Overwatch Character Guide: Torbjörn Zenyatta Widowmaker

Zarya's weapon, the Particle Cannon, has two distinct firing modes that both gain additional attack power based off her use of her two defensive abilities. Her main firing mode is a short-range laser that maintains a straight line of fire and consistent output, which is outstanding for doing a great deal of damage to those who get within range. The bad news about this firing mode is that it's completely ineffective once an enemy gets too far, though Zarya's secondary allows her to fire an energy grenade in a fairly shallow arc. Both of her abilities allow her to create damage absorbing energy shields, which then directly increases the power of her Particle Cannon based on the amount of damage absorbed by said shields. The Particle Barrier allows Zarya to protect herself from oncoming fire, and it lasts significantly longer than her Projected Barrier, which can be placed on a nearby ally. Finally, her ultimate, the Gravitron Surge, pulls all nearby enemies into its aura and does a small amount of continuous damage to everyone trapped inside. The best Zarya players charge right into battle, activate their Particle Barrier and then stay behind one other ally, allowing for the simultaneous use of the Projected Barrier.

Solider: 76 is the standard first-person shooter character in Overwatch. Still, despite being a fairly normal, by-the-books character, his normalcy not only stands out in this zany cast of heroes, but it also allows him to be one of the most accessible heroes of the entire group. Equipped with the Heavy Pulse Rifle, a fully automatic assault rifle that excels at medium range, Soldier: 76 is outstanding at sitting back behind tanks and dealing massive amounts of damage. In addition to the standard firing mode, which is also super successful when shot in bursts, the Heavy Pulse Rifle also allows Solider: 76 to fire Helix Rockets, a triple-headed set of explosives that fire without an arc. Unfortunately, for as powerful as the Helix Rockets are, they have a pretty massive cooldown, so make sure that you use them only when advantageous, as you risk letting your foes know that you're without your most powerful weapon.

One of the things that I've heard about Overwatch is that people have gotten really good, really fast. How does the back-end matchmaking take this into account? The last thing you'd want is for someone who waits until launch to jump in and get absolutely throttled as a result of all of the really high-level Beta players giving them no chance to get their feet wet.

Battleborn, for all of the chaos on screen at any given moment, suffers from some notable framerate issues on PC, even on my high-end machine. This is something that has been reported on in mass across the Steam discussion boards, and while it certainly isn't game-breaking, these dips in framerate are extremely noticable after a buttery smooth Overwatch session. Add this to the fact that the weaponry in Battleborn lacks the tactile punch of that in Overwatch, and the former starts to feel like the less polished product. Shooting in Overwatch feels tighter and more responsive than it does in Battleborn, which is kind of a shame considering that you end up firing way more bullets and projectiles in Gearbox's shooter. On top of all of this, Overwatch is the better looking game, with Battleborn sporting noticable aliasing and texture blurriness, even on completely maxed out settings.

Speaking of positioning, Widowmaker's two core abilities allow her to either get to a new position quickly, or protect the one she's currently holding down. The first of these abilities, her Grappling Hook, can be aimed using the reticle, and will quickly propel her towards the surface it's fired at. Not only is this awesome for quickly reaching positions above the playing field, but it also works wonders when you're looking to get out of a jam. Widowmaker's second ability, the Venom Mine can be fired with an arc, and deals damage over time when triggered. This toxic gas mine isn't just great for crowd control, though. If you've ever played a military shooter that allowed you to place claymores behind you while you snipe, you'll be happy to know that the Venom Mine can have a similar effect. Finally, her ultimate, Infra-Sight, allows your entire team to track the positions of all enemies in real-time, instantly countering any flankers and generally setting you up for success.

Overwatch's Tracer is a perfect example of why Blizzard Seasonal Update has created a game with a more appetizing personality than Gearbox. With a press of the E key, Tracer has the ability to warp back to a previous position, restoring the health and ammo she had at that point. Around half of the time one utilizes Tracer's Recall skill, she'll use her adorable English twang to drop the line, "Ever get that feeling of déjà vu?" Now, this is the type of quip that could be obnoxious if delivered imperfectly or too frequently, but it actually winds up being wonderfully charming every time. Combine this with her shrills of joy whenever she uses her Blink skill to warp around the map, and it's clear why Blizzard has made Overwatch's first hero the face of the franchise. With Battleborn, each character feels like the cheesiest character in a Borderlands game, and they never seem to be quiet. Add this to the fact that curse words are bleeped out, despite the fact that they're used frequently, and it often feels like Gearbox missed the mark on Battleborn's personality, which is a shame considering that its visual style is so striking and engaging.