simpleek

Online game nights, or every other weekend for online fun, is a tradition I cherish with my good friend. Sometimes our options for multiplayer games we can play together are limited, but they aren’t lacking in quality either. Since coming back from my vacation a few weeks ago, we got together to play a few rounds of Overwatch. By going back to Blizzard Entertainment’s stellar online multiplayer game, I finally got to discover the joys of Overwatch’s latest addition to the team Brigitte.

When game sites announced Brigitte as a new character joining Overwatch, some have aptly described her as, “if Reinhardt and Torbjörn had a baby she would be it.” They’re partially right. Torbjörn Lindholm is the father of Brigitte and Reinhardt Wilhelm is her godfather.

Brigitte is a support character, who is dressed in full armor and packs a heavy stick that hits hard. Not only can she deal damage to nearby foes using her melee Rocket Flail attack, but she can also heal her teammates as she wreaks havoc to the opposing team.

While I’m still learning all the moves and skills Brigitte possesses in her arsenal, I found her to be incredibly easy to pick up once I at least figured out half of her abilities, among them being her Rocket Flail, Whip Shot, and Barrier Shield. What I particularly like about Brigitte is she’s a balanced character that combines the best of Torbjörn and Reinhardt’s skill set to create a play style that works for the individual player.

If you prefer to play Brigitte as the healer, she’s got some abilities that make it possible to focus on helping your group recover some HP or provide added protection with shields. If you want to play her as a tank character that leads the charge in an attack, her Rocket Flail is powerful enough to deal some heavy damage with her mighty swings. This is exactly why she’s creeping up in my rankings of favorite Overwatch characters I love to play as. There’s some flexibility in how you can approach your playthrough as Brigitte.

As much as I like Reinhardt and I have played him quite a bit, I discovered I’m better at playing Reinhardt as defense rather than being the one who strikes first in a match. I can hold his shield up to protect my fellow teammates from the rain of fire bearing down on us while they move forward with the attack, but find myself awful at using Reinhardt’s melee attacks against other players. There’s something very cumbersome and awkward about his melee attacks that never feels natural to me. His swings feel clunky and less controlled. Brigitte, who has similar abilities to Reinhardt in this regard, has melee attacks that feel more controlled and fluid. I actually feel like my attacks are striking the ones I’m targeting, while Reinhardt can feel a little like a hit or miss when I attack someone. And Torbjörn? Well, I haven’t played him much, if at all, in a match. I’ve watched others use his skills to great effect. I have to try Torbjörn in a game to decide if my feelings for Reinhardt would be similar to how I play this short bearded Swedish weaponsmith.

After playing Brigitte, my rankings for go-to characters have changed slightly since the last time I discussed the characters of Overwatch:

1. D.Va

2. Brigitte

3. Pharah

4. Reinhardt

5. Hanzo

I still need plenty of practice with Brigitte before I can consider myself an ace with her, but it’s getting there. It took time to learn D.Va’s abilities and capabilities, but now, everything about playing as her has become second nature. From the way my personal rankings are at now, Brigitte may be neck and neck with D.Va for the top spot in my heart.

Are you an Overwatch fan? What do you think of Overwatch’s recent member to the team?