Symmetra is still included among the supports because of the statistical tool used for this tier list. Removing her would have caused problems with the data.

Ana is finally a respectable pick

Mercy isn’t the optimal healer in any situation. In the past meta report, I talked about the versatility of Zenyatta, a character able to heal, boost the team’s damage, snipe the opponents, and prevent potential team wipes thanks to Transcendence.

Today, I will discuss about Ana. Yes, after the latest buffs she is no longer a throw pick; at least at high ranks.

I consider Ana one of the healers with the highest skill requirements in the game: she is a subpar pic if you can’t shoot the targets reliably with the Biotic Rifle, and if you don’t know when it is the best moment to use the Biotic Grenade.

The Sleep Dart is a powerful tool, but its success doesn’t depend solely on Ana as her teammates must also be smart enough to understand when it is preferable to focus a target, or to leave him unconscious on the ground.

In the right hands, Ana is as good as Mercy. Personally, I prefer the former on attack due to the potential impact of Nano Boost, and the latter on defense due to Resurrection (particularly on the first point).

The recent buff to Nano Boost (it heals the target instantly for 300 HP) can change the fate of a team fight as it isn’t used anymore just to enhance the damage of a teammate, but also to the save the life of a hero who might be crucial for the outcome of the battle. There is no need to ress if you can avoid the death :P.

The Overwatch player base must adapt to Ana

As you can see from the graphs, now Ana is quite popular at all ranks, and this leads to another issue: players must adapt to her game play. Again, the great majority of the OW population is used to Mercy, a hero who can fly to heal them from virtually anywhere - Ana is not that simple.

Many support users are trying her in these weeks. Maybe they are tired after the multitude of matches on Mercy, or they are just looking into this new trend, but their performance is often suboptimal. This may cause rage and flame among the teammates, who are desperately in need of healing, and do not understand that also the support is a real person.

If you are playing Ana for the first time, you won’t be able to perform at your usual level because the hero requires some practice, and a completely different approach if compared to Mercy. But, also your teammates must play differently: they can’t overextend and disappear from Ana’s line of sight, or she won’t be able to heal them consistently.

Communication has a greater value with Ana. You must indicate your position and the areas of the map you can reach with your gun, while the team must utilize this info to plan their movements. This is a fatal problem at most ranks as there is often a complete lack of communication. Voice chat and coordination can make a huge difference between life and death.

Ana or Mercy

While Ana has a better win rate at higher ranks, Mercy remains an optimal pick, and an easy source of heals who can be deployed in any game and SR. Don’t forget that we can’t expect everyone to have a pro aim, so the game must have alternatives that do not have the same skill needs to cover a certain role.

In the end, Ana is in a better position than before, and we will certainly see her more in our games, but Mercy will still dominate in most rankings for her ease of use, the Resurrection, and the amazing mobility.

Note: If we consider only data from the past week, Ana's pick rate is similar to Mercy at Platinum and Diamond, but she surpasses her at Master and GrandMaster. A week worth of data is still not enough for a proper distribution, so I suggest checking out how things will evolve in the next month.

Tank popularity