but unfortunately weak at Defending capture points. After a while the enemy team will understand your pattern and take you down/counter you in the back line. Zenyatta plays with a certain rhythm based on his team and the map. Who to heal, who to debuff, where to be, and who to target. Long games that are supposed to be stagnant are Zenyatta's weak point.

Counters:
Zenyatta's biggest counter are those with large burst damage, snipers/flankers, and mobile team. If the team stays traditionally together behind a tank you will pick them apart quickly. If they are spread unfortunately Zenyatta can only choose one direction/target at a time to truly be effective. Some notable Hero counters are Widowmaker who can one shot you, Genji who can block your projectiles and burst you quickly, Tracer who is hard to stick on, and Hanzo who is another sniper.

Play Zenyatta if you like to be able to be flexible in your role. You're useful regardless of what you like to do: stay back and heal, head to the front and debuff, snipe with long range damage. The most effective Zenyatta's do this all at once constantly one the move and always being a noticeable presence for your and the enemy team. He's a support that dishes out a lot of damage and can even hold his own 1 on 1. His high skill cap does mean that being idle or not knowing what to do will hurt your team. If you are uncomfortable playing Zenyatta it is safer to play Hanzo or Lucio as a more dedicated Sniper or Support as opposed to trying to juggle between the two.

Thank you for reading! As always:

Feel free to add me and ask for a game!

Battle.net: LrdRwekien#1110  

Overwatch Tricks and Tips

Last week I spoke about the rising hype behind Overwatch. You can check it out here. This game is fantastically fun and I highlighted some of the points that make it truly stand out. I've been playing ALOT of the Open Beta and taking full advantage of this as this is probably the last time that I or anyone else in fact to be able to play the Beta version of Overwatch up until the few weeks where it will fully launch. In fact Blizzard was kind enough to even extend the Beta for a few days for us!

Good Guy Blizzard

In preparation for the full release of the game: I want to go over an overall gameplay guide to making sure that when they log into Overwatch that it would be as memorable as possible.

Before playing any game I always make sure to optimize my settings to have the best playability possible. Let's look to the options menu in Overwatch. The first thing that the screen will bring you to is the Video section which should be calibrated to your specific settings. I actually had a lot of problems with this. It's due to a personal problem with my graphics card but I believe that a few other people have similar troubles. If you are having troubles going to fullscreen on Overwatch, I recommend playing it in Windowed mode. I use Borderless Windowed so the change is negligible for me. I also can only go to a High Graphics quality but I may turn that up or down depending on my internet connection. A lot of these settings are preset but I am not sure if the FPS Limit is default capped to 30. I took it off and can jump to 60 (when my graphics are lowered)

Next we go to the sound menu. This is largely dependent on personal preference but the only thing that I would like to address are the Voice Chat options. Selecting Auto Join will always have you join the appropriate voice channel. This means when being in a group with your friends or when entering a match and being put in team voice chat. If you do have Auto Join selected please make sure to have the proper Voice Chat settings. Having an Open Mic may cause teammates to immediately mute you if you are causing audio disturbances. Additionally if you are using push to talk you will not change the key here so look over at the next section to change that.

Most of my time was spent here in the Controls menu. The first thing that I did was change my sensitivity. I'm horrible at FPS games and am more accustomed to MOBA genre style games. Jittering my mouse and constantly moving it around throughout the map is one of my bad habits. It hasn't affected my gameplay in games like Heroes of the Storm or League of Legends because my twitch reflexes and map awareness compensate. Additionally, hit boxes and skill shots are much larger for me to hit on a linear lane map style. A game like Overwatch where the maps are largely dynamic and it isn't simplified to linear maps like in these other games. Even the slightest pixel off can mean the difference between a head shot kill or a missed bullet and death.

The next thing that changed were my Reticle settings. I changed the type to be a dot which allowed me to be as precise as possible. The small reticle size for the dot type is made up in accuracy with a bright vivid colour. As you can see the fuchsia looking colour will help me identify the cross airs on the screen.

I would avoid using colours such as Black, White, and Red. These will blend in to a lot of the settings and may cause you to misfire.

Zenyatta is my favorite Hero

Now if you look in the top right corner you may have noticed that there is a tab that states "ALL HEROES" These are the general controls and settings for all twenty-one heroes however you can change the drop down menu and override the general controls for specific heroes if you wish. There are a few heroes that allow extra options for better Quality of Life changes and may help your gameplay greatly.

We'll look over Genji, Hanzo, and Junkrat first. These Heroes have a special option where the hero or Junkrat's Rip-Tire would automaticall climb walls. To utilize this as you are approaching a wall you need only to press the space bar and it would automatically climb the wall. I found this useful as I was unsure of where I could scale certain walls as they would be too high or I would get blocked on the way up. Later on I would turn this option off. It's more of a training wheels sort of addition. You wouldn't want to automatically scale a cliff that you didn't mean to later on in a match.

Next up we have Lucio. His option is to make Crossfade a hold option rather than a toggle. By default Crossfade is on Heal but by holding down Shift you can make it change to Speed. In the thick of the fight sometimes you may constantly spam the Shift key to toggle the auras on and off and might get confused. By utilizing hold you can make sure that you will use speed when necessary. Personally I always prefer hold options to toggle. When scoping or utilizing an ability. It helps me remember that when I am holding down a key I am in a certain mode. Such as speed for lucio or in a long range snipe position for scopes. When I keep pressing a key that is toggled it confuses as I might not count the amount of times that I hit it in a fast paced match.  

Going back to the toggle option. You can choose to toggle the barrier of Reinhardt's shield. It's all a matter of personal preference but as explained earlier I keep it off.

The same can be said for Widowmaker's zoom on her scope. Additionally you can change the aim sensitivity when zoomed if you prefer a more delicate touch (or not).

Now unfortunately I missed a few screenshots for Mercy, Soldier 76, and Zarya. The Beta closed on me before I was able to do so (sad face). Here are text descriptions:

MERCY can change her heal beam to being toggled as opposed to held. This is probably the only time when I would prefer having a toggle for a heal/damage buff as this is a large part of what Mercy does all game. Having to hold down the mouse while holding a mouse button will slow me down as I apply pressure on my left finger. Additionally, Mercy can have the option to prefer the target that she is using her beam on to fly to them using the Shift key. This is more of a personal preference and important to understand a team comp. If you are using a mobile assassin this will be more useful as it will help you stick to them while they can focus on dodging and kiting without losing you by their side. Or a tank that you know you'd like to stay a majority of your time with. Essentially, if you know that you are using a strategy of sticking to a few people as opposed to running around the map and healing everyone.If you know that you will be spread throughout the team and healing because of a comp you might want to turn this off as if you are not exactly on the teammate's hitbox you will fly to another target.

SOLDIER 76 & ZARYA have the option to show allied teammate's health bars. This is useful when knowing when to deploy a heal or a shield.

With the majority of the Heroes options covered I just wanted to highlight some of the keybindings set. Not many people know that the Melee attack is bound to the V key and additionally if you have a mouse with a few extra buttons the side button is also default bound to melee. Feel free to set keys to your liking but a large tip is to look at all the configurations and understand what actions there are. What you might see my surprise you if you do not frequent FPS games.

I believe that by default the kill cam will be automatically skipped. I would keep that off as knowing how and where you opponent killed you can be huge information. I would also keep the kill feed display on as well.

Not many people know this but the skirmish setting while searching is on by default. If you prefer to peruse the hero gallery or edit loadouts then the group leader should have this setting turned off.

To the left of the screen you may occasionally see a slightly faded orange icon. This is to show a poor network connection at the moment and that is demonstrated to the side. I wasn't aware of this at first but drew the parallel to Heroes of the Storm, another Blizzard game where they have this implemented. Try to keep safe if you notice this icon.

Lastly the social options. None of these really contribute to gameplay but we might as well go over it. You can have a profanity filter. (I have mine off for shit talking purposes) You can have group members invite other friends of theirs and additionally you can make your group open to everyone which means anyone looking at their friends might want to hop in to you group. Just some things to keep in mind.

That's it in terms of setting optimization. Now let's talk game theory:

When playing, I use this mental checklist to best understand what needs to be done for the game.

1) Objective The first and foremost thing to be understood is the objective. This is how you win and lose games and if this is not the first thing that comes up in your mind when starting a game then you are gonna have a hard time understanding how to win. Know WHAT your objective is. WHERE your objective is and HOW you can achieve your objective. The first is known upon your loading screen. The second is known upon your spawn location. The third is known based on upon your first encounter with the enemy.

2) Teams The next thing to understand are the Teams. What are the teams on each side. Are you more team fight based, defend control based, or more assassin pressure based. Understanding the team comp will help you understand your role on that team and how to deal with the enemy team. If you know your team and the enemy team comp then you should play to your strengths. Like before knowing what your role as a team is will help you understand how to complete your objective. If you realize that their team as a whole will counter you then you should avoid getting into a situation where they will win. If as a team they have better lockdown then you need to let your team know not to start pushing as they will get shutdown unless your team has the upper hand.

3) Location Location goes a big way in this game but it's most important in relation to positioning. Tanks won't have to worry too much about this but the rest need to keep cautious. If there is no none enemies or firefight don't go into a choke point. Chances are that they are waiting for you before they spring the trap.

4) Fighting Support -> Attack -> Defense -> Tank. The premise of fighting itself is heavily on gameplay mechanics and a players reaction speed but in general utilize the above chain of command when deciding targets. Not necessarily who you see first.

5) Swapping Hero Swapping is something that is used to help push your advantage. If you are constantly in a losing position then you have the opportunity to change your strategy and adapt to the current circumstances.

Let's go over this checklist in a game. So you queue up with some friends and you're in a skirmish currently. You are fooling around playing as Genji jumping across rooftops and the like. All of a sudden the game instances you into a real match. You straighten up immediately in your chair and prepare. You already know what map you are fighting on in the loading screen. It's a coin flip to decide what role your team is going to have but you start to imagine the ideal heroes for either side. Hero selection begins and you look to the top to see what your fated assignment is. Depending on what it is you begin to select the heroes that you envisioned while the map was loading. Unless it's a Control King of the Hill map you can already decide the route of where to go since it is fixed. Communicate with your team and understand what team comp you will go to best achieve your objective. The first checklist is complete and you repeat what you need to do in your mind. I must push this payload to the end. I must stop the enemy team from reaching this point. I must break through the enemy team and hold an objective. After the mental preparation you burst out of the spawn room. As you start encountering the enemy you either pick them off if you are able to or you just dance around each other scouting the team and preparing battle plans. You know what their team is and hopefully what they aim to do with such a composition. Step 2 is complete. Use awareness, footsteps, and team communication to understand where you guys have spread yourselves out and where they have placed themselves and complete the third task of finding the location. And now the battle really begins. The preparation is done and can only get you so far. Your skill as a player will dictate how the following match will go when fighting. Use basic priority of getting anyone that will reach an objective or to get rid of their sustain and supports. Then focus any of their attackers that will try to break through and assassinate your team. And then defensive heroes to break the enemy team's momentum. Only the tanks will be left to pick off. This will either work completely effectively, there will be a neutral position in advantage, or you will be realizing your defeat quickly. Hero swap to appropriately swing the game in your favor and go through the mental checklist again.

It's a little complicated and better learned through experience but hopefully these small tips will be enough to help you greatly in your gameplay.

Feel free to add me and ask for a game!

Battle.net: LrdRwekien#1110

Overwatch: What's the hype?

Well here I am. (Hiyas) I didn't expect myself to push onward and write another piece but I'm here doing it anyways. Consistency is key and I made it a personal goal to post on Wednesdays.

Anyways...since the last time that I posted, I was able to place my pre order last minute on an Overwatch: Origins Edition. It was on Friday, April 29th 2016 which I believe was the last time to get a pre order on Overwatch. After a lot of deliberation I decided that I would put my faith in the game. I rarely play shooters and the only time that I have are when they are free because I know that I personally won't invest too much time on it. Most of my shooter time was spent on split screen consoles at a friends house. Playing online alone on my PC didn't seem as fun to me. I missed the human comfort of having people near me not just seeing their avatar connected online.

I'm not sure if any of you also share my sentiments or not but I'd like to explain why despite my overall negative perspective towards First Person Shooters I decided to hop on the Overwatch bandwagon and confirmed my trust in this game. But first!

Have you seen this video floating around? (I have it linked to the side) It came out as a timely release just a few days ago. If you haven't I urge that you take the time and check it out.

Don't continue unless you have watched the video seriously. And no, I'm not sponsored to show this video I just genuinely suggest it if you haven't already to set the mood for the rest of the post.

Have you finished watching it? No? Keep watching!!


Okay. So you've finished now right? Let's let that sink in for a bit.

Wait for it.

Okay.

DAMN! SO HYPE FOR THIS GAME.

So...tomorrow is when Open Beta for Overwatch begins. I've been following this game for quite some time now. It's had a lot of buzz in the news so even if you're not a particular fan of this game or even of Blizzard, chances are that you have at least seen it plastered somewhere. They have ads on Taco Bell cups, they've had Overwatch themed Ubers driving around PAX, and Coca Cola announced having launch parties at select cinemas. Damn that advertisement game is strong. Now for me personally, I was able to play during the 2 stress weekend periods offered and I'm still craving for some more. I've just had a taste of it and that's why I can fully say that I am all about this game. A lot of people haven't had that opportunity unfortunately. But let's get to basics. What is Overwatch?

The Overwatch Beta is infamous for its selectivity for those that were able to participate.

Overwatch is a multiplayer First-Person Shooter(FPS) game. It features squad-based combat between 2 teams that have 6 players each. Each player will choose a Hero where the same Hero can be chosen by multiple people. There are various game modes which are derived from the map selected. There are 3 game modes: Assault, Escort, and Control.

Assault: The attacking team must capture two different target points on the map while the defending team must prevent this from happening within a time limit.
Escort: The attacking team needs to escort a payload to move throughout the map. There are various checkpoints along a fixed point. The defending team must prevent this from happening within a time limit.
Control: Each team needs to hold a point until they reach 100% completion for holding it out. This is played in a best of 3 match.

Team Fortress 2

The best parallel for comparison would be Team Fortress 2. The game encourages class switching upon death to adapt to the pace of the game. Killing is a means of control and not points. While there will definitely be kill streaks it will be for a team to weaken the enemy team by numbers and not to have glory. In the end, the objective is what will win the game regardless of the number of kills one team has.

Overwatch is not going to be "the next big thing". It already is. Let's look at some of the reasons why this is huge. I've compiled my Top 5 Reasons why:

The Big 3

1) Overwatch is a brand new IP from Blizzard Entertainment. We've been used to the "Big 3" games that Blizzard has supported with World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Starcraft. We were then given Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm which were nice spin off titles but original to their game genres. It's been a while since a new franchise has been launched. 18 years in fact since the last time we were introduced to a new cast of characters was in 1998 with the release of Starcraft. The Blizzard fanbase has grown exponentially and so playing Overwatch will be a brand new experience for old and new fans alike.

2) Multi platform Launch The last time we saw console support for a Blizzard game was for Diablo 3. This helps shoe Blizzard in to reaching an audience much wider than they are used to and the fans won't be too foreign to this genre of game. Now I want to make clear that there is NOT cross platform play but rather just the availability of playing across the different devices. I personally believe that part of Rocket League's success is its ability to be played amongst a community of gamers regardless of how they choose to play it. This truly helps to unite an otherwise divided gaming community. Something to be noted is the lack of OS X support which historically has been in nearly all of the past Blizzard games.

3) New Game Genre with Blizzard stamp It seems that Blizzard Entertainment are masters of their craft perfecting each game they touch upon. The Blizzard Quality stamp is not to be taken very lightly and it is shown throughout History. Starting with Warcraft and progressing to Starcraft is where eSports would be born and the RTS genre is known by a singular title. It took an entire nation by storm and even to this day still holds deep roots in the culture of Korea. In the States, World of Warcraft is one of the most critically acclaimed games of all times where the most legendary stories of told with the experiences that people have had with this game. From the struggles of addiction to the creation of everlasting bonds is how World of Warcraft has affected our own world. Diablo is a genre definer in its own right where many other games seek to capture the ARPG magic that has players continuing to play even outdated versions of games they so deeply love. Hearthstone quickly rose to being a top contender in the realm of card games and holds it with its prowess on being solely digital which allows for unique card interactions. Heroes of the Storm is Blizzard's branded MOBA game even though the original MOBA style game DOTA was created off of their own game. Even then, Heroes of the Storm has piqued the interest of many with its coverage on ESPN and Heroes of the Dorm competition. Overwatch is in the First Person Shooter (FPS) genre but despite Blizzard as a company's unfamiliarity with this it seems that they won't release a game until they are confident in their perfection of a product. Much can and should be expected of a game from a company of high caliber.

eSports

4) eSports There are many shooter games but few manage to float to the top domain of eSports save for CS:GO. Many gaming organizations have already created official teams and rosters ready to dominate the leaderboards upon the release of the game. There's been a lot of drama and controversy surrounding as it appears that Overwatch is almost being pampered to being devoted to eSports despite the public having official access to it and the game is largely on an unfinished scale. Even then, the largest driving factor for eSports is the community. The fact that Overwatch has this solely on the basis of people watching it is a very promising sign for things to come.

5) Community This is a bit of a tie in between all of the different reasons listed but a lot of different people will be coming together for this game and I think that's something excellent. Everyone from loyal Blizzard fans to console-PC gamers to FPS fans to competitive eSports fans. There's a place for everyone with this game. All of the Blizzard references and easter eggs sprawled across the different maps. A game to play on whatever convoluted machine to play on. A brand new spankin' game to relieve your shooter itch. A seeming viable new way to enter the eSports scene. This game is something for the Blizzard employees to prove to themselves that they can create a new game after many previous ones were cancelled. (Most notably Titan) It's pretty exciting seeing the way that the Overwatch community has come together as people come for all of the reasons listed previously and many more.

Now I have had the pleasure of being able to play in the Early Access Beta portion by preordering the game. I remember coming home from work, with only about 10 minutes left until the beta would be up. (6:50 PM EST) I booted on my computer and casually got situated in my room not expecting to jump into the fray immediately for fear that the game would have a server overload. At 7:05 I budged thinking that 5 minutes would be enough for everyone else to filter through. To my surprise I was able to get in with little trouble. From then I played on until 12:15 AM. Upon sudden realization I decided to stop playing after this current game. I closed out of the game at 1:30 AM.

Gif of me Monday Night

I was hooked on to this game. It was incredible. I look forward to playing this when I can. I want to explain this giddiness and hype in words but I won't. I highly recommend that you try it out for yourself as this Open Beta is the first and only time that Overwatch will be largely available to anyone that's willing to download it. If you have even a sliver of interest in the game (and I'm assuming that you if you have read this far down) please give it a try.

Next Week: I'll go more in depth on my experience playing the Beta and stress test weekends that I participated in. We'll look at the progression that Blizzard has gone through to improve upon the game and what to expect from the final model.

Feel free to add me and ask for a game!

Battle.net: LrdRwekien#1110