TSM FTX Daeda · @TSM_Daeda
3rd Apr 2020 from TwitLonger
Ubisoft Void Edge TTS Changes(Ying, Buck, Mozzie, Jager)
Controlling the Meta, a light analysis:
Most of this pertains to Pro League and Competitive impact over Casual and Ranked as the latter two aren't my specialty. This is also, opinionated and written with sleep deprivation laced in every line.
Personally, I agree with Ubisoft's decisions in these buffs & nerfs. Initially I am always skeptical of changes, but after some theorycrafting and stat projections I always follow some sort of similar perception to how Ubisoft plays out changes.
Jager - Losing Speed:
I will exclude Wamai analysis because his devices don't destroy the projectile it captures, unlike the ADS, so it still allows functionality of the projectile used.
Jager's gadget cannot be nerfed beyond adjusting the range. Currently Jager has 3 ADS devices with 2 charges (6 total). His most common usage is 2 ADS devices in a focus point with a third either pocketed or placed separate, though sometimes there are strats to stack ADS devices.
Common lineups on ATK are closely to: Zofia, Hibana/Thermite, Ash, Dokk/Capitao/Nomad, Buck/Sledge. The maximum amount of projectile utility including gadgets, is 18 projectiles( 3 concussions, 2 impacts, 9 flashes, 2 breach charges, 2 grenades (Buck Pending)), albeit an inefficient lineup of utility in most cases.
This gives attackers the decision of what is necessary to burn the 6 ADS charges before clearing utility. And if you stack a thatcher in, you can clear all ADS devices without this, but I am looking at worst case for the example.
Reducing Jager to 2 ADS devices, allows Jager to burn 4 projectiles but leaves other areas undefended from projectiles. This change, with the damage reduction might force Jager nearly completely out of the META as other operators have higher value at that point in a defensive lineup.
This is why other than maybe the decrease in range of his gadgets, or his gadgets would have a 2-3 second window in before the next magpie is available to destroy a projectile. Therefore, the only reasonable nerf comes to speed (and he severely needs a reduction in max bullets).
[I will return to Jager in a META example at the end]
Buck - Losing Grenades:
First I will frame out what I believe qualifications operators that have frag grenades should have.
1) Operators that have gadgets that leave them exposed on use:
Sledge - Exposed to C4s and gadget animation time cannot be consistently cancelled.
Maverick - When using thrower will leave himself exposed, even if traded on kill it often will lead to a denial of wall breach.
Iana - When on her drone she is exposed to roamers and/or will only use ability once while in a safe zone.
2) Operators that have weaker or situational gadgets:
Finka - Not all heals are needed nor should be used because that audio is a handicap.
Nokk - Gadget is heavily situational and fairly weak in the current META
Buck's ability isn't situational and can be used from a safe distance away from C4s.
Buck is also paired with Maverick often to pair the walls, so only one should reasonably hold nades, it makes sense it is Maverick.
Buck gaining a claymore is good because it makes him slightly safer against roam flanks while opening vertical play, a perfect option other than possibly flashes to help with utility burn.
Ying (+1 Candela, +LMG DMG):
[Copy and pasted from former tweet]
When she is buffed, one of four things will happen
A)Defenders ban Ying, this allows thatcher to be kept up by attackers to push the 20 second META back to 30-45 seconds as clears become faster. The time will push certain maps to be less DEF sided.
B) Defenders ban Thatcher, this allows Ying to be implemented into certain map strats and could make the 20 second execute more balanced than it currently is (Defender dominant). Could also bring back the execution plant META for certain maps.
Also increases pick rate in Warden.
C) Both Thatcher and Ying are banned, Capitao/All Hard Breachers/Nomad are left up. More diversity/variations in attacker strategies are allowed.
D) Neither Thatcher and Ying are banned, GL defenders.
Buffs to operators like Ying are what we need to diversify comps more. It sucks to think of, especially with how punishing she can be, but isn't that what competitive Siege is about? Punishing your opponent for the holes in their strats/adaptions? It will be interesting to see
The buff doesn't specifically have to be Ying, but the Flex and execution operators like her. I would like if her utility is to be buffed that her weapon be weakened as it reduces the amount of team play needed, but not by much. I believe Ubi's focus on her buff is because she has two operator picks increase.
Mozzie(- Shotty):
The big one that puts the pieces together.
Mozzie currently is the jack of all trades. He is drone denial, vision, soft destruction, has a C4, has 2 decent guns and is a roamer capable of making rotates/opening hatches. I love him.
HOWEVER,
he currently is overpowered/strong, especially with the Mute Mozzie combo.
The removal of the Shotty and the decrease in DMG from the TCSG means we will see consistent Mute/Smoke picks for their shotgun, which may seem like a yikes, but builds into the 4D chess Ubi is playing. By taking away the shotty, Mute is required to use more shotgun shells which can reduce him down to just the SMG11. This lessens the value of Mozzie alone and increases the value of Mute paired with Mozzie but weakens the Mute balancing them both out fairly. Any strat running this combo has to risk only being able to take on a Jager or a Wamai because you'd set 4 2 speeds on a roster, The fifth would end up being a Goyo/Maestro as the point of running a Jager/Wamai combo is to burn the utility to save the evil eyes and Vulcans, leaving you with zero 3 speeds. which Ubisoft themselves have said that speed has had more of a factor in engagements than armor.
Of course this is a limited lineup with a very small use case, but it still builds into the pieces Ubisoft may have laid before us.
Removing a pest weakens Mozzie without a mute, further, in a way that a stand alone operator shouldn't be nerfed to. Mozzie is the perfect operator with his kit beyond a small nerf, which the shotty removal provides. I have a lot more stacked into this, but it is 4AM and I still have work to go.
Overall, Ubisoft will have balanced the Buck/Maverick combo as well as the Mozzie/Mute combo. Nerfing Jager's speed is intended to cut some of his pick rate, but also might change him out of the roster with Wamai as a situational replacement so you can fit in a 3 speed defender or more intel such as a Valk/Maestro. Buffing Ying might help the execution META by either decreasing Thatcher bans which increases the time of the 20 second meta up to 30-45 seconds in some cases, or increasing the odds of Attacker success rate on execute my allowing for more smoke play as well as candelas snagged by Wamais or just rolled through site to go off and allow a coordinated push.
I could be completely wrong about all of this and some of this isn't as in depth as I would like to go but it is 4AM and my brain is stuck in numbers rather than theoretical currently.
As I said in my tweet the other day, Ubisoft has a plan that appears to scale over multiple years. Trust in their ability to change the flow of the game and regardless of these changes, we have played through some of the worst before and we continue to play further. This Ying buff isn't Lion 2.0, it isn't even as strong as OG Ying with the reversed Candela system. Ying may be the beginning of changes back to more structured, execution style META that we saw in 2018. Mozzie losing his shotty is a good test of the water intended to kill two birds with one stone, the same as Buck's grenades. TCSG is still a 2 shot at certain ranges depending on armor, still is a good gun but will show alternatives in the AUG3 and the Vector on the respective operators.
As always, stuff that releases on the TTS isn't 100% guaranteed to transfer over to live, so if you are unhappy with the changes, there is always a chance.
Thank you for reading this long, but skim of the surface opinionated piece on the TTS changes. Stay safe and keep your heads up. You are loved. I am always a busy bee, but never too busy to be there for you if you need it. TSM Win btw