Symmetra Doesn't Need to be Tweaked

Since the release of Overwatch, heroes have been overhauled across the board. From tweaking damage output to completely changing certain abilities entirely, change has become something of the norm for players of Blizzard's favored battle-arena game. It's something we expect⁠ — regardless of the patch size. It's something most players can say we're pretty used to by now.

One of the rarer types of changes are complete hero reworks, of which only a handful of characters have received. You can probably count on one hand how many characters have undergone this and, truthfully, only two major names should come to mind: Torbjorn and Symmetra.

Now, don't get me wrong. Both reworks were infinitely good for the heroes. Torbjorn had fallen off the wagon less than a year since launch as nobody wanted to play a builder class in a fast-paced combat game. Meanwhile, Symmetra used to be just a simple micro-managing support with an ultimate that did almost nothing to impact the flow of the fight. They went from bottom of the barrel to actually viable in one patch's time.

So, what gives? Why does this article exist? To put it simply, I don't want Symmetra to suffer a backslide. She's been through so much as a hero already.

The changes to her teleporter to make it less of a joke, reworking her barrier ultimate, and changing the damage of her turrets were all huge tweaks that essentially shifted the way she was played for the better. She had just found her place in the unfortunate barrier meta as a hybrid-barrier-almost-tank-support. Symmetra could be picked without anyone being accused of throwing the match.

She had hit her peak at long last.

That's why the nerfs in the Overwatch "Remaster" patch hit so hard. Symmetra isn't a barrier tank. Her only real tank-like ability is her barrier ultimate. Why bother nerfing her? That's like dragging your cat into an argument between you and your dog. It's near-completely irrelevant. It's her ultimate ability, after all. Aren't ultimates supposed to be a bit overpowered?

Is that not the point?

I'm already not enthusiastic about the double-barrier meta we have to deal with today. Seeing a hero that's climbed so far in recent times be unjustly pushed to the wayside again is nothing short of heartbreaking.

Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment