So how are your games going lately? [megathread]

[DeadmanWalking]

Yup kids summer break has started, you can tell from the annoying childish chat in game.

Summer vacation started 2 months ago in the Southern states. Pools warm up faster than in the north. My kid goes back to school in 3 weeks, maybe 4.

[Endus]

On other notes, I think the biggest single issue in the game right now is people throwing matches in Comp. Whether it's because they're trolling, or because they want to drop their rating so they can stomp noobs, it needs to be harshly penalized.

And I don't think they need to/should wait for people to report it. You can see a significant drop in rating, and you should be able to check their performance levels fairly easily, potentially easily enough that you could automate this. It shouldn't be difficult to establish the difference between a player doing their best and losing 10 matches in a row, and one who's deliberately throwing those matches.

And once they can figure that stuff out, it needs to be punished, harshly. Like "Competitive season ban for first offense" harshly. And "MAC ban for Competitive on your Battle.net account" harsh for a second offense. You don't need to make the rating drop minor; a drop of 500 points is the kind of trigger point that I'd argue should provoke an automatic review.

[Fluffyfluff]

See that there is exactly why you should not even be playing the competitive mode. You're clearly not playing the game competitively.

How is being indifferent to win/lose not being competitive I try to get as many kills as I can as its you know fun. The act of trying to win with a hero you don't personally like is not "throwing" and cant be reported. Rules are there to be read and understood please do this thanks

- - - Updated - - -

On other notes, I think the biggest single issue in the game right now is people throwing matches in Comp. Whether it's because they're trolling, or because they want to drop their rating so they can stomp noobs, it needs to be harshly penalized.

And I don't think they need to/should wait for people to report it. You can see a significant drop in rating, and you should be able to check their performance levels fairly easily, potentially easily enough that you could automate this. It shouldn't be difficult to establish the difference between a player doing their best and losing 10 matches in a row, and one who's deliberately throwing those matches.

And once they can figure that stuff out, it needs to be punished, harshly. Like "Competitive season ban for first offense" harshly. And "MAC ban for Competitive on your Battle.net account" harsh for a second offense. You don't need to make the rating drop minor; a drop of 500 points is the kind of trigger point that I'd argue should provoke an automatic review.

How do you determine who is "throwing" a match and someone who tried his best and just had a bad game? How would blizzard determine this they cant have GMs sitting in every match watching. You should be realistic when you enter Comp you are playing with random pple with random skill

[Orby]

Summer vacation started 2 months ago in the Southern states. Pools warm up faster than in the north. My kid goes back to school in 3 weeks, maybe 4.

ahh I'm from the UK. Our kids summer breaks here are from late July to early September :P

[rarhyx]

is it me or is doomfist a bit squishy? also noticed how sombra is deadly af for DF

[Endus]

How do you determine who is "throwing" a match and someone who tried his best and just had a bad game? How would blizzard determine this they cant have GMs sitting in every match watching. You should be realistic when you enter Comp you are playing with random pple with random skill

They already evaluate your skill level. It's a simple measure of noting when your play drops in quality. If you were playing at a 3k skill level and wanted to drop to Bronze, you'd suddenly start playing well below your earlier performance, and that could easily be flagged automatically.

[Deleted]

I quit last week. I really can't stand getting rekt by fucking Genji every god damn match no matter what I play. ENOUGH!

[Eapoe]

I quit last week. I really can't stand getting rekt by fucking Genji every god damn match no matter what I play. ENOUGH!

There's great counter to Genji, such as Pharah, Winston, Mei, Zarya, and a decent Hog. Genji is a lot like Pharah though, even though they work as counters, you still need to play well to do it and work as a team at times. Had one game as Winston against a Genji, I never was able to kill the fucker, but I was able to chase him off and not be so bold about attacking. I also love Winston against Mei players, knocking her health down, placing a bubble and running in and out of it to avoid the freeze and jumping away if necessary. Sometimes countering another player doesn't mean getting the kill on them, as just being able to shake their confidence a bit is enough to turn team fights around.
The hard part is getting people to swap for them and know what they are doing. I was in a game where we were going against a Winston who kept divebombing our heals. Team member finally swapped to Reaper after being asked a few times and was suggested to stay back near the healers to keep winston at bay. Reaper ignored that and kept unsuccessfully trying to flank the enemy team. Later game, same thing kept happening, team member swapped to Reaper, team member asked him to stay close to heals and he did, taking Winston's dive bombing out of the game. Heals managed to live without having to run like crazy and helped us win the next 2 rounds. Overall, we lost in the 5th round of KotH, but the game was very close and none of us were that upset about losing. Lot of that had to deal with us playing as a team and swapping characters as necessary.
Jump forward to today, in a game with a player we were convinced was throwing the game (picked Torb, never swapped even though he was hard countered, never placed a turret after the first one, and charged into the enemy team ahead of our tanks). One of our team members got triggered and started playing like crap, doing whatever he wanted to do, which caused a spiral to the rest of our team.
Point is, it's a team game, and even though you might be upset about a loss, the effect is not as impactful as when you are playing with people who play selfishly. After all, who goes into a baseball game and does nothing but bunt just because they like to bunt more than swing away.

[Museigen]

...After all, who goes into a baseball game and does nothing but bunt just because they like to bunt more than swing away.

Nobody does that because they would be there in person. However on the internet many do it, happily. Enough that it's a damn good start if you actually walk out the door with a 2/2/2 comp. Granted I generally do get two supports and people fighting over lucio/mercy but I'm solo tank very, very often. Very rarely is it a 76/tracer/genji coordinated dive team that I can winston with. Usually something like McCree, hanzo and then genji. So basically I'm a rein main.

[DeadmanWalking]

is it me or is doomfist a bit squishy? also noticed how sombra is deadly af for DF

Doomfist has been nerfed badly, his escape went from op to shit.

- - - Updated - - -

Nobody does that because they would be there in person. However on the internet many do it, happily. Enough that it's a damn good start if you actually walk out the door with a 2/2/2 comp. Granted I generally do get two supports and people fighting over lucio/mercy but I'm solo tank very, very often. Very rarely is it a 76/tracer/genji coordinated dive team that I can winston with. Usually something like McCree, hanzo and then genji. So basically I'm a rein main.

There are players who only bunt because they are fast runners and can get to first base before the ball can get thrown there. Then they spend the game stealing bases, again because they are fast enough to beat the ball there. If they tried to hit normal or go for a home run there is a good chance someone will catch it regardless how fast they got on base. So yeah the always bunting is a strategy that people do.

[Chrysia]

Why are you assuming that's what I should play comp for. It's very simple in my free time I can choose to play whatever I like the minute someone asks me to change my time is not free and may aswell be back at work.

Because competitive isn't just about you. It's about your team. If you aren't playing your best heroes in comp, you're sacrificing the enjoyment of others for your own, and their standing in the season.

[mikeezy]

They already evaluate your skill level. It's a simple measure of noting when your play drops in quality. If you were playing at a 3k skill level and wanted to drop to Bronze, you'd suddenly start playing well below your earlier performance, and that could easily be flagged automatically.

And what of the people who just have a string of poor performing games? Or what about when you're team is just getting stomped in so badly, that it's hard to manage to do anything? Good luck with your system, because it will wrongfully punishing a lot people who don't deserve it.

[DeadmanWalking]

I scored a headshot with widowmaker, felt accomplished and then got killed by a reaper who teleported behind me. Now I remember why I don't play Widowmaker, awareness isn't my strong suit.

THats why you put a gas mine behind you, early warning system. The good news is on the ptr reapers teleport is quieter now.

[Fluffyfluff]

Because competitive isn't just about you. It's about your team. If you aren't playing your best heroes in comp, you're sacrificing the enjoyment of others for your own, and their standing in the season.

No no you are completely wrong. There is no team in comp its an illusion pple just play what they feel like at the time and there is nothing you can do to control how one plays all you can do is the play your character and hope for the best. Secondly why should I care about the sr of a another stranger on the internet that I will likely never meet again. My enjoyment will always trumps that of anyone else.

[Endus]

And what of the people who just have a string of poor performing games? Or what about when you're team is just getting stomped in so badly, that it's hard to manage to do anything? Good luck with your system, because it will wrongfully punishing a lot people who don't deserve it.

I literally just explained that. If you suddenly shift from performing at a 3k level to performing at a 500 level, you're throwing. That's not "just a bad match".

[Fluffyfluff]

I literally just explained that. If you suddenly shift from performing at a 3k level to performing at a 500 level, you're throwing. That's not "just a bad match".

Whats the difference between a 3k level and a 500 level, do you really think blizzard would care enough to police this?

[Jessicka]

Because competitive isn't just about you. It's about your team. If you aren't playing your best heroes in comp, you're sacrificing the enjoyment of others for your own, and their standing in the season.

I had a Widow main on my team, I played around her, protected her, we won the match and I actually enjoyed the slightly different approach; they switched to 76 for the last push because they realised we needed something different. It's up there as one of the better games I've played because everyone could see it was working and turned really positive about it.

People are very quick to attack these players as 'none team players', but by expecting them to switch to a 'more meta' hero, and taking a view that you have more 'right' to sticking by your pick because yours is 'more meta' is every bit as negative. I've done the same when we had a Bastion one-trick, but rather than hassle them, I figured how I could help make it work; it's one of the few times I played Orisa on attack; and it was absolutely bloody devastating.

I think a lot of people forget their opponents probably aren't that good, and as well won't be expecting to have to deal with 'different' and very often won't even know how and that it'll probably be too late for them once they do figure something out.

- - - Updated - - -

Whats the difference between a 3k level and a 500 level, do you really think blizzard would care enough to police this?

You can't lose 1500 SR, never mind 2500SR by accident. It's something that actually requires a concerted effort - often with help from others - to actually achieve.

[A-sayo]

McCree was buffed, his stun grenade leaves a slow after the stun and Zarya grab bomb can't be escaped anymore by movement enhancing abilities.

Time to fear Zarya even more now when playing Mercy. >_< Do you know how slowed the target is after being flashbanged ?

[Very Tired]

Wow... huge buff coming to Zarya's ult in the PTR, making it disable movement abilities like Junkrat's trap. You are now going to be even more screwed when you get caught in it and Doomfist starts his ult.

[DeadmanWalking]

Time to fear Zarya even more now when playing Mercy. >_< Do you know how slowed the target is after being flashbanged ?

It isn't long but it basically extends the effect of the stun as you won't be dodging after the stun. You can blink or ice block to survive but McCree should be able to put down anyone who doesn't have an escape short of tanks.

Still in shock that there is someone here who wants to talk about the game rather than just telling people what mode they are allowed to play in or to bitch and whine about other players behavior.