Hey guys, I just uploaded my first YouTube video on how I hit Eternus one-tricking Silver. It's a comprehensive guide that goes over everything about the character. I'm using this channel to promote my coaching and would like to do one free VOD review as a YouTube video on Silver. Hit me up if you're interested!
TTV: tobeMOE
Silver Ult has an 80-second cooldown now, but it was 70 seconds before the update
My main point is that Silver either needs buffs to her tier 3 upgrades (like adding back heal on kill) or a rework if they want her to be balanced in pro and a ranked environment. Game feel was a big reason for the silver nerfs, which I understand, but I think she needs some compensatory buffs that make her stronger in ranked without people complaining she's oppressive to play against.
Many people have pointed out that Silver's win rate was low, and because of that, she didn't need a nerf. But, win rate is not the best marker for how strong a hero is. Sometimes, a hero is picked by players who don't have much experience with it, and that lowers their win rate.
Statlocker has a page for this: It shows how much a character's win rate improves as people master them. Silver does have one of the highest jumps for the first 50 games, but after that, she plateaus. And for one tricks, she actually has one of the lowest win rate jumps out of the entire cast.
These statistics show that she might be unintuitive for a newbie, but once you get the hang of her, she's not that hard. Her overall win rate sits at slightly above average for Eternus+ and in the bottom 6 for all ranks. She's still a meta-defining pick in pro play as well, albeit a little worse.
Because she doesn't have a high win-rate jump with mastery, it's safe to say her dominance in pro play is due to her inherent strength in a coordinated team environment and draft, not her difficulty. I don't think Valve should balance for esports when pros play with a different format than everyone else, and the esports scene is still in its infancy. Seven deserves more nerfs than Silver because he is inherently strong in ranked.
I know Silver isn't the main priority for buffs by any means, but I think this shows a philosophical issue with the game balance if they continue to nerf characters that are strong in pro play, but weak/balanced in ranked.
It looks like a combination of a mantle + edge boost...
TTV: tmoeOW