the problem

my previous thread titled "boaster is trying too hard" spiked a very heated argument but one of the most discussed topic of that thread is Brimstone vs Astra on Bind.
now this isn't EXACTLY what i'm gonna be discussing but rather Brimstone as a Controller in general.

i wouldn't say i understand that much of the in-game fundamentals, comp theories or what not but what is holding Brimstone back from being a top played Controller like Omen, Viper and Astra? Brimstone is kind of in a middle point between the good and bad Controllers, more like a "mediocre" tier among them where he's definitely better than Harbor and Clove but isn't as viable as Viper, Omen and Astra.

again, what IS holding Brimstone back? after the nerfs to smoke cooldowns being 40 seconds, i don't think Brimstone having no rechargeable smokes for a 3rd one is the problem since now in most rounds you will only use about 3 RARELY 4 smokes anyway.
if Brimstone's smoke range was, let's say, from Lotus A attack barrier (A Lobby) to the back of A Heaven, would Brimstone be TOO strong or just strong enough?

no rechargeable smokes is a big deal on the bigger maps + limited range

weakness: his smokes have limited range, no recharge, and he has a lot less utility.
even if his smoke range was bigger, i think omen would still be preferred because the blind is just too good and no other controllers (except harbor) have something like that, but omen is more versatile and can be a solo controller unlike harbor

in pro play? no rechargable smokes so the attacks are somewhat telegraphed. only really viable on maps where you are just hard hitting sites over and over (bind). in ranked? boring ass kit

refreshable smokes is way stronger than you think, and considering how long some pro teams like to default
if you instant smoke for map control at round start, you have 96 seconds max of downtime to refresh 2 smokes
if attackers end up doing a slow default FNC style they likely plant at the end range of that 96 seconds, with another 38 seconds to smoke for postplant and retake before the spike needs to be defused

assuming optimal smoke cycling you are getting up to 4 smokes off in one round which is still an advantage over brimstone

omen blind is also very strong, while brim utility is next to useless besides the molly, which is only good situationally
also brim has small range for smokes

brimstone's worst nightmare is if bind and fracture are both OUT of the map pool, he'll basically get zero picks, which leads to people saying "buff brim" when the other controllers just outclass him cause of the maps

like when bind and fracture were both gone in 24 i think, the only team i remember running brim were NRG with demon1 on Lotus and NAVI(?) with ardiss on breach(?) on Lotus

bump cause vlr peak hours

as a controller player (99% omen, 0.6% brim, 0.4% astra trust me bro) not having rechargables is very sad because you have to conserve smokes too much
lets say youre playing haven and they make noise c long, naturally you smoke off the choke there, then they come garage and you smoke off that, now you only have 1 smoke left for c long, b, maybe an a hit, and worse of all spike/site smokes. and as someone said if you cycle smokes well enough omen gets 4 off, brim only 3
another thing being that his range is ass i dont think you can smoke haven a from c (who even plays him on haven but you get me), and i think on corrode he just cant reach the other site and can barely smoke mid
if his smoke range was as you said maybe he would be as viable as omen but then again his only other use is postplant lineups and ults/space denial, omen can hit you with paranoia, tp around and shit + he can do oneways faster, just outclasses brim in most scenarios

range and predictability (because it's way easier to track and bait out Brim's three smokes than to think about when the enemy Omen/Astra has a cooldown ending)

also stim beacon is just a weird ability that you don't tactically build around, which gives the illusion that he has less utility than the other controllers even if it does have value

The fact that brim has 3 abilities instead of 4 and none are infinite

my previous thread titled "boaster is trying too hard" spiked a very heated argument but one of the most discussed topic of that thread is Brimstone vs Astra on Bind.
now this isn't EXACTLY what i'm gonna be discussing but rather Brimstone as a Controller in general.

i wouldn't say i understand that much of the in-game fundamentals, comp theories or what not but what is holding Brimstone back from being a top played Controller like Omen, Viper and Astra? Brimstone is kind of in a middle point between the good and bad Controllers, more like a "mediocre" tier among them where he's definitely better than Harbor and Clove but isn't as viable as Viper, Omen and Astra.

again, what IS holding Brimstone back? after the nerfs to smoke cooldowns being 40 seconds, i don't think Brimstone having no rechargeable smokes for a 3rd one is the problem since now in most rounds you will only use about 3 RARELY 4 smokes anyway.
if Brimstone's smoke range was, let's say, from Lotus A attack barrier (A Lobby) to the back of A Heaven, would Brimstone be TOO strong or just strong enough?

his smokes are fine, they are good on smaller maps (like bind) and last the longest of any smoke in the game im pretty sure.
because his placement range is relatively small, there are certain restrictions to where you play him (most often, youll want him around mid, so he can quickly smoke both sides of a map). compare this to omen or astra, who have a much larger smoke placement range, and you see how they are less restricted in their positioning.

his stim beacon is quite weak, usually has little impact

his molly is fine, but also not as impactful as, say, an omen blind or the ability to do multiple astra pulls

his ult can be played around by baiting, pros know how to do this

his kit is not necessarily weak on its own, but it is weak when comparing it to other controller agents. in pro play, the usefulness of utility is obviously very important (it gives you an advantage over opponents). i think the only controller that has less impactful utility (= potential) is clove, whose only selling point is their ultimate. he is a niche agent, who i think shines most when paired up with a fade (who can seize), as he has two damage abilities (molly and ultimate).