Overwatch:
Team Hero Shooters: Overwatch versus Paladins
Overwatch vs Paladins: Let's Do the NumbersMy knowledge of competitive PvP is limited to Dota and Apex Legends. They both (though Dota especially) offer continuous numerical feedback. The first match of Overwatch was jarring for its lack of information. Aside from the players' health, and the cool-down of abilities, it shows no numbers. The oddest absence is in the F1 display. Clicking F1 explains each of the player's abilities. But it does this qualitatively, not quantitatively. Each ability has a brief description, but not a single number for the duration, range, or power of the effect. Overwatch doesn't display numbers when hitting someone, or being hit. Paladins veers to the other extreme. There are numbers everywhere. Every ability lists every possible number. They are clustered everywhere in bunches as thick as fresh grapes. Numbers bounce around like bubbles when the player heals or inflicts damage. The numbers of Paladin are greatly exaggerated, compared to Overwatch, outrageously, absurdly so.
In Overwatch the tanks have about 600 Health, while the supports and damage heroes have 200. The tanks of Paladins have between 3,500 and 4,500 health on average, while supports and damage champions have about 2,000. To match this expansion, the damage and healing is exponentially higher than Overwatch. Damage and healing in Paladins is about 800 per second, compared to 50 per second in Overwatch. This is a crude approximation. Tanks inflict 60 to 80 damage per hit, Damage heroes deal between 30 to 100 damage per hit, while healers pump out about 15 per second from passive abilities and 60 from active abilities.
The lack of numbers especially impacts accuracy with medium range weapons. A lack of strong audio or visual feedback (along with a lack of data) on some abilities, like Zarya's particle cannon beam, makes estimating ranges difficult.
Overwatch is easier to start playing than Paladins. It looks nicer, and feels more user friendly, but the lack of numbers means players have to use online resources. The deficit of data doesn't stop impacting the player after a few hours. Overwatch also denies the player post-game stats. There are personal stats, but no team stats, so players can't see how their team performed. It's difficult for the player to know if they are responsible for a loss (or a win), because there isn't numbers during the match, but also because there isn't a means to understand team effectiveness after the fact. Team information is limited to medals. Each team is awarded a bronze, silver, and gold medal for five criteria. The player with the most damage (on their team) receives a gold for the category. The player with the second most damage earns a silver, and the third most, a bronze medal. The data is available during a match, so the player can track their effectiveness, but they can't see the rest of their teammates. They can only infer, that if they earn golds for Eliminations, Damage Done, Objective Kills, and Objective Time as a Tank hero, but their team is losing, their Damage Heroes aren't performing their tasks. Some medals seem superfluous, like Healing. Since each team has only two supports, one better have gold and the other silver, but it doesn't indicate the distance between the two, or say if the healing is effective compared to the other team.
For new players, there are resources out there. One is Overbuff (I learned this website, because I use Dotabuff). While it doesn't provide the detailed match data it does for Dota, it tracks the player's historical stats. The Overwatch client includes a phenomenal replay feature, allowing players to rewatch a match from any angle, like a flying camera. It is still missing numbers, but with it players can learn positioning and the flow of battle. They can see mistakes and openings they didn't notice at the time. Combining these two analysis is the best tool for long term improvement.
The final difference between these two hero shooters, is another reason Overwatch is easier to play than Paladins. Overwatch doesn't include any customization for heroes. There are different costumes, victory poses, and voice lines, but nothing to effect the outcome. Paladins has two ways to alter the player's character. Before the match the player chooses to boost some of their abilities, from a collection of cards. This is not a Pay to Win feature. As long as a player has access to a character they have access to all the customization options. During a match the player earns gold to spend on items. There are sixteen items (upgrades), and each can be improved three times, at an exponentially increasing cost. A player can buy four items per match. For new players Paladins automatically chooses the cards and purchases items. As the player improves they are free to switch off this automation and makes their own choices, or leave it on.
Even without customizations Overwatch seems deeper in the long term. The variety of characters, their uniqueness, and the variety of maps creates an experience Paladins can't quite copy.
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Team Hero Shooters: Overwatch versus Paladins
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