Balancing hero power levels in a video game can be a near-impossible task, especially when there are as many characters as there are in Overwatch 2. Fans often criticize the job that Blizzard does balancing the game, but for most casual players, it’s true that you can practice any hero enough to be able to rank up to Gold or Platinum.
But one fan of Doomfist today pointed out just how off the balance of two particular weapons seem to be when viewed strictly from a lore perspective. Doomfist’s gauntlet is one of the first relic-like artifacts that Blizzard introduced fans to when the game was released with an advertisement that included members of Talon breaking into a museum to steal it.
As it stands currently, however, the powerful golden gauntlet deals less damage than the basic forge hammer Torbjörn uses to repair his turrets during battle. That’s right, Torb’s hammer has significantly higher DPS than Doomfist’s rocket-powered cybernetic arm that is about as large as Torb himself.
The meme, posted by a Reddit user this morning, points out that Doomfist’s Rocket Punch deals up to 50 impact damage but it requires a full second to charge and has a four-second cooldown. Meanwhile, Torb’s forge hammer does 55 damage and has a rate of fire that is less than a second, making its overall DPS even higher.
One balancing reason for the difference in power stems from the utility that Doomfist’s Rocket Punch provides. The impact damage isn’t the only damage that comes with the ability. It also deals 10 to 30 damage to enemies when it knocks them back into a wall. Additionally, it can stun and knock back enemies.
Another balance reason for this seemingly nonsensical game design is that Doomfist is a tank in Overwatch 2. People who have been fans of Overwatch since Doomfist was added to the game will likely remember when Doomfist was a DPS in the original iteration of the game. For some time, his Rocket Punch was a one-shot mechanic when used the right way.
While the power level of his gauntlet was more fitting from a lore perspective at the time, it drew ire from a lot of gamers who generally don’t seem to enjoy playing against one-shot mechanics.
