When first introduced toOverwatchback in 2018, Brigitte was an immediately controversial addition to the hero pool. Added to help counter the popular Dive meta, the idea behind Brigitte was to have a support hero who could function as a backline tank. Her stunning shield bash and impressive healing capabilities made her a go-to choice for team compositions, as she could effectively one-on-one tanks and damage heroes trying to flank supports. Upon release, her crowd-control skills were unparalleled. With the release ofOverwatch 2, Brigitte has seen many nerfs, including a shield health reduction and the removal of her overhealing repair packs.
InOverwatch 2, one of Blizzard’s priorities was reducing the number of CC abilities for non-tank heroes. As such,Overwatch 2sees Cassidy’s flashbang and Brigitte’s shield bash altered to deal damage instead of stun. This brings Brigitte more in line with other support heroes, but unfortunately strips much of her utility againstincreasingly agile damage heroes like Sojourn.
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AsOverwatch 2’s first PC beta is in full swing, players are alight with ideas on what hero changes can be made before the game goes golden. One suggestion comes from user letseatpiecharts on the r/Overwatch subreddit, who wants Brigitte to be able to interlock her barrier with other shields. This idea is sparked by theOverwatch 2“Zero Hour” Cinematic Trailer, which was first shown at Blizzcon 2019 when the game was first announced. In the trailer, Reinhardt and Brigitte bring up their shields side-by-side, creating a larger barrier to protect from an omnic attack.
Commentors spew whacky ideas in the replies, imagining Brigitte flying around as Rein swings his shield or as Sigma launches his Experimental Barrier into the air. Others put forth more realistic ideas, like an increasing shield health pool when Brigitte uses her barrier near another. However, while thisnewOverwatchhero abilityis an exciting concept, Blizzard recently went to quite some length to reduce the strength of shields in bothOverwatch 1&2.
As double shield dominated the metagame on Sigma’s release in 2019,Overwatch 2has seen Orisa’s shield completely removedin a rework, and shields have had a universal health decrease. Adding interlocking shields, though improving Brigitte’s utility, would go some way to undo the balancing that Blizzard has already worked hard to achieve.
WithOverwatch 2PvE betas on the way, players may eventually see some of these impressive abilities when facing computer-controlled omnics. Through various leaks, fans have already seen new hero skill trees featuring brand-new, PvE unique abilities that could feature in the final game. When it comes to PvP, however, sometimes more of the same isn’t such a bad thing.
TheOverwatch 2PvP Beta is now available for PC from April 26 to May 17.Overwatch 2is currently in development.
