4Game

This is a topic I've been having some discussion about in some comment threads, so I wanted to put it out to the wider community to see what they think.

What I wish to put forward is for the Death Totem ultimate to be an ultimate that is selected, then placed by direct control of the user before it then actually activates. The other ability that uses this most prominently is the interceptor pylon for Wattson.

The reason I believe this is useful is for the following reasons:

1. It eliminates the issue of Revenant's ultimate being destroyed if it's too close to a wall. Being able to place it with a reticle means you know if you're going to merge it into the wall (the circle will obviously collide with a wall) or using a ghost like the pylon or lifeline's care package would prevent the user placing the totem if it recognises it's too close to terrain.

2. It gives a clear visual representation if you're on the move. If you're running along and you press the totem to activate it, you wont be looking at the ground but rather straight ahead, so the totem will appear a set distance directly in front of you where you're looking towards. With a reticle or a ghost you have that very clear indicator of where the totem will be, making it easier to place where it wont get shot at in the open. The same principle is used with Watson's fences, where you can place fences quickly on the run because their outline immediately tells you how they'll deploy

3. This one is less of a big reason but it's a reason nonetheless. It gives an "are you sure" barrier so that if for some reason you press it but then realise you dont want to use it, you have that split second to cancel the placement instead of it being a "once pressed that's it" ability. It also prevents accidental casting of the ability.

4. You can see the radius of the protection. This again is not a major player but being able to see the boundaries of the death protection allows the Revenant player to plan a push onto a target whilst knowing for sure if that push will still remain within totem range.

An important note I want to add is that with these changes it would effect how the respawn works. I know there are certain circumstances where returning to a totem in certain spots allows for teleportation to other areas. Whether the developers intended this is unknown to me but they have control over whether it stays in the game.

I look forward to seeing what people have to say about this idea and if anyone prefers the immediate cast over select then click to cast.