Ep 45: Turn Down The Fan [Overwatch]

Before I go off on a little rant that I’m sure no one will like or agree with, I do want to say that this was a fun comic to draw! It was a blast to be able to draw in so many characters. Plus, robot hand. ROBOT HAND.

Now.

I know I’m going against the what seems to be the prevailing Internet thought here, but GODDAMN was that McCree nerf brutal. It pretty much completely changed how the character can be played, and destroyed his utility overall. No more playing him as an attack flanker, just can’t be done. He doesn’t have the movement abilities of the other attack classes, so if he runs into a tank / sentry, that’s just it. He’s straight fucked, with no options to protect himself.

I’ve read many people (goddamn I spend too much time on Reddit) saying that McCree was just E + Right Click to win pre-nerf, but that always struck me as the words of someone that didn’t play him, was frequently killed by him, and didn’t know his many weaknesses. Without the movement abilities that everyone else on attack had, he really needed to have stronger attack output to be viable. Sneaking up on enemies had a big payoff, because he’s one of the hardest classes to actually sneak up with.

So, the McCree game has changed from sneaking up sidelines and taking out a team from behind to hiding behind a tank and taking pot shots. The skill floor may have been raised slightly (it’s really not hard to push left-click with a hitscan gun into a crowd from behind a Reinhardt), but the ceiling has been dropped to the floor. He’s now a mid range sniper. In a game that already has a mid range sniper that’s preeeeetty much better than him in every way.

Now, I’m not saying McCree couldn’t have used a nerf. While I do believe he should be able to take out a tank one on one, it was probably too easy previously. I just wish they lowered the damage slightly, so he could take them all down, but only if he landed all his fan shots. And they should really have focused the nerf on the aspect of McCree that everybody actually hates: The Flashbang. Cut down the AOE on that, or make sure it only works if you are facing it, or add a bigger cooldown. That’d keep my favorite high risk / high reward playstyle in the game while just amping up the risk. Buuuut, whatever. Slash damage in half and completely change how he’s played, I guess.

RIP McCree. At least, someone will miss you.