Overwatch Character Guide: Tracer Roadhog Junkrat

My single biggest complaint when it comes to Battleborn is how annoying all of its characters are to me. Now, this is about as subjective as it gets, and I've had discussions with players that find every inch of its universe charming as can be. To me, it often feels like Gearbox is trying way too hard to be funny, which results in Battleborn's characters all seeming like that annoying guy at your office who thinks he's a stand-up comedian. The fact that the While Overwatch doesn't have a core campaign, there is definitely a fair amount of lore to be discovered by sheer observation, and every character manages to nail that ever so important balance between charm and obnoxiousness. It says something that there is a dedicated way to turn off Battleborn's dialogue; after all, in a game whose dialogue is exceptionally well done, shouldn't including this option not be a possibility?

Another major factor in Overwatch's superior focus is its combat readability. In other words, it's far easier to recognize what's happening on the screen at any given moment and react accordingly. It's easy to figure out what powers each hero has, how they would use them in any given situation and the potential counters to each hero's strategy. The sheer amount of lunacy on the screen at any given moment does make Battleborn exciting, but it's often extremely tough to figure out the best strategy to take in a given encounter. What makes Overwatch special is that high-level play isn't hindered by its combat readability, so both new and old players have the potential to plan out their moves in the best way possible. Battleborn, for all of its chaos and excitement, doesn't necessarily do a great job communicating with the player (this can also be seen in its awkward menu system).


Heroes Brawl, initially introduced as Arena Mode, was a Heroes of the Storm game mode introduced in 2016 that featured weekly rotating challenges with drastic changes to the game. Inspired by Hearthstone ’s Tavern Brawls, Heroes Brawls introduced unique map layouts, alternative objectives, and zany rulesets, such as an all-Nova Ghost Protocol sniper duel, action-packed Arena versions of several battlefields, and the Escape from Braxis PvE mission. Unfortunately, due to the popularity of single-lane maps, and the difficulty of maintaining the mode, Heroes Brawl was permanently replaced by ARAM – All Random, All Mid – in 2

There's a number of good explanations as to why Overwatch is such a fantastic game, but none greater than Blizzard's clear emphasis on making a shooter that feel awesome to play. Every character is immediately readable, meaning that the more that you play, the more knowledge you gain and, thus, the more your strategy evolves. Throughout my time with Overwatch, I have yet to encounter a dropped frame or a moment of lag, despite having every graphics setting maxed out and the servers existing in a beta state. Its shooting is as tight as a Call of Duty or Counter-Strike game, and the sheer number of colors on screen at any given moment finds a way to fill me with glee during even those frustrating moments when your team is getting throttled. Outside of playing Overwatch at the past two PAX Easts, it found a way to completely fly under my radar, and I couldn't feel dumber for brushing it off. At this moment, the only negative thing that I can say about it is that I do not want to spend a moment playing it on a console, as Overwatch feels far too good with a mouse and keyboard.


Now, it seems like another such update is on the way. Blizzard revealed a set of patch notes for hero balance and bug fixes that is available to play on the Heroes of the Storm PTR right now. Historically, these updates usually come between three and five weeks before they are implemented into the actual game, meaning players can expect these changes to go live in about a mo

Battleborn, for all of the chaos on screen at any given moment, suffers from some notable framerate issues on PC, even on my high-end machine. This is something that has been reported on in mass across the Battle.net Steam Integration discussion boards, and while it certainly isn't game-breaking, these dips in framerate are extremely noticable after a buttery smooth Overwatch session. Add this to the fact that the weaponry in Battleborn lacks the tactile punch of that in Overwatch, and the former starts to feel like the less polished product. Shooting in Overwatch feels tighter and more responsive than it does in Battleborn, which is kind of a shame considering that you end up firing way more bullets and projectiles in Gearbox's shooter. On top of all of this, Overwatch is the better looking game, with Battleborn sporting noticable aliasing and texture blurriness, even on completely maxed out settings.


The first Brawl Mode, the holiday-themed Snow Brawl, is currently available for testing on the Heroes of the Storm PTR . The game mode will officially come to Heroes of the Storm when the patch goes live, likely in about a month. Considering the in-game interface says the PTR version will last for three weeks, Heroes of the Storm could be planning to start Brawl Mode at the beginning of Febru