Help me figure out my DPS hero pool please
Hello, I just came back to the game after a period away from it. Over the last year, I only played in season 1, but only in qp. So the last time I played in comp was before Wuyang released, but now that I'm having fun with the game again, I wanna put a hero pool together and hop back in.
My issue is I'm spoiled for choice. I main DPS and holy hell, they've been pumping out damage heroes over the last while. Five new ones since I last ranked, and they all caught my eye. I wanna avoid potentially assembling the dopamine spike Avengers, so I'd like to hear some level headed takes from people who get the meta and heroes' niches better than I do now.
To start off, Echo is my favorite hero in the game. Her play style fits me best, I just like the little game of fishing you play from mid-range followed by the pounce. I love her mobility simply because of how versatile it makes the angles she can take. There's a fluidity to this hero that's hard to replicate on anything else.
Then, I feel like picking a main DPS/hitscan hero is the next step, right? Last time I was in comp, I was one-tricking Widow for a season. This was my attempt at stepping out of the comfort zone and putting myself out there to be mogged by flanking Kiriko players. But it worked and it made me a lot more confident in my angles and ability to hit shots under constant pressure. I also find Widow 1v1s to be one of the most fun matchups in the game.
Third, Vendetta won me over. I was skeptical at first, but she feels like the second coming of DPS Doom that Venture never was. It's just that I still have a lot of work to do on her. Some games I'm their father. In others, enemy team picks Mizuki and suddenly my palms are sweaty. Is she a consistently valuable hero to commit to at all, or more of a one-trick material? I think she got hella banned in comp last time I checked too.
Would these 3 work well as a base or is it a house of cards? I like them in principle, but their weaknesses are kinda glaring, so I'm uncertain. At any rate, I am looking at potential fillers or replacements.
Ashe has been my comfort pick hitscan for ages, due to how "safe" she feels with her positioning and power budget. Emre also ended up surprisining me with how smooth his gameplay loop is. Is adding either of them to the hero pool gonna do much?
For flankers, can't go wrong with the classics like Tracer or Genji, but Anran's fun to mess with their backliners too. My only worry with her is that her kit is kinda "sloppy". I feel like there's too much fluff, not enough edge in there. I'm lowkey playing tug of war with enemy supports on my target's hp at times.
A lot of the remaining newer DPS give me that ick, actually. They feel like jack of all trades, master of none. Miss Sojourn 2.0 Sierra over here is a great example. Kit feels buttery smooth, but what's her niche? Shion feels like Cass' and Reaper's lovechild, but are you ever gonna ask a teammate to pick her for any reason? Freja, same thing. If they buff her, hell on earth. If they nerf her, almost worse than Hanzo. I enjoy playing these but are they heroes worth sticking to in the long run?
The rest of the damage heroes, I either don't got the hands for or they've been kinda left behind / in rework limbo (looking at you Sombra and Reaper).
Anyway, I've rambled enough. 😅 I know having fun is ultimately what matters, but a decent amount of the fun for me isn't about how the hero plays in a vacuum but rather how their kit interacts with win cons and the maps. I don't like changing up the heroes I play too often, so I want to feel like I've got reliable options. Any kind of advice or tip on the overall comp meta would be welcome.