Overwatch 2 players are hoping that the upcoming perks will dissuade the heinous act of counterswapping
As part of Overwatch 2's big rework, every hero will be getting a set of perks—unlockable upgrades that can be chosen throughout the game. Every hero has different traits, but there's one throughline that some players hope means an end to counterswapping.
Counterswapping is a pretty contentious subject in Overwatch. The actual definition is when players repeatedly switch their hero to one that counters someone specific on the other team, but a lot of players have watered this down and take it to mean anytime someone is playing a hero that counters something that they are playing, even if it's just a coincidence and not intentional.
Despite the fact that countering enemy players is just part and parcel of what it takes to win in a hero shooter—it would be kind of pointless just to lie down and die instead of swapping to another character that is better suited for the match—I can understand why, at its worst, counterswapping is annoying.
Because every perk is unique to each hero, they won't carry over if you switch mid-game. So, every time you pick a new character, you'll have to start back at level one. Even if perks unlock slightly faster for new picks, players are hoping that this disadvantage will work as a disincentive for those who spend too much time counterswapping.
«Yep, probably a good thing, though the level of catchup mechanic is important,» one player says. «And that initial meetup likely is still not so bad to stop first fight swaps, but it's a step forward. Remove some ult charge retention, and we're getting somewhere.» While other players point out that this could specifically help with counterswapping tanks.
Tanks in 5v5 Overwatch tend to have the hardest time when it comes to counterswapping, because they are often the lynchpin of a team, there's only one of them, and they have some very obvious counters. For example, if I went Hog, the enemy tank should probably go Mauga, then I would go D.Va, then they'd go Sigma, then I'd go Doomfist, then they'd
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