#FIX APEX RANKED SO HELP ME GOD

[silverhands-slut]

im slowly becoming an apex bitch again help

[owldesk]

liz owldesk’s overwatch league s2 power rankings! come enjoy my probably wrong takes~~

(ranking s-tier to c-tier. note that c-tier doesn’t mean a team is bad! this is just a comparative measurement. i think that every team this year will be competitive. also, the order i wrote them within the tiers means literally nothing, it’s not like from best to worst within a tier or w/e, just assume that if they’re in a tier it’s all a level playing field.)

S-Tier -

Spitfire

former championship team which has made no roster changes

got coaching struggles under control towards the end of s1 so no problems there

S-Tier players there’s no question about it

birdring’s wrist will be fully healed (hopefully)

has a top tier tank line which is a plus a lot of teams don’t have

NYXL

set the standard for play in s1 across the board

top tier dps players

incredible teamwork

idk people act like because they lost once they’re no longer good and i don’t agree with that so i’m putting them here because without proof they’re still a top team

Fusion

runner up of s1

has incredible players at every position, seriously

especially supports, their support line is so good

again, nothing has changed since the end of s1 so they’re still good

also they’re gonna have sado all season this time which is a big plus

Shock

as opposed to other teams who has stayed the same, shock have made a TON of improvements.

 they have all the players they had at the end of s1, plus crusty the best coach, and then the pickups are insane

the pickups!!! they have striker, they have smurf, they have viol2t,,,,, Holy Shit Dude

every weakness shock had they fixed, like, 10x better than they even needed to

moral of this: shock is looking so. so fucking good.

A-Tier

Dragons

complete overhaul which turned into a mostly korean roster

some seriously good players dude

CoMa is like, a crazy good lucio just wanted to address him specifically

looks to be a great team, but i’m not confident enough to make them s-tier

(no idea how they’re gonna play together, i love them all but some of them are on different skill levels and i don’t know the coaching so i’m gonna wait and see)

Titans

RUNAWAY

RUNAWAY

they’ve been considered the best korean talent for a long long time

most recently won contenders s2 but has won/been runner up for a TON of big name korean tournaments (cough apex come back cough)

crazy good tank line, dps, supports,,, just good all around

plus they have such a good coach (former fusion uni)

still, don’t know how different owl is from contenders so they might struggle a little 

gonna list them a-tier for now. but if they’re not s-tier by the end of stage two, i’ll fucking,,,, idk. be very surprised.

Gladiators

same as last year, when they were a-tier

“but what about fissure!!” you may say. “what about fissure?” i answer. look, this isn’t his meta, and r0ar is very very good. the glads are gonna be fine.

Dynasty

they finally have a main tank thank god

only one tank, bc marve1 doesn’t exist. he can’t. he just can’t. Please don’t play marve1.

anyways, pls dynasty don’t clown

Charge

they held their own against dynasty so if dynasty is a-tier i guess so are charge

i did not expect to put them here, believe me

anyways, eileen FUCKS rio FUCK chara FUCKS shu FUCKS

as complicated as my opinion on happy is, he also FUCKS

good team all around :)

Spark

a mix of the best korean and chinese talent

guxue and krystal are both so good

and then iDK (legendary), godsB (legendary), adora (legendary)

basically they’re all great and it think they’re gonna do well if they get over communication issues

this is my biggest gamble on this list

B-Tier

Reign

this is PURELY on the back of the daco/pokpo tank line

also erster is good and i’ll even say nlaaer and kodak can help too

mostly here because this is the team most likely to have drama

i mean gd dafran jesus christ

but if the team can get through it then i think they can be pretty good

Valiant

this one is gonna be a controversial one please i’m so sorry

look, they’re literally at the same place they were last season

i think they’re gonna do well, but there’s so much new talent in the rest of the league idk,,,,,

there are some crazy good players on this team but i’m not confident in their coaching :/

Fuel

most of their problems from last year are gone

new flex tank player

if brig stays meta, they have mickie

effect is back !!

good coaching staff

they look like they have a real chance this season i’m happy

Hunters

this may or may not be bias

but it’s got yveltal, one of the best chinese main supports, as well as yangxaiolong and lateyoung

also no language barrier

idk their coaching staff unfortunately but if they’re good this team has a lot of potential

Uprising

look we all know the drama that happened with this team

striker: “the most memorable present i have received is moving to shock”

also, they lost a lot of the players who led them through that insane winning stage

still, they have gamsu, notE, and aimgod. Also blase now.

hmmm idk i don’t want huk to have anything. also outside of notE and gamsu i don’t see this team doing particularly well.

however i put them b-tier bc of gamsu and notE

Eternal

this is the collection of EU’s best talents

seriously this is creme de la creme of EU talent rn

they’ve got soOn, sdb, kruise, and so many other super experienced players

this is sorta a cautious placement, it all depends on how the contenders players adjust to owl play

i’m hoping they’ll be above b-tier! but i don’t know how EU contenders play stacks up to owl and even korean contenders play so i can’t say anything with confidence 

so. here they go.

C-Tier

Justice

look i love wizardhyeong, janus, and ado as much as the next guy but

this team is a weird mismash of a bunch of different people, none of them considered top-tier, with a bunch of language barriers and it’s also got one of the least amount of players of any teams

i’m so not confident in this team. at all. so here they go.

Mayhem

this team tears my heart apart because. sayaplayer. but also. x***er.

still, it’s saya + mid to high tier korean players + tviq + scrimbucks xepher

i don’t see this being a good team

please someone buy out saya i want him to be on a good team.

Outlaws

i’m gonna get flamed for this so bad please don’t

look, this is another team that is in the exact same state as last season and. they weren’t great last season.

the support line is their biggest weakness and they’ve done nothing to fix it

just accept that this team is like, mid-tier at best

Defiant

a full korean team

it also does have owl veterans

honestly if this was s1, i could see defiant being a top tier team ! but it’s not to be rn

i just can’t see defiant beating any s-tier or even a-tier teams

:(

[sleepymarmot]

MEA liveblog #7

Spoilers!

Multiplayer

This interface is a mess. I move my mouse onto "exit lobby" and it turns into "kick player". Buttons just jump around and transform all the time.

And the APEX mission shit needs to be fixed. When you select a mission to play, don't direct me to lobbies who play the same enemy/map/difficulty but not as the mission! Join lobby, see "custom", exit lobby, select "custom game", re-select mission, join, end up in the same lobby, rinse, repeat...

At least I can end up second when I join on wave 5 as a human vanguard lol

F Human Vanguard card!

Tempest

Non-custom weapons of different rank shouldn't exist as separate items in the inventory! Unlocking a higher rank should upgrade the old item like in ME3! This stupid inventory system exists solely because of crafting! If you need inventory limits so much, let them apply only to the crafted items! I've already complained about rewards being lost with no warning if the inventory is full and it's still bullshit! 

I crafted the N7 chestpiece! 25% shield on kill (of course), 5% damage resistance, 2% shield restoration, 2% health&shield regen speed, 2% max shield. I called it "N7 Slayer X". And turns out, it was dad's armor...

Oh right, it needs a new color scheme!

Havarl

I like this ex-STG, he's talking properly.

I don't like the sound effect from Annihilation -- it's like water in my ears!

Hey Peebs, how do you immediately know where the next piece is as soon as we pick the current one?

Kadara

Here's the bar fight. Animation is not bad but has no energy.

Told the asari dancer that I'm done here and she needs to talk to the dude herself, but the quest still sends me back to him -_-

Tempest

So, Kesh was adopted?

Okay, Kalinda is 100% Marjolaine. Peebee's personal storyline is even more copy-pasted from Leliana than Drack's is copypasted from Wrex.

Aya

So many sidequests again!

The Moshae's words about the definition of victory! That's the smartest thing I've heard in this game in hours.

It's really weird to hear her talk so sweetly to me... When we first met she didn’t seem to like me.

When Vetra said people were staring at her, I couldn't resist suggesting they're just all in love...

I suggested taking people who sold their Aya slots onto the Nexus. That's not even charity -- the same ambassador gave me a task to convince angara to come there anyway! So this would kill two birds with one stone.

For the visitor who wanted contact with his family, I had to reload. The options didn't even seem too different... Got it right for the other two: gave an honest professional answer about health issues, and a confident casual answer about finding work.

Great, now I have to head back into the city to buy stuff... This is literally a fetch quest lol

Eos

Omg, the Architect is in orbit now!

The Roekaar fight in an old settlement was very chaotic and fun with Flamethrower/ED/Lance, though it'd probably be easier to just charge

Tempest

Aaaand Jaal gives me his loyalty mission. It's funny that I'm going to do my own love interest's mission last...

Jaal's LM

I continue to be unimpressed with the Roekaar being pure antagonists. :/

Didn't shoot the guy, told Jaal he was badass.

Why are loyalty missions so short?

BTW Ryder just looks wrong in N7 armor... She's not Shepard, that's not her allegiance or her story.

Tempest

Jaal, just as we're leaving Havarl you decided to invite me for a visit down there?

Turian ark

Avitus has very stylish armor

For fuck's sake, Bioware, why do you hate gay men so much?

I convinced Avitus to take the mantle. It was a very sentimental decision for Ryder -- because her situation is very similar. Her SAM and the connection he had with her father are unique, but she didn't think of that in that moment.

Nexus

"Better to find your wings as you fly" Easy for you to say, Sarissa, your predecessor wasn't a loved one

Tempest

I'd agree with Peebee about relationship and baggage, but of course I felt obligated to take the romantic option

(I don’t think there’s an option to agree with her, though, so it’s only for the best)

Voeld

Liam, Vetra, don't fight!

Whoops, sorry for leaving you to die in the purification field, Vetra

...I liked the old color scheme better. Green light looks more alien, but less pretty.

Nexus

Final memory -- here we go!

My theory was that the Archon was somehow Ellen, but that made so little sense I didn't even write it down :D This is simpler.

BTW there's finally Shepard's gender we had to select in the beginning -- in translated subtitles :D Didn't hear it even once in the audio -- could it be Bioware actually took their foreign audience into consideration? :O

Honestly, it's weird that the Reapers info is so secret... From the OT I got the impression that Shepard was yelling about it to everyone at every opportunity...

Fine, fine, you made me emotional with Liara's message.

Shit, I was expecting this decision...

I feel pretty sad now. That's all?

Peebee's LM

Oh, so that's why she lives in an escape pod :D I thought this was only a characterization thing, not a Chekhov's gun!

I said I wasn't mad, though I was a bit. But I mean Ryder *is* mad but also having the time of her life so...

Shit I just shot Kalinda instinctively lmao

Ok I replayed the entire sequence and Idk. This is really the hardest choice in the game...

I'm tempted to say "Yes, literally" :D

Since it's so hard to reaload, it's fair game to watch videos before deciding for myself. Okay, "Yes, literally" is way too harsh.

Alright, this Ryder is not going to make Peebee sad, but I've already planned a Renegade-ish playthrough with a Ryder who values knowledge over everything, so... :D

(Btw, I love that MEA's brand of a more ruthless protagonist is not "uncontrollable brute" but "intellectual snob". As tedious as this game is, I'm already super eager to play character who has those values & takes urgency of tasks seriously.)

This mission is enjoyable and the choice feels maybe the most meaningful... But it has all the classic Mass Effect problems. Kalinda sends a shitload of people to murder us, we murder them, but when she's helpless and we have a finger on the trigger all of that suddenly doesn't matter. Sidonis all over again. Sure, murdering people begging for help is bad in a lot of ways, but she did just try to kill us, a lot of times... Plus, why the fuck can't Ryder jump over and catch the Remnant thing?! That needed to be a second, Paragon interrupt after the Renegade "shoot her." And Ryder is a goddamn biotic, as is Peebee, as is Kalinda! Peebee, Pull is your first goddamn skill! It'd actually be completely plausible if the artifact had shields and/or armor and therefore immune to Pull or Singularity -- but not giving the characters even an idea to try is just stupid!

Tempest

Inviting Peebee to live with together made me revisit my room and inspired me to make some changes. You know what, I'm going to play music in my quarters and change into the short-sleeved pajamas. It's my own ship, why do I walk around it in street clothes? The jacket is stylish but too much to wear at home. I wish we had a "formal" outift for Nexus/Aya/other hubs in addition to the "casual" clothes we wear on the ship.

Shit I went to read someone's post about Peebee's LM and caught a spoilers about the romance post-LM

Addison is right, getting pregnant in that situation was irresponsible

Ah the continuity in this game. "Found more outposts"? I have every possible outpost and all planets at 100%!

"On hold: Place an outpost" bitch where

Voeld

What, there's still a cold hazard?! What was the point of the vault, then?!

Whoa, so the angara believe exaltation not just kills their people but destroys their immortal souls? Wow! That should have been said by a major character during the main story, not by an easily missed NPC!

Oh great, I died and the game refuses to load the last autosave

Dear game. Why did you create four autosaves for the same second. All glitched. Half hour of gameplay lost... God please let the last manual save work. I was sure I saved in between, but just now my PC decided that we still have daylight savings clock change when we do not, and the timestamps on all recent saves are messed up. This especially sucks because I'm trying to rush Peebee's romance because I don't know when the sex scene comes up but I want to make sure it's not when my mom is home while I play it on her PC lol

Tempest

Fuck, that was cute! And Peebee did tackle Ryder, as promised! :D I wonder what she says through Zap in the platonic version...

Addison please don't say the baby screams "like a banshee". I fucking jumped.

"Before you say anything: no PDAs" :D

Level 50! Time to craft myself a powerful new Dhan. I've been running with rank three all this time...

I love that whenever you ask about Kalinda and then return to the general dialogue tree you say "Let's talk about something else" and Peebee responds "YES. Please."

Voeld

Alright, so: the kett leaders are dissatisfied with the Archon because he hasn't reported to them recently, the communication with the kett homeworld(?) might be disrupted in general and the Scourge might be to blame.

Tempest

Damn, SAM has a pretty insightful speech about death! The only thing that can't be rationalized after experiencing it, which is why it fascinates. I actually haven't heard it explained this way before.

My movie night quest hasn't progressed since I brought Jaal his device...

Eos

Ryder watching and playing football with two giant guns floating near her hips... omg

Elaaden/Kadara

What? I'm completely confused by all these identical salarians.

I don't understand this choice. He promises to give us the intel if we let him go... what proof do we have besides his word? And how would arresting him stop us from getting intel from his computer etc?

Reloaded to see both options, chose to arrest him

Havarl

I'm not hugging Jaal's mother wtf

Ryder has surprisingly good facial animation when Jaal shows his mementos

In theory Ryder should like Jaal for being such a nerd but the only thing he makes me feel is mild irritation. His interest in "taking things apart" is an informed quality just like his supposed emotional openness. It's not reflected in his dialogue or storyline at all.

And now I'm finished with all quests in the ally category. I wanted to finish the game asap, but now that we know the patch is coming on Thursday, I'll wait for it.

Multiplayer

Extracted from Silver for the first time as Human Vanguard (level 8, rank IV)! It was against Remnant, so Observers and Destroyers were the only problem. Nullifiers are ridiculously easy for a melee character -- like Ravagers, but without acid.

Got Krogan Vanguard from a pack. Will I have to tolerate the Rage overlay?

The first game with Kroguard was going well, he's got a stong melee even though he's slow... and then wave 6/upload/Kett killed us all :(

Completely unrelated to anything, but I just realized that if you pick the romantic option in the escape pod with Peebee, they don't actually have sex. Call me stupid because that's what Peebee's initial condition is, but I thought Ryder's response changed her mind! When Ryder said "Let's not rush things" I interpreted and meant it in the emotional sense, as "It'd be dishonest to hide that I have a crush on you, but you don't owe me anything, and if you don't ready for a Serious Relationship and Grand Romance yet that's fine because I'm not either, so let's just hook up and leave reflection for later" -- which I thought was pretty sweet and interesting? Because this whole relationship to me was built on the fascinating contrast between Peebee's emotional reservations and casual/flirty attitude, and conversely, on Ryder very consciously respecting Peebee's emotional space. Maybe I just fundamentally don't understand sex and romance lmao. But if character A propositions character B, character B says they have feelings for character A, and the scene promptly fades to black, I assume they do the do because that's how these things are filmed? Only in comparison with the other option, which is actually pretty explicit, it became obvious to me that's not what the director meant. I'm pretty disappointed because I thought it was a good subversion of Jack's "either sex or romance" thing in ME2. And it messes with my headcanon/characterization... I guess I'll have to retcon it into one of the two options. I'll probably go with casual, not romantic in that case. But I just read that Peebee will tell you she's glad you said no, so... :/

Multiplayer

Failed a Silver APEX mission agains the Remnant as a human vanguard :(

Got an asari sentinel!

The patch is here, but I can't launch the game now :( This needs some work.

Ugh, I stop playing for two days and have no motivation to pick the game up again...