'Overwatch' Is Testing a Big Brigitte Nerf
Blizzard has a significant nerf in the works for Overwatch’s Brigitte that would prevent her [...]
Blizzard has a significant nerf in the works for Overwatch's Brigitte that would prevent her Shield Bash ability from going through barriers.
Overwatch developer Geoff Goodman took to the Blizzard forums to preview the nerf that's still being tested internally before it heads to the PTR. Goodman responded to a player proposing a change where Brigitte had to drop her shield when stunning an enemy to make her more vulnerable and more predictable, the developer saying that there was indeed a change to Brigitte's stun ability being tested and likely coming to the PTR.
"We do have one shield bash change we are playtesting right now, which is likely to hit the next PTR: Shield Bash no longer going through barriers," Goodman said. "This means it is a lot more tricky to land a clutch stun on an enemy Reinhardt, for example, but you can still use the ability to close distance and land melee hits to trigger Inspire."
The nerf would be a significant one because as it stands now, Brigitte can bash right through enemy barriers to successfully stun them. This means that if a Reinhardt is standing there with his shield up, Brigitte can simply walk up to him and bash him for a guaranteed stun. A Brigitte on one team can successfully stun a Brigitte on the other team as well even if both of them have their shields up.
Blizzard's proposed change for the hero has already spawned several different discussions within the forums as people discussed the potential effects the nerf could have on Brigitte. Some players offered their opinions and simply said they either liked or disliked the change while others theorized if this could be the end of Brigitte's dominance in Overwatch.
The change is one that would be felt by both the people who play as Brigitte and the barrier-having heroes who play against her, though there's no guarantee that the change will make it to live servers. There also is only a certain number of cases where the nerf would make a difference, Reinhardt's being the most notable 1v1 situation as pointed out in the original post. Goodman's comment indicated that the change was still being tested internally and hasn't even made it to the PTR yet, so there's a chance it may be shot down either before it gets there or before it heads to the live servers.
