So you main Soldier in Team Fortress 2, how will Overwatch change your life? What do you do now? Overwatch has its own version of Mr. Jane Doe to ensure you don't feel like a stranger in a strange land.
Jane Doe has had a tough go of it. Fought in the war (although uninvited), lived with a wizard, befriended racoons. How do those skills translate to the real world? Forget the real world, how do they transfer into Overwatch? Pharah is the closest thing we have to our take-no-prisoners, kill-all-hippies, friend. Although we will not be teleporting bread, the death from above spirit lives on.
Overwatch is played 6v6. I swear I've seen 6v6 somewhere. Overwatch allows for more than one of each class. Sounds familiar, but I still can't quite place it. Anyway, Pharah is a great character due in part to her ability to roam around the map. She also excels at staying in the support's pocket. I'm having a bit of deja vu. Excuse me while I collect myself. Talk amongst yourselves and watch this video.
If you only substited the word 'freedom' in place of 'justice', it'd be hard to tell the two apart. Flanks, bombs, overall mayhem; TF2's Soldier and Overwatch's Pharah have a lot in common. Let's not even begin to think of the terror which would be unleashed on the world if these two powers combined. Their biggest difference, however, is how they utilize their mobility.
No more shooting at the ground like a suicidal freedom-eagle when you play Pharah. Instead of TF2 gunboats, which are just fancy metal shoes, you've got a jet pack. The jetpack allows for similar rocket jump mobility without taking damage. You are, afterall, not shooting yourself in the foot with heavy ordinance. The future looks bright, maggots. Team Fortress 2 soldier veterans will quickly find themselves at home, minus Merasmus, as they use said mobility to bomb behind enemy lines, aided by rocket fuel, and splash the hell out of the pavement below. If you happen to kill people, all the better. Shoot feet, be elite. Shoot ground, win the round. Shoot floor, win more. You know how it goes.
If your soldier is more of the pocket variety, for Mercy's sake, stay close to your support and haphazardly shoot any threat which may or may not appear. Rockets are great for area denial on defense. In Overwatch, as in TF2, controlling the highground is imperative. The opposing team is allowed to run a Pharah as well, and her ultimate makes the Air Strike look like child's play; a lot of rockets, shot at your face, while she insults you from above. It feels bad. You may need counseling afterwards.
Of course, the main tennants of the soldier class live on. If you die for a good cause (pick), your death was not in vain; freedom (mobility) is the only way, and everything below you must die.
What changes:
Mobility is lesser, but so is the self-inflicted damage (read: none). No longer is every bomb-in a suicide mission. However, you are giving up insane wall-jumps and pogos, and enemy supports may actually know how they died rather than sitting in respawn, beffuddled, murmiring to themselves, "Where the hell did he come from? All I saw was his hat."
What stays the same:
"Splash damage is a crutch," us soldiers have been taunted, but that complaining nerd is still dead behind a corner. Spamming doorways and shooting walls to kill enemies will feel just as satisfying. But what is really important is you can still hit airshots. I'll write it again, because writing it feels as good as hitting a long range predicted rocket, airshots.
Compatability: 9/10
Unlike your eHarmony inbox, this is actually a match made in heaven. Any TF2 soldier worth their salt can roam or pocket, and Pharah allows you to do both to great effect.
Author: Hexagrams is a former eXtv Comp TF2 caster with over 6000 Team Fortress 2 gameplay hours.
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