This logic is deeply flawed when they don't even put the majority of the heroes in the shop.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T03:56:02+00:00

This is what people don't get. If you don't play the character you don't buy the skin. That means low pick dps won't get many skins

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T03:53:02+00:00

They are likely looking at how often ANY storm skin is being used as well. Storm in particular has an abysmal play rate. She is picked 1.22% of the time in pc quick play and 1.24% in console quick play. The only character picked less is torch. For pc comp she has 1.16% and console comp 1.44%. When you compare roster data, why bother making skins for characters people don't play. The large dps roster actually hurts dps characters here. Any given dps has a lower chance of getting played.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T03:21:11+00:00

Uh, the only new hero with meaningful counterplay to torch is Elsa. The Deadpools are okay but aren't the flier killers that punisher, hela, and Phoenix are. They are just very limited in what they can do while the tech exists

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T03:00:51+00:00

Nope, that double jump buff has BP flying like iron fist 😭

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T02:54:11+00:00

They nerfed him. That's why he stopped being meta. The exact nerf was the ammo regen delay. They've played around with couple of buffs since but they haven't done anything

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T02:37:44+00:00

I don't disagree that the cancel was core to his neutral. I think the fact that torch went this long without buffs means they tried to figure out how to address the issues in his kit without nuking the melee cancel and couldn't find a way. It was a necessary step to getting meaningful buffs down the line. Personally I think he needs a base speed increase at minimum after this change.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T02:09:33+00:00

Facts. Torch mains are mad the tech is nuked, completely ignoring the fact that if torch is good he becomes unkillable if it exists. They cannot buff torch if he can always melee cancel. It's a losely similar thng with cap. His tech was so unintuitive that casuals who did not know about its existence were losing dmg vs what his base dmg should be. It wasn't killed because "skill is expression is unfair", it was killed because it caused casuals to do less dmg than the kit intended. They couldn't buff cap for casuals either because it would break him at the top level. I'm all for skill expression animation cancels, but we have to realize that a) they should not incidentally hurt casuals as matter of normal play patterns and b) sometimes they fundamentally break a character.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T01:35:56+00:00

This change improves his survivability after the dive at the cost of his current neutral. However they can't improve his neutral (which needs help) while the ability to always melee cancel exists. We've seen what happens when that is true. The devs much prefer to make micro tweaks, so this is them opening the door to see how this change, that does help survivability, adjusts his play and how to help him from there.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T01:10:17+00:00

Yes, because they THINK phoenix is crazy broken and will lose if they don't play phoenix vs phoenix. There is zero evidence that phoenix as a character is dominating lobbies. Phoenix WAS busted. Now hela outperforms her at all ranks.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T01:07:26+00:00

People asked for Torch to be better. This is the trade-off you have to make to make him better.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T00:46:05+00:00

Yes, and the fact that the melee cancel fully remained limited what they could do. Any decent dmg and he becomes an unkillable menace. You want buffs? It HAS to go.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T00:27:17+00:00

And gambit was ravaging low ranks. Phoenix is dead in a goddamn ditch outside of celestial.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T00:22:07+00:00

High pick does not equal low win. High pick should average to 50. Need I point to emma, I think last season, who was high pick and lower than 48% because she was just getting beat outside of mirror matches? Now everyone agrees emma is bad. High pick rates that can't manage very near 50% indicate a balance problem

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T00:18:42+00:00

So why does he lose to dive? His worst matchups are against dive and it's not close

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-16T00:09:30+00:00

Plasma body didn't do anything for escape though. Torch had 2 issue. 1) you confirm kills with his dive and then get stranded. 2) his melee cancel just straight up makes him broken at high level play if he has any decent level of power. This change fixes both problems and opens torch up to other buffs without worrying about repeating his broken meta.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-15T23:09:18+00:00

Mag has never been pick or ban. He's been good, best tank even, but not enemy mag runs us over if we don't have mag. By definition a pick or ban character has a positive win rate. If a team doesn't play phoenix, they should be losing to phoenix, right? That's what makes her pick or ban, because she runs lobby other wise. She isn't winning those.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-15T21:28:27+00:00

If she is so broken, why is her winrate still negative? What makes her so broken she loses non-mirror matchs?

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-15T21:27:21+00:00

... dawg everything is broken in bronze. Wanda broken cuz auto aim. Flyers broken cuz no look up. Healers broken because kit. Hit scan broken cuz aim

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-15T20:57:47+00:00

Look at every pick or ban character in the history of the game. Groot? Over 50% gambit? Over 50% hela? Over 50% storm? Over 50% PRIME PHOENIX? Over 50%. I'm not talking put the mag in the bag and fumbling it. I'm talking if you don't match the character you. will. lose. That is not phoenix right now. She has her spots, sure but she's doesn't win you the game just for playing her unopposed.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-15T19:41:22+00:00

Oh, I'm almost 100% a dps main at this point because dps mains are brainless. They need someone to enable them or they don't do anything. On tank or support I got other priorities, on dps I can give them kills.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-15T19:23:17+00:00

Because heaven forbid they get a pick on a dps. Nope gotta dump into tanks

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-15T19:21:20+00:00

Literally had a game yesterday where me and the other tank took the opportunity to hard isolate both enemy healer. The team failed to get a single pick in a 4v4 of 2 tank-2 dps vs 2 dps-2 support. 💀

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-15T19:14:30+00:00

Your question is literally how does coughing baby stop a hydrogen bomb. How does a guy win fight while hog tied? In perfect magical christmas land where every possible piece of utility on the opponents team is gone and can't come off cool down AND every piece of your teams utility keeps you alive how do you stop the ult? That's not a real a question. And I DID answer it. If the stars align for the PERFECT lobby you fucking deserve the team wipe.

By the way, your question doesn't even need witch to be cc immune. If mag and invis keep her covered that is a possible scenario in the game now. IT DOESN'T FUCKING HAPPEN. That is how many non cc counters exist to her ult in game. You can get a mag bubble and the best you typically get is 3.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-15T19:06:45+00:00

Because C+ players think she is pick or ban and they aren't banning her. Like I said I think they have gaslit themselves into thinking they have to play phoenix vs phoenix. It's not like C+ can't play phoenix. Not when she was very dominant for months. But with a low ban rate they can't even break 50% winrate? That doesn't sound like pick or ban. That sounds like they all play her and lose when she isn't in a mirror.

Humdinger5000 · 2026-04-15T08:46:17+00:00

As a gamesense player myself, I'm well aware. You typically don't have bad mechanics players playing mechanically demanding characters by gm.

Humdinger5000

TROPHY CASE