So after reviewing two games that were out of my comfort-zone (The Night of the Rabbit and Zombie Buster Rising), I decided to spend some time with my current favorite game: Overwatch.
I didn’t want to just play more Overwatch, though. I wanted to try something new, and I could think of nothing more alien to me than taking control of Zenyatta, the tranquil, Buddhist-esque android.
The humanoid robot was one of the first heroes I tried out, the very first time I played Overwatch. He looked cool, and I usually like support-type characters in team-based games. However, I just could not wrap my mind around how to play him, and I felt more comfortable playing Mercy as a healer. As I gradually expanded my familiarity with other heroes, Zenyatta sat in the corner, collecting dust. I would occasionally have to play him in some of the arcade modes, but it was always with tragic results. His auto-attacks felt like they packed very little punch, and his heals didn’t seem to do much healing at all.
So today, I gritted my teeth, selected Zenyatta in my first match of the day, and steeled myself for some very frustrating matches.
The first handful of rounds went as horribly as I expected. I was getting mowed down by the enemy team, my heals had little impact….it was bad.
But then, *clears throat and does best Zenyatta impression while gesturing spiritually*…I had an awakening.
Suddenly, I realized that Zenyatta isn’t pumping out heals or damage buffs with his auto attacks. I was playing him like he was an Ana/Lucio hybrid, where I’d switch between applying heals and stacking the damage buff on enemy players by using my auto-attack. But then I realized that my auto-attacks only dealt damage, and my two abilities involved a single orb, each, that stuck to whatever teammate/enemy that I applied them to.
Suddenly, it all made sense. I’d smack the heal-orb on an injured teammate, pop out and tag an enemy with my buff, pelt them with some auto-attacks, and then assess if I need to assign the heal-orb to another teammate. Rinse and repeat.
I suddenly went from an absolute hinderance of a healer, to a death-dealing, robot man. Zenyatta’s auto-attacks feel super percise, and the little noises they make really underplay how powerful they are. Taking the time to learn my former, least-favorite Overwatch hero, has really payed off.
