A few of the most disliked heroes in Overwatch will be sitting out thanks to this week’s Overwatch League Hero Pools selections. Ice queen Mei and tough tank Orisa are the most notable removals. Speedy damage-dealer Tracer and Moira will join them, two choices that may drastically reduce the amount of dive compositions available for teams next weekend.
Over the past week, Overwatch League teams have had to play without popular DPS choices Ashe and Reaper. Tracer, Mei, and Echo were dominant choices for nearly every team. The loss of Brigitte didn’t make a difference for most teams, who are used to running Lúcio in her stead, but a variety of tanks were played due to Reinhardt’s ban. Every tank saw some kind of play time in the absence of Reinhardt.
Orisa was a popular choice this week as teams opted to run double shield setups with Sigma. Thanks to this week’s Hero Pools, that’s no longer an option. Removing Orisa from the pool also removes the opportunity for “bunker” compositions, which create defenses that are tough to break. Teams will bring back Reinhardt for more shield power and may opt for D.Va to discourage projectile DPS choices.
While quick dive compositions were popular in the past week of play, they may be harder to come by in the May 16 and 17 games. Support Moira will be out of rotation next weekend and so will her intense healing stats. Teams will likely still rely on Lúcio or Baptiste for hardcore healing, but the loss of Moira’s heavy-duty healing may discourage adventurous dives into the backline.
Mei is also finally out of rotation, which is a positive development for many professional players in the Overwatch League. Thanks to her powerful crowd control abilities, Mei often denies the kind of fast-paced action DPS players strive to provide fans. With Mei disabled through Hero Pools, DPS players may be able to get away with heroes like Genji or Doomfist.
Unfortunately for those DPS players, Tracer has also been benched this week. Tracer is often a pillar for dive compositions and was heavily used in the past week of play, flanking alongside Echo or Sombra. Without her speed and ability to finish off weak targets, teams will be forced to rethink their usual compositions. Echo will likely see more play time alongside Sombra or even other anti-aerial heroes like McCree or Ashe.
Next week’s Overwatch League games begin on May 16 at 3am CT when the Seoul Dynasty take on the Chengdu Hunters.
Published: May 10, 2020 08:48 pm