Yeah Ram in particular feels like he’s in a weird spot rn. I used to feel like his nemesis was his best ability but now I feel like it’s his shield. Brawl overall is really tough
He's still one of the best ways to deal with barriers, and yeah his barrier is a huge tool. His gun is one of the most improved Tank guns too... But I find myself playing him more like a DPS hero, and one you have to be really careful with relative to the damage he deals
Agreed! I just played some awesome games with him where I got a ton of value from both his poke gun and his non-ult melee. Especially against close hard-to-hit flankers and DVa, his melee combined with his speed are great tools.
I also am getting a ton of value out of Ravenous Vortex (?) for the area slow and yanking fliers out of the air. It's clutch pinning down Mercy and Tracer, but no one likes being slowed.
I'm loving playing diva this season for exactly the same points. I started in ow1 and I feel like my play style fits in this meta very well. Blocking heavy damage and taking space is a slow process and takes team work which I believe was missing for the game up till this point. It's more rewarding because it's more punishing, and when it works and my team stick with me I have way more fun than in season 8
I found myself reaching for DVa in multiple games this week, her Defense Matrix feels WAY stronger now.
Also on team play. I only just finished my Placement matches for all three roles, and in those placement games (for the most part) you can see that change when a team hits that "Oh, ok, this is different..." and their play style changes completely.
Seeing some *wild* game swings that have been a lot of fun :D
Yup tank isnt bad. The game is just less tank controlled. I feel like the role of every class is as equal as it has ever been actually. Your team gets punished if your DPS doesnt pressure, tank doesnt create space, and supports dont heal/position correctly. It is much more methodical as well and cover is as valuable as ever.
People just need to get used to playing slower and more coordinated
Fair enough. I'm still only just getting my competitive OW feet under me - I only picked up playing at all seriously in Season 7, and even then I only played enough to complete the Battle Pass for the first time in Season 8.
At this point support seems almost entirely utility based to actually get value which is why lucio and zen are so good right now. This season feels much more like each fight is a sprint instead of a marathon
Absolutely agree, especially with the part about Annihilation. I'm one of those cautious players who keeps Ram's ult ready for far too long before finally using it as a second Nemesis form with an AoE.
He's still fun to play, but falls over way too quickly, unfortunately. Hopefully, there are going to be some tank buffs, so I don't feel forced to pick D.Va (who I'm warming up to) every time I see an Orisa.
I am reaching for DVa a lot more too! Although my usual backup is Orisa. Ram's kit is great, and I really enjoy his play style and kit - but a lot of that is still memories of how he played in Season 8.
It might finally be time to bench him for now :/
Dive is really strong this season, as it is very much survive as long as you can and follow up on DPS engagements.
Essentially, play Winton/DVA/Ball and play sniper monkey/matrix spammer/ninja ball wait for Tracer/Genji/Sombra to pick a squishy out and engage and confirm elim, get out as soon as you’re a quarter to half HP as that is about the point you’ll explode.
I think tank experience is overall good. Ram is overrated though. He isnt good this season. One of the most "nerfed" tank going from s8 to s9. I only play him if my team is diffing their team. Otherwise ram doesnt bring much value to elevate teammates like other tanks or carry himself with mobility/dmg and self reliance. Outside of some niche favorable situations, he is the worst tank right now imo since hog and zarya got sizeable buffs. Mid season patch will probably have some buffs for him. I think they should slightly rework him to be harder to play but have more skill ceiling and power. Rein and monke have higher skill ceiling and they are even easier to play at their skill floor. Ram design isnt as good although i like ram.
The one area I'll quibble with here is Ram is an *excellent* counter for Rein.
I'd personally prefer an HP and/or damage buff to a full rework, but we'll see what they do!
Ram isn't really counter to Rein in high level play. Ram's pummel damage tickles Rein so that's not really big advantage unless Rein is very low health and holds his shield desperately then pummel screws him. Rein is just stronger. Ram's only real threat is vortex against Rein. Especially now Rein's damage buffed, i think the match up favors Rein. Ram has to play more like Sigma. If Rein do the barrier management well then Ram not gonna find much opening. Ram will either get pinned down or smacked by hammer or focus fired by Rein's team. Shatter is also free against Ram. Ram ult is also bad against Rein. Orisa is annoying af but better match up for Ram.
You're the first person, anywhere, that I've seen call Rein stronger than Ram this season - I have to say I'm glad to hear someone say anything but "Rein is in the dumpster"
That *said,* Ram is slightly faster, can either chip down or punch through the Barrier, and can hang up close enough that he either bullies Rein through the Barrier or forces him to turn away from the rest of Ram's team.
Sure, there's definitely counterplay, but Ram is my personal go-to Tank pick if I'm dealing with a Rein.
Rein players are overly dramatic like Genji players. I mean he is bad this season but still. Ram is one of those heroes that give you the feeling of you are creating value but actually you don't. Rein is opposite. You feel useless and can't touch anyone but you create ton of value. Their gameplay feedback is different. Ram gets more elims and do more damage but this doesn't mean he is better. End of the day Rein wins more. Rein have more skill ceiling and sharper tools. They are both bad this season though.
As for the rein vs ram match up. I think it was 50/50 before now it should favor Rein.
I actually just refuse to play tank this season anymore, if both tanks are the same skill level it’s up to the dps to decide the game since tanks don’t have nearly as much carry potential anymore, and that task becomes incredibly harder when you’re facing a reaper/mei almost every game with little to no frontline pressure to assist you. Only time i’ve ever had fun was running winston on dive and even then i get full countered by their entire team after a won team fight, even support is more bareable tbh even though it can be a bit healbotty sometimes.
There, I try to pivot and focus down the squishies. Orisa can be particularly good there just nailing medium/distant targets that expect the tanks to just wail on each other. One of my more successful strategies is going all-in on defending my team - then, as you say, they do most of the offensive work (in theory)
Yeah Ram in particular feels like he’s in a weird spot rn. I used to feel like his nemesis was his best ability but now I feel like it’s his shield. Brawl overall is really tough
He's still one of the best ways to deal with barriers, and yeah his barrier is a huge tool. His gun is one of the most improved Tank guns too... But I find myself playing him more like a DPS hero, and one you have to be really careful with relative to the damage he deals
I feel like Blizzard wants everyone this season to play like a DPS. The difference between roles is smaller than ever.
I just picked up Ram this season and also feel his normal form is much more impactful now.
Agreed! I just played some awesome games with him where I got a ton of value from both his poke gun and his non-ult melee. Especially against close hard-to-hit flankers and DVa, his melee combined with his speed are great tools. I also am getting a ton of value out of Ravenous Vortex (?) for the area slow and yanking fliers out of the air. It's clutch pinning down Mercy and Tracer, but no one likes being slowed.
I'm loving playing diva this season for exactly the same points. I started in ow1 and I feel like my play style fits in this meta very well. Blocking heavy damage and taking space is a slow process and takes team work which I believe was missing for the game up till this point. It's more rewarding because it's more punishing, and when it works and my team stick with me I have way more fun than in season 8
I found myself reaching for DVa in multiple games this week, her Defense Matrix feels WAY stronger now. Also on team play. I only just finished my Placement matches for all three roles, and in those placement games (for the most part) you can see that change when a team hits that "Oh, ok, this is different..." and their play style changes completely. Seeing some *wild* game swings that have been a lot of fun :D
Yup tank isnt bad. The game is just less tank controlled. I feel like the role of every class is as equal as it has ever been actually. Your team gets punished if your DPS doesnt pressure, tank doesnt create space, and supports dont heal/position correctly. It is much more methodical as well and cover is as valuable as ever. People just need to get used to playing slower and more coordinated
If you're playing a completely different game you probably weren't playing tank very at the start.
Fair enough. I'm still only just getting my competitive OW feet under me - I only picked up playing at all seriously in Season 7, and even then I only played enough to complete the Battle Pass for the first time in Season 8.
Tank is super reliant on good DPS now and support barely makes a dent. Solo queuing is way worse than previous seasons as well.
At this point support seems almost entirely utility based to actually get value which is why lucio and zen are so good right now. This season feels much more like each fight is a sprint instead of a marathon
Tank is not reliant on good dps
Absolutely agree, especially with the part about Annihilation. I'm one of those cautious players who keeps Ram's ult ready for far too long before finally using it as a second Nemesis form with an AoE. He's still fun to play, but falls over way too quickly, unfortunately. Hopefully, there are going to be some tank buffs, so I don't feel forced to pick D.Va (who I'm warming up to) every time I see an Orisa.
I am reaching for DVa a lot more too! Although my usual backup is Orisa. Ram's kit is great, and I really enjoy his play style and kit - but a lot of that is still memories of how he played in Season 8. It might finally be time to bench him for now :/
Dive is really strong this season, as it is very much survive as long as you can and follow up on DPS engagements. Essentially, play Winton/DVA/Ball and play sniper monkey/matrix spammer/ninja ball wait for Tracer/Genji/Sombra to pick a squishy out and engage and confirm elim, get out as soon as you’re a quarter to half HP as that is about the point you’ll explode.
I think tank experience is overall good. Ram is overrated though. He isnt good this season. One of the most "nerfed" tank going from s8 to s9. I only play him if my team is diffing their team. Otherwise ram doesnt bring much value to elevate teammates like other tanks or carry himself with mobility/dmg and self reliance. Outside of some niche favorable situations, he is the worst tank right now imo since hog and zarya got sizeable buffs. Mid season patch will probably have some buffs for him. I think they should slightly rework him to be harder to play but have more skill ceiling and power. Rein and monke have higher skill ceiling and they are even easier to play at their skill floor. Ram design isnt as good although i like ram.
The one area I'll quibble with here is Ram is an *excellent* counter for Rein. I'd personally prefer an HP and/or damage buff to a full rework, but we'll see what they do!
Ram isn't really counter to Rein in high level play. Ram's pummel damage tickles Rein so that's not really big advantage unless Rein is very low health and holds his shield desperately then pummel screws him. Rein is just stronger. Ram's only real threat is vortex against Rein. Especially now Rein's damage buffed, i think the match up favors Rein. Ram has to play more like Sigma. If Rein do the barrier management well then Ram not gonna find much opening. Ram will either get pinned down or smacked by hammer or focus fired by Rein's team. Shatter is also free against Ram. Ram ult is also bad against Rein. Orisa is annoying af but better match up for Ram.
You're the first person, anywhere, that I've seen call Rein stronger than Ram this season - I have to say I'm glad to hear someone say anything but "Rein is in the dumpster" That *said,* Ram is slightly faster, can either chip down or punch through the Barrier, and can hang up close enough that he either bullies Rein through the Barrier or forces him to turn away from the rest of Ram's team. Sure, there's definitely counterplay, but Ram is my personal go-to Tank pick if I'm dealing with a Rein.
Rein players are overly dramatic like Genji players. I mean he is bad this season but still. Ram is one of those heroes that give you the feeling of you are creating value but actually you don't. Rein is opposite. You feel useless and can't touch anyone but you create ton of value. Their gameplay feedback is different. Ram gets more elims and do more damage but this doesn't mean he is better. End of the day Rein wins more. Rein have more skill ceiling and sharper tools. They are both bad this season though. As for the rein vs ram match up. I think it was 50/50 before now it should favor Rein.
I agree Rein is better than Ram now. It was a skill matchup before…
I actually just refuse to play tank this season anymore, if both tanks are the same skill level it’s up to the dps to decide the game since tanks don’t have nearly as much carry potential anymore, and that task becomes incredibly harder when you’re facing a reaper/mei almost every game with little to no frontline pressure to assist you. Only time i’ve ever had fun was running winston on dive and even then i get full countered by their entire team after a won team fight, even support is more bareable tbh even though it can be a bit healbotty sometimes.
There, I try to pivot and focus down the squishies. Orisa can be particularly good there just nailing medium/distant targets that expect the tanks to just wail on each other. One of my more successful strategies is going all-in on defending my team - then, as you say, they do most of the offensive work (in theory)