Overwatch: The Worst Defense Hero

Overwatch has 31 playable heroes. That's a lot. 

 

Each one has several abilities to their name, so, all in all, there are over 100 unique abilities that can be used in-game. 

 

Think about it like this; each of these abilities needs to be programmed to interact and synergize with others, not being too strong and not being too weak, without forgetting anything. All while the workload grows with each new addition. 

 

Of course, Blizzard doesn't always do a perfect job at this; how could it? So, you end up with heroes that excel far beyond their teammates, while others sink to the very bottom like a pile of disappointment.

 

Here we are looking at the defensive hero that best fits this description. Keep in mind, this doesn't mean that I hate this hero or that they suck. If you like them, great! If you win with them, even better. Keep doing what you're doing.

 

Bastion

 

Yes, the robot menace that gave many of us PTSD upon Overwatch's release is now the worst defensive character in the game. At the bottom of the trash heap right where he belongs.

 

At first, Bastion was the strongest hero in the game. His turret did ungodly damage, he was bulky, and could mow you down in seconds. He sucked all the fun out of the game, turning many new players off the product in the process.

 

Needless to say, this was a problem for Blizzard. So, it nerfed him. Hard.

 

The character got an entire rework. His sentry went from a 1.5 second deploy time to one second but at the cost of a 50% increase to bullet spread, which is present immediately after firing instead of heating up.

 

The company increased his magazine size from 200 to 300, but he no longer dealt headshot damage and could no longer score critical hits.

 

His Tank ability no longer gave him extra armor, and self-repair could now be used on the move.

 

This round of changes dealt with Bastion's two biggest problems in a big way.

 

First, the company removed his critical hit and headshot multipliers, and then increased his bullet spread. This addressed Bastion's damage problem well. Then it removed his bonus armor, which sorted out his bulk problem.

 

The most considerable change, however, came shortly after these. Bastion's Ironclad passive had blocked 35% of incoming damage while in sentry or tank configuration. It was reworked to only prevent 20%, much to player's delight. This was a much better number and served as the final nail in Bastion's coffin.

 

He is still usable, but for competitive play, he is dead. Thankfully.

 

I, for one, do not miss him in the slightest. The memories of facing a full Bastion team still haunt me, and that's Bastion's most significant issue.

 

He is either overpowered or underpowered. He has the type of kit and usability that doesn't really allow for middle ground, so Blizzard has sort of just been forced to toss him to the wayside. Maybe they can figure out a balanced solution to him in Overwatch 2, but I have my doubts.