Overwatch
 

Best email I got today:

http://i.imgur.com/1KPZjUg.png

I'm so jealous of you. You have to let us know your thoughts. Tried watching it but it's hard to get into a stream when you're not familiar with the mechanics (like American dudes watching rugby), from what I could tell it looks to play a little like TF2 with elements of a moba. Should be interesting at the very least.

I'm planning on hitting this pretty intensely when it release on Xbone; if anybody has the same plans shoot me your GT!

I watched a LOT of it on twitch during last year's beta event. It looked like a ton of fun, especially when playing with friends.

Now that I played a bit last night, I can safely say it is meeting all my expectations. I'm not a FPS player historically, but Overwatch is really fun and they've made it super easy for new players to get started. It's extremely well polished for a beta.

I never played TF2, but everyone compares Overwatch to it so I think that's the closest comparison. I wouldn't say there's anything moba-like about it. It's a pure team-based strategy FPS. I throw in the "strategy" part, because there's a bit more to it than something like CS:GO. They put a lot of emphasis on being able to switch heroes during a match, to counter whatever your opponents are doing. So I think there will be a big "meta" game, where certain heroes will be favored on certain maps against certain opponents. It'll be interesting to follow.

Otherwise, there's not much to learn so I think it's pretty easy to pick up just by watching the streams.

I had a chance to play during the weekend, and yes I love the fact you can change your team comp in the middle of the match to better suit your gameplay.

really the most important thing other then getting familiar with heros would be learning maps and nooks people like to hide/snipe

Yep, learning all the little nuances/strengths/weaknesses of each hero the maps is half the battle.

I've played just over 100 games now (52W-51L), with Soldier 76, Genji, Lucio, Bastion, and Torbjorn being my most played at 2-3 hours each. I've put in 2hrs on Reinhardt too, but I think I'm pretty bad at him (and all the tanks, really). But I'm trying to force myself to put in time on each character. There's so many, and they all play so differently. It's pretty exciting to see someone play a hero really really well.

I thought I'd love the snipers, but my aim is just so bad. Not a surprise given my lack of FPS experience I guess. I really want to be good with Tracer too, but I'm just not. She looks like god-mode in the hands of a really good player. Symmetra is another I wished I was better at. I think she's all about simply knowing the good turret spots on each map.

A lot of people are complaining about Bastion and Torbjorn being overpowered, but I think everyone is balanced pretty well. Those two are definitely kind of easy-mode, but there are definitely counters to them. There's a few balance tweaks they can (and I'm sure will) make, but skill and comp-swapping goes a long way.

I'll play this game a lot in solo mode when it releases, but it's really meant to be played as a pre-made. Hope a bunch of you guys are intending to play it. And if you happen to get into beta, make sure I'm on your friends list (asano#1883)! Remember to sign up for beta in your bnet account. I'm sure they'll be doing more and more invites from now until June.

yes asano, when Nuch blake and I played over the weekened ( short lived but fun) we quickly figured out Basion was easy, most played* and generally difficult to deal with if (the other teams players were well played) but as soon as he goes into turret mode he is defenseless against shots from behind.

look forward to hearing more info from you

Are you playing on a keyboard or controller? Does anyone have any recommendations on a controller if they use one for a PC? I have never played FPS because i am not a fan of their movements on a keyboard nor the lack of peripheral vision.

I play with KBM.

I have an Xbox controller and it's worked fine on the few games I've used it, but that's almost never -- definitely not on FPS games. I've always thought KBM was superior to controllers for FPS.

honestly Keyboard and mouse are probably the best with FPS the mouse allows you to "pan left/right" as fast or as a slow as you want, mind you sensitivity could be set on your xbox but I dont think it will ever be as great as KBM.

peripheral vision is another thing most FPS game lack, I know I can almost see behind/beside myself with my peripheral in RL but in CS it is like a 45-60 degree angle from your gun LOS, not the usual field of vision you would experience. kinda like wearing a helmet that restricts your FoV

I use a PS4 controller.

With windows you can simply plug and play Xbox controllers(360/XB1) with the PC. For the PS4 controller I had to install a driver. You can buy a legit controller for either console and use it instead of some made for PC one.

Holy shit, the latest Overwatch short is so good. Covers Gengi and Hanzo:



It's almost a shame they're developing this world and these characters as an FPS, where there's no room for storytelling inside the game. This is probably my favorite IP Blizzard has created. I hope to god they're already in the process of creating a movie or anime series for it.

In case you missed the other shorts, which were equally great:

Widowmaker - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U130wnpi-C0
Winston - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB5zlHMsM7k

Well...that was a hell of a launch. Can't remember the last time I enjoyed a basic FPS this much. Plus is Kapalan and alot of the original WoW dev team that made it.

Aside from the 18 minute delay and party functions not working the first night, the launch was flawless! No server issues at all, never played a class game that was so well balanced from the get go (allbeit a couple years of beta had more to do with that).

Which platform are you on? I'm on Xbox with a consistent group of 5-6.

i play PC and some classes need a little help but overall fairly balanced. Lucio my fav and reaper if im offensive

Which classes do you think need help? I've seen almost all of them played surprisingly effectively.

My favs are:

Offense: Soldier 76 and Pharah. I love Genji and Tracer too, but I'm just not very good with them.
Defense: Bastion. Torbjorn second. I really like Widow and Hanzo too, but I'm just so bad with them.
Tank: D.Va all the way.
Support: I enjoy playing all of them except Mercy. She's just not my jam. Zenyatta probably my favorite. Symmetra is all about knowing good locations for turrets and teleporter.

PC here since I still can't stand the quickplay/PuG players on consoles and hate using a controller for an FPS

Probably the highest praise I can give right now is that I've been playing Zen and Mercy nonstop since launch. I've NEVER played a healer in any co-op game. Ever. I've always done straight up dps and some support classes, but it's just so much damn fun playing with the level layouts to effectively hide while healing/boosting.

Honestly though, it just feels like a game made by people that really do know what their doing. People that have have spent most of their lives processing feedback from the community (hense them actually making good use of the length of the beta) and have a solid understand of what does and does not work in an arena gaming environment.

Yeah, I've heard a lot of people say that about the support classes. They did a really good job of making those heroes fun to play.

There was a great 3-part video series (~60 mins in total) just last month with Blizzard (lots of Kaplan and Metzen) talking about Titan and how Overwatch grew out of it. Their roots were in FPS shooters back in the day and you really get the sense that these guys know and love the FPS genre.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/fro.../1100-6439150/

That's actually what got me interested in the game for launch. I'd played like 30 minutes of the beta as Bastion and felt like if I didn't get into Team Fortress (which I didn't) that I wouldn't like it. I watched all those gamespot vids and then gave a shot to Mercy, Mei(Fuck yeah fps frost mage), and Zen. I had way more fun than I thought with just a bunch of randos in a quickplay and realized how solid a game it's gonna be 6mo to a year after launch once activision really starts pouring money into it.

i dont think soldier 76 and widowmaker are very good cuz of the lack of mobility. even though i like widows kit i just think she has no way of escaping if someone is on here.

I just bought it and am going to check it out. I haven't played FPS in years so it will take time for me to get back in the saddle. It looks great though.

How are the tanks in the game, i want to try the guy with the giant mace and shield?

I don't think every hero needs an "oh shit" button, or some escape mechanism. That's how we got homogenized WoW.

Widowmaker, afaict, is about battlefield vision. Between her ult and her grappling hook, she shouldn't be too close to the frey to begin with, but have a good view of things from a distance. So in that sense, it's fine she doesn't have much of an escape move.

Soldier 76 has a sprint. I think that's more than some heroes in terms of mobility.

Feel free to hit me up if you ever see me on, Gron. We can be equally mediocre together. =)

The tanks in this game are pretty fun, and all play very differently. Reinhardt (the guy with the shield) is basically made just for you. I think you'll love him.

Reinhardt would have the name Gronthor if they knew any better

Favorites so far (as of play time)

Tanks - Roadhog -43 mins (self heal tank probably the best if you play solo and dont have a healer

DPS - Reaper - 18 mins ( I also like his solo play but I am starting to like tracer more becasue she heals reaper doesn't but he avoids a lot of dmg)

longrange - Junkrat - 8 mins (it will be A LOT more but I let other people play him PROBABLY the single most OP hero in game if played right)

Healer - Mercy - 17 mins ( I dunno asano I fucking love* her, and I love/dont mind healing people and this is by far the most effective hero at heals - major disadvantage about her is - low hp for having massive wings as a target, if people do not kill the melee targets that dive on her she falls quickly)

It's funny, I did originally say Zenyatta was my favorite support with Mercy my least -- and that was all true when I played in beta. But since launch, it's been the exact opposite. Mercy isn't my exactly my favorite still, but I do find myself playing her a lot. She takes some getting used to, and certain groups (i.e. pug coordination) make her more difficult to play than a Lucio, for example. Overall though, I've played Symmetra more than any other hero -- about an hour. But yeah, I like Mercy now.

On the tank side, I agree with you on Roadhog. I really didn't like him during beta, but I enjoy him now. Between his heal and his hook, he's pretty sturdy and easy to play. D.Va is still my favorite, but I can appreciate and don't mind playing all the tanks.

My biggest surprise has been Mei. I've fallen in love with her. I don't get to play her as much as I want because she's usually picked first pretty quickly, but man she's good. Great, game-changing ult, good long-range and high damage alt-fire, great primary fire to counter the higher mobility characters that get in close, and an invuln+self heal. What more could you want?

I love Rheinheart. I love tanking in an FPS. Having to protect bastions and my healer is so awesome. If you all need any tanks let me know i will gladly play one for you all. It feels so natural.

I am ok as Widow but i need more practice as an offensive FPS player. Tanking is more natural for me.

all of the tanks are amazing in their own right imo. the fucking monkey is a bitch to deal with. rheinheart is great for pushing objectives not as good in king of the hill but still really good. if u have a healer in the game which most teams ive seen now run 2 dbl lucio or lucio mercy is very popular.

100% certain (but did not read the patch notes) tracers cooldown timer was increased for (all) skills maybe not the (A) but definitely the "3xwarp" did by a noticeable amount too

fusa log on.

I have discovered the dirty pleasure of gunning down Tracers and Reavers with my healer pistol. No one expects the Mercy Kill.

Torjborn seems OP so many times. I am finding him so much fun!

So we should probably start posting battlenet IDs? I mean I'm not saying Fuse/GoL is gettin' the band back together or anything....but when Elon Musk starts posting about yer game I guess the writing's on the wall....http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/6/118...hooting-robots

Heh, yeah, I saw that. Pretty nuts.

Most folks have their Real IDs posted in the member's section: http://www.gentlemen-of-leisure.com/...ad.php?t=45976

Not sure how up-to-date that is, though.

Rather not from what I'm seeing. Well I'm still at ultanime@gmail.com / Xenosis / Xenosis#1896 if anyone wants to play Hearthstone or Overwatch. I'm online 5-10pm most nights and 24hour a day every other weekend.