It's been a couple of weeks since Blizzard deployed the aforementioned 'Barrier-Killing Patch' (let's just call it BKP, for short) onto the PTR, and a lot of people have voiced their opinions on how it buffs and nerfs some heroes and whether it will be big enough to change the meta. We've also had some pretty interesting PUGs happening in the EU region, hosted by former Dallas Fuel coach, Peak, which have been focused on a lot by analysts and content creators alike.
However, I'm a simple guy. I don't have an idea of what the BKP meta will be like per se, at least at the top tier of play, but what I have formed some opinions on in the past few weeks are the changes in the power levels of all our 31 heroes, which is why I've decided to share how I think each hero will be affected by this patch, and whether they're ultimately winners, or losers, because of it. Do keep in mind that the opinions I'm about to share are solely my own, and are based purely on my game knowledge and experience. They're also of a speculative nature more than anything else, so please don't take my word as gospel, but don't disregard it completely either.
Alright, without further ado, let's discuss my personal winners and losers of the Barrier-Killer PTR Patch.
Tanks
1. D.Va- I believe D.Va is a pretty big winner on the BKP. Her matrix has a shorter cooldown, meaning she can eat abilities more often and peel better for her team. Also, she's going to get more value alongside Orisa, whose barrier has been nerfed to 600HP. Cycling Defence Matrix along with the barrier will be vital in countering the likes of spam comps, and you won't get that kind of value with Roadhog, and sometimes, even Sigma. With barriers being nerfed, we are also likely to see more sniper play, and D.Va is great at taking out snipers or simply denying them damage. So yes, D.Va mains, rejoice.
2. Orisa- It's insane how much better Orisa is going to be on the BKP. Although her barrier has been nerfed, she is slowed less while shooting, and can Fortify herself more often. Also, as I mentioned earlier, D.Va is going to be stronger, and will supplement Orisa better with efficient cooldown management. If you focus on the hero more than the barrier, Orisa is going to be way stronger than she is now, so main tank players, Orisa Jail may not go away so soon!
3. Reinhardt- Just like Orisa, Reinhardt was given some over-the-top buffs to compensate for nerfing his barrier. He is now less prone to CC, can walk faster with his barrier up, and is obviously tankier because of the armour buff. This helps him engage/disengage better, and results in an overall improved, German-made smashing machine.
4. Roadhog- Call me crazy, but I believe Hog will be a fair bit weaker on the next patch. Yes, he will be able to break barriers quicker, but his lack of a direct protective ability will probably cost him some pickrate as an off-tank, especially since Triple Tank can't be played anymore. Else, we could've seen him take up a DPS slot to great success. Currently, Hog works very well alongside Orisa due to their Halt-Hook combos, but that's partly because Orisa's 900HP barrier is protecting them while they are executing them. With just 600HP of protection on the BKP, and his inability to block damage unlike D.Va, Zarya or Sigma, Roadhog will just end up feeding more ult charge to the enemy team, and contribute to the quick demolition of his Bunker. He will still be a great rage-swap option for tank players on ladder to go for though; you know, just in case you have "noob DPS" (which you admittedly have every game kappa).
5. Sigma- This was a hard internal debate for me. Sigma is just different now, rather than being noticeably stronger or weaker. Based on the signs I see though, I decided to classify him as a minor loser on the BKP. Before we get to why he loses, let's look at why he wins a tad bit as well. First up, Sigma's Kinetic Grasp is way better, since he can use it more often and get more shields out of it. Also, the reduction in barrier health will promote more sniper play, which Sigma is great at hindering. These things work well in his favour, but the biggest changes, which are the nerfs to his and Orisa's barriers, are maybe a little stronger than the direct and indirect buffs he's got. I honestly think Orisa's barrier losing 300HP is a bigger hit to him than his own barrier losing 600HP. You see, Sigma's barrier was never about blocking damage. It was about blocking angles and valuable cooldowns, kind of like a Defence Matrix in a barrier form, so the nerfs to his barrier won't affect him that much. However, when you consider that he will have to use his barrier more often because of Orisa's being nerfed, you realise how big of a nerf its health and regen reduction can be. This is the only reason I've categorised Sigma as a loser rather than a winner, but I think highly-skilled Sigma players will still be able to get great value out of his kit.
6. Winston- As a result of the armour buff, our beloved scientist ape will be tankier on the BKP, and will likely see more use with the resurgence of sniper play, as well as a slight increase in Genji's pickrate. I don't doubt that he will be a niche character, but when you don't see the enemy running anti-tank or anti-dive heroes, he just might be the best main tank option to go for.
7. Wrecking Ball- Unfortunately, this is a no-no patch for our beloved hamster. There are multiple small reasons rather than one big reason for this, and it's kind of annoying to think that they can make such a monumental difference to Hammond's pickrate altogether. To start off, Quad Cannons are already pretty bad against armour, and with more of it on the battlefield on this patch, he won't be able to dish out as much pain as he currently does. Another factor is that D.Va's Matrix is available more often, meaning she can more frequently Matrix her allies when Hammond dives them, preventing him from dealing follow-up damage with his Quad Cannons. Also, Rein and Orisa have better anti-CC, since Steadfast and Fortify have both been buffed. Knocking these main tanks into uncomfortable positions was a very high-value move for Wrecking Ball, and now, he can rarely do that effectively. These are such annoying reasons to take a character out of favour, but they're valid nonetheless. Even if you look at Torb's buff; it's very minor, but that 2s reduced cooldown on Overload makes him diveable less often, meaning one of Hammond's easiest dive targets can escape his clutches on more occasions than before. Sure, you can say that Hammond will still be useful against snipers and such, but wouldn't you rather play Winston in a situation like that? He has a 700HP barrier for protection after all.
8. Zarya- Zarya got an indirect DPS buff on this patch, owing to the improvements made to her alternate fire. This will undoubtedly make her a bit scarier, increasing her combat uptime, and if you combine this with Rein's changes, you can see how much stronger she's really going to get. Just one word of advice though: be more wary of the enemy D.Va when you're considering using your Graviton Surge. The Matrix cooldown buff will make her job of eating your Grav easier.
3. Reinhardt- Just like Orisa, Reinhardt was given some over-the-top buffs to compensate for nerfing his barrier. He is now less prone to CC, can walk faster with his barrier up, and is obviously tankier because of the armour buff. This helps him engage/disengage better, and results in an overall improved, German-made smashing machine.
4. Roadhog- Call me crazy, but I believe Hog will be a fair bit weaker on the next patch. Yes, he will be able to break barriers quicker, but his lack of a direct protective ability will probably cost him some pickrate as an off-tank, especially since Triple Tank can't be played anymore. Else, we could've seen him take up a DPS slot to great success. Currently, Hog works very well alongside Orisa due to their Halt-Hook combos, but that's partly because Orisa's 900HP barrier is protecting them while they are executing them. With just 600HP of protection on the BKP, and his inability to block damage unlike D.Va, Zarya or Sigma, Roadhog will just end up feeding more ult charge to the enemy team, and contribute to the quick demolition of his Bunker. He will still be a great rage-swap option for tank players on ladder to go for though; you know, just in case you have "noob DPS" (which you admittedly have every game kappa).
5. Sigma- This was a hard internal debate for me. Sigma is just different now, rather than being noticeably stronger or weaker. Based on the signs I see though, I decided to classify him as a minor loser on the BKP. Before we get to why he loses, let's look at why he wins a tad bit as well. First up, Sigma's Kinetic Grasp is way better, since he can use it more often and get more shields out of it. Also, the reduction in barrier health will promote more sniper play, which Sigma is great at hindering. These things work well in his favour, but the biggest changes, which are the nerfs to his and Orisa's barriers, are maybe a little stronger than the direct and indirect buffs he's got. I honestly think Orisa's barrier losing 300HP is a bigger hit to him than his own barrier losing 600HP. You see, Sigma's barrier was never about blocking damage. It was about blocking angles and valuable cooldowns, kind of like a Defence Matrix in a barrier form, so the nerfs to his barrier won't affect him that much. However, when you consider that he will have to use his barrier more often because of Orisa's being nerfed, you realise how big of a nerf its health and regen reduction can be. This is the only reason I've categorised Sigma as a loser rather than a winner, but I think highly-skilled Sigma players will still be able to get great value out of his kit.
6. Winston- As a result of the armour buff, our beloved scientist ape will be tankier on the BKP, and will likely see more use with the resurgence of sniper play, as well as a slight increase in Genji's pickrate. I don't doubt that he will be a niche character, but when you don't see the enemy running anti-tank or anti-dive heroes, he just might be the best main tank option to go for.
7. Wrecking Ball- Unfortunately, this is a no-no patch for our beloved hamster. There are multiple small reasons rather than one big reason for this, and it's kind of annoying to think that they can make such a monumental difference to Hammond's pickrate altogether. To start off, Quad Cannons are already pretty bad against armour, and with more of it on the battlefield on this patch, he won't be able to dish out as much pain as he currently does. Another factor is that D.Va's Matrix is available more often, meaning she can more frequently Matrix her allies when Hammond dives them, preventing him from dealing follow-up damage with his Quad Cannons. Also, Rein and Orisa have better anti-CC, since Steadfast and Fortify have both been buffed. Knocking these main tanks into uncomfortable positions was a very high-value move for Wrecking Ball, and now, he can rarely do that effectively. These are such annoying reasons to take a character out of favour, but they're valid nonetheless. Even if you look at Torb's buff; it's very minor, but that 2s reduced cooldown on Overload makes him diveable less often, meaning one of Hammond's easiest dive targets can escape his clutches on more occasions than before. Sure, you can say that Hammond will still be useful against snipers and such, but wouldn't you rather play Winston in a situation like that? He has a 700HP barrier for protection after all.
8. Zarya- Zarya got an indirect DPS buff on this patch, owing to the improvements made to her alternate fire. This will undoubtedly make her a bit scarier, increasing her combat uptime, and if you combine this with Rein's changes, you can see how much stronger she's really going to get. Just one word of advice though: be more wary of the enemy D.Va when you're considering using your Graviton Surge. The Matrix cooldown buff will make her job of eating your Grav easier.
Damage
9. Ashe- It's actually rather sad, but Ashe loses out a lot on the BKP. One would assume that the barrier nerfs would help her out, but if you play Ashe, you know that shooting barriers is futile for her. She would rather use her dynamite to get damage onto grouped-up enemies and fire at those who peek than simply try and destroy the barriers. Hence, her damage situation doesn't really change at all. With this in mind, consider how big of a blow D.Va's Defence Matrix buff deals to her. D.Va can eat more dynamites than before with her reduced DM cooldown, and that takes away Ashe's primary source of damage against barrier comps, like those with Orisa. So, you can essentially forget about playing Ashe against a D.Va, who synergises with not only Orisa, but also Winston and Hammond, who counter her to a great extent anyway. Also, Genji has had an ammo buff, meaning he will find it easier to take Ashe out as well. So unfortunately, we probably won't be seeing much of her on the next patch either.
10. Bastion- I believe Bastion loses out a lot on this patch. Sure, barriers will be weaker, so he can get damage across to the enemy team much quicker, but what about the barriers protecting him? They will melt equally quickly, and considering the static nature of Bastion's playstyle, having weaker barriers protecting him is more harmful to him than firing at weaker barriers is beneficial. Also, we might see Nanoblade come back, which has always been a major threat to Bastion.
11. Doomfist- Doomfist and Hammond are similar in many ways, and their reasons for being nerfed on this patch are similar too. I think the only exceptions are his sniper matchups, in which case they're still quite map and approach-dependent.
12. Genji- Although Genji has received just a minor buff on this patch, I think it's helpful, and as the devs mentioned, it will help him finish off kills more easily. This also means that despite the improved peel from the likes of D.Va, he can stay in the enemy's backline for a little longer, confirm a kill, and dash out all the same.
13. Hanzo- The Elder Shimada brother also wins out on the BKP. Always known for his barrier-break potential, Hanzo is going to have a gala time breaking down his now-fragile blue nemeses. I think the main hindrances to him would be D.Va timing her Defence Matrix correctly and eating the majority of his damage, or Genji, if he gets in his face and duels him, which could go Genji's way more often because of his increased ammo capacity. Other than that though, Hanzo is going to be as versatile as he already is, and will be a great pick for players of all levels to use if they're having trouble breaking barriers.
14. Junkrat- Junkrat's case is very similar to Hanzo's, in the sense that he will be better at barrier-break, but can get less value against a good D.Va or a vicious Genji. However, I placed Hanzo as a winner but Junk as a loser, since Junk lacks the range which Hanzo possesses.
15. McCree- Right now in the Double Barrier Meta, McCree is a great counter-meta pick, since he can cause trouble to meta heroes like Reaper and Doomfist with his Flashbang. With the new changes, he will be able to deal more meaningful damage to all his enemies, and not just those who are flanking his team. Also, although I wouldn't say he's great at barrier-break, McCree can contribute a decent amount of damage to that cause, so consider using him more against static, low-protection setups like Orisa-Hog.
16. Mei- Alright, let's talk about the Devil. Mei, at least mathematically, gets weaker in this patch. Her playstyle pretty much revolves around walking up to her opponents and freezing them. However, the likes of Orisa and Reinhardt will be harder to freeze, now that their Fortify and barrier walking speed, respectively, have been buffed. Also, Defence Matrix has a shorter cooldown, so D.Va can deny damage to her frozen allies more readily. In addition to that, it'll be easier for her to eat Mei's Blizzard, which is a team fight-winning ultimate. Despite all this though, Mei is not going to be a bad pick at all. She's so strong currently, that nerfs of this level probably won't ruin her pickrate by a distinguishable amount.
17. Pharah- Someone who anyway doesn't see a lot of playtime on ladder (at least on PC), Pharah is going to be even harder to get value out of on the next patch. Some of the direct tank buffs are responsible for this effect; for example, buffing Fortify and Steadfast means that Pharah won't be able to knock Orisa and Rein around as much as she currently does. Also, D.Va's Matrix buff means that she can be more responsive towards her rockets and her ultimate. Although this means that Pharah's interactions with tanks have been nerfed, I think you can still get value out of her if you use her like an assassin. Just go for squishy targets and don't bother damaging the tanks much. Pocketed by a Mercy, Pharah can still get immense value out of spamming the enemy backline. Oh, and also, Widow has been given 2 more seconds on her Grappling Hook cooldown, meaning you can duel her more easily if she's out of position.
18. Reaper- It's about time the Tank Buster DPS of the Year was nerfed. It may not seem apparent, but the armour buff halves Reaper's damage to armoured targets, and that is a huge change. In addition to that, since off-tanking is stronger, Reaper might not get a ton of value from his ultimate. For instance, D.Va and Sigma can eat his Death Blossom more readily, and Zarya can bubble herself, absorb damage, and dish out more right clicks to burst him down. That, and D.Va and Sigma can peel more readily for their backline if Reaper teleports behind them, whereas Zarya can simply threaten him with her additional damage uptime. Still, not all hope is lost. Even though Reaper is nerfed as a flanker, he will be valuable as a frontline character when shield break is needed. I can totally see him being run in a Deathball or Double Barrier Speed comp, where he simply walks up to the enemy barrier and begins bursting it down. That's where his value will probably lie.
19. Soldier:76- Yes, you read that correctly. Soldier is finally getting stronger on a new patch, after maybe 20 million years. He isn't getting buffed in any direct manner, but since barriers are going to be weaker, he will be able to deal damage to his enemies more often. He's not too bad at barrier-break either, so his kit could be valuable if used in the right situations. He will, however, have to be smart about his play against D.Va, who will be ready to eat his damage with her upgraded Defence Matrix.
20. Sombra- Despite the belief that this patch would increase Sombra's effectiveness, I think she's going to be slightly weaker than she currently is. Primarily, the armour buff really weakens her damage output against armoured targets, meaning she also builds less ult charge while shooting them. Also, nerfing the health of barriers doesn't mean Sombra will be able to get more hacks across, since merely their presence, and not how many hit points they have, is a hindrance to her playstyle. She's okay at barrier-break, but not too great; she'd rather find an off-angle and try to get a hack across than try to break down the barrier before her. Essentially, there's no change in her required playstyle, but she simply deals less damage to armoured targets. This isn't a major nerf, but I don't think Sombra's going to be back in the meta right now.
21. Symmetra- I believe Sym is going to be monstrously good on the new patch. With less-healthy barriers around, she can beam down the enemy's protection much faster with her excellent sustained damage, and get her beam across to them sooner. Considering how quickly her damage ramps up, it's safe to assume she'll be at Level 3 when she finally gets through to the enemy, and that's really scary for anyone to face off against.
22. Torbjörn- Torb is going to be a fair bit stronger on the new patch according to me. Weaker barriers are beneficial to him, as he is fairly good at breaking them down. This also allows him to get more value out of his turret, which just does nothing in the current Double Barrier Meta. The only problem with him, I'd say, is that his alternate fire is now much weaker against armour. It's not a big deal, since good Torb players mostly rely on their primary fire to deal damage and their secondary fire to break barriers, but it's going to affect some of his interactions nonetheless. Also, from my experience, Torb is a lucrative target for Genji due to his large hitbox, so their interactions are going to be more interesting with Torb's reduced Overload cooldown as well as Genji's additional Shurikens. Essentially, if Torb has no Overload, he's dead meat, but if he does, he will be able to outlast Genji in the 1v1.
23. Tracer- This patch deals a devastating blow to Tracer, or should I say, to good Tracers. Before you think I'm an idiot, let me explain. With the armour buff, Tracer will continue dealing the same amount of damage with bodyshots, but will deal less damage with headshots. I don't want to get into the math here, so you're just going to have to take my word for it. Now, low-level Tracers generally go for bodyshots anyway, whereas it's the mid-to-high-level ones that really go for the head. Unfortunately for them, that damage is going to decrease by a good amount, although headshots are still the way to go. In addition to this though, Defence Matrix is now better, meaning D.Va will be able to deny Tracer more damage, and maybe eat a couple of Pulse Bombs too. All this piles up to a major disadvantage for Tracer, so I'm fairly certain you're going to see a drop in her pickrate when the BKP goes live.
24. Widowmaker- A couple of things happen to Widowmaker on this patch. Firstly, her Grappling Hook cooldown has been increased by 2s, meaning she will be able to reposition less often. Also, heroes that already counter her, like Genji and D.Va, have been buffed. This means Widow will not be able to land as many shots as she currently can, since D.Va can eat up more of that damage. Also, Genji will find it easier to confirm kills on her because of his increased ammo. Considering how Dive heroes are already a counter to a sniper like Widow, I'm sure it will be easier to deal with her on the BKP. Sure, barriers are weaker, but it'll still be difficult for her to find off-angles to deal damage from with some of her counters being buffed.
30. Moira- After being the most dominant main healer in the Double Barrier Meta, Moira is finally getting nerfed to a significant extent. Quite similar to heroes like Wrecking Ball and Doomfist, her loss in pickrate is going to be due to multiple small nerfs rather than a single big one. First up, her primary fire's instant healing has been nerfed, which I don't consider anything more than a minor inconvenience. Her healing-over-time is still equally strong, so her overall healing output is still pretty solid. Where she runs into problems though, is the D.Va and Sigma changes. D.Va's Matrix has a shorter cooldown, meaning she can eat Biotic Orbs more readily, the same applying to Sigma's Kinetic Grasp. At times, eating Moira's Orbs brings good value to Sigma, and with his damage-to-shield conversion ratio buffed, it's going to be even more rewarding to do so. Although this isn't the end of the world for Moira, she's going to have to focus on using her Healing Orb more, which she should be doing anyway, since it generally gets its full value before draining out, provided it's deployed right in the middle of her team.
31. Zenyatta- Zen gets a slight buff on this patch, primarily because barriers are weaker, and he can finally break through them in order to deal damage to his enemies. On the other hand though, Genji and D.Va have been buffed, so he is more prone to getting dove, which creates a nice balance for Zen's kit. He's very valuable against static compositions, but quite vulnerable against mobile ones.
Alright, I've spoken about every hero in the game and described in what ways I think they will be stronger/weaker on the ensuing patch. For those of you who want a quick summary, here's a TLDR version:
21. Symmetra- I believe Sym is going to be monstrously good on the new patch. With less-healthy barriers around, she can beam down the enemy's protection much faster with her excellent sustained damage, and get her beam across to them sooner. Considering how quickly her damage ramps up, it's safe to assume she'll be at Level 3 when she finally gets through to the enemy, and that's really scary for anyone to face off against.
22. Torbjörn- Torb is going to be a fair bit stronger on the new patch according to me. Weaker barriers are beneficial to him, as he is fairly good at breaking them down. This also allows him to get more value out of his turret, which just does nothing in the current Double Barrier Meta. The only problem with him, I'd say, is that his alternate fire is now much weaker against armour. It's not a big deal, since good Torb players mostly rely on their primary fire to deal damage and their secondary fire to break barriers, but it's going to affect some of his interactions nonetheless. Also, from my experience, Torb is a lucrative target for Genji due to his large hitbox, so their interactions are going to be more interesting with Torb's reduced Overload cooldown as well as Genji's additional Shurikens. Essentially, if Torb has no Overload, he's dead meat, but if he does, he will be able to outlast Genji in the 1v1.
23. Tracer- This patch deals a devastating blow to Tracer, or should I say, to good Tracers. Before you think I'm an idiot, let me explain. With the armour buff, Tracer will continue dealing the same amount of damage with bodyshots, but will deal less damage with headshots. I don't want to get into the math here, so you're just going to have to take my word for it. Now, low-level Tracers generally go for bodyshots anyway, whereas it's the mid-to-high-level ones that really go for the head. Unfortunately for them, that damage is going to decrease by a good amount, although headshots are still the way to go. In addition to this though, Defence Matrix is now better, meaning D.Va will be able to deny Tracer more damage, and maybe eat a couple of Pulse Bombs too. All this piles up to a major disadvantage for Tracer, so I'm fairly certain you're going to see a drop in her pickrate when the BKP goes live.
24. Widowmaker- A couple of things happen to Widowmaker on this patch. Firstly, her Grappling Hook cooldown has been increased by 2s, meaning she will be able to reposition less often. Also, heroes that already counter her, like Genji and D.Va, have been buffed. This means Widow will not be able to land as many shots as she currently can, since D.Va can eat up more of that damage. Also, Genji will find it easier to confirm kills on her because of his increased ammo. Considering how Dive heroes are already a counter to a sniper like Widow, I'm sure it will be easier to deal with her on the BKP. Sure, barriers are weaker, but it'll still be difficult for her to find off-angles to deal damage from with some of her counters being buffed.
Supports
25. Ana- What? Have I lost it? It certainly seems so, doesn't it? Well, let me explain why I think Ana is going to be weaker on the BKP. Firstly, the idea that she will be more useful with weaker barriers is true, but only to some extent. Just like the case is with Sombra, the mere presence of barriers and not their health is why she's considered weak right now. Even if there's a barrier of 1HP up and running, Ana won't be able to heal through it or land easy nades. Therefore, I don't think the nerfs to barrier health are something to write home about for Ana players. On the other hand, you've got buffs to Defence Matrix, which means it's easier for D.Va to eat Ana's Sleep Dart and Biotic Grenade. That could be a problem at the higher levels, where D.Vas are mentally-tuned to eat certain cooldowns like Ana's. Also, Genji's ammo has been buffed, meaning it will be easier for him to dive and assassinate Ana, in which case you'd be better off running a Moira or Baptiste. So, although the general idea is that Ana will be better because of fewer barriers, highly-impactful changes like D.Va's Matrix buff are effective enough to make sure she doesn't become extra easy to play. That isn't to say Ana won't see more use, because I believe she will, but it's not because she's stronger in this meta; it's because the cumulative change the BKP brings to the game permits her to see use in more scenarios than right now. So, Ana's pickrate will probably go up, but I don't think her winrate will follow the same trend.
26. Baptiste- Nothing's really changed with Baptiste on this patch. He's still a solid pick in compositions that play close to each other. He doesn't get a lot stronger with the barrier nerfs; just that his Amplification Matrix will be extremely valuable in breaking them down. I think he's a winner on a relative scale more than anything else.
27. Brigitte- I think Brigitte is finally going to be a viable pick in the meta once again. The armour buff is just huge for her, since the defensive part of her kit is basically centred around armour. Her Repair Pack is going to be better at saving critical teammates from death, and Rally is going to be an abysmally good offensive ultimate. Brig is also going to be more effective against Dive, somewhat restoring her status as an anti-dive hero. You don't want to be playing Winston, D.Va or Tracer when you've got a good Brig against you, so keep that in mind while deciding on your team compositions.
28. Lúcio- With this patch, it becomes harder for Lúcio to use his boop against Rein and Orisa, and knocking them out of position is an integral part of his kit. Although this isn't a big nerf to him, it will force him to have a more conservative playstyle in the presence of these two main tanks, which is why I've marked him as a loser on this patch.
29. Mercy- Rather than being a stronger pick on this patch, I'd say Mercy gets a buff to her value. For anyone who studies the game, we know that Dr. Ziegler's true value lies in two things: her damage boost, and her Resurrect ability. With barriers nerfed, it's going to be more rewarding to use barrier-break heroes like Hanzo, Soldier and McCree, and with Mercy damage-boosting them, they're going to absolutely shred the enemy's defences. Also, if you weaken barriers, you're strengthening pick potential, meaning that the time-to-kill has been reduced. In such cases, it's very valuable to have a Mercy, who can help you recover nigh-instantly from a player disadvantage. I can see her gaining popularity in Bunker comps, and maybe even well-executed Dive comps once the BKP hits the live servers.
29. Mercy- Rather than being a stronger pick on this patch, I'd say Mercy gets a buff to her value. For anyone who studies the game, we know that Dr. Ziegler's true value lies in two things: her damage boost, and her Resurrect ability. With barriers nerfed, it's going to be more rewarding to use barrier-break heroes like Hanzo, Soldier and McCree, and with Mercy damage-boosting them, they're going to absolutely shred the enemy's defences. Also, if you weaken barriers, you're strengthening pick potential, meaning that the time-to-kill has been reduced. In such cases, it's very valuable to have a Mercy, who can help you recover nigh-instantly from a player disadvantage. I can see her gaining popularity in Bunker comps, and maybe even well-executed Dive comps once the BKP hits the live servers.
30. Moira- After being the most dominant main healer in the Double Barrier Meta, Moira is finally getting nerfed to a significant extent. Quite similar to heroes like Wrecking Ball and Doomfist, her loss in pickrate is going to be due to multiple small nerfs rather than a single big one. First up, her primary fire's instant healing has been nerfed, which I don't consider anything more than a minor inconvenience. Her healing-over-time is still equally strong, so her overall healing output is still pretty solid. Where she runs into problems though, is the D.Va and Sigma changes. D.Va's Matrix has a shorter cooldown, meaning she can eat Biotic Orbs more readily, the same applying to Sigma's Kinetic Grasp. At times, eating Moira's Orbs brings good value to Sigma, and with his damage-to-shield conversion ratio buffed, it's going to be even more rewarding to do so. Although this isn't the end of the world for Moira, she's going to have to focus on using her Healing Orb more, which she should be doing anyway, since it generally gets its full value before draining out, provided it's deployed right in the middle of her team.
31. Zenyatta- Zen gets a slight buff on this patch, primarily because barriers are weaker, and he can finally break through them in order to deal damage to his enemies. On the other hand though, Genji and D.Va have been buffed, so he is more prone to getting dove, which creates a nice balance for Zen's kit. He's very valuable against static compositions, but quite vulnerable against mobile ones.
Alright, I've spoken about every hero in the game and described in what ways I think they will be stronger/weaker on the ensuing patch. For those of you who want a quick summary, here's a TLDR version:
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STRONGER
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WEAKER
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TANK
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D.Va,
Orisa, Reinhardt, Winston, Zarya
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Roadhog, Sigma,
Wrecking Ball
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DAMAGE
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Genji,
Hanzo, McCree, Soldier:76, Symmetra, Torbjörn
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Ashe, Bastion,
Doomfist, Junkrat, Mei, Pharah, Reaper, Sombra, Tracer, Widowmaker
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SUPPORT
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Baptiste,
Brigitte, Mercy, Zenyatta
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Ana, Lúcio,
Moira
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I hope you enjoyed the read, and that you agree with most, if not all, of my opinions. I mean, there's over 2.1 billion types of winners/losers lists you can come up with with our current hero pool, so I'm sure there will be disagreements, and I'd encourage you to put up your points of view in the comments section at the end of this post. That said, if you liked what you read, do share this post around and subscribe to my blog, it does help a tremendous amount. Okay, I guess we're done with this article. Thank you so much for reading till the very end, and I hope to see you again on The Plat Player's Perspective.
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