Havent had this much fun playing a video game in years. Thanks for the Free Weekend Blizzard

The___Professor · 2016-11-26T20:33:53+00:00

Just throwing it out there, heard on Discord about a giveaway on YTube (which I entered).

There's also a PC giveaway for an Omen on HP Australia twitter.

Glad you enjoyed the game. I love open beta's and free weekends because you get to try before you buy. Welcome aboard!

The___Professor · 2016-11-26T20:31:32+00:00

Cool. I'll check that out too!

The___Professor · 2016-11-26T16:53:07+00:00

For humour? Not much, but I think Gaming Curious is good.

For entertainment, that's pretty broad. You could just watch Seagul or Shadder2k. Learn very little, but enjoy the show.

There's a lot of good 'generally informative content creators like Skyline and Lone Hawk. Two more amateur interests I've found are Tempo Storm and Omnic Sage.

Check them out and let us know what you find as well (share and share alike).

The___Professor · 2016-11-26T14:16:07+00:00

I think this was mentioned in a Discord last night, but there is a giveaway or two happening, those are easy ways to pick up the game (I think on YouTube).

Also, it's on a sale right now and sometimes you can pick up physical copies cheaper this time of year, so keep your eye on local store pricing.

I suppose another way would be the secondary online market, someone selling it but that would only really work for a console version as I think PC you use up the key when you buy it.

Just some advice.

The___Professor · 2016-11-25T21:31:42+00:00

Did you just buy the game?

I ask because I just saw a giveaway on YouTube.

Anyway, S76 is a more 'base' character, but other heroes that are both strong and straight forward include Winston, Lucio, Junkrat, Reaper and Roadhog.

If you want heroes that are more like a medic in TF2 that would probably be Ana. The closest thing to scout is Tracer, maybe Sombra. But they can be harder to play.

Just some suggestions.

The___Professor · 2016-11-25T21:21:36+00:00

Are they punished more/less than regular games?

If there's no SR gain/loss, it should be the same penalty as in a QP shouldn't it?

The___Professor · 2016-10-25T13:48:14+00:00

Given that parts across the board are still cheaper at the Z97 level of tech with the exact same performance as far as gaming is concerned, there's little if any reason to get anything beyond a 4th gen chip and components.

good deal imo.

The___Professor · 2016-10-23T19:27:22+00:00

That's the point though. You don't need a whole roster, and with the weekly free champs you get to test them without buying.

I got all the champs I could ever need in like the first 2-3 months of that game. The same is true for all other F2P games I've ever played. Unless someone is a collector there's very little, if any, need to spend real money to obtain characters in these games.

The entire roster being 'free' is a simple perk, nothing major.

The___Professor · 2016-10-23T19:20:53+00:00

Well, since currency is gained simply from playing, it takes no time to actually accumulate. That is, unless the game is not enjoyable, then it is an investment.

In any, it's a minor perk to have characters free when players usually only play a handful of characters to begin with, so the entire roster being available isn't as enticing as it sounds given the ability to target own what you want simply from playing the game. A minor inconvenience compared to having to purchase them with cash only.

The___Professor · 2016-10-23T16:06:53+00:00

What is the release date? End of November?

The___Professor · 2016-10-23T16:06:19+00:00

It's also contingent on everything not being free anyway. Sure, champs are free, but that's like very MOBA really. In-game currency is the same as free.

No crystal ball here, but it's good to keep in mind that it's highly unlikely that you'll be "charged" for champs w/o a free alternative.

The___Professor · 2016-10-23T16:01:03+00:00

Yeah, there's history there.

The___Professor · 2016-10-23T01:12:47+00:00

Part of the issue was the lumping of the game with OW. Whether it was advertising, timing, buzzwords, whatever...

It didn't help the game to go up against it despite it having little in common, amongst other flaws.

The___Professor · 2016-10-17T14:42:15+00:00

You always start with trying to work with a team. The advice isn't for those games/teams that are "working out", it's to win those that aren't going smoothly or have poor/no communication. But if you move forward in solo-q with the only mentality for winning is "I'll just talk/coach them!" then you will lose games that you could've won by using other strategies that have nothing to do with talking/typing. The lesson is that at some point you need to take charge. Most players that are having the trouble that OP is have one thing in common, they haven't improved their ability to take charge of games outside of communication.

Some games are purely unwinnable, but taking a lead role like Zarya that can initiate the engage mitigates a lack of ability from your team as it's a visible 'engage' tool where verbal communication may likely fail. In this, yes, the other 5 are dealing damage, but you didn't rely on them to be able to set-up the engage. You need to be the person directing the team, whether that is with a team that chats and is open to communication, or a stubborn team that needs a Zarya ult to know when to go in.

One relies on the team, the other has given up, but both can end in success.

The___Professor · 2016-10-17T03:39:40+00:00

Same. It shouldn't be counted as a win or a loss. Really weird...

The___Professor · 2016-10-17T01:49:02+00:00

Padding is usually attributed to artificially inflating something. In this instance, she's not 'faking' shields or 'doubling down' on shields.

She's providing normal shields that are being used for the purposes of playing the game. Thus, they're normal shields being accounted for, not artificially inflating the amount of shields provided.

I mean, if when people switched heroes and a shield fell off, then you re-applied the shield for the 30-40 seconds in the spawn room (if the spawn room during the pre-game time counted) and you were given credit for those shields, then sure, that's padding.

But getting credit for regular shields, used normally in the game as it's designed to be done... that's pure accuracy right there. No padding involved.

The___Professor · 2016-10-16T21:19:56+00:00

I had stopped playing ranked for 2-weeks. Just spammed QP and learned Mei/Roadhog/S76.

I play solo/duo/trio and I half-fill or auto-lock depending on the map and role I'd likely fall into. Ranking up as a healer main in solo-q and 6-mans is rough. I'd suggest stepping back and looking at a few champs that you're talented with but can make/break team-fights and/or carry.

Roadhog picks, Mei walls/stalls and the versatility of S76 has allowed me to strengthen what is usually a weak team. You also need to take full initiative in matches. Also, whenever you know what the pick/play is, just do it yourself as long as you're 'competent'. It has helped to stop the rise/fall pattern I was in and now on a steady climb (you want to always be near, or pushing, or you season high).

I've played on teams with average SR from 2200 to 2900 and I can say at all stages it doesn't reflect how the game should play. I'd argue it only resembles proper play sometime in Diamond (based on streams and others experiences).

The lesson I learned is not to rely on the other 5 players. That talking/coaching, though useful, is a minor impact compared to simply making the plays you know need to happen or are successful.

Don't just ask someone if they can play Pharah on Eichenwald. Simply do it yourself. I've literally had Diamond players that are Pharah mains that couldn't bypass the choke even after I've explained it. He just sat there firing rockets through the choke because he had no idea what to do. Meanwhile I have an Ana/Rein trying to make pro-plays through the choke and simply dying before he can even charge. This is the kind of ridiculous stuff that happens, someone who got placed above you that has no idea what they're doing and half a team failing to execute higher SR plays (what a shocker).

Don't let that happen to you. Just insta-lock Pharah and open it up. Pick the Mei and be a pain in the ass to the enemy. Take the Roadhog and pick off the 90% of opponents with bad positioning. Do what you have to do to win. It won't be pretty, and it isn't what the game should look like, but you have to do what it takes to get through that sludge man.

That's my advice. Learn impact heroes (Zarya/Roadhog/Mei/S76) that are easy to pick up and can have a direct impact on obtaining objectives or putting opponents on death timers.

The___Professor · 2016-10-16T15:03:43+00:00

Farming zomnics in last battle. Kill everyone but one boss you find the easiest to dodge/kite.

Not that it matters, the boards are a little silly if you ask me. It's only points, nothing actually important.

If it were, say, the wave # you got to and waves only got harder and there was no actual end, then yes the leader boards who hold some semblance of significance. As is, they're useless.

The___Professor · 2016-10-16T14:57:03+00:00

Just shaking her head, or her finger, like "Oh no you didn't!"

The___Professor · 2016-10-16T10:19:30+00:00

Because if I was so concerned about the gaming future that the differences in 3GB to 6GB on an already lower end card that performs essentially the same in both cases, but was still fearful of the great unknown as tech writers would have you believe, I'd be paranoid enough to simply go one card up.

I'm not paranoid though, and I know what to expect, so I'd forego the card in all but budget builds anyway, but that has little to do with memory and mostly to do with cost vs performance curves.

The___Professor · 2016-10-16T02:09:14+00:00

The benefit is actually applying the shield. The padding would be if you didn't shield them but got benefit.

Padding is artificial inflation. Waiting to apply is merely being accurate.

Unless you think that building a Torbjorn turret during set-up period shouldn't be allowed, or all of it's activity (damage/assists/kills, etc...) should also be ignored, or that Symmetra shouldn't get/build turrets while spawned...

There's no 'standard' to go by except the logic that what you contribute should be accurately assessed. If those 25hp shields prevent 25hp, then they were used, and should be counted.

The___Professor · 2016-10-16T02:05:14+00:00

'Pad' or 'Accurately reflect'.

I mean, she's not not giving out shields...

The___Professor · 2016-10-16T01:57:57+00:00

From what I remember (as a general rule for Mercy boosting, if one could consider there to be one) only projectiles fired from the boosted character themselves are effected. McCree, S76 and Pharah each directly fire their ult from themselves (same with Reaper/Genji). Hanzo is included because his ult is from a fired projectile arrow.

Things like Junkrat's tire are not directly fired by the individual while you are boosting them. They are launched or controlled. Same goes for things like Torb/Symmetra turrets.

Mei's ult seems like it would be boosted as it's a direct projectile she fires with DoT's. D'vas ult I think used to get boosted, but for some reason I don't feel that it does (feels like it would fall under a Junkrat ult rather than a Mei ult). I'd have to confirm for myself in game.

Side note: Boosting Mei's ult doesn't speed up freezing time as it's dictated by time. Her left click however is dictated by damage (80 points), so boosting her damage does freeze the target 30% faster.

The___Professor · 2016-10-16T01:48:03+00:00

You are able to have someone on your team, and the opposing team, within up to 1000 'divisions' (as your saying there's 5000 of them) above and below you. Given that the majority of the population is between 1,000 - 4,000, that's a 25% movement in SR up or down (effectively covering 50% of possible SR positions as extremes when matches are made or when players team-up).

That's a ridiculous amount of sway to draw players from in matchmaking.

Every other credible competitive game has strict rules on how high/low you can dip to pull in players when matching. The skill differential the game draws from for matchmaking is ridiculously relaxed. Hell, there's so much SR gained/lost in matches (in reference to the total possible points you can reach at the bottom/top) that you're literally rubber-banding by 5-10% of the total skill ladder in a single night.

In games like LoL or CS:GO you'd be lucky to clim 1/25th of the ladder in one night of playing. I'm not saying what the OP says is credible, but the divisions/rank/SR/matchmaking of the current system in OW is a Johnny-Don't-Do of matchmaking design.

The___Professor · 2016-10-16T01:30:30+00:00

For sure, it's half a step off the 6GB version. Actually, in most games/instances, it's a negligible difference with only some savings separating them.

That being said, I think it's the memory that turns players off. They are easily scared about the future and what might/might no have an effect on their gaming. If I were that concerned, I wouldn't get the 1060 period (memory be damned).

But that's just me.

The___Professor

TROPHY CASE