The water is wet, the Pope is Catholic, and people are complaining that the newest Overwatch hero is overpowered and not fun to play against.
These are three absolutes that you can always rely on, and the addition of Vendetta to Overwatch’s roster has continued that trend. No word yet on whether people think the new pope is OP…
In recent years, it’s been common for Blizzard to release new heroes in super-powerful states to keep them popular (remember Mauga?), but doing so while also experimenting with a character that has an entirely new playstyle might have been a bit overwhelming for the player base.
The game’s first melee DPS hero has turned the game on its head at all ranks, although lower-tier players feel the pain of her giant sword the most. This isn’t just empty complaining either; In each region, their win rate is ranked #1 in competitive games and #2 ou #3 in quick games. Why has this one character caused such consternation? And what, if anything, can or should be done with her?
Perpetuum mobile
The basic problem with Vendetta is its uniqueness. Much like how Widowmaker was the only character at release that could one-shot you from across the map, Vendetta is one of the very few characters that can jump in, destroy an isolated backliner, and then jump back out with barely a scratch. And people raged about Widowmaker back then…
“But wait,” I hear you say, “what about characters like Tracer, Genji, and Sombra?” It’s true that they can achieve similar results on isolated targets. What makes Vendetta more depressing in my opinion is her durability and low skill cap. Most similar characters require a lot of agility and quick reflexes to complete their assassination goals without going under. Vendetta is more resilient than all the others, has a higher health pool, armure, block, perks that further increase her survivability, et, oh, by the way, no reloading. two Movement skills (both of which deal damage), increased attack speed when she deals damage to you, And an ultimate game where you don’t know where it’s going to end up.
With all of this, it’s no wonder we see posts like this all over Reddit:
She has already received a slight nerf. Cependant, as some of the more recent posts show, that wasn’t enough. Is Vendetta really overpowering or are players still getting used to it? This is a common problem for new heroes in Overwatch. Or maybe their playstyle just doesn’t work in the game. To explore this possibility, let’s look at a game where it works.
Learn from your competitors
Marvel Rivals is similar to Overwatch in many ways, which I don’t need to go into here. Cependant, a key difference is the number of heroes who use melee attacks as a primary part of their offense. Prior to the release of Vendetta, Overwatch featured two melee-focused characters: Reinhardt and Brigitte (and sometimes Ramattra), neither of whom had much mobility.
Cependant, there are about a dozen such heroes in Marvel Rivals, many of whom are duelists (damage dealers) who can get to the back row, score a kill, and run away without a scratch. This does not include characters like Psylocke and Star-Lord, who have similar attack/disabling tools but are technically long-range characters, although they are most effective at close range.
In other words, when playing Rivals, you should be prepared for ultra-mobile threats in your defense every single game. And even if characters like Black Panther or Spider-Man get angry every now and then (oh, like me hate When they’re up against a good Spider-Man) when they dominate a match, Rivals players have learned that it’s simply part of the game that they have to deal with.
NetEase has generally designed its squishy characters to provide a solution to threats like these, be it Mantis’ sleep or Loki’s duplicates. Overwatch characters also have these types of tools, but they are less effective compared to Vendetta. Her small and slim hitbox makes Ana’s Sleep Dart a challenge to land, Brigitte’s shield offers no protection, and Zenyatta’s Kick or Lucio’s Boop only provide a temporary reprieve before she can catch up.
En fait, Rivaux Marvel’ roster was designed with the intention of dealing with mobile backline threats from the start, while Overwatch wasn’t. (An additional character to help with peeling is also a factor.) This has led some players to believe that Vendetta, or a character like her, simply doesn’t belong in the game.
Personnellement, I like the idea of a melee hero in Overwatch, but I agree that the implementation of Vendetta was inconsistent and resulted in too many awkward interactions. What can you do without completely removing them?
The bigger picture
Recent nerfs have reduced Vendetta’s damage numbers across the board, but it’s certain aspects of its design, not its sheer numbers, that are causing consternation.
Given her stocky nature, an increase in size could be an option. Yes, this is possible without explaining the lore as Bastion was recently downsized. Or maybe Blizzard can say she’s been working out and her muscles have gotten bigger.
Overwatch was once praised for its sound design and audio cues, but nearly all of Vendetta’s voice lines come from “HRRG! RAWR!” Variety, with no indication of what she’s doing until she’s on top of you. It might be time to give her full anime characterization and have her announce all of her attacks by name.
The only exception to this is her ultimate, which, as mentioned, is almost unavoidable when she fires it from the sky. Fading in a field for her attack area and introducing a slight delay, like Sigma’s ultimate attack, could help allow for more counterplay.
Or maybe Blizzard can just steal a page from NetEase’s handbook and make it more like Magik. She is also a sword-wielding, muscular lady who visually resembles Vendetta, but has far more limited mobility. Vendetta’s movement abilities, as well as her great durability and ability to deal damage, are probably too much overall.
Even with all of these suggestions and many more that I’m sure people have suggested and that the Overwatch developers themselves have seen or thought up, Vendetta isn’t going anywhere. For supports and characters with ranged damage, she will still be a threat even when reduced, and players will just have to get used to that. If Marvel Rivals players can do it, so can they.
