Lúcio's Wall Ride Changes Lower His Skill Ceiling and Make Him Better for All Overwatch Players

The changes to Wall Ride definitely lowered Lúcio's skill ceiling, but brought out the best in the hero for all players, not just the most dedicated. It may seem unfair to those who put in the time and effort to master Lúcio, but Overwatch is dedicated to balancing their heroes for the benefit of all players, not just some. 

In April, Blizzard announced some new changes to Lúcio that seemed extremely impactful to the hero and gave players the impression that Lúcio was going to be a lot easier to play. Those changes have made it to the​ live servers today.

The most notable change was to his Wall Ride ability. The change makes ​Lúcio's Wall Ride much easier to maintain and master than before. 

The interesting thing about the change to Wall Ride is that it was already somewhat possible to get the same wall riding results with practice and skill. This is not a rework or a new ability, it's actually just lowering the skill ceiling on a major feature of this hero.

Current Wall Ride:

• Wall riding is less likely to be interrupted along a single surface
• Can now go around corners (both outside corners, and inside corners) without having to leave the wall
• Can now land back on the same wall after leaping away, provided his leap takes him far enough away from the original jumping off point.
• Movement speed bonus when leaping off walls decreased from 2.5 to 2.0 meters per second
• Added a minimum time that they jump key must be held before Lúcio can ride around corners

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​The Overwatch development team said, "Wall Ride has been significantly overhauled to allow it to function more smoothly across more areas of every map. Lúcio players should instantly notice a huge improvement in where and how Wall Ride can be used."

It seems that the Overwatch developers intended to make the Wall Ride ability easier for everyone, but seasoned Lúcio players are finding much to be upset about.

"Infinite" Wall Ride was already mostly achievable by sheer practice and skill honed by playing Lúcio for hours and hours. A skilled Lúcio hardly ever had to touch the ground while still being completely effective as a support hero. The changes to Wall Ride have, in essence, negated the mechanical skill Lúcio mains worked so hard to achieve.

It's easy to see how frustrating this would be to an Overwatch player that could already pull off these changes with skill, but what about the rest of the playerbase? These changes will make Lúcio a much more attractive pick for players looking to roll Support. Guaranteed wall riding can be fun and invite you to think outside of the box, and explore areas of the map you'd never see otherwise.

Photos courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment