One of the most annoying things in Overwatch is having to walk all the way from the second defending spawn in Numbani just after the Payload gets captured, but what if there was a better way?
That’s exactly what Overwatch tinkerer Owlero tried to figure out as they came up with an interesting idea for a brand new second-point spawn room on Numbani that would cut a bit of time off the walk.
Currently, the walk from the final Numbani defending spawn to the first point takes about 36 seconds, according to the video. Of course on payload maps, the spawn advantage does gradually go to defenders as it approaches the end.
Owlero’s proposition is to put a new spawn off of the room with the large health pack just on the defender’s side of the arch.
This would cut 12 seconds off of the time it takes to reach the first point from spawn, during the second stage of the defense at least.
Currently, Numbani and King’s Row are the only two Hybrid Escort maps that have only two spawns for defenders, while Hollywood, Eichenwalde, and Blizzard World, on the other hand, all have one for each stage of the map.
While Owlero’s idea has proven popular on Reddit, some players wonder whether or not this would “fix” Numbani, or give defenders too much of an advantage.
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“The map spawn routes are a vital part of game balance, and the time each route takes is calculated with a purpose in mind.” A user in the comments said. ” You’re essentially asking for a Numbani rebalance in favor of the defending team.”
If the spawn were placed off of the room as Owlero suggested, it would make capturing the checkpoint at the end of the second stage into a whole new ballgame, since defenders would basically be spawning right next to the point.
While it does seem like the new spawn position would give defenders the advantage, it would still be interesting to see it at least tested out in Overwatch with real players.
Luckily, there are ways for that to be done. One would be the new Experimental Mode, but that would require developers to also want to try out a new Numbani spawn and add it to the game.
The other option would be for a player to make a Numbanni Workshop mode that has three defending spawns instead of two, but players wouldn’t be able to make a brand new room like Owlero is proposing in that case.
Numbani was one of the original Overwatch maps in the game and it’s always had just two checkpoints, so while changing it to three might be an interesting idea, developers may have a good reason for keeping it the way it is.