Symmetra by Streber

0 Votes
Rating Pending

Symmetra

By: Streber
Last Updated: Jan 30, 2019
Quick Share

Symmetra

Vishkar Architech

This concept still needs some tweaks and changes. Any feedback is much appreciated.

Short Hero Description:

Symmetra is a builder and defensive Support that provides utility to her team and protect them with shields, while also dealing decent damage to her foes. She does not fulfill a healer role, but more of defensive one.

Concept Theme and Design:

Symmetra main theme is "hard-light" engineering and most of her abilities are inspired from Overwatch (new and old). So she is in HotS a summoner, or the better word for it; a builder! As seen in the image above, she holds her Photon Projector in one arm and with it she can fire Photon Beam and Energy Balls. Her other arm is a prosthetic one with a special glove that she uses to construct Sentry Turrets and Shield Generators. She can even build keeps, forts and giant Photon Barriers that split the entire battlefield.

Resource-wise she doesn't use any mana or energy, but instead she levels up her main weapon the longer she deals damage with her Basic-Attacks. Photon Projector can reach up to 3 Power-Levels which in a way act similar to an energy resource, increasing her overall damage and effectiveness, and decaying when out of combat. Every single ability is directly or indirectly affected by those Power-Levels. She'd have an additional bar under her Health Bar, representing those Power-Levels via 3 blue lines, similar to Junkrat's additional bar below his Health that represents his Grenade charges.



As usual, for those who'd like to know better about each ability, you can read the additional text provided under each ability/talent text which includes three sections: Explanation, Counter Play and Tips. For fast-readers who'd like to just read the main idea and concept, you can skip these. Enjoy!

Base Stats:
Role: Ranged Support/Assassin (?)
Resource: No Resource, instead she gets one bar that represents her current Power Levels similar to Junkrat's bar!.
Health: ~ 1500
Health regen: ~ 3.13
Basic Attack Damage: 15
Basic Attack Speed: 5
Basic Attack Range: 4

Combat Trait

1
[Trait] Photon Projector
Symmetra can move while Basic Attacking and her Basic Attack is a short-ranged Photon Beam that locks on an enemy target. After each 2 seconds of dealing damage with Photon Beam, Photon Projector enters a new Power-Level, increasing the damage of Photon Beam and Photon Orb by 33%. After Photon Beam fails to deal damage to an enemy, Power-Levels start to decay by 1 every 2 seconds.

Photon Projector has a maximum of 3 Power-Levels.
Explanation:
Symmetra can move while Basic Attacking, however this is balanced by having a shorter Basic Attack range than most ranged Heroes (4.0 compared to the standard 5.5, Hanzo and Raynor have 6.5). Photon Beam has 3 Power Levels that each increases its damage by 33%. After Basic Attacking for 2 seconds, Photon Projector enters Level 1, increasing its damage by 33% and after another 2 seconds, it enters Level 2, increasing its damage by a total 66% and after 6 seconds total it enters Level 3, increasing its damage by ~ 100% total. If Symmetra fails to Basic Attack, after each two seconds Photon Projector loses a Power Level, meaning in our previous example, after 2 seconds Photon Beam enters Level 2 from 3, then after another 2 seconds of not Basic Attacking, it enters Level 1 from 2 and after 6 seconds total of not Basic Attacking, it loses all Power-Levels.

Counter-Play:
Even though she can move while Basic Attacking the reduced Attack Range can be noticeable, especially that she doesn't have any sort of Gap-Closing ability, like how Tracer does with her 3 Blinks. Obviously, any Blind or Stun counters her and causes her to lose Power levels, but also any Slow or displacement can hurt her more than any other hero. Also note that the reduced Basic Attack range means she has to get in danger to dash out damage and she doesn't have any escape ability like Tracer does with her Recall so if she went too far in, she can be punished easily.

Tips:
You can level up Photon Projector by simply attacking minions, merc or summons, until you can get in range to lock on an enemy Hero.

Primary Abilities

1
[Q] Photon Orb
Cooldown: 2.5 seconds
Charge Photon Projector for up to 1 second. Release to fire a slow-moving ball of photonic energy that deals 45 (4% per level) damage per second to all non-structural enemies it passes through.

Each 0.2 seconds Channel time increases its damage and radius by 20% and each Power-Level increases its damage by 33%.
Range: 15
Initial Ball Radius: 1 (enhanced 2)
can't Basic Attack while Charging
Can move while Charging
Can be interrupted, Charge = Channel

Explanation:
This is a linear projectile ability. The Energy Ball/Photon Orb passes through all unites until it reaches its maximum range and deals more damage the longer it's channeled or/and the more Power Levels are stored. This ability while it deals low to mediocre damage is aimed for safe poking while not being able to get in range to Basic Attack. Note that Photon Beam cannot be channeled while channeling this ability, which makes it same as in Overwatch; Symmetra's secondary fire/Basic Attack option. However it can be channeled while moving. Cooldown starts after firing the Orb.

Another thing I'd like to add that "per second" means it can deal damage to the same target multiple time if they stay within its radius. The periodic damage is specific to each enemy, meaning it's not the same for all enemies within its radius at once, but rather how long this specific enemy is within its radius.

Counter Play:
Visual indication can be seen through energy forming from her weapon. Interrupting the channel causes the ability to be put on its cooldown without firing any Energy Balls. Additionally its slow moving speed makes avoiding it an easy task.

Tips:
Don't shy on using it, doesn't cost anything and can be spammed to interrupt objectives. However always take into consideration its slow travel speed if you want to interrupt an obj capture. High skill use of this ability includes switching between Photon Beam and Photon Orb when Power-Levels are full. While attacking with Photon Beam, you can stop for a brief moment and exploit the Power Level duration to either fire a quick Photon Orb to maximize damage or even a fully charged one.
2
[W] Sentry Turret
Charge Cooldown: 12 seconds
After 0.25 seconds, construct and launch a small Sentry Turret that automatically deploys after 0.25 seconds upon hitting a Structure or any Terrain.

Sentry Turret has 325 (4% per level) Health and attacks the nearest enemy, prioritizing Photon Beam targets if they are in range, dealing 33% of Photon Beam's current damage and Slowing the target by 20%. Lasts until destroyed.

Stores up to 2 Charges and only 2 maximum Turrets can be active at once.
Range: 8
Projectile
Can be cast while Basic Attacking

Explanation:
Pretty much same how it works in Overwatch. If the Turret doesn't hit any Terrain or Structure, it doesn't get deployed. The reason behind making it a skill-shot is to give the ability increased range which makes it more beneficial against fleeing enemies, considering that Symmetra doesn't have any gap-closing ability to actually chase the target. Deploying a third Turret will automatically destroy the first one. Attaining Power Levels indirectly increases Turret's damage.

Counter Play:
Turrets have really low health and can be easily killed. (Comparison to Probius: Photon Cannon has ~ 750 Health)

Tips:
Turret's Slow and ranged deployment can make up for Symmetra's lack of a gap-closer ability and her reduced attack range. So when attacking a target, you can anticipate their movement and throw a turret toward a terrain that will attack them and slow them, making it easy for you to catch up to them.
3
[E] Photon-Shield Generator
Cooldown: 16 seconds
Construct a Photon-Shield Generator in the target location that becomes active after 1 second.
It has 750 (4% per level) Health and grants all allied Heroes, Summons, Minions, Mercenaries and Structures a Shield that equals 33% of Symmetra's damage dealt to Heroes. Shield lasts for 2 seconds and the duration refreshes after each Shield application.

Lasts until destroyed or a new Shield Generator is deployed.
Range: 5
Effect/Aura Radius: 15
Animation: Shielded allies have blue transparent barrier displayed around them

Explanation:
This is a reincarnation of one of her old abilities and brings the support or defensive aspect of the character to the table. In a way it acts as a healing ward that has good amount of health but only effective when Symmetra is dealing damage through her Photon Beam/Ball or Sentry Turrets. I'd like also to point out that it can also shield itself. This ability also internally includes her old Photon Shield that she could give to a single target in Overwatch.

Counter Play:
Same as Sentry Turrets, it can be destroyed and only effective if Symmetra dishing out damage, meaning same counters to Photon Beam counter this ability as well.

Tips:
Due to its decent radius, it can be hidden in a bush before a team fight around the obj starts. It can also be used to defend core or structures as well.

Heroic Abilities

1
[R1] Photon Barrier
Cooldown: 70 seconds
After 0.5 seconds, Deploy a massive Photon Barrier across the entire battlefield that intercepts and absorbs all incoming damage. It has 2500 (4% per level) Shield Points and lasts 10 seconds or until destroyed.

Vector Targeting.
Explanation:
The vector targeting is to ensure the ability to manipulate the Barrier as the player wishes. a Visual Line across the minimap should help when targeting this Barrier. The Barrier absorbs all damage that comes through it, including Basic Attacks and projectiles. However it doesn't absorb damage from abilities that don't come through the Barrier even though if the caster is on the other side of the wall. This includes Flame-Strike or Shadow Fissure for example.

Counter Play:
Even though it has huge amount of points, it's easily countered. Just step through the Barrier, it doesn't create a Terrain as Tassadar's walls do. It also has Shield Points and not Health Points, meaning any talent that specializes in dealing damage to Shields destroys this Barrier faster. Varian's Shattering Throw alone takes more than 50% of the Photon Barrier amount away.

Tips:
You must anticipate where the next fight is gonna be. Even though it doesn't create unpathable Terrain, it still can be used for zoning, forcing the enemy team to either engage to the other side or retreat.
It also has many other creative ways of using this heroic, it can be used to block all three keeps damage for a brief moment or defensively to protect a structure (keep or core).
2
[R2] Utopia
Cooldown: 240 seconds
Reconstruct a Hard-Light Fort or Keep in the place of a destroyed one within 10 seconds. It has 8500 (4% per level) Shield Points and attacks enemies with a beam that deals 22 (4% per level) every 0.2 seconds, Slowing their Attack and Movement Speed by 20% for 2 seconds. It also Reveals all enemies within its range and prioritizes Photon Beam targets.

Only 1 Hard-Light Fort or Keep can be active at once. Reactivate to disable an active Hard-Light Fort/Keep, destroying it within 10 seconds and refunding 75% of its cooldown once it's destroyed this way. Cooldown starts after an active Hard-Light Fort/Keep has been destroyed.
Explanation:
It's exactly as if a fort or a keep is being reconstructed just with a Hard-Light technology theme: However the Hard-Light fort has only 50% of one Keep's normal stats (health amount, damage per seconds, Slow amount). The trade-off is that Symmetra can choose its targets by simply Basic Attacking them. It's another powerful heroic that adds to the defensive nature of the character.
When disabling a Fort, there's no turning back. During the next 10 seconds it gets deactivated and cannot attack. Once 10 seconds passes, it disappears and the cooldown is put to 60 seconds. The name is a hint to the city that Vishkar constructed out of Hard-Light (Utopeae)

Counter Play:
Again it has Shield Points which gives it another vulnerability aspect. It also has 10 seconds construction time, during which it can be attacked and destroyed before even getting online. Cursing Symmetra's team also disables the fort.

Tips:
Very strong at maps such as Blackheart's Bay or Sky Temple as it's considered a structure. It can also be used offensively by constructing it on enemy territory, but it still requires a destroyed fort. However constructing it on the enemy side of the map won't affect map mechanics as if it would have doing it on your team side. This includes catapults spawns for the enemy or objectives' interactions.

Last tip: Don't pick this in Towers of Doom, since all keeps/Forts are always up and never destroyed.

Talents:

In each talent tier section you'll find at the beginning a short comment describing the whole tier and after each talent some small explanation about the respective talent. For fast-readers you can skip those.

Level 1/Tier 1:


Overall Symmetra is going to have three main builds with some crossovers between them. a Photon Orb build, Photon Beam/Sentry Turret build and a Support-type E build. This tier is themed around quests that increase her effectiveness later at the game, beside choosing what path she'd like to follow.

[Q] Photon Excess:


10% of damage dealt with Photon Beam against targets that are in touch with a Photon Orb is added to the periodic damage of the same Orb.

Quest: Damage 3 enemy Heroes with a single Photon Orb twice.
Reward: Photon Orb gains an additional Charge.

The small passive is a nice addition to this quest talent to make it useful if the player fails to get the reward and also adds a nice interaction to the overall kit.

[E] Rebirth and Growth:


Quest: Regeneration Globes collected near or by Symmetra also grant all affected allies a permanent Shield that equals 100% of its Heal amount.
Reward: Each collected Regeneration Globe causes Photon-Shield Generator to heal Shielded non-structural allies for 5 (4% per level) Health per second.

Radius: 9 around Symmetra
Symmetra only heals allies that have Shields! if their Shield is destroyed she doesn't heal them.

[Trait] Photon Reactor:


Quest: Stay at Power Level 3.
Reward: After staying at Power Level 3 for 45 seconds, increase Sentry Turret Charges and maximum to 3.
Reward: After staying at Power Level 3 for 90 seconds, increase Power Level maximum to 4.

Level 4/Tier 2:

This Tier consists mainly of talents that bring utility to allies: damage reduction, increased CC, or increased received Healing. Each has its own synergies with their respective build while also being a good stand alone talents.

[Q] Energy Drain:


Enemy Heroes that are damaged by a Photon Orb deal 15% less damage for 2 seconds. This effect can stack twice.

[W] Photonic Interference:


Sentry Turret's Slow amount stacks with the Slow amount of other Sentry Turrets when attacking the same target.

In a way it's also a Photon Beam talent, since you need to Basic Attack a target for all other turrets to focus the same target. It also have nice synergy with level 7 talent Photonic Distortion.

[E] Photosynthesis:


Shielded allies within Photon-Shield Generator radius receive 25% increased Healing from all sources.

the bonus effect granted only to allies with Shield. Bonus ends when an ally loses his Shield or has his Shield broken.

Level 7/Tier 3

This tier provides some damage increase to the two damage builds, and shield increase to the support E build.

[Q] Photochemical Reaction:


Whenever a Photon Orb damages an enemy, increase its damage by 10%.

[W/Trait] Photonic Distortion:


Photon Beam and Sentry Turrets deal 5% increased damage versus Slowed enemies for every 10% Slow amount they have.

[E] Photon Battery:


Photon-Shield Generator additionally grants 2% of the target's maximum Health as Shield every second, up to 20%.

Passive: Symmetra permanently gains this Shield. It recharges through Photon-Shield Generator or automatically after 5 seconds of not taking damage at the rate of 2% per second.

This includes the Generator itself, Sentry Turrets and all non-elite, non-heroic units, including structures, which adds another defensive tool to Symmetra. One of its benefits is also a guaranteed Shield every second if Symmetra fails to deal damage and that translates into guaranteed effectiveness from other talents that require allies to be Shielded. The passive basically states that Symmetra doesn't need the Shield Generator to gain such Shield. It doesn't mean that she gets 40% of her max. Health as Shield.

Level 10/Tier 4:

mentioned above

Level 13/Tier 5:

Another supportive tier: it revolves around E ability but still crosses over to each other build. For pure damage and for completing both Q and Trait/W build, you can take Photonic Field. You can still go for one of the other two defensive talents without damaging any build. Soft Light can also be used for making Sentry Turrets Stealthed and ambushing the enemy. "best defense is a good offense!"

[E] Photonic Field:


Shielded allies within Photon-Shield Generator radius deal 5% increased damage for each stored Power Level.

[E] Photon Armor:


Shielded allies within Photon-Shield Generator radius gain 5 Armor for each stored Power Level.

[E] Soft Light:


Shielded allies within Photon-Shield Generator radius gain Stealth when out of combat for 1.5 seconds. Taking damage, attacking, using Abilities, or Channeling reveals the target. Remaining stationary for at least 1.5 seconds grants Invisible.

This also applies to non-elite, non-heroic unites, including Sentry Turrets. However when they attack they come out of invisible or stealth. This also applies to the Shield Generator as well, but breaks stealth/invisible whenever it grants shield. It would be cool if it also applies to structures but I'm afraid it could be broken if it did.
I thought of its name because it does the opposite of what "Hard" Light does in her lore and fantasy, by making material disappear instead of making material out of Light.

Level 16/Tier 6:

This Tier provides multiple ways of increasing Symmetra's damage and represent different crossovers between different builds.

[Q/E] Perfect Harmony:


Increase the damage of the next Photon Orb by 25% of damage amount absorbed via Symmetra's Shields in the last 2 seconds.
Increase the Shield amount granted by Photon-Shield Generator to 50% of Photon Orb's damage.

[W] Order From Chaos:


Upon launching a Sentry Turret, it fires rapid photonic blasts at nearby enemies every 0.1 seconds, each dealing 30 (4% per level) damage until it latches into a Terrain or Structure or until it reaches its maximum range.

Make use of its full range for max effectiveness.

[Trait] Overheating Ray:


Each Power Level causes each Photon Beam damage application to additionally deal 0.1% of the target's maximum Health

At Power Level 3, Photon Beam deals 1.5% of the target's maximum Health every 1 second. With the quest talent on tier 1, she can get Power Level 4 and so she can deal 2% of the target's maximum Health every second.

Level 20/ Tier 7:

[R1] Reality Bender:


Reduce Photon Barrier cooldown by 40 seconds, but its amount rapidly decays over its duration.

The ult concept in its self can be op at first glance, yet I'm still afraid that it can get easily countered by just maneuvering around it. Yet it's global and has hefty hit points so the cooldown must be long. The concept it self is nice and I'd like to keep it as it is from Overwatch, so I hope with this level 20 upgrade to eliminate all of its problems, by making this ability more often available at the cost that it can't stay long with that much health, it'd be just effective only at the beginning, solving both problems at once, not worrying about it being useless after first 2 seconds because of enemies playing around it, while also not worrying about it being OP with short CD. I'm still figuring this out and would appreciate any thoughts about the subject.

[R2] A Better World:


Hard-Light Fort or Keep also gets equipped with two Sentry Turrets. Both have separate Health, don't count to Sentry Turret's maximum and get reconstructed after 10 seconds of being destroyed as long as Hard-Light Fort/Keep is active. Additionally, Hard-Light Fort/Keep repairs itself and its Turrets at the rate of 2% of their maximum Hit Points every second after 5 seconds of not taking damage.

Constructing a Structure is something I'd find cool to have in HoTS but unfortunately very unlikely. I hope the restrictions I gave this ability would make it appear balanced and do-able to add to HoTS. At the very least I hope you enjoyed reading it. This upgrade grants enhanced defense to the fort. There was also this idea that it grants Shields to allies which would fit its name better, but I already feel this ability is a bit too much, hmm.

(B) Teleporter:


Hearthstone now causes Symmetra to set up a Teleporter at her location that connects to another in Hall of the Storm. Teleporter has 500 (4% per level) Health and allies can Channel on it for 1 second to teleport both ways. Only one Teleporter can be active at once.

Passive: Reduce Hearthstone Channel time to 3 seconds and it can't be interrupted by damage.

It's one of her iconic abilities that must be represented in HotS, even though it's hard to implement because we already have Medivh's E and Medic's level 20 talent. I ended up having something similar to what I've made for my Kazakus concept. Hearthstone can still be interrupted via CC.
When an ally channels on it, a "Light figure" appears on the other side displaying the travel which could give the enemy team more ways for counter play, other than destroying the Teleporter.

[E] Emergency Equipment:


Symmetra can store up to 2 Charges of Photon-Shield Generator and can construct a maximum of two Generators. The effects of both Generators don't stack.

Passive: Whenever allies within Shield Generator radius have their Shields broken, they gain 20% increased movement Speed for 1 second.

This talent grants the flexibility that this ability lacks. Now Symmetra can cover more area or have the Generator ready sooner if it gets destroyed, hence the word "Emergency" in the name

[Passive] Photonic Deviation:


Photon Beam, Energy Ball and Sentry Turrets ignore Armor and deal 100% bonus damage to Shields.

Ending Comments:

I hope you had fun reading the concept and would appreciate your feedback on it. Making a Hero concept about Symmetra was always in my mind and wanted to share with you the basic ideas I had for her before I go offline for my long exams period.
Within the next two months I'll be back to update this concept, once I'm finished with my exams or get more free time.

Quick Comment

You need to log in before commenting.

[-] Collapse All Comments

Sort Comments By
Loading Comments...
Load More Comments

HeroesFire is the place to find the perfect build guide to take your game to the next level. Learn how to play a new hero, or fine tune your favorite HotS hero’s build and strategy.

Copyright © 2019 HeroesFire | All Rights Reserved