So how are your games going lately? [megathread]

[Djriff]

I've realized why I keep playing this game. I'll watch Overwatch montages of sweet honzo killstreaks or mccree killstreaks and i'll go yeah I can do that. Get motivated to play, lose some, win some, quit for the day. Watch new videos the next day and boom the cycle repeats.

If your teams are consistently way worse than your opponents, then I'm gonna suggest you should consider the one constant factor.

They do have a slight point though. If you are consistently getting bad teams and while you are being a team player it's not your fault you keep getting them. You are one person and can't make 5 other people do what's good for the comp/game. It leads to a bad spiral of shitty teams. Only solution is to find 5 mates to play with.

[Deleted]

It might be true Djriff. But often its just some heavy Dunning-Kruger going on. Thinking they are the last bastion of hope for the team and everyone needs to listen to them ranting while a small bit of froth forms at the side of the mouth.

I base this from countless hours of dota 2.

But yep, sometimes you get people that you wonder how they even managed to turn on their computer.

[Endus]

They do have a slight point though. If you are consistently getting bad teams and while you are being a team player it's not your fault you keep getting them. You are one person and can't make 5 other people do what's good for the comp/game. It leads to a bad spiral of shitty teams. Only solution is to find 5 mates to play with.

The quality of your teammates will generally be tied to your rank, since they're all similarly-ranked. While that doesn't mean they're automatically equally skilled, that's something that will become more accurate over time and with more play by everyone. I've noticed my teams generally getting better at 2400+ than they were at 2150-2300 or so.

But so do your opponents. Matches are a LOT rougher at my current rank. Not because my team is "bad", but because everyone's just that much better. Doesn't mean a match can't be over REAL fast; losing two teamfights in a row can mean a quick loss in Anubis, playing Defense. If you presume a 50/50 chance of either side winning that fight because they're evenly matched, that kind of steamroll is gonna happen every 4 games or so.

I've been playing solo pretty much the entire time. I've had a couple times where I had a good team, and we all joined up for a few runs after that match, but that's it. So it's not that solo is horrible and will destroy your rank, either.

I've seen no evidence that the ranking system is "broken". The distribution of ranks seems exactly where it would be expected to be. You're gonna get bad teams. Everyone does. But over time, that balances itself out.

[Djriff]

Fair point. Thankfully you can mute people like that. Second your voice approaches 30+ decibels or you start sounding like a pubescent kid I'm muting you.

I have played with some people that don't talk all that much, only communicate when needed and I've lost/won with those people.

Although recently I seem to be encountering a lot more trolls or people that just don't care.

The quality of your teammates will generally be tied to your rank, since they're all similarly-ranked. While that doesn't mean they're automatically equally skilled, that's something that will become more accurate over time and with more play by everyone. I've noticed my teams generally getting better at 2400+ than they were at 2150-2300 or so.

Well of course, that's how rankings work and that makes perfect sense.

But so do your opponents. Matches are a LOT rougher at my current rank. Not because my team is "bad", but because everyone's just that much better. Doesn't mean a match can't be over REAL fast; losing two teamfights in a row can mean a quick loss in Anubis, playing Defense. If you presume a 50/50 chance of either side winning that fight because they're evenly matched, that kind of steamroll is gonna happen every 4 games or so.

Again that also makes perfect sense. However there are sometimes you just get a mouth breather on your team and you just /facepalm.

I've been playing solo pretty much the entire time. I've had a couple times where I had a good team, and we all joined up for a few runs after that match, but that's it. So it's not that solo is horrible and will destroy your rank, either.

Same, I don't like queing in comp with friends, I tend to get a bit too competitive with them :/

I've seen no evidence that the ranking system is "broken". The distribution of ranks seems exactly where it would be expected to be. You're gonna get bad teams. Everyone does. But over time, that balances itself out.

I'm not saying the rank system itself is broken, I'm addressing your statement that it was that persons fault they got bad teams when they literally have no control over it. By your logic they'll forever be stuck in shit tier teams because they can't get out of them and when it does eventually balance out they'll have to crawl out of it then the season will end.

[Endus]

I'm not saying the rank system itself is broken, I'm addressing your statement that it was that persons fault they got bad teams when they literally have no control over it. By your logic they'll forever be stuck in shit tier teams because they can't get out of them and when it does eventually balance out they'll have to crawl out of it then the season will end.

That wasn't what I was trying to say; I was trying to say that if your teams are always terrible and always lose and your rank is cratering, even after dozens of games, the common thread isn't your team. It's you.

Everyone gets bad teams now and then, or a troll player who hoses everyone, or whatever. Yes, that sucks, but it happens to everyone, and sometimes, you'll get easy wins because it's happening to their team. That's how it balances out.

I just find it incredibly difficult to believe that some people are getting nothing but terrible teams after dozens of games despite their supposedly glowing personal talents. Maybe you're the lottery winner who's won that terrible "prize" through sheer whopping bad luck, but that's the kind of odds you're staring down; it certainly isn't what most people are experiencing.

[Djriff]

Ah ok. That makes more sense then.

[Jessicka]

You can get games where the balance is so off that it's just impossible to make an impact; particularly if you're pushed onto a less favoured hero, and you will lose a lot of ranking over that. My first proper competitive match this season was exactly that, poorly balanced, I was pressed on to 76 who's like probably 6th on my preference list (3 tanks, Zen and Ana 'healing'), and I lost nearly 50 points as a result. You'd have to be very unlucky to get a few of those in a row of course, but it can happen. My next match felt a lot easier (imbalanced in our favour?), I was back on D.Va and got 40 points back.

I know from the tail end of last season when I'd picked it up again I was gaining more than I lost generally, which is okay if you kind of realise and accept you're going to be playing maybe a couple of hundred matches; but it definitely feels like shit when you've played half a dozen and you're only looking at that small sample size. And it is normally going to take 2-3 wins to get over a big loss like that - but yeah, most of your loses really shouldn't be so catastrophic.

[Rudol Von Stroheim]

I've decided to quit Overwatch.

Came to the conclusion that the community is beyond toxic. I had a man-child go off on me because I disapproved of him "boosting" a friend of his by playing on her account, saying that maybe she should learn to get better as Mercy rather than have him play his mains on her account and drag her into rankings that are not suitable. This is why we have a broken system to begin with.

I'm a Mercy mainer. Placed platinum. Got up to 2672 after. Dropped to 2300. Got back to 2500. So I've been in the platinum range, TWICE. It's possible to get there. Meanwhile she's been in gold and I can tell you from experience, she's not good. She has no sense of danger nor situational awareness which is CRITICAL as Mercy as she has virtually no kit. The irony is even SHE, the player, admitted she falls short and I gave her pointers for areas of improvement.

...But he goes off on me, raging, talking about how I'm trash and she's great and the system just screwed her over - etc, etc. Beating on his chest concerning his "diamond" status. Mind you this is a guy who mains McCree and Reaper so surprise surprise, my theory about big-dick DPS having too much of an advantage over healers in the system concerning solo-play seems to continue to stand on its own.

I'm done with it. It's a bad joke is all it is.

Edit: Oh and even MORE hilarious. He was trash talking my Mercy play when I had never played Mercy with him. In fact, he was accidentally bitching about HER and somehow got it confused with me even though I had been playing Lucio with them and allowing her the Mercy select. Caught him in that too and he didn't have fuck-all to say except, "DELETED!"

There's your community Overwatch. So grand. Them diamonds. Upstanding players all.

[Orby]

This game has gotten so frustrating now that I have returned to Hearthstone... RNG is less stressful that Overwatch, at least with RNG there's an aspect of fun and I can play ladder without someone bitching and moaning like they are some expert pro player. The last time I got this frustrated with a game was the TMNT game on the NES,(yes, THAT game)

I feel satisfied even when I lose, more so in Hearthstone, Overwatch has gotten to the point of; Do I really wanna have to deal with one more immature little turd ruining my fun with their lack of good sportsman ship and harassment, or should I accept Overwatch's play-base has the IQ of 30.

I dunno maybe I feel I am too old for this games demographic or I think Overwatch was meant to be played with friends, and since I have no friends who have Overwatch this game is failing to be seen as my sort of game, respect those those that enjoy the game, I wish I had your zeal!

Kinda thankful that Overwatch isnt a single player game that way I can still enjoy the lore from afar at least

[Endus]

TBH, abusive little shits is why there's a "harassment" option in the Report section. People need to start using that.

[Rudol Von Stroheim]

TBH, abusive little shits is why there's a "harassment" option in the Report section. People need to start using that.

I think the idea is that by the time we're done reporting and blocking these people, it'll feel like a ghost town. XD

Mind you in the case of the asshole I was dealing with, he left mid-competitive match last we played and I shrugged it off; though, he felt no remorse for it later when I brought it up. That being despite the left me and his friend to fend for ourselves for the rest of that game.

I just don't get people. Many of them IMHO simply don't belong gaming in a lot of cases firstly and I think that's why it's gone so downhill over the years. I remember when we were all fairly pleasant, fun-loving goofballs by and large. Now it's a bunch of edgelords and big-dicks who won't even allow a female player to earn her own way -- because hey, they're just that cool.

It's the new-age audience that developers seem to be trying to draw in and it's no better than the schoolyard jackasses that went around beating their chests and walking tall over absolutely nothing.

[Endus]

I think the idea is that by the time we're done reporting and blocking these people, it'll feel like a ghost town. XD

TBH, I can't agree. Yes, they occasionally crop up, but it's only once ever 5 games for me, maybe, if we're talking actually abusive/nasty.

I just don't get people. Many of them IMHO simply don't belong gaming in a lot of cases firstly and I think that's why it's gone so downhill over the years. I remember when we were all fairly pleasant, fun-loving goofballs by and large. Now it's a bunch of edgelords and big-dicks who won't even allow a female player to earn her own way -- because hey, they're just that cool.

I'm also of the opinion that we don't change that by quitting. That just lets the edgelords run the show.

[Rudol Von Stroheim]

TBH, I can't agree. Yes, they occasionally crop up, but it's only once ever 5 games for me, maybe, if we're talking actually abusive/nasty.



I'm also of the opinion that we don't change that by quitting. That just lets the edgelords run the show.

Well, I'm quitting the game because Blizzard won't stop catering towards these people and their mentalities.

I went to playing Paladins anyway. I find it more enjoyable and I can actually crank up the tunes where as in Overwatch I need to be able to listen to every sound around me, to the point I play with no music - even in-game. Because the game is insta-gib layered atop insta-gib(for those big-dick kids that gotta keel) and one screw up is death, even against lousy players.

[Kelimbror]

At first I was like...why does this guy keep mentioning he's playing WoW instead of Overwatch. And then I googled Paladins. Lolololol. Sorry, I mean if it's fun then ok...but damn. It's so shameless.

[Rudol Von Stroheim]

At first I was like...why does this guy keep mentioning he's playing WoW instead of Overwatch. And then I googled Paladins. Lolololol. Sorry, I mean if it's fun then ok...but damn. It's so shameless.

Eh, a lot of Blizzard's games are shameless too. Fucking Legion feels like it was practically ripped out of GW2's textbook and then given the ole Blizzard treatment. They'll even admit, readily, that their skill is in taking existing products and concepts and making it their own.

[Kelimbror]

Eh, a lot of Blizzard's games are shameless too. Fucking Legion feels like it was practically ripped out of GW2's textbook and then given the ole Blizzard treatment. They'll even admit, readily, that their skill is in taking existing products and concepts and making it their own.

As an avid player of GW2, even HoT, I don't agree with the comparison at all. That being said, they have long taken singular ideas from all the games...the difference is they usually polish the idea to magical precision to where it improves the concept. This is not that, but like I said if it's fun then why not, right?

I tried to get into Smite, but never could...even free on PS4.

[Rudol Von Stroheim]

As an avid player of GW2, even HoT, I don't agree with the comparison at all. That being said, they have long taken singular ideas from all the games...the difference is they usually polish the idea to magical precision to where it improves the concept. This is not that, but like I said if it's fun then why not, right?

I tried to get into Smite, but never could...even free on PS4.

To me world quests are something borrowed heavily from GW2 and are the fulcrum of Legion's end-game design. The scaling leveling system. The mythic dungeons make me think of fractals. So on and so forth. Yeah, they're different - enough so. That being said, Blizzard doesn't really do anything original. Even the artifacts I could argue were likely inspired by FFXIV.

- - - Updated - - -

As an avid player of GW2, even HoT, I don't agree with the comparison at all. That being said, they have long taken singular ideas from all the games...the difference is they usually polish the idea to magical precision to where it improves the concept. This is not that, but like I said if it's fun then why not, right?

I tried to get into Smite, but never could...even free on PS4.

Honestly, having played Paladins, they're quite different. On the surface some of the concepts look laughably similar but Paladins arguably has a lot more depth in their character kits. There is also customized card decks that allow you to tailor heroes more to your suiting and in-game there are purchasable buffs to help you counter X or Y - as you cannot change heroes once locked in.

The biggest draw for me though... is hitboxes by and large feel appropriate and I don't feel there is an air of mystery to where my shots land. There's a reason in Overwatch I can't get into damage heroes and it's because the targeting/aiming of attacks feels completely off. Similarly I couldn't get into CS:GO because Valve thought it'd be funny to intentionally fuck with the gun-play from Source(which I was a monster at) and turn it into a crapshoot. I'm an old school Quake, Unreal Tournament, CS:S, and so on FPS'er.

So if I feel something isn't jiving with underlying mechanics for a shooter, I probably am feeling that way for a reason.

I went from noting that like 70% of my shots with Hanzo were potentially pure luck to playing Cassie who I felt alternatively with; that I earned my hits or my misses. Now I'm not saying that people can't get good at aiming/shooting in Overwatch - obviously they can. It just doesn't compute with me. This is coming from someone who has a much higher expectation for their shooters.

[Pendulous]

I've realized why I keep playing this game. I'll watch Overwatch montages of sweet honzo killstreaks or mccree killstreaks and i'll go yeah I can do that. Get motivated to play, lose some, win some, quit for the day. Watch new videos the next day and boom the cycle repeats.

This is basically me. Though the one cool Play of the Game I linked in R/Overwatch got downvoted because reasons.

[ati87]

A small adjustment to the rankings could be to still gain points (maybe not as much) even if you lose.

This won't fix situations where it feels like your team is dropping dead the moment they spawn and you end up not having a large impact because of that either.

But this will fix situations where you do make a large impact and still lose in the end. From personal experience I had matches where my self-destruct killed 4 or so people resulting us either breaking threw a choke point or holding the objective.

Another situation which sometimes shows up is me not actually dying that often (once or twice maybe) during defensive but the other side just walks without opposition to the end goal (sometimes happens other way around as well).

Overall the system is fine but a little tweaking that allows you do gain points while losing may make things a bit more enjoyable even when you lose. Having said this, their should be a strict rules on how you should get points anwyay even when you win, sometimes I see people bragging about their ''golden'' medals while totally ignoring the objectives so their overall contribution is limited at best.

[Sky High]

playing McCree as a defender on Durado is so satisfying. can't tell ya how many PoTG I get just waiting for the enemy team to get past the first check point only to pop a deadeye on em. quad kills AD all daaaaay.