Following Blizzard’s developer live stream last week, more details have now been revealed concerning changes to Bastion inOverwatch 2. Lead Hero Designer Geoff Goodman has shared what Blizzard wants to keep in the turret hero and what changes need to be made in order to make him fit in competitively with the rest oftheOverwatchcharacters.
Bastion has had a tough relationship withOverwatch’s meta ever since the game first came out. In the beginning, he was a solid pick for players lacking the finesse to play characters like Genji or Tracer, and he quickly became a recurring character in online teams. However, he was so much of a force that players began protestingOverwatch’s “Bastion-Meta"and Blizzard nerfed him shortly afterward. As other characters have been developed further and new ones added to the game, Bastion has become a niche pick with an abysmal pick rate in competitive play.
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But it looks like theOverwatchteam intends to change that forOverwatch 2. Blizzard’s updates last week included announcing futuremajor changes to Bastionto work on his utility in the sequel. Goodman has expanded upon the team’s ideas for Bastion in a Reddit AMA, and he says that they will be “re-approaching Bastion” to narrow in on what could make him a viable hero. Goodman and the team believe that Bastion’s core function is “a transforming robot, with huge damage potential when he is using his various modes well,” and this idea of Bastion will be preserved inOverwatch 2.
However, alterations will be made to Bastion to emphasize his play style’s focus on “situational awareness and timing/positioning.” This means making his two forms, Recon and Sentry, more distinct from one another. TheOverwatch 2team is looking at changing his Recon weapon to add some range to this form’s kit. For his Sentry form, the team believes Bastion’s lack of mobility is too intense and is looking at allowing him to move slowly while in this form.
To balance the mobility changes, Goodman claims the team is reducing the damage output of Bastion’s Sentry gun so that it “isn’t quite as deadly as it is in OW1.” Goodman also emphasizes that Bastion is still in the middle of his rework process, so any potential changes outlined so far could be altered even further before the testing phase is finished. Blizzard has previously stated that fullOverwatch 2hero reworkswill be shown to the public later on in 2021, so it may be some time before fans can see what a revamped Bastion looks like.
Ultimately, Goodman’s comments provide more for players to ponder as they look forward toOverwatch 2. For Bastion fans, sequel changes could make it possible to viably play the robot turret more often in competitive play.
Overwatch 2is in development for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
