Despite Symmetra getting a rework that was supposed to make her less situational, things have seemed to just be getting worse. It’s now almost daily that a new person shares a story of being banned for playing Symmetra on the Sym main Subreddit, usually sharing their support ticket upholding the ban. This isn’t people who are jumping off maps or something. This is people who are spending time outside the game to research and discuss their play in an effort to improve who are getting banned for having the audacity to choose a hero the community doesn’t like. This also isn’t saying that the an was upheld over toxicity; it’s literally Blizzard CS people saying that not swapping when your team wants you to is bad play and worthy of a ban.
If the rules really are that if you pick an unpopular hero, you get banned, fine. But we need consistency in these rules. The game shouldn’t tell you that not swapping isn’t a bannable offense. We shouldn’t be getting posts on the forums saying one tricking isn’t bannable. Blizzard needs to figure out what their actual policy is and be 100% clear about this.
It isn’t complicated. It isn’t delicate. It’s really simple. Either picking an unpopular hero is a bannable offense or it’s not. No amount of hand wringing or waffling is going to change that. Either the people whining about hero choice are being stupid and need to get over themselves or people who are trying their absolute best on unpopular heroes are really just sabotaging their teams and need to stop choosing those heroes until they’re changed. And even if it is something that’s handled on a case-by-case basis, that’s still “one tricking is bannable.”
Being told one thing in game, another on the forums, and another in support tickets is completely unacceptable. Please make up your minds and be honest. At the very least, there should be a public acknowledgement that people can and are banned for picking unpopular heroes in certain situations. You shouldn’t need to dig through Reddit to find support tickets to find out “Oh hey, the game lied to me.”
I understand that this isn’t an easy thing to deal with. But how it’s handled now just feels dishonest, not nuanced or balanced.
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It’s sad at this point. They should give a direct answer instead of avoiding the question.
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Well yeah I mean, in tough defense(like when I really want the defense to work hard as hell) I’d rather pick anyone, hell I even feel safe picking a Genji on defense and know I’ll do better than picking Symmetra now.
I’m highly skeptical these players were banned just for playing Sym.
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From one of these shared tickets (you can hunt down the full thing on r/Symmetramains if you want; it’s currently on the front page):
As a company, we do hold our players up to some behavioral expectations when interacting and playing with others. If the behavior on an account is having significant negative impact on others, we can’t turn a blind eye to it. It could be playing Torbjorn or Symmetra or some other undesired hero non-stop in a situation where that hero is being countered, or isn’t good for the situation at hand.
There was a bunch more in the message about it being a tricky issue where they’re trying to be somewhere in the middle. (Also some really patronizing suggestions about trying other heroes, as if it’s something people would never consider.) But that’s not what’s been communicated anywhere else.
I’m fine with them banning people being too inflexible if they really think it’s that bad. Well, I don’t like it, but I can accept it. What I’m not fine with is having conflicting messages all over the place. It feels super dishonest to avoid saying “Yes, we do ban one tricks sometimes, but we don’t ban all one tricks” when that’s their actual stance on the issue.
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The message i’m getting is that Blizzard bans one-tricks if the player is consistently creating negative experiences for their team mates. 
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How can you accuse players w up to 70% winrates on their onetrick, who stay out of chat (so npt contributing to grief even) of creating a negative experience.
Playing something that ISNT their OTP would statistically reduce their teams chances of winning. Forcing onetricks off their OTP is throwing. U are creating ur own negative experience by abusing onetricks.
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Quick play exists for players who want to one trick Sym.
This game is about counters and swapping. No one wants someone on their team in comp who refuses to play the game in the way its supposed to be played.
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No, actually, the rules and head of OW say you can play one hero 100% of the time, in any game mode, including comp.
The idea you cant beat your counters is blatantly false.
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You’re allowed to be skeptical, but if you understood how the system worked you’d realise that it’s actually an expected outcome of the design.
It’s purely weight of reports. You hit x number of reports, you get suspended. It’s that simple. No human involvement at all.
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Guilty until proven innocent.
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…maybe, if you’d support your Symmetra for once in your life you’d see that there are more ways to win (and enjoy) a match!
But I guess you’re just one of many who follows the crowd!
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This was happening long before Symmetras rework and just as bad or worse. It started when they changed the reporting and banning system. This isn’t anything new.
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So the community as a whole deciding to bully people who play a particular hero, and Blizzard is actively supporting this by setting up a system that supports this bullying without any kind of real oversight?
That’s awful. The game shouldn’t reward people for toxic bullying behavior by taking their reports seriously and banning the people who are being attacked.
Tons of things “ruin others’ experience.” People constantly trickle so that they get staggered and keep their team from ever fighting a true 6v6 team fight. They blow ultimates alone, putting their team even further behind. And yes, it’s true; people sometimes stay on a hero when there’s a better play.
Why does only one of these things get you banned? If making a suboptimal hero choice is “gameplay sabotage” even when that person is climbing hundreds of SR in a matter of weeks, shouldn’t we be banning all the idiots who constantly lose games with simple mistakes that are just as willful and intentional as suboptimal hero choice?
Because I have had way more game ruined by stupid people facing when they shouldn’t and getting picked than by one tricks.
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Seagull played new sym as a 1 trick on his account Symscan for about a week straight, he never got banned.
Maybe because working with a team and trying to coordinate is something most sym players aren’t trying?
Its because Seagull swaps when its needed, and people know him.
Contrary to that, most people assume the worst from one-tricks and report them before the game begin despite Blizz saying it isn’t reportable and not gameplay sabotage but due to their automated system, people keep reporting anyways because sooner or later, the automated system kicks in and bans the player regardless of whether it was justified or not.
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Not the whole community, but plenty of folks, yes
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most people know Seagull
Defran got suspended for one tricking Lucio
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Yea but he spawn camped as lucio and 1v6ed, so people reported him for not playing with his team.