Depending on the team he was on, players will either have fond or angry memories about the old way Bastion would play. It was clear that he needed to be changed. Those who were worried that Bastion would be made worse entering Overwatch 2 can put those fears to bed.
It's true that Bastion is nowhere near as strong at defending single points as he was before. But that's made up for with an increase in mobility and range in Overwatch 2. Now, players can truly be Bastion mains on any map without feeling like they are hurting the team that needs to push better.
Playstyle
Bastion belongs in the medium to long range when it comes to team setup. In his standard configurations, he can hit from a remarkable distance but gets a bit less accurate when sustaining fire. When an infiltrator makes the way to the backline, Bastion can usually either match their damage or become harder to kill.
Unlike most other DPS heroes, Bastion is totally fine with enemy shields. With a quick reconfiguration, Bastion will blast down even the best tank shields in a matter of seconds. Tanks will be forced to choose whether to lose their shields or remove them and expose their allies.
Abilities
Configuration: Recon
- Mobile, with a lightweight and highly accurate weapon.
In his standard form, Bastion can move around normally and fires a mildly damaging weapon capable of headshots. By choosing to fire in bursts, the gun has the accuracy of a sniper rifle, complete with no bullet drop-off.
Configuration: Assault
- A slow-moving tank with a powerful rotary cannon.
New players to the franchise won't remember these times, but this ability used to last forever and make Bastion completely immobile. The move now only lasts for a couple of seconds, but the tradeoff is that Bastion only slows down a little. The damage, like before, is monstrous. The accuracy, even when fully sustained, is still great at medium distances.
Reconfigure
- Switch between weapon configurations.
This stability allows Bastion to choose between Configuration: Recon and Configuration: Assault.
A-36 Tactical Grenade
- Fire a bomb that bounces off walls ad explodes when it hits enemies or the ground.
Many lobbed projectiles, such as the ones by Junkrat and Sigma, don't differentiate between the ground and the wall. This skill does, enabling Bastion to immediately detonate a grenade up close or lob one from a distance or around corners.
Ironclad: Passive
- Reduced damage taken while transformed.
"Transformed" sounds a bit nebulous as Bastion is also in some kind of configuration. The damage reduction applies to the two that aren't Configuration: Recon.
Configuration: Artillery
- Become immobile and fire up to three powerful artillery shells.
Bastion's ultimate gives players a bit of decision-making. Should they fire all three shells in the same place and potentially kill a unit outright? Or should he space them out a bit, deal moderate damage to the entire team, and reduce the odds of them hopping out of the radius?
Tips & Tricks
Given the changes since the first game, it's best to unlearn Bastion before re-learning him. Mobility is now one of his strengths instead of his weaknesses. Move around to the side of the team to pick off a support hero from range. Or stand behind Bastion's tank and focus on ripping down shields to let the other DPS character get some shots in.
Try to lob grenades so that they land about where opponents are standing. This and Bastion's ultimate are his only means of dealing damage to players that aren't directly in front of him, so use them well.
Bastion is still better on defense than offense, so focus on maps where players don't have to make a surge forward. Bastion is loud and not breaking onto the backlines anytime soon. Pair Bastion is a pal that can do that kind of work instead.
Combos
- Zarya
Bastion has plenty of time to get all three shots of his ultimate off if Zarya casts her ultimate. That will wipe out an enemy team. Besides stacking ultimate abilities, Zarya's protective shield can be the difference maker if somebody breaks onto the backlines.
- Genji
It's already known that Genji is one of the best DPS characters around but he's even better with Bastion. While Genji creates havoc from behind, Bastion takes care of business from the front, sandwiching everybody in between two relentless DPS heroes.
- Mercy
If Bastion only takes a second to cut through enemy shields, imagine how much quicker this is with Mercy amplifying his damage. There are few better choices for her damage amplification.
- Roadhog
They've removed Roadhog's ability to instantly kill a hero when he snags them, but he's very close. Bastion is easily the difference-maker here. One Bastion sees the hook go out, immediately start shooting where the target will be to bring back Roadhog's glory days. Also, if Roadhog bumps enemies into a tight place with his ultimate, Bastion's ultimate becomes very easy to aim.
- Torbjorn
Bastion is decent at locking down the backlines, but Torbjorn makes it a hopeless fight. He creates a layer of safety for Bastion. The range of these two on DPS sinks up perfectly, as Bastion handles everything from medium to distant range while Torbjorn annihilates anything closer than that.
Advantages & Counters
Heroes that depend on their shields, especially Reinhardt and Brigitte, should probably switch if they see an enemy Bastion against them. Those without shields like Roadhog and Junker Queen don't fare much better as the damage they take can't be out-healed. Pharah, Echo, Mercy, and any other flying units should also beware of the potential dangers.
Snipers are certainly an area of weakness for Bastion. He can barely reach them and they can take him out with a single headshot. Zarya is perhaps Bastion's greatest weakness as her shields ignore total damage and give her more power. Also, look out for Moira as her mobility and orbs make for a rare situation that Bastion can't reliably handle.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.