Overwatch 2 recreation director Aaron Keller has been doing one thing fairly neat recently: speaking about Overwatch 2. The de facto voice of Blizzard on issues of Overwatch not too long ago made it a purpose to speak with gamers extra typically concerning the present state of the sport, and the person is on a roll. Up to now along with his “Director’s Take” collection, Keller has written about ranked woes (opens in new tab), the way forward for Arcade mode, and the failed experiment that’s map swimming pools (opens in new tab).
It is refreshing to see a lot transparency from Overwatch’s high brass on subjects that matter most to every day gamers, and right now’s weblog regarding win charges and hero recognition (opens in new tab) is well his most illuminating but.
Proper out of the gate, Keller shares some fascinating observations about Overwatch 2’s ranked meta within the first weeks of season 3. As an illustration, “most helps are viable in almost each talent tier,” one thing that did not really feel very true again in season 1. He additionally confirms one growth that gamers have observed taking a look at semi-reliable stat aggregation websites like Overbuff (opens in new tab): Brigitte is having a second proper now.
“Brigitte has actually popped this season and has the best win fee for almost all talent tiers aside from Prime 500, the place Zen takes the lead, with each averaging out to an almost 55% win fee,” Keller stated. “On the opposite finish of the spectrum are Kiriko and Moira at round 45%.”
When you’d assume that those that are taking part in a aggressive shooter, notably its best mode, would gravitate towards heroes with the best win charges, Keller says that is not the case (names bolded by me):
“Once we take a look at who is definitely being performed, the highest helps are Ana, Kiriko, and Mercy for almost all talent tiers till Silver and Bronze, the place Moira turns into picked fairly a bit.
“This goes to indicate, that heroes with the best win charges aren’t all the time the heroes which might be performed essentially the most.”
This goes to indicate, that heroes with the best win charges aren’t all the time the heroes which might be performed essentially the most.
Aaron Keller
I discover that fascinating. We all know that in a aggressive setting like ranked Overwatch, it might probably look like sticking to the consensus-adopted meta of the month is all that issues. We additionally know that anecdotally it might probably really feel like teammates are selecting heroes based mostly on their choice, not essentially what’s finest for the group composition, so it is fascinating to see the official numbers again that up. Keller notes it is “counterintuitive” that Kiriko is so common regardless of successful much less typically and, on the flip facet, Briggite wins continuously with a a lot decrease presence.
There are a number of potential takeaways from this. I are inclined to assume this means that, even at excessive ranges of play, Overwatch gamers do not wish to really feel boxed in by a small pool of “finest” hero picks. Individuals wish to play their favourite heroes, and in reality, they’re unlikely to swap (opens in new tab) to a hero they do not like.
As Keller mentions, the win/decide fee disparities may relate to different elements that are not being instantly in contrast right here, like general group composition or map variations. Both method, Keller says the group “tends to assume that extremely expert gamers are persevering with to select sure heroes for good causes,” and is gathering further metrics to check this. “If it’s fruitful, anticipate to listen to extra about it.”
In any case, I believe the numbers point out that there is a important chunk of the Overwatch 2 neighborhood (a possible majority, even) for whom the meta is not vital. And if most gamers do not care concerning the meta, how a lot ought to Blizzard care?
Possibly it comes all the way down to holding issues balanced sufficient that the “finest” heroes are solely one of the best by a number of proportion factors. We actually heard about it when helps weren’t getting sufficient love (opens in new tab) and Sojourn was one-shotting everybody into oblivion. It is protected to say that gamers care about each hero being viable in order that their favorites by no means should fall out of vogue, and based mostly on this knowledge, that could be sufficient.
