Tier One
* Expect to see these heroes highly contested for most games. First rotation, all maps.
* Diablo is the tank you can first pick/first rotation and he fits into every comp on every map.
* Hanzo is the higher skill-cap and higher-ceiling Ranged DPS pick vs Raynor. They both have exceptional range and versatility in a number of compositional ideas.
* I suspect Malthael will take over as the king of the off lane after nerfs to Yrel and Blaze, but will keep an eye on that.
Tier Two
* Tier Two is closer in power level to Tier Three than the above. The "upper" class of this tier includes Zeratul, Jaina, Whitemane, and Yrel.
* Do note there are some high skill-cap heroes that I placed in this tier in reference to the "all-MMR tiers" considerations. For ex; Yrel is Tier 1 at the highest levels of play, but she has so many matchup considerations that other heroes, particularly those with better clear, tend to get more value as you move down the ladder. Kerrigan is fantastic, but mechanically demanding and draft sensitive at lower levels.
* Jaina/Kael'thas is a bit odd, in that Jaina is a better option at high-MMR, but there is a breaking point at which Kael'thas has had more success.
* You Tank players need to be expanding your hero pool after a few boring months; Arthas and Anub'arak are back in the meta and in many situations far outshine staples such as Johanna and Muradin..
* Samuro breaks the game, *if* you know how to play him.
Tier Three
* Most heroes here are some combination of map-specific, comp-specific, and/or countered by current meta trends.
* Quite a few heroes on the Tier 2/3 line; Mephisto, Brightwing, and even Junkrat. They each have plenty of potential and are not poor heroes, but have fairly "obvious" counters and are not early-draft plays.
* Waiting to see more before I move some of the Supports up a tier. They each have issues that can be easily exploited; Ana with her high skill cap, Brightwing and Lucio not getting much value out of their sustained healing, and Malfurion is a weaker version of Whitemane for *most* players given the broken nature of Inquisition build.
Tier Four
* More effective options exist that cover the same roles as the above.
* Most of these heroes are niche but can dominate in favorable conditions. You CAN play comps such as the Zul'jin-on-Braxis hyper-carry, or Illidan into no-CC and do very well if patient in draft.
* Tass is Tass; you're drafting him as part of combo not due to his own power level.
Tier Five
* Look, if you want to pick 'em, I'm not going to stop you.
* I don't want to hear anything about your Murky unless you can proxy waves at lvl 1 and create a minimum of a two level lead by 13.
Am a Caster for the Amateur Scene. Have spent the last few seasons in NGS, but do branch out and have worked in other areas.
This Tier List is designed to present players with a view of what heroes are currently high priority in coordinated play, and while it may correlate to the HL Ladder that is unintended. It also meant to provide some guidance across *all MMR Tiers*; and depending on your role it should present with a good look at what Heroes you should be looking to master.
That being said, there are always outliers. Abathur has almost always had top-tier value in competitive. Medivh occupies a place often outside of power level as a hero that is dependent on an individual's skill level and the strength of a group's teamwork.
I check in on this Tier List regularly, and try to keep up with HGC trends (in NA and EU primarily), as well as any stats I can parse from amateur leagues. Cheers!
Note that every rework has been a positive over the last few months, the lone exception being Chromie (unless I forgot someone?).
The clear winners from Blizzcon were Maiev and Blaze. Maiev had near 100% participation rate, and is a hero that your flex *must* be playing. Funny how the nerfs have worked to her advantage long-term; successive patches that hit the "Chains" build pivoted her back into Naisha's Memento, which opens up jungling options, and a less aggressive playstyle that highlights her pretty decent wave clear when everyone is running away from you scared to hell.
Mal'Ganis and Orphea will need data; I've considered opinions from some smart cats that put them on both the good/bad side. I will say that I personally don't care for offlane Mal'Ganis, and Orphea may only have as much power as the player wielding her.
Post reworks and balance patches, there are some questions and some movers. I'm not sure where Brightwing fits right now; A half-season of HeroesLounge should give me a better picture about whether she is Tier 2 or 3. The "tankless" comps centered around Xul and Kerrigan will die off with armor changes, but Kerri will still maintain her place as a high-potential, early-game monster.
Will be keeping an eye on the gameplay updates, but that will take a *loooooong* to evaluate in the Amateur scene. And finally, pending reworks for Sylvanas and Stitches. Every rework in recent history has boosted the hero way up in the meta, the lone exception being Chromie, so I'd expect them to jump up at least a Tier.
* Hanzo is fine and AA/Redemption build will take over. Double boss maps are rare and/or rarely played in competitive, so while he'll take a big hit in places like BoE, he will shred tanks and force dive.
* Yrel is dead (and will need an update after the armor changes anyway). High skill-floor hero that will struggle immensely to double soak and go up against ranged clear.
* Blaze moves down a tier due to the Bunker changes, removing a critical component to his team play. Although Combustion has been receiving play, it has yet to permeate to the currently-live amateur scene and will have to be tracked.