Like some other aggressive sport, the meta for Blizzard’s hero shooter Overwatch 2 is continually in flux. Generally a brand new hero like Mauga dominates once they debut and must be reined in with some debuffs and tweaks. Different instances a collection of modifications ship characters skyrocketing to the highest of tier lists. That’s what’s taking place proper now with Pharah, the flight-based, rocket-launching, Mercy-lovin’ lesbian hero who debuted again in 2016 however has discovered newfound dominance following her rework and a few overarching modifications. Whereas this flip of occasions may sound like a web good for the character, it’s bought Overwatch 2 gamers hating Pharah like they’re Kendrick Lamar and she or he’s Drake.
So why has Pharah change into such a nuisance to the typical Overwatch 2 participant? It began in February when she obtained a rework that professional gamers initially thought may lower off a few of her most distinguished hero combos just like the basic Pharah/Mercy duo because of her elevated horizontal mobility. However Pharah nonetheless rains down rockets on enemy groups because of her improved motion choices, and the assist hero nonetheless follows her round and boosts her injury with relative ease. Even and not using a Mercy, she will be able to safe loads of kills along with her rocket launcher alone, so with none of these drawbacks, Pharah’s change into so “oppressive” that it’s made Overwatch 2 boring to play in some gamers’ eyes.
That’s the broad strokes for the typical participant, however Pharah’s dominance additionally comes as a part of some technical trivialities in season 10’s mid-season patch. This replace reverted armor ( a well being sort some heroes like Orisa and Brigitte have) to its unique performance, which incorporates injury discount in opposition to most projectiles. This was on prime of her not being affected by tank buffs that cut back headshot injury, as her rocket launcher doesn’t want a exact shot to the skull to get most injury. Pharah is simply one of the dependable DPS heroes by way of output and harder to counter because of her elevated mobility.
“I didn’t dread seeing a Pharah earlier than, now I do,” Koboldoggo4895 wrote on the Blizzard boards. “Now once I see a Pharah I do know it’s going to be an especially unfun match. I actually don’t know why they buffed her. I don’t understand how she performs in greater elos, and I don’t actually care as a result of I don’t play there and primarily do QP, however she is a demonic entity right here and I can’t stand her.”
My kneejerk response to seeing an enemy Pharah is similar as most gamers’: decide a hitscan hero and shoot her out of the sky. However Overwatch 2 followers are by no means thrilled about being compelled to play particular heroes simply to deal with the meta of the month. Some argue that even with counter picks like Soldier: 76 or Cassidy, the game-wide buffs Blizzard has carried out have made Pharah tougher to handle.
“I feel the largest change individuals are forgetting is the well being buffs,” shape2k wrote on Reddit. “Well being went up, injury didn’t. As a Cass primary, it was all the time extremely simple to hit a Pharah within the sky, and projectile sizes didn’t actually make it any simpler. However, it’s considerably tougher to complete her off because of the bigger well being she has.”
Followers felt vindicated after Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller posted a Director’s Take weblog that included win charges for some heroes, placing Pharah on the prime of the record for all characters at58%. What stays to be seen is that if Pharah will get nerfed, or if she’s going to proceed to rain justice upon her enemies for an additional season. Overwatch 2’s eleventh season started final month, which suggests a mid-season patch is more than likely just a few weeks away. Little question some followers will probably be scrolling right down to the Harm hero part and on the lookout for Pharah’s title.