Los Angeles Gladiators DPS player Lane ‘Surefour’ Roberts gave his take on the issues with Brigitte and the related community backlash.
Brigitte has been at the center of a lot of discussion among Overwatch players recently, with many frustrated by her impact on the game. Some players – including Overwatch League pros – have even gone so far as to campaign only half-jokingly for her removal from the game.
The reason for the frustrations with Brigitte stem from a mix of the individual capabilities of her kit, and the fact that as a whole they have very little downside or counter-play. The result is a hero that is a near permanent fixture of the game, has a forgiving skill requirement to play and can leave enemies feeling powerless to out-play.
While Surefour recognizes that Brigitte might need some adjusting, during a recent stream he explained that he felt simply calling for her removal – a prospect that realistically is never going to happen – isn’t productive.
Instead, Surefour advocates more constructive feedback, and offers some of his own on the issue of Brigitte.
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Identifying her Shield Bash stun as one of the more frustrating elements of her kit specifically because of how quickly it acts, Surefour suggested that adding a short delay after using the ability – as little as 0.3 seconds even – along with a visual cue that the Shield Bash is coming would give players at least some possibility of reacting and avoiding it.
Blizzard have historically been open to community feedback, and have continuously adjusted hero strengths and weaknesses over the lifetime of the game, including some major overhauls.
They have also stated that community feedback is just one factor they take into account for such decisions, however, also looking at aspects such as play and win-rates across the entire player-base. Blizzard has yet to respond to the recent criticism of Brigitte.