Symmetra finally does as much damage as other DPS characters so she is immediately nerfed. This occurs at the same time another barrier tank is introduced into the game, being played by people who don’t recall their shield and just let Symmetra sit there and power her primary fire up (this is bad play btw, if it’s not obvious). So instead of punishing the bad players on Sigma, the devs nerf Symmetra for everyone.
.
Wow.
Can we have actual data in terms of hero pickrate to demonstrate Symmetra’s viability now with the beam buffs (third party apps are not working)? Correct me if I’m wrong but I bet it isn’t over bottom 5 in the dps category let alone top 10 of the whole roster. Furthermore on the fact that she will be more oppressive on the lower ranks, doesn’t it apply even more so with other heroes such as Mei and Torbjorn, who both statistically have greater viability on low ranks? Last time I checked she has never even been meta anywhere even in bronze. That rank is fully dominated by Junkrat and Reaper yet they are not changed.
In my opinion, a slight nerf is justified but it should be remembered that Blizzard originally sold Symmetra as a defined shieldbreaker and a counter towards shield, right now with the buffs it is the case but I think her defined role will be quite significantly compromised when the nerf hits. So when we move to a different ‘meta’, we’ll experience a greater drop of viability with Symmetra’s many counters.
The damage nerf also seems to target pros more so than those in Bronze as the damage is capped out completely meanwhile the beam changes only affect people who can’t aim the most.
The original teleporter changes from the PTR have clearly demonstrated what Blizzards intentions were when it comes to Symmetra, (or at least their perception of Symmetra’s ideal power level) to stay inferior and stay in the bottom 3.
I hope Blizzard will reconsider this nerf and maybe reduce its magnitude, it is really unfair that they are so quick to take action towards Symmetra while other heroes that are much more oppressive remain unscathed.
Keyword is against barriers. On a whole, Symmetra is nowhere near as versatile compared to the likes of those heroes.
Great change from Blizzard here, sym beam after the hitbox buff and the most recent buff that made the beams track damage better on moving targets make it WAY too easy to do damage to opponents even with bad tracking. there’s a reason why a lot of sym mains have been flying up the ranks lately and reaching their all time peaks.
I don’t really think the Tech Support person has access to any sort of hero pick data, personally I think he’s just here to troll Symmetra mains.
I have to agree that she’s not very viable in most comps, the emergence of double shield has given new life to Symmetra and it was rather sudden. This is Blizzard doing damage control because they somehow did not see the double shield meta coming with 2/2/2 lock.
As for her beam, I can also see why they changed it to be more aim dependent, hell, sometimes I’ve been killed by Symmetra’s who I don’t even think hit me with their beam. (At least, not in replay or the kill cam) I don’t like the damage change personally, but change the beam width is probably for the best. Even when I play Symmetra, her beam feels long and wide at times. Zarya’s beam is also very long.
If they wanted to nerf Symmetra, they should’ve focused their attention on the niche parts of her kit. Such as…
Sorry I do not represent Blizzard Entertainment and do not have internal data to share, and as metaphorically noted in that post, I expressed my personal opinion about the Nerf.
My goal as a forum MVP is always provide the most accurate and helpful information when there’s a serious question, hence the response in my first part of my reply. However, any opinions that are expressed by me are truly my own.
Her ult is actually one of the best parts of the kit. The width is fine but coupled with the damage nerf it does seem too much. The newest pictures I have access to shows me that her ptr primary beam is about the size of a sharp needle, so i think we can do one without the other, preferably keeping the width nerf is fine.
Right. Symm is, was, and always will be a niche hero. She’s that way by design. 15/DPS doesn’t change that. There’s not much they can do without changing the majority of her kit to change that. Her niche is valuable right now, even after this change.
Yet other niche heroes are dominating right now.
Yes. Mercy is also doing really fine. 
its all about the lenght of arrows hitbox. almost every death arrow didnt hit you, you step into the hitbox that are very long
Sorry to dismiss your claims but Mercy is much better than Symmetra and at her worst she is still better and more viable than Symmetra’s best. I play Mercy too and I know my presence is never usually a nuisance
I understand you but yours and mine experience is not the overall experience of overwatch.
There’s a difference between being effective against shields, and overly effective against shields AND players. Sym and Zarya are getting nerfed justly, because the tickrate fix made them FAR more effective at damage than before. Yes, they are getting nerfed slightly, no it’s not really a problem. (Zarya max damage is almost never hit anyways, and sym’s while touched consistently, due to tickrate will STILL melt people)
I’ve played zarya a handful, and i feel like i’m getting ult faster than I used to, and that’s even AFTER the 12% nerf to ultrate…
I can understand the damage nerf but cutting the beam width in half on top of that is too harsh considering she’s a glass cannon.
I’m confuse about this nerf. Why again?
NVM. AngelofLife explanation was clear.
Uuuugh the beam is so so small now.
You have to be pinpoint accurate with this thing now.
Whatever happened to keeping the beam thick for accessibility? Ugh.
I hate the balance team.
First her teleport, now her beam. Why can’t we have nice things blizz? Why?
Good Syms won’t see a difference.
I mean, looking at it from a Symmetra player point of view, yeah, it’s the best part of her kit but it’s irritating to play against cause it literally cuts off half of the map. It’s really an intrusive ultimate with one realistic way to break it… With EMP of course. I still think she needs a damaging ultimate rather than something a support or tank would have.
Careful. People have been going through locking sym threads. Keep comments constructive or this may be locked.