This week saw the arrival of the highly anticipated “Overwatch” hero Doomfist, the 25th addition to the roster. He is currently live now on PTR and is expected to officially release next month, though Blizzard has yet to confirm it. While his inclusion is definitely interesting, he just further adds to the already growing number of offense heroes in the game.
According to Kotaku, Doomfist’s real name is Akande Ogundimu and is from a well-regarded family in Nigeria. After losing his arm in the aftermath of the Omnic Crisis, the character struggled to find meaning and purpose.
He eventually resurfaced, but this time, he wore a prosthetic arm courtesy of his family’s main business.
Doomfist’s abilities and skills
Doomfist’s set of skills makes him another highly-mobile character in the game, next to Genji and Tracer. He has the ability to slam and knock off enemies using his fists, though his other utility shoots four sets of projectiles. His ultimate tactic which is called Meteor Strike, allows him to leap into thin air and come crashing down with his fist breaking any advancing team apart. He is definitely a character who is going to appeal to offense-driven players.
However, Doomfist’s arrival only adds to the ongoing trend in “Overwatch” in which a team is mostly composed of offense heroes.
He is the 25th hero in the overall roster, but he is the 8th addition in the offense department. This, in particular, actually brings a worrisome state to the game. Recently, players mostly in the lower tiers were fond of using offensive or DPS characters. There are usually two or 3three of them in a team, leaving the defense, tank or support department in limbo.
Although Blizzard will not admit it, this trend is somewhat disturbing the current state of the game’s meta.
Why the game needs more support or utility characters
Not to take anything away from offense heroes, but support or utility heroes in “Overwatch” are actually quite significant. They provide the necessary lift or buff the team needs to survive an advancing opponent.
More importantly, their presence is essential in keeping allies alive. Sadly, some players today are not entirely fond of playing supports. They feel that these heroes do not provide anything significant to the table which is why some of them resort to playing offense heroes. Doomfist’s addition is likely to make this trend even stronger.
While there are players who still opt to use defensive or tank characters, the number of players who want to go on offense is high. One now barely sees two supports, unless a group plays a match. Perhaps it is time for Blizzard to add more characters to the support department?
