It seems like every week the Overwatch community is pressured to take a stand on the great one-trick debate. A large part of the community is fed-up with the Hanzo, Symmetra, Torbjörn mains of the world and believe it's up to Blizzard to punish these players when they refuse to switch heroes for the sake of the team. 


On the other side of the coin, are the group of dedicated character loyalist who, confident in their off-meta hero choices, claim their unique hero pick gives them the best chance to win. In other words, if a player has the most experience playing as an off-meta pick, switching to a more popular hero that they are unskilled hurts the team more. 

^{The popular Symmetra player Stevo, whom routinely boasts above a 50% win rate was once again banned this week. The ban was lifted by Blizzard but represents a growing sentiment that reporting someone who only plays one hero is an acceptable thing to do.}

So which side is correct? Is it ok to specialize in a non-meta hero in a game that is built around swapping heroes on the fly? Is it grounds for reporting when a player stubbornly picks a hero when the rest of their team is begging them not to? Does soft-throwing exist? These questions may not have one clear answer, but it appears that one thing is for certain.


Moira is safe to play in competitive mode without being flamed in the spawn room.


New hero, who dis?

Maybe it's her support hero typing or her mixed-bag kit that includes both damage and healing. Perhaps it's her impactful ultimate ability or her resistance to enemy flankers. Whatever it is, the newest Overwatch hero has managed to avoid being branded with the scarlet letter that reads "off-meta."

In fact, the overwhelming response is that Moira is positive. Her power level is hard to deny and as skilled support players get more attuned to her kit, the impressive highlight reels and POTG's flooding the Overwatch Reddit. When paired with another support hero, (allowing Moira to freely deal damage when necessary without losing all healing) players are realizing that a skilled Moira player is a welcome addition to almost any lineup.

^{Mercy may still be the ideal pick for solo-healing, but opportunist plays like this are what Moira excels at.}

While the list of "meta-heroes" that can be picked without fear of upsetting your team changes with every balance change, the staple core of competitive Overwatch hasn't changed for a long time. Most games almost always include some variation of Tracer, Mercy, Soldier:76, Genji, Winston and of course, Reinhardt.

Since their recent buffs, Sombra, Ana and Junkrat have joined the group of "not-worthy-of-being-flamed-for-picking" heroes. However, the same can't be said for the usual lineup of unpopular defensive heroes, including the likes of Bastion, Hanzo, and Torbjörn. Orisa has found some niche when used alongside Bastion attacking on Junkertown, but aside from that, is still a very situational pick.


Moira joins the popular kids.

With such a positive release and community sentiment surrounding Moira, she may very well join the elite ranks of popular Overwatch heroes that players never complain about being paired up with. Sure, it sounds a little silly to rank Overwatch heroes in terms of how angry they make your teammates, but you'd be hard-pressed to find an active Overwatch player who won't confirm the tension that arises whenever one player decides to stick with an off-meta hero in competitive mode.

So until the growing toxicity in Overwatch regarding hero picks stops seemingly get worse every month, being aware of this tension leads to more enjoyable competitive play sessions. To players looking to try something new without drawing the ire of your team, take a trip to the Moira Rollout subReddit and get practicing!