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Top Ten Hero Mains (PC) in Season 6
Mercy in Patch 1.15 Analysis - "Reviving Everything in Sight"
D.Va in Patch 1.15 Analysis - "The Newest DPS Hero"
Console Hero Meta Report for October 3, 2017

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Current Hero Meta Trends in Overwatch

Mercy's popularity has completely exploded after her massive rework in Patch 1.15.  She is seeing nearly 100% play at all tiers, and the community at large seems to believe she is one of the strongest heroes in the game - at least partly stemming from the great strength of the new resurrect.  Her massive jump in play has impact all the other support heroes' popularity - most support players are playing Mercy these days in some capacity.  Surprisingly, Ana's usage has fallen the most out of the other three healing supports (Ana, Lucio, Zen).  And to think only a few months ago it was Ana with the near 100% usage rate.  Blizzard is already looking into nerfing Resurrect and with good reason - currently Mercy is the only main healer than anyone seems to want to play. 

Patch 1.15 also impacted D.Va - and many players were wondering if it would be a net nerf or buff.  Her popularity has steadily grown in the lower tiers (as the most popular tank), and it appears that she is now taking more of an off-tank role, with the nerf to Defense Matrix reducing her abilitiy to tank damage, and the new Micro Missiles ability increasing her DPS and burst damage output.  Many players seems to be happy with the new D.Va - it will be interesting to see how she establishes herself in the current meta.

Tanks in general continue to be strong heroes, as all tanks with the exception of Orisa remain very popular.  Reinhardt and Roadhog, two heroes that were out of the meta in Season 5, have slowly found their way back as important pieces of the competitive meta with some of the highest winrates in the game.  This continued increase in popularity is likely due to Patch 1.13 changes which fixed some game-breaking Reinhardt bugs, and Patch 1.14 which gave a massive buff to Roadhog in the form on much better self-healing. Winston on the other hand, is seeing his popularity wane as a direct result.  Once the darling of the higher tanks (especially Grandmaster), he is finding increased competition since dive team compositions fell out of favor - mostly from Reinhardt, Roadhog, and Zarya.

For DPS heroes, the only major trend is the shift towards McCree - particularly at the higher tiers.  McCree seems to be slowly taking over in DPS roles (from Tracer/ Genji/Soldier), perhaps to deal with the new Mercy most effectively through high burst damage.  However, no Overwatch hero meta report would be complete without mentioning the Australian with a penchant for explosives - Junkrat.  Junkrat maintains his popularity as one of the top DPS heroes in the game today.  He has even gained significant usage in Bronze and Silver, where he sits as the most popular DPS hero by far.  With the big buffs in Patch 1.14, Junkrat continues to have a huge impact and sit at the top for winrates out of all the meta heroes.  All in all, Junkrat's rise to the top of the meta makes for one of the biggest hero meta stories for Season 6.

Big Movers this Meta Report

 Two of the biggest gainers are the beneficiaries of Patch 1.15 buffs.  Mercy is up first - resurrect as a regular ability and the new Valkyrie ultimate are seen as incredibly strong by the Overwatch community.  So much so, that she is being played nearly 100% of the time at all tiers of competitive play.  Practically, this jump means that Mercy is seen absolutely huge gains at all tiers - including +30%, +42%, and +52% at the highest tiers.  Tank play has changed quite a bit since the last report, as D.Va is seeing increased popularity at the lower tiers, while Reinhardt and Roadhog are more popular at the higher tiers.

With Mercy seeing so much more play, it is only logical that other supports would fall in popularity - and that is exactly what happend.  Ana, Lucio, and Zenyatta are all down significantly to make room for the queen of Overwatch.  The biggest shock?  Ana has lost nearly all her remaining popularity in at Master and Grandmaster - something that would have been unfathomable just a Season ago.  Winston is worth a special mention, as he falls -7% on average across all the tiers, and -18% in Grandmaster.  He is seeing increased competition from main tanks and off tanks alike.

Hero Meta by Competitive Tier

Let's take a deeper look at each competitive tier, and what heroes make up the current meta. The charts below rank each hero by category, according to their popularity. 

Grandmaster Hero Meta

Offense/Defense:  McCree (+3%) has claimed the #1 spot, as Tracer (-7%) and Genji (-2%) have fallen.  Soldier (+2%) and Junkrat are also in the meta.  Widowmakers (+3%) saw a big bump - perhaps due to the favorable Junkertown map, or possibly due to the increase in Mercy play.

Tank:  Winston (-18%) remains in freefall as a continuing trend, but is still seeing more play than any other tank.  Both Roadhog (+10%) and Reinhardt (+7%) are seeing a big bump in popularity, while D.Va (-4%) continues her decline after her rework.  All tanks are very popular except for Orisa.

Support:  Mercy (+52%) has doubled her usage - to a 99% play rate.  Patch 1.15 has allowed for the complete transformation of Grandmaster, as Ana (-22%) has all but disappeared from competitive play.  Lucio (-12%) is still the preferred off-support, followed by Zenyatta (-11%)

Grandmaster Tier List:
Tier 1 (> 75% Usage Rate):  Mercy (99%)
Tier 2 (> 50% Usage Rate):
Tier 3 (> 25% Usage Rate):  Lucio (43%), Winston (41%), Zarya (37%), McCree (35%), Tracer (34%), Genji (32%), Soldier76 (32%), Reinhardt (31%), Roadhog (30%), D.Va (29%), Zenyatta (27%), Junkrat (26%)
Tier 4 (> 15% Usage Rate):  Widowmaker (17%), Pharah (16%)

Top 5 Meta Heroes with the Highest Winrates: (>25% usage):
Junkrat - 56.2% Winrate
D.Va - 55.6% Winrate
Zenyatta - 55.2% Winrate
Mercy - 54.0%  Winrate
Winston - 54.0% Winrate



Offense/Defense:  McCree (+2%) moves up again to firmly take the #1 DPS spot, as #2/#3 Genji (-3%) and Soldier (-2%) fall.  Junkrat remains very heavily played.

Tank:  Some big shifts this report, as Zarya (+2%), Reinhardt (+5%), and Roadhog (+3%) grow in popularity, while Winston (-6%) drops majorly as a continuing trend.  All five heroes seeing more than 30% play.

Support:  Mercy (+30%) surges to a must pick, while Lucio (-6%) and Zenyatta (-4%) are still seeing play as off-support.  Ana (-14%) play is crashing she falls below 25% play for the first time in many seasons. 

Diamond Tier List:
Tier 1 (> 75% Usage Rate):  Mercy (98%)
Tier 2 (> 50% Usage Rate):
Tier 3 (> 25% Usage Rate):  Zarya (37%), Reinhardt (35%), McCree (34%), D.Va (33%), Lucio (33%), Winston (32%), Zenyatta (32%), Roadhog (30%), Genji (28%), Soldier76 (27%), Junkrat (25%)
Tier 4 (> 15% Usage Rate):  Ana (24%), Pharah (22%), Tracer (19%), Reaper (17%)

Top 5 Meta Heroes with the Highest Winrates: (>25% usage):
Junkrat - 54.1% Winrate
Zenyatta - 52.9%  Winrate
Mercy - 52.4% Winrate
D.Va - 52.2% Winrate
Reinhardt - 52.2% Winrate

Platinum Hero Meta

Offense/Defense:  Junkrat (-2%) maintains his popularity as the #1 DPS, while Soldier, Pharah, Reaper (-2%), and McCree (+2%) are seeing significant play.

Tank:  D.Va (+5%) and Reinhardt are the two picks that are being heavily played currently.  Zarya is still seeing quite a bit of play, while Winston (-5%) falls behind to the #4 tank for the first time in months.

Support:  Mercy has soared +18% to a near 100% usage rate - she is now in nearly every Gold match.  Lucio (-6%), Zenyatta (-5%), and Ana (-7%) have all fallen in popularity as a result, but are still being played significantly. 



Gold Tier List:
Tier 1 (> 75% Usage Rate):  Mercy (95%)
Tier 2 (> 50% Usage Rate):
Tier 3 (> 25% Usage Rate):  D.Va (44%), Reinhardt (40%), Junkrat (34%), Lucio (33%), Soldier76 (30%), Zenyatta (29%), Zarya (28%), Winston (27%), Pharah (26%), Ana (26%)
Tier 4 (> 15% Usage Rate):  Roadhog (23%), Reaper (23%), McCree (23%), Genji (20%), Orisa (15%)

Top 5 Meta Heroes with the Highest Winrates: (>25% usage):
Junkrat - 51.6% Winrate
Mercy - 51.1% Winrate
Zenyatta - 50.8%  Winrate
D.Va - 50.7% Winrate
Reinhardt - 50.6% Winrate

Silver Hero Meta

Offense/Defense:  Play remains mostly unchanged.  However, Junkrat (+3%) is pulling away from Soldier as the favorite DPS in Silver - and is now at 43% usage.

Tank:  D.Va (+6%) gains after her Patch 1.15 changes - putting her and Reinhardt as the two popular tanks in the current meta.  Winston is the only other tank with above 25% usage.

Support:  Mercy (+12%) is the big winner after her massive buff.  Lucio (-8%) and Zenyatta (-4%) are still seeing quite a bit of play, while Ana (-6%) has fallen even further out of popularity.
 
Silver Tier List:
Tier 1 (> 75% Usage Rate):  Mercy (89%)
Tier 2 (> 50% Usage Rate):  D.Va (50%)
Tier 3 (> 25% Usage Rate):  Junkrat (43%), Reinhardt (42%), Lucio (35%), Zenyatta (31%), Soldier76 (30%), Pharah (27%), Winston (26%)
Tier 4 (> 15% Usage Rate):  Zarya (23%), Reaper (22%), Ana (20%), Roadhog (20%), Symmetra (18%), Orisa (17%), McCree (17%), Genji (16%)

Top 5 Meta Heroes with the Highest Winrates: (>25% usage):
Junkrat - 50.9%  Winrate
Reinhardt - 50.3% Winrate
Zenyatta - 50.1% Winrate
Mercy - 49.7% Winrate
D.Va - 49.7% Winrate

Bronze Hero Meta

Offense/Defense:  Junkrat's big +4% bump in popularity has him the clear favorite DPS and the 3rd most popular hero overall in Bronze.  Soldier (+3%) and Pharah (-4%) are the only other two DPS heroes seeing significant play.

Tank:  D.Va (+6%) and Reinhardt (+2%) are the two heroes most prominently in the meta right now, while Winston (-3%) continues to fall.

Support:  Mercy (+15%) is the big story - despite seeing the least play in Bronze of all the tiers, she still sits at 87% usage.  Lucio (-11%) and Zenyatta (-6%) are still seeing significant play, but clearly have given ground to super-popular Mercy.

Bronze Tier List:
Tier 1 (> 75% Usage Rate):  Mercy (87%)
Tier 2 (> 50% Usage Rate):  D.Va (57%), Junkrat (51%)
Tier 3 (> 25% Usage Rate):  Reinhardt (40%), Lucio (38%), Soldier76 (32%), Zenyatta (25%)
Tier 4 (> 15% Usage Rate):  Pharah (24%), Orisa (21%), Symmetra (20%), Reaper (19%), Winston (19%), Ana (17%), Hanzo (17%), Torbjorn (16%), Genji (16%), Roadhog (16%), Zarya (15%)

Top 5 Meta Heroes with the Highest Winrates: (>25% usage):
Mercy - 49.0% Winrate
Junkrat - 48.9% Winrate
D.Va - 48.8% Winrate
Lucio - 48.7% Winrate
Reinhardt- 48.4%  Winrate

Check Out These Other Articles
Top Ten Hero Mains (PC) in Season 6
Mercy in Patch 1.15 Analysis - "Reviving Everything in Sight"
D.Va in Patch 1.15 Analysis - "The Newest DPS Hero"
Console Hero Meta Report for October 3, 2017