Intro to MoiraWatch
This is my first entry tracking my OverWatch consumption, firstly because digesting my frequent consumption is a way of resisting meaningless binging (I essay for Netflix show streaming, and for PodCast listening, too), and also because it is a way of harvesting, recording, and tracking my own improvement1 in the OverWatch game.
Why Moira?
Why Moirawatch? Because, from the start, Moira has been my choice of hero in Overwatch. I find her support role the most interesting, her backstory compelling (I’ve always had a place in my heart for the misunderstood genius theme), and her playstyle gratifying. One of the Top NA Moira players2 once called Moira a DPS disguised as a healer. Of course, that was before the addition of Kiriko, who has a similar modus operandi3. Finally, my satisfaction with Moira is much completed by the fact that a great stream and excellent educational content are available from ArX4, a British Moira top-500 and author of the MoiraTech account/weekly series. His educational content has been exceptional and, though he is quick to admit that there are many better players out there, I contend that there are few, if any, who posess his combination of game skill and educational ability. In general ArX feeds include a blend of positive attitude (he genuinely enjoys the game and rarely gets hung up on imbalances), good thought (some use the phrase “big brain”), and focus (he streams for the game sake and doesn’t often venture into off-topics).
“Can’t you just play the ninja, or one of the ones with a big gun?” These are the sort of complaint-requests I received from my seven-year old once when I let him watch me. I explained that for me, it is basically The Moira game: her dynamics, her flexibility, her kit – playing someone else would be a different game, and I am playing the Moira Game. She is simply enough fun to satisfy me right now.
My Perma-Bronze
When I first began Overwatch I took the bad advice to just jump in to competitive, that there was no point in spending time on Quick Play. So this I did, and I lost. A LOT. So for my role as support I need a 120-game win streak just to break even. When the change was announced in Season 3 that they would be keeping old scores to avoid the high-ranked players bashing they way through the lower ranks at the start of each season, the incidental side effect was that the brief taste I had of silver one season (which truly did feel like a whole different game) is not going to happen again in the near future. So my goal, being practically permanently locked at the very bottom of the barrel, is to climb with skill even when my rank can’t reflect it. Although it is purely a dream, I dream of being the GM bronze player, exhibiting top skill while never rising above Bronze 5.
Why don’t I just make a new free account? Well, a couple of reasons. I have spent a lot of time getting content, sprays, voicelines, and skins on this account, and don’t really want to lose them. But the other, bigger reason, is because OverWatch is not the only Blizzard game I play, and it is a lot of trouble to have to change Blizzard accounts every time I want to play a different game.
Footnotes
1 The importance of deliberate practice, not just 10,000 hours, is laid out very well in this video by veritasium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eW6Eagr9XA
2 Tesla, who had a good Moira to GM series in the original Overwatch at https://piped.simpleprivacy.fr/playlist?list=PLhbvdbZVty_hMHBacLTqzZQ9I0tcCjiPF, and a more recent Overwatch2 one at https://piped.simpleprivacy.fr/playlist?list=PLhbvdbZVty_iWOjsIcqRXbG_WXGsbnwfx. Unfortunately, the latter becomes more of a GM newb stomp ofter the first few ranks.
3 Kiriko has the significant added benefit of the triple-damage head shots and longer range, which makes her quite dangerous. She by no means supercedes Moira across the board, though. More in-depth comparison of other supports and Moira is forthcoming.
4 ArX has his links collected at https://linktr.ee/arx_uk, and his most recent Moira University series at https://piped.simpleprivacy.fr/playlist?list=PLExM66WWtOXzor-QBMvXQUaad0Qr0KVwx. The original OverWatch 1 series played a big roll in my getting started and begins at https://piped.simpleprivacy.fr/watch?v=fAbxFr2IADo.