New numbers in Overwatch show that players on PC are increasingly specializing in one hero. The most popular heroes are Supports and Tanks.
More Mains in Season 12: An analysis by Omnic Meta shows that more and more players on PC are playing a hero as their “Main”. Players who frequently switch heroes are now a minority across all ranks.
More Mains in Overwatch – is that good or bad?
Where the trend comes from: According to Omnic Meta, about 55% of players are specialized in one hero as their “Main”. This means that the hero was selected more than 50% of the time. A “One-Trick-Pony” plays the hero even more than 80% of the time.
The value is currently at its highest level. The reasons for this can only be speculated. The most likely reason is the new Group Search system. Since players can choose a role before the game, it is easier for them to assemble compositions with their best heroes.
Overall, players seem to be better off climbing the ranks with their strongest hero rather than focusing on a role.
Tanks and Supports are the most popular: The heroes that players focus on the most are Healers and Tanks. There are six heroes who are played as a “Main” more frequently than others in at least one rank:
- Reinhardt
- Ana
- D.Va
- Moira
- Mercy
- and Lúcio
The numbers indicate that the heroes were present as a “Main” in at least 9% of all games in a rank. Three of them are the most played heroes for some areas of the rankings:
- D.Va (Bronze)
- Reinhardt (Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond)
- and Ana (Master, Grandmaster)
No harm to the meta: The fact that players are increasingly specializing in one hero in Season 12 has little impact on the current meta game. The most popular compositions like Dive or Quad-Tank remain the strongest.
This is because the “Main” heroes are primarily those that dominate the meta game anyway or are one of their core heroes. Specialists and “One-Trick-Ponies” do not disrupt the meta.
There are some outliers in the list of “Mains” per rank, such as Winston, who is only played in the upper tier, or Pharah, who is only seen in the lower tier. The win rates can thus fluctuate accordingly but fit quite well into the list of the strongest heroes.
Omnic Meta concludes that players like to specialize in heroes that are already represented in the meta. This increases both the win rate of the heroes and the win probability of the players.
Do you also have a Main or are you constantly switching? Are you still looking for a group? Check out our Overwatch group on Facebook and find new teammates, or get the latest information about the game on our Overwatch page on Facebook.
Maybe a new Main will soon join the others: Torbjörn is getting a rework and shooting Lava puddles on the PTR.
