I have played both Overwatch and Paladins. Two games with some similarities. But definitely different approaches to the whole hero shooter paradigm.
The overwhelming playstyle encouraged in Overwatch is hero switching. If you die, you switch to another character that might do better against the other team. This is baked into the game. And expected by the most vocal of the game's fanbase. However, it disenfranchises and punishes those players who just really want to get really good with their favorite character. So yes, there are some definite down sides.
In Paladins hero switching is not a thing. You choose your hero at the beginning of the match. And that's it. You can't switch to another character in the middle of the match. So you have to do your best with the character you have. And that's it. You can't change team composition to metagame the system for victories. In my opinion. Paladins rewards those players who focus on improving their skill, first and foremost.
Yes, I am biased in favor of Paladins. For straight up game play. It just feels better to me.
I also play wildly different styles of characters in the two games. In Overwatch, my preferred character is D.Va.Who is an off-tank. In Paladins, my preferred character is Skye. Who is a flanker.
I came to this conclusion after spending quite a bit of money on a huge statue of D.Va from Overwatch. And I have bought a bunch of other merchandise based on her. So yeah, I really love the character.
But for game play? Overwatch has become too toxic and unfriendly for me. It has catered to the wrong audience for too long. And it has certainly damaged my enjoyment of the game.
Paladins I play on the Nintendo Switch. And I have a blast with it. I managed to pick up the character pack that unlocks every character for quite nearly half price during the holidays. And so far, my experience has been very much of enjoyment.
But I am not sure if most of that enjoyment comes from simply my being new to Paladins. And currently having rose colored glasses toward the game. So I will have to just play more and see if my positivity lasts.
But I have to end this by saying the obvious. Cheaters suck. They destroy the atmosphere and sense of community in a game. They make the players who want to play legitimately for enjoyment to no longer want to play. And if the company doesn't deal with them out of the gate, they take over and lay waste to it all.
Activision Blizzard gets a lot of heat from bad service on their other games. It has certainly creeped into Overwatch. And as a fan of the game and its lore, I'm certainly in a state of mourning.