That surveillance 2 Beta is here, bringing gifts for tank and damage players who got a bunch of new bells and whistles to play around with. But unfortunately, healers, the team-based shooter’s steadfast cornerstones, feel left behind. Blizzard just released a patch for the beta, and while it implemented more sophisticated tweaks for many of the game’s heroes, concerned support mains got the short end of the stick.
Players seem to be having a great time with it surveillance 2 Beta and testing significant overhauls on characters like Deathfist and Orisa, and uploading clips of yourself diving into the beta’s faster, deathmatch-style gameplay. Some format changes introduced by the sequel – like having only one tank position per team and the abundance of flanking opportunities on the game’s larger maps – made healers more vulnerable than they were over watch.
“Blizzard managed to make the roles more fun to play but supportive [characters] seem to play the most vulnerable role,” over watch said YouTuber Stylosa in a video. While tanks have become “more powerful” versions of theirs over watch (I refuse to name it surveillance 1) counterpart, Stylosa, said that support characters “live on the brink” in the beta.
Whereby “life on the edge” has long been the cross over watch support veterans have to endure, the vulnerability feels even stronger surveillance 2
Where do the tweaks to the overall format of the game leave our largely unchanged healers? The name of the game for support in surveillance 2, apart from increasing damage and keeping everyone alive, is maneuverability. If your character can’t keep up in these trying, damn fast times, your ass is grass.
In the spirit of keeping my fellow man lapsed over watch Refugees on the status of their support mains, I’ve broken down today’s patch note changes and ranked the characters based on who got the worst deal surveillance 2 beta, and which is looking pretty good right now.
Zenyatta
Zenyatta, buddy, I’m sorry. In the latest patch notes for Overwatch 2 Beta. While it’s generally a good thing to hear your main didn’t get a patch change, Zenyatta was already an “Oh, so you wanna die?” support character thanks to his shields, which have the structural strength of a Nature Valley bar . My husband is still swimming with the molasses so I’m hoping Zenyatta’s mains aren’t rusty with their alternate fire or you’ll end up like this Mondatta on the battlefield.
Bridget
Bridgetthe curse of many one over watch The player’s existence for her shield-slamming stuns has brought in the most extensive reworks surveillance 2‘s beta of each support character. As the main one, her Shield Bash no longer stuns enemies. Instead, it deals damage increased from 1 to 50 points. To compensate, her range has been increased to 12 yards, her five-second cooldown has been reduced, and barriers no longer stop her strikes.
people on the r/Overwatch subreddit debate whether Brigitte is a shadow of her former self, but thanks to her larger shield and health, she’s more enduring as a prop than she used to be.
Baptiste
Baptiste is probably the only support to get a net positive with the beta patch. His Regenerative boost, his healing power to allies increased from 75% to 100%, and his primary fire minimum falloff range reduced from 25 to 20 yards. Baptiste can still heal from afar with grenades, and his jumping abilities allow him to reach a higher vantage point and avoid danger.
ann
annone of the more challenging supporting characters to master seems to thrive in the surveillance 2 Beta due to her crowd control ability with her heal/damage grenades. The only change to her gear since the latest patch is that her Sleep Arrow cooldown has increased from 12 seconds to 15 seconds. While your mileage can vary based on your skill level, Ana’s survivability depends on your ability to choose your shots, especially with your Sleep Arrows. Only shoot if you are sure.
Lucio
LucioThe maneuverability of remains unmatched. His kit also remains mostly unchanged, apart from his Ultimate Sound Barrier, which is reduced by 12%. He can still slide over walls just as well, if not better than he can AU
Merciful
Corresponding over watch YouTubers Apartments, MercifulThe changes from are quality-of-life improvements for players and teammates. These QOL features include a HUD that shows damage stacks and healing more clearly. Regarding getting out of Dodge when the going gets tough, Mercy can still glide to allies if they are in sight. So if you see a DPS character taking a break, be sure to use this snazzy new one ping system and let her know you’re on her six.
moira
Of all the supporting characters moira (who happens to be my captain) is probably best off when it comes to survivability. While she and Zenyatta haven’t rigged their kits in the latest patch, Moira’s maneuverability as a support gives her a slightly greater advantage compared to other characters. Thanks to her Fade ability, Moira can hear out of any sticky encounter with the opposing team. In addition to each support’s passive health regeneration, Moira’s Biotic Grip, Biotic Orb, and her ultimate, Biotic Ray, triple to heal herself while dealing damage to the enemy team.
While my assessments can all be undone by the swipe of another patch update (something the old over watch is common), at least the supports can take comfort in the fact that they don’t get scolded so often for losing the game. These will likely be tanks now since there is only one per team. Even so, it’s still a hard life. Godspeed, support player. You are doing the work of the Lord.
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