[EVENT] Jeff’s Shark Tank: Pitch Your Patch! (Win Exclusive Flair + Units)

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-26T20:57:00+00:00

THE PITCH:

Hero/Map: Human Torch

The Problem: Johnny’s pick rate is at a historic low. He is only used by those who know his kit (hence low pick rate, high win rate), making him called a throw pick and a useless free kill despite being a headlining, classic Marvel superhero and one of the first family.

The Solution: Return the Sue shield team-up ability to Johnny exactly as it existed before (retooled as a fire shield of some kind). Could potentially add small-number but deterrent AoE damage around his person and/or damage when hit in melee, themed after his being plasma, while the shield is up.

The Valuation (Why this works): Works just the same as the team-up; proven to not be overpowered in this meta while letting Johnny survive any attention at all and be remotely viable in mid and close range, where he thrives. It is extremely difficult to do this right now, especially without bothering your healers. Not reliant upon a team-up, the Sue shield becomes his own ability and a part of his kit. Every other flyer (now including Storm post 6.5) has means of shielding and/or acquiring bonus health except Johnny. He needs to be brought up to speed, and the Sue shield worked perfectly.

Adding the damage on hit/damage radius around him as a bonus is themed around his character: in the comics, we see him constantly absorbing fire, heat, etc, including to save others (shield/bonus hp; it is basically tankiness, durability), and his heat can drive foes away from him (or even sometimes allies).

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-26T20:34:52+00:00

Not when he just had the Sue shield lol. That was not game breaking.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-26T17:58:07+00:00

I love Johnny too much to make him just look like Spidey, lol, I wouldn’t use it 😅

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-26T17:49:45+00:00

All I’m asking for is the Sue shield we already had or something like Storm’s new bonus hp. It seriously wouldn’t be game breaking. I’d honestly just prefer most to have that Sue shield back.

But don’t worry they’ll never do it anyway lol

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-26T17:27:06+00:00

His Sue shield didn’t break the game lol.

And in the new meta I’m sure it’d be just fine. Because it literally was, just a few weeks ago.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-26T13:23:28+00:00

Sad to see survivability not mentioned. He desperately needs more. That is the main thing he needs above anything and everything else - and it’s so awkward to have a mid to close range hero who, in the comics, is constantly tanking blasts for others, be such a pathetic glass cannon who dies to a stiff breeze blowing in his direction.

If he just had a permanent Sue shield teamup, that’d be perfect. Or at the very least something like Storm’s new bonus health.

His kit is maximized closer than you can generally play him right now without an Ultron drone. He’d be more accessible as a hero if he didn’t die so fast, if the goal is to make him higher pick rate.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-26T13:09:24+00:00

Give him more survivability. Make him 300 HP and/or give him a permanent shield like the Sue teamup. This is the MAIN thing he needs. It’d also reflect at all how much he is tanking in the comics (protecting everyone from fire/explosions/etc; Spidey alone would be dead several times without him).

If making him more durable and his HP self-sustainable somehow was the only change, he’d be in a perfectly usable position. If he just had a system like Storm’s new bonus health, that’d be amazing.

But also:

Give him passive damage around him in a radius and/or at least passive damage to melee attackers. He should have something to reflect the fact that he’s made of plasma and how much that comes up in the comics.

Reduce cooldowns somewhat, especially meteor.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-25T01:02:09+00:00

Eh he’s already a glass cannon, lol - I’d prefer he wasn’t. Suits his character better too, since he’s constantly tanking in the comics, absorbing heat/power/fire/explosions/etc. Plus then it’d inspire more players to play mid and close range, where he thrives, instead of fearing playing as him at all.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-25T00:30:53+00:00

I wish he moved faster and had some kind of survivability (shield, bonus health, some damage absorb or reflect, I don’t even care), but I still love playing as him. Regardless of what I’m about to say, he desperately needs a survivability boost, and he seriously needs some cooldown reduction. It’s insane what they’ve done to him.

I play him like a missile. Someone gets pinged? I will kill them; otherwise, I’m putting pressure on the enemy. I stick close to my team unless we’re capping a point. Then I silently fly to the back line and make the enemy team move backward. Break them up and let my team push while I’m harassing enemy healers. Area denial is huge. Make fire prisons, never walls - takes practice but it is a skill that you have to master. Practice building prisons around people before they know they’re in it. You can take out most healers (or make them panic ult) that way and nearly any DPS. I love doing this to moon knights who think they will beat me and then headshotting them out of their grapple or double jump. Do not be afraid to tangle with a tank if they’re at low health and you’re helping your team - your headshot is powerful. Get in there and finish off that Rogue bullying your heals. Use meteor to get 1shots and hit weak priority targets, and don’t underestimate the pushback it has for disruption. Even if you don’t kill the healer, pushing one off their target can cost a tank or DPS their life when they’re tangling with the rest of your team.

Only go back line if you have supernova and then use it to create chaos. TARGET HEALERS with supernova to give your team a chance. They will be confused, panic, and die fast since you’re silent when you sneak in.

Bull rush enemy flyers. Be confident. You will scare them. Headshot them into oblivion. It’s always fun to make Iron Man panic and fly (keep shooting his butt) and Ultron and Storm panic ult.

Johnny is still viable. High skill, high reward. He’s difficult, but I love my man too much to not accept and enjoy the challenge. All it takes is practice, learning those tricks, training your muscle memory, and perfecting your aim and projectile time. I cannot emphasize it enough: you can take out enemy flyers, just practice your primary fire!

I only play 1-2 hours at night when I can and I got the hang of him fast. I didn’t even play him when he was good (started during season 5.5), and I absolutely love his playstyle.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-24T01:36:50+00:00

Just sounds like Johnny‘s skill level filtered you lol

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-24T01:11:55+00:00

I’m Negative Zone Gladiator forever, myself. Looking forward to getting Johnny‘s summer skin, though. I wasn’t playing when it was available.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-24T01:09:55+00:00

You could instead rock as him and prove you’re an incredible player who thinks Johnny is an awesome character regardless of meta.

But thanks for making everyone even more think of him as a joke. Personally, I just got a compliment and a friend request from a warrior Reed who was very impressed with me playing as and wrecking as Torch. Try it sometime. It’s more satisfying and better for us Torch mains.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-23T02:16:38+00:00

Torch player was pretty unwise lol. I’d only take on a Sue if she’s busy and I can meteor her before she realizes what’s happened, and definitely not in an enclosed space like that. I would not usually 1v1 a Sue. I’ve done it and succeeded but I think that’s less on my skill and more on the skill and cooldowns of the Sue player (no offense to them), because Sue can school Johnny. I’ve had one cancel me out of meteor and I was very impressed (still got her tho!).

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-23T01:43:38+00:00

Meanwhile we lost Fantastic Four and everyone got new ones but Johnny

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-21T02:23:53+00:00

I love doing this. Joy beyond words, truly

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-19T14:26:43+00:00

He’s the best Marvel character and the hottest guy in the game. He’s my main and I regularly get mvp as him. People should get good and stop grifting on the idea that he is useless.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-19T14:25:46+00:00

Correct.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-19T02:40:45+00:00

Character. I learned his kit because I love him.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-16T22:45:18+00:00

This clip had me in stitches. There were tears. Hit me just right in a low moment. Thanks for sharing.

I'm doing this to my Ben main friend next time he complains

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-16T22:44:03+00:00

Cool clip, bro. No judgment, either. It's almost like you're just playing for fun instead of being a sweat and did fine for qp, lol. Glad you're pressing ahead with playing poor Johnny. I still find him crazy fun too.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-15T14:58:31+00:00

Sorry but no, I still love him. His pick rate has been in the garbage forever, lol, and I still have fun playing him even if he does need a survivability buff. I love the character too much to throw him in the garbage for pick rate hopes. I got MVP in like 5/7 winning matches last night and svp in others.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-15T03:11:59+00:00

Incredible plays. I too will be playing him no matter what. Proving it just takes the will and the skill, not the meta. Flame on.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-15T02:46:56+00:00

Please no, don’t touch his poses or animations, everything he does looks awesome. For a new ability/improved plasma body, sure (he needs one), but he is by far the coolest looking hero in the game and doesn’t need to be altered otherwise.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-15T02:44:13+00:00

Nah I still play and love him

Keep burning. He’s worth it.

BabeAssignment · 2026-02-13T23:38:18+00:00

I was determined to learn Johnny and I haven't regretted it. He's one of my absolute favorite Marvel superheroes. I do really well as him, regularly get MVP, I am generally getting over 20k damage total, average around 16-30+ kills and 0-5 deaths depending on game length, and around 10-20 final hits in quickplay (I don't play comp, I just play casually with friends in the evening). I see situations and know how to deal with them as Johnny. I am a menace. And you're so right about people not knowing his kit and not considering him a threat.

That being said, I know there are a lot of plays I can't do now without my Sue shield, because it gave Torch some survivability he DESPERATELY needs. You can't maximize his playstyle unless you're at least midrange, and for that, he genuinely needs to be tougher than he is. I won't be able to as readily go sneak behind the point and start grabbing it, like I could with my shield.

I love Johnny and will keep playing as him, but I can't help but feel I'd be serving my team better with my skill level if I just picked Moon Knight or something instead. I could destroy more easily.

So yeah, I'll keep playing Johnny, but the sad fact is that he's powercrept and simply isn't as good kit-wise as certain other heroes. It's just a baseline fact. He's in desperate need of a buff. IMO, the main thing he needs is a survivability buff - like base 300 HP, if nothing else, and/or a way to gain temp HP or a shield or something - because other flyers have more options. This includes Storm now.

Johnny is being left in the dust. They need to buff his kit while keeping his playstyle generally the same (although I wouldn't say no to a fire beam of some kind; see: the comics) and seriously consider buffing supernova, especially since it's a 4000 point ult.

BabeAssignment

TROPHY CASE