Last week the first major patch for Overwatch was released. Among its long list of additions was Ana, the first post-launch hero introduced to the game. It was a long time coming. Many players, including myself, have complained that while there are some great options for offensive, defensive, and tank heroes, the same can't be said for support where there are four choices, two of which aren't competent at healing.
Although Ana's introduction video was well-received, the hero hasn't been.
Players have found that playing as Ana is a death sentence. Her healing potential is low despite requiring remarkable aiming to function correctly, and she is vulnerable to focus fire due to only having access to a single-target skillshot CC. She doesn't even have auto-healing to keep herself alive under pressure.
Some argue that Ana is powerful when in the right hands, but that can be said about any hero. The fact of the matter is that statistically speaking she is underperforming right now.
As a result of this, players have learned to despise Ana. Players who choose her in the pre-game lobby are commonly yelled at through voice or text communication. Although that might not be the best way to handle things, there's a reason for this: Ana has by far the worst win rate at a lousy 47%. She also has an unremarkable 1.05:1 K/D ratio average, which is second worse behind the healing-distracted Mercy.
In response to this, Blizzard has published a new update with buffs for Ana. The update includes the following changes for Ana:
- Rate of fire increased by 20%
- Magazine size increased from 8 to 10
It might not seem like much, but it's a moderate buff for the hero. The rate of fire increase has effectively increased her damage and healing potential by 20% given she can now get off more shots. Meanwhile, the magazine size increase will help provide reasonable uptime where she isn't forced to reload mid-action.
The results have been noticeable during the past 24 hours. Not only is Ana now being picked more often, similar to the first day she released, but she's holding her own.
Even then, Ana simply isn't a hero for the feint of heart. I would go as far as to say that she's one of the top 3 most difficult heroes to play effectively. She requires immaculate aim and positioning unlike both of the top tier Support heroes, Mercy and Lucio.
It's worth mentioning that yesterday's update also included a mild nerf to McCree. The damage falloff for his Peacemaker was reduced by 10 meters, while his flashbang had its incapacitation reduced from .5 to .35 seconds.
Ultimately, Blizzard is doing a great job of supporting Overwatch post-launch, although as a Support player I am disappointed that I only really have two heroes to play if I want to win consistently. It is rumored that another new hero is in the pipeline, but it's highly unlikely to be a Support hero.
