'Overwatch' On Consoles Vs. PC: What The Torbjorn Nerf Really Means

Yesterday, Jeff Kaplan, the Overwatch prophet, came down to spread some news to his flock on reddit . Torbjorn, the angry not-a-dwarf will be getting nerfed on Xbox One and PS4 sometime in mid to late July. The bearded scrap collector’s turret is losing 30 percent of it’s damage solely on consoles; PC will stay the same. The current console and PC versions of the game are already a little different, the McCree and Widowmaker nerfs still haven’t hit console , but will eventually.

Build Em’ Up, Break Em’ Down

Playing Overwatch on a console and on a PC are two entirely different experiences. It’s much easier to aim with a mouse than it is with a joystick on a controller. Mouses are much more fluid, especially when it comes to a shooter with tiny aiming crosshairs.

I played on PC during the Beta and now play on an Xbox One, and when I switched it felt a lot like I was playing two different games. On PC, I was a pretty awesome Widowmaker. My Counter Strike instincts would just kick in and I would go on massive kill streaks. I’d hit Mei in her stupid head, swing over to the payload, snipe a Tracer trying to flank and then sit back as that beautiful Victory slow-mo screen comes in. When I switched to console, it’s like my skills were drained away.

The last shooter I played on a console was the first Gears Of War, so to say I was rusty with my aim is an understatement. I couldn’t get a headshot on a stationary Winston if he was standing in front of me. Blizzard realizes that there is a skill-gap between all of the platforms, which may be one of the reasons why PC players can’t play games with those playing on consoles.

If this change goes through, Overwatch will essentially split into two different games. As a console player, this makes me happy. But as a competitive eSports fan, it has me skeptical. Overwatch is still developing an eSports scene, with popular tournaments like GosuGamers still cultivating talent. PC is the platform of choice, with its more fluid controls and lower ping.

If Blizzard starts nerfing the game on consoles, there will never be an Overwatch Xbox or PlayStation competitive scene. You have to throw hundreds into one game in order to go pro at it. Why would anyone spend all their time mastering an inferior product? If this is the direction Blizzard plans to take, don’t play on a console if you are trying to be anything more than casual.

Torbjorn Nerf And You

Torbjorn on consoles is definitely a problem. I just played a game on King’s Row on defense. I set up one turret near the payload, and my game started to glitch out. My internet was acting up, and my ping was skyrocketing all over the place. It didn’t matter though, I was still getting kills without even being able to play. My turret by the end of the game had stacked up a 15 kill streak, doing more damage than the rest of my team combined.

When the rest of us have to aim, anything that automatically locks on will have an advantage. High skill cap heroes will always be weaker on consoles than on PC, I don’t even see my beloved Widowmaker in most of my games. Torbjorn has been a problem ever since Overwatch was in Alpha , having his turret damage nerfed multiple times.

If Blizzard really wanted to balance my favorite Swede, then it should lower his damage when defending. A turret shouldn’t be able to get a 15 kill streak by itself, but lowering his overall damage will make him almost unplayable anywhere else. Decreasing his damage when defending will give Torbjorn the best of both world.