Why is overwatch so bad?

[Strifeboy]

I get the holo bonus on a mech just walking around and 5 people all miss. I just can't even!

[gimmethegepgun]

Reaction fire multiplies the total chance to hit (after aim, aim modifiers, and defense) by 0.7 unless it's done during an ambush from concealment. Unless your total chance to hit is 143% or higher you'll have a chance to miss.

As for why they made it bad, it's because overwatch creeping across the map is boring and ludicrously effective.

[Rosebourne]

in fact it was so effective it's why they started putting all these timers in the first place.

and why meld was a thing in the xcom 1 expansion

[talemore]

360° Overwatch and no dead angle. It is mostly used in favor of the AI. Overwatch is bad when you have it and it is bad when the A.I is using it. Overwatch is constructed to be used by the A.I to keep you in check. There are games where the overwatch works better. Take Xenonauts for example where weapons have rangetiles on when the weapon is allowed to trigger an overwatch when using a shotgun. The A.I uses the Overwatch to keep you from running past by them without firing a single shot. Some missions you don't need to shoot a single time if you keep running forward.

[Abrakadabra]

Overwatch is great. Once your soldiers got some aim.......ohoh. Its awesome, when pods stumble into combined overwatch fire. Love it.

[_ALuX_]

Imagine trying to shoot a bullet with a smaller bullet while riding a horse backwards and you happen to be a relativley untrained operative who just joined XCOM last thursday.

[red255]

Overwatch is a tool in your belt. its not always the tool you should use. Breaking stealth with an overwatch ambush is only really relevant if you just have 4 rookies, park on a roof, take your 4 85% shots. best you were going to manage.

later on you are better off taking the shot then either grenading the cover or otherwise taking a flank.

not counting bladestorm ambush overwatch.

which is amazing as it is free.

you got a katana, you got bladestorm, slash activate, slash an andromedon, he moves away, slash him again. dead. next turn before it punches you slash it AGAIN. 3 slash. you know what doesn't die to 3 Katana slashes? Maybe an alien ruler god knows. its alot of damage. and techncially overwatch.

[usane]

Overwatch is not so bad, but the RNG system is. All overwatch missed shot can happen like all normal shot is missed over 85+. Because in a turn everything is based on the same seed, if the seed is s*ck then all shots int that turn is s*ck.

[Mr. Nice]

Reaction shots are also not eligible for the hidden difficulty based "aim assist", so 85% will mean just that, wereas at veteran those 85% shots will get to 93% just from the x1.1 multiplier taken normally.

[gimmethegepgun]

Originally posted by usane:

Overwatch is not so bad, but the RNG system is. All overwatch missed shot can happen like all normal shot is missed over 85+. Because in a turn everything is based on the same seed, if the seed is s*ck then all shots int that turn is s*ck.

Seed has nothing to do with it, because it will use a different number for each shot.