by JR Cook - 7 years ago     show comments

The first half of the second Phase of the HGC has come to an end. While some teams are busy preparing for the upcoming Clashes, others are looking for ways to improve in the second half and avoid the dreaded Crucible. With the halfway point upon us, let’s take a look at how the HGC Meta has played out over the last few weeks and how that compares to Hero League.

Warriors

Anub’arak has been the dominant Warrior throughout the first half of Phase 2. While his popularity has fallen a bit as a result of recent nerfts, down to 64% this last weekend, he still boasts a staggering 57% win rate. Stitches is the only other Warrior to have over 50% draft participation during that same time frame. The rest of the Warrior Meta consists of Dehaka and Arthas, plus Tyrael in the East. That is it. Other Warriors fall into the situational category and aren’t draft staples.

Hero League sees a much broader representation of Warriors. While Anub’arak remains unquestionably the most popular Warrior in HL too, there is a much smaller gap between the next six to eight Warriors. Varian is actually the second most played Warrior in HL followed by Dehaka and Arthas. Diablo, Sonja, Artanis, Stitches and Johanna also all see regular play. I think there are two reasons that the Warrior pool is so much more diverse in HL.

For starters, it is quite common for players to take comfort picks regardless of where that Hero may sit in the Meta. If they have to play a Warrior and Johanna is their best Warrior then they are going to pick Johanna even though she rarely sees play on the competitive level. The second reason is the lack of coordination in HL compared to professional play. Competetive drafts have much more synergy and Heroes are picked in large part because of how their abilities can combo with each other. You don’t see that nearly as much in HL because of the comfort pick tendency that was mentioned earlier. This is a big reason why Stitches is so highly valued in competitive but down near the bottom of the list when it comes to HL. In competitive play, teams know that they can combo Hooks into a Malfurion Root, a KT Gravity Lapse, an Uther Hammer, or any other number of CC abilities. Hero League teams are much less likely to draft into this type of synergy and even if they do the players may not be skilled enough to regularly coordinate their abilities. It is no surprise that Stitches’ popularity and win rate rises as you start looking at Diamond and Master results. At those levels, the players are much more likely to have the knowledge and skills needed to take advantage of a well-timed Hook.

If Anub’arak isn’t currently part of your Hero League roster you should probably consider adding him because he doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Just keep in mind that there is more to adding a Hero to your roster than just drafting them when you have the opportunity. You have to put in the time in QM and Unranked Draft to master them first. If a Hero doesn’t click for whatever reason don’t feel any obligation to pick him just because he is “in the Meta”. Looking at what is popular in the HGC is a great way to decide which Hero to learn next, but it is a bad way to decide which Hero to draft. HL drafts are flexible enough that you can pick the Hero that you play best for that particular role rather than the Hero that is perceived to be strongest.  That being said, you should be aware of what Heroes are considered OP and try to learn how to play them, just don’t feel obligated to pick them if you haven’t put in the time to learn how to play them well.

Supports

Uther is another Hero who has become a fixture of drafts in the first half of Phase 2. Although he too has received nerfs he remains far and away the most popular Support Hero despite having a win rate that hovers near 50%. Malfurion, the go-to healer from the first Phase of the HGC, has fallen dramatically and is now typically prioritized behind Auriel, Tassadar, and Rehgar. Double Support continues to be popular, especially in Europe, despite how many pro players are vocal against the Double Support Meta.

It is interesting how much the HL Meta differs when it comes to Supports. Uther is still the most popular pick, but Hero League players have been undeterred by the Malfurion nerfs and he isn’t that far behind Uther in popularity. Auriel and Rehgar see consistent play in HL as well, but Tassadar isn’t seen nearly as often. Brightwing is the fourth most popular Support in HL, behind Uther, Malfurion, and Auriel, but we don’t see her much in competitive. Li Li also continues to be a popular and successful HL pick, despite having a bad reputation among some segments of the player base. Just like with Warriors, you can chalk a lot of these numbers up to comfort picks and less focus on specific Hero combos. If the HGC inspires you to try a Hero like Uther or Auriel great, but in the end, it all comes down to playing the Hero you are best with, which is why Li Li will always have a place in Hero League.

Assassins

The biggest difference between the HGC Meta and the HL Meta can be seen in Assassins.

Genji has consistently been first pick or first ban since he became eligible for HGC play and he has the win rate to back it up. Genji’s results in Hero League are much less impressive although he is still one of the most picked Assassins. Despite being near the bottom of the Assassins in terms of win rate, Genji is still banned in over 25% of games as well, which just shows the power of perception. Genji is perceived to be a strong Hero, thanks in large part to his reputation in competitive, so he continues to get banned in Hero League despite his abysmal win rate. Illidan is another Hero that is highly prioritized in the HGC but isn’t played often or as well in Hero League.

The most popular Assassins in the HGC are Genji, Greymane, Illidan, Valla, Malthael, and Li-Ming. The most popular Assassins in Hero League Malthael, Genji, Kael’thas, Valla, Greymane, and Li-Ming.

Specialists

There isn’t much to say about Specialists since they are rarely picked in the HGC aside from Abathur and Medivh. Split pushing is far more effective in Hero League,  which leads to a lot of Specialist one-tricks, especially at the lower Ranks. Because of this, Heroes like Sylvanas, Nazeebo, and Azmodan regularly see play in HL.

Outside Looking In

You could argue that the competitive Meta is as diverse as it has ever been. While there are still certain Heroes that are present in almost every draft, the number of Heroes that are viable situational picks is incredibly deep. As a result, there are only four Heroes who haven’t been played at all in Phase 2: Murky, Nova, Rexxar, and The Butcher. Of these Heroes, The Butcher is the most played in Hero League, but he is still only present in 13.1% of drafts. Nova isn’t too far behind at 8.6%, but a lot of that can be chalked up to the power of Bribe on Hanamura and the occasional troll pick/Nova main.

For what it’s worth, Korea has tried the most Heroes having played 59 of 68 eligible Heroes. China is right behind them with 56 of 68. North America and Europe are the least diverse, with NA only having played 52 of 68 and Europe coming in one less at 51 of 68.

Lessons from the HGC will be on a brief hiatus as we take a short break for the Western and Eastern Clashes, but once those events conclude we will be back to once again look to the pros for ways to improve our own individual games. GL & HF!

^{*Much of the information in this article was based on data from Master League and HOTSLogs.}