The hero meta in Overwatch 2 is a neverending discussion that began with the launch of the original game in 2016 and continues to this day. There’s always something to talk about when it comes to who’s rising or falling in the game’s current state.
A new Reddit thread featuring a tier list of characters who currently need buffs or nerfs sparked some intense discussion recently, but many of the fans came to an agreement on one hero that needs some serious buffs or even a full-fledged rework.
The tier list features both Reinhardt and Wrecking Ball in the “need buffs” tier, but the main discussion in the thread was about Wrecking Ball. Overwatch players agree that the ball is in a bad spot right now, and many think that the hero needs a complete rework.
“Personally, I think he needs a rework,” said one of the top comments in the thread. “I don’t think his kit promotes teamwork especially on larger maps and without another tank to protect squishies. I’m not saying he can’t work or teamwork isn’t possible. Very often do I see balls who do not look for when their team is engaging and instead engages entirely alone and then dies due to [line of sight/burst damage/crowd control].”
Not all players think that Wrecking Ball needs to be sent back to the drawing board, however. Some find his kit unique and specific but don’t think it’s necessarily an unplayable hero.
“They should definitely NOT do this,” said one reply to a comment about a rework. “It’s fine if Ball operates differently from other tanks—his design as a whole is a huge success in delivering an enormously fun high skill ceiling character in the game. They need to lengthen the automatic detach or remove it, and give him a bigger ammo clip and he’s probably [good].”
One commenter, appropriately named HampterDumpster, had a more radical idea for the ball. And they weren’t alone. Several players believe a role-switch could help out the hamster.
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“Move him to DPS,” the comment said. “Reduce the size of the ball (make him smaller). Add damage to guns. Reduce health.”
“Overall I think he would benefit teams so much better if he was a DPS with a smaller hitbox and adjusted abilities, that way he could go off and perform semi-independently while still requiring healing because of reduced HP,” said another comment. “I’m no expert in the game but personally I don’t think he fits the tank role as is. He isn’t a bad hero, but in a game with only one tank he fails to protect his team if he isn’t with them, and if he’s with them he can’t be played to the fullest. It worked in six-vs-six with a second tank, but right now he just doesn’t fit.”
Dissenters in the comments were few and far between, but there were some who believe that Wrecking Ball is alright as is, and should not be touched.
“Don’t touch him,” said one comment. “Much like Doomfist he is a very skill dependent character that can still perform better than his position on a tier list would indicate. Ball could be meta without changes and you really don’t want a ball meta. Ball and Doomfist are two sides of the same coin, they are hell to play against.”
The debate rages on, but in the five-vs-five world of Overwatch 2, one is left to wonder where Wrecking Ball is left to stand (or roll) in the meta moving forward.
