Pharah, the Rocket Lady. The thorn on my side
The Pharah pick alone forces almost an entire team to switch off the heroes they’re playing, she completely changes the course of a match simply by existing, and sometimes, the Pharah player is not even that good. She deals high, consistent damage from afar, in the sky. Killing her is an absolute chore, especially if pocketed by a Mercy.
I am not gonna sugar coat it: i hate Pharah. I do. And im not the only one. Across all ELOS, across all platforms, across all the community, i can safely say that most people dislike playing agaisnt Pharah.
Pharah is a hero that requires you as an opponent to give her your undivided attention, since ignoring her most likely spells Death. But it is also a double edged sword, since in a fast-paced game like Overwatch, looking at the sky even for brief moments searching for The Egypician Bird often means getting shot at, pinned, shield bashed, flash banged etc. In a super heated fight, no one looks at the Pharah, meaning she is dealing free DPS almost uncontested.
The most ideal counters for Pharah often are heroes that suffer from damage fall off, when she has none. Your Mccree is sweating from trying to land 2 to 3 shots on the Pharah, meanwhile she is high up in the sky spamming rockets, getting splash damage with knockback, getting pocketed by the Mercy, making the DPS’s job that much more difficult and overall increasing the frustration of said players and for instance making them performing worse. This then can become a Snowball of Frustration across the all team, all because of one single hero that doesn’t really have that much of a skill ceiling.
So, i have been ranting about Pharah for some lines of text now. And yes, i am aware of the PTR Pharah changes ocurring at the time of this post (although i DO NOT agree with the attack speed increase).
But im not simply gonna complain like a crybaby about Pharah without contribuiting to an overall discussion
I have come to suggest 2 changes that can make both make Pharah much more plausible to fight around and also bring the PharahMercy cheap strat to a more balanced state, WITHOUT touching her damage numbers. These changes will benefit players who are attentive and aware of the Pharah and use these opportunities to launch a counter attack.
Number 1: Diminish her Fuel Meter
It is not a secret whatsoever that there is a certain way to Fly Forever. Countless youtube guides demostrate this. The most notable is a video from Valkia himself, a Pharah One-Trick.
What will you notice is that the technique itself is not hard AT ALL to master. Heck, when i get Pharah in Mystery Heroes i do this with ease: you rocket jump, at the peak of the jump you start tapping your Fuel button and just hover. The cooldown of the Rocket Jump will come back up before the Fuel runs out. You then rinse and repeat according to the situation. What you will find out even, is that by using this technique you will actually GAIN height! Making shooting you that much difficult.
Reducing the Fuel Meter will force the Pharah to play less agroo and more conciously, as well as opening more opportunities for opponents who are aware of the Pharah and with the proper timing will have a fighting chance.
This tentative change would also make PharahMercy less oppressive across all matches, since the Mercy would now be able to be contested as well.
Number 2: Give (louder) Fuel Sound Effects and add a Voice Line to her Rocket Jump
This is super important and i am gonna compare Pharah’s movement ability to several movement abilities in Overwatch.
When D.Va boosts, not only you hear her speak, but you also hear the boosters itself making a noise. Everyone knows when D.Va is flying, even when she is not visible at all.
When Winston Jump Packs, he growls, then makes a landing noise when he hits the ground, and sometimes even says a voice line. You hear this perfectly
When Lucio is Wall Riding, you perfectly hear that his roler skates make a different sound, as well as occasional voice lines. I can tell when an ally Lucio behind me is wall riding without looking at him.
When Tracer blinks, you hear her super iconic “Piu” sound and… you know what im gonna say.
Question is: why doesnt Pharah say anything when she rocket jumps?? Countless times i have seen a Pharah fly across roof tops completely unheared and unseen, to a prime flacking position for a Barrage or sneaky kill, leaving almost no way of counterplay whatsoever.
Yes, i know that using her Fuel does make a little noise, but in a game with loud ultimates, countless voice lines, SFX from particles, grenades, weapons, guns and taunts, not even the Pharah player can hear her own jet!!
She is so god damn quiet it is unbelievable. She is a complete ninja, with vertical movement and high damage rockets. How is it fair?
Adding a unique voice line to her Rocket Jump will make everyone aware she just entered Sky Domain, and everyone will now have to play accordingly.
And for Christ sake, i dont even need to explain this: if a military jet suit is flying directly above me, i should be able to hear it.
I am now open for discussion on this matter. Please give your honest opinions and insight, as well as other changes i have not considered.
TL.DR: Pharah’s current kit is too oppressive and low risk. Reducing Fuel Meter and giving her Flying capabilities louder noises would improve both the skill ceiling of the Pharah player and reduce the frustration of fighting Pharah across all ELOS and platforms.
P L E A S E read the reasoning behind my arguments before you commentate, much appreciated