Pro Impressions: Dummy talks Overwatch

May 31 2016


Fast, fun, and competitive worthy?



Overwatch released about a week ago and let's face it: the game is great. But does it fit in with the competitive crowd? We sat down with Liquid'Overwatch Team Captain, Tim "Dummy" Olson, to get the immediate rundown on how the game feels.

TeamLiquidPro: Just off the 2-3 days of gameplay, what are your initial impressions of the game coming from beta?


Tim "Dummy" Olson: I've actually been enjoying the game more as time goes on, which is a really good sign for the future. I'm pretty critical with a lot of things, so I definitely still feel like there's a lot to improve on. With that said, I feel like Blizzard is headed in the right direction. I went from only enjoying the game during scrims and matches to grinding out a TON of matchmaking.

Although solo queue is a bit underwhelming. With the amount of coordination the game requires it might be almost impossible to address the solo queue issue.


TLPro: Nice! At this time, there's no competitive mode YET. What do you hope to see in-terms of structures, modes, and rankings? Do you want it to use 'Stopwatch" like past tournaments? Or something else?


Tim Olson: I think a proper ranked queue is integral for this game's longevity.

I'm glad Blizzard listened to the community and plan on extending the seasons from 1 month to 3, but my biggest concern is the rule-set. I had the chance to play a non-stopwatch rule-set in the Alienware Monthly Melee this week and it doesn't come close to stopwatch in terms of deciding a definite winner. It's quite unfortunate how much of the general public frowns upon stopwatch, and I don't think I'll ever understand the hate. Stopwatch is very well proven in other games, and I don't see why it shouldn't be used in Overwatch.


TLPro: In your opinion, what's hero balance like? Personally, I've seen many duplicate heroes, and a lack of certain heroes being played (i.e., double McCree, rarely any tracers, etc). While hero swapping is a must, this takes away from gamers who are 'incredible at x champion.' Thoughts?


Tim Olson: I think without hero limits most team comps end up being a strategy based around duplicates of all kinds of heroes. It's a delicate situation since limiting heroes to 1 might result in a very stale meta, but on the other hand playing with no limit results in blizzard playing whack a mole with hero balance, nerfing whatever the flavor of the month hero stacking is, inadvertently producing another overpowered combo.

Regardless, I actually think most heroes are utilized in competitive play, but obviously some much more than others.


TLPro: For the player looking to try, and maybe even practice for competitive, what's the skill ceiling like? Are the pros clearly better? Would it be rough for a newbie?


Tim Olson: I think the skill ceiling is very high on some heroes, pretty low on others. It just depends what role the person in question wants to focus on.

As a DPS/Carry you definitely need to work on traditional FPS mechanics like dodging and aiming, but at the highest levels people set themselves apart with game sense/awareness, communication, coordinating with your team, and having a ton of game/meta knowledge. Contrary to what most people say I definitely feel like high level FPS mechanics will set someone apart from the average player, but it's definitely not the focus of this game. Blizzard has made sure that the focal point of this game is teamwork, so as long as a new person finds a good group of 6 and work hard, I don't see why they wouldn't be capable of reaching a high level.


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What's next for Liquid'Overwatch?

Liquid Overwatch was able to place 2nd in the Agent's Rising LAN. You'll be able to catch our players at the next Alienware Monthly Melee in June!



Don't forget to keep checking TeamLiquidPro.com for the latest in TL news, events, and features! And don't forget to follow us on social media to keep track of our teams.







Interviewer // Ken Serra
Graphics // Mirza Karalić
Photos // Blizzard Entertainment