One of the main emergent phenomena from implementing a 1 Hero lineup restriction was the coalescing of several distinct Tiers of Heroes. I'm not usually a fan of Tier lists, but this Week's Usage Rates (see top of the page) paint an explicit picture. First, there are two "Flavors" of Core Heroes -- the Negotiable and the Non-Negotiable. The Non-Negotiable are hardly a surprise -- they already lead the Usage charts in Unrestricted Formats, but the Negotiable Heroes represent a Hero-switching phenomenon which is happening at a much more accelerated rate than ever before, all thanks to the Format. Look no further than the next tier of Heroes, the "Balanced" C Tier, for evidence of this. These Heroes comprise a Pool of Flexibility, so named due to these Heroes having a high diversity in skills that compliment lineups in very different ways. These are the Heroes who, under Unrestricted Formats, would lose their spot to either a second McCree or another stackable Hero. With Hero restrictions in place, there's finally room for this cohort to shine.

1 Hero Limit Rewards Specialist Heroes, and Punishes Heroes that are too "Special"

Examining the Heroes in the infographic above who gained ground in Usage under 1 Hero Limit, you'll find four in particular that stand out for their huge gain in usage on either Offense or Defense: Junkrat, Symmetra, Zarya, and Pharah. While Zarya and Pharah were already known for their Offensive leaning -- and Symmetra and Junkrat for their Defense -- Hero restrictions pushed these Heroes' bias to new heights. Zarya and Pharah grew from the mid 30’s in usage rate to high 50’s on Offense, demonstrating the powerful synergy of pairing their two Team-wiping Ultimates together on a tough Capture Point. It's interesting to note, however, that Zarya's gain in Offensive usage was almost completely offset by a loss in Defensive Usage, a phenomenon whose explanation still eludes me. Symmetra and Junkrat’s boost in usage under 1 Hero Limit was even more staggering, gaining 39% and 43% usage respectively. Junkrat had already been climbing the usage charts prior to this but a boost this significant is unprecedented.

On the flip side, forcing teams to remove duplicates left behind a cast of Heroes who simply do not fit. For some, the problem is Meta in nature: Zenyatta will continue to never see play as long as Widowmaker is at least somewhat used competitively. For others, the problem is stepping on other, better, Heroes toes: there’s almost no reason to bring a Hanzo when you can just bring a Widowmaker instead (hmm...her again…). For Mei and D.Va, it’s more a problem of overall power level. They’ve seen buffs and nerfs in the past which have brought them into and out of Meta play -- similar buffs could easily vault them back into viability. Unfortunately for Bastion and Torbjorn, the problem seems to be Design-based: Turret classes by their nature are far too susceptible to a game filled with Heroes who have long-range abilities that can be safely spammed to destroy fixed-place threats.

Knocking down One Hero to Boost Two

The basis of the 1 Hero Limit is that in many situations, reducing the effectiveness of stacking one Hero actually allows two Heroes to move up in Usage. For example, Junkrat and Symmetra gained significant ground this week under 1 Hero Limit rules, but why? The answer lies in their role on Defense, and a Hero Stacking strategy that counters it. When it comes to roles, Junkrat and Symmetra are chokepoint specialists. Symmetra can transform an entire line of attack into a Death Zone with well-placed Turrets -- all while spamming high-damage, Shield-bypassing Right-Click Orbs into the main chokepoint. Similarly, Junkrat can deny routes of Attack with his Traps while spamming the main chokepoint from safety by bouncing his Grenades around corners. How do you break through a chokepoint that’s being bombarded in such a way? In a match with no Hero Restrictions, the solution is Winston -- Double Winston.

Stacking Winston counters these chokepoint specialists in two ways. First, two Winstons can “skip” a chokepoint simply by leaping over it -- jumping on the Symmetra or Junkrat in the backline and focus-firing them down. Second, two Winston Shields dropped at the chokepoint itself effectively negates Junkrat’s spam in particular, allowing your team to move through in relative safety to take better positions of Attack. Under 1 Hero Limit, this strategy falls apart: a single Winston cannot complete either of the aforementioned tasks: a solo Jump results in near instant focus fire upon crossing into the Opponent’s backline, and a single Winston Shield doesn’t have nearly enough Health to stand up to a Junkrat’s barrage. Without their natural, Double-Winston predator lurking in the pockets of Attacking Opponents, Teams wishing to make the best Defensive stand have rushed to set up their Junkrat Symmetra combo, to great effect.