Weekly Overwatch League Stat Breakdown + Ranking The Top Mercys (Week 4)
Introduction
As Blizzard does not yet allow public access to the entirety of stats for the Overwatch League, I have been collecting all of the broadcasted stats by hand in an effort to organize them and get the most out of what’s accessible. I have created a spreadsheet that contains all of the available data from the first four weeks of games, averaged them, extrapolated them based on time, and plan on sharing a weekly summary of those statistics.
I will do so in two forms: first, a general update of the current averages on a per-hero basis. This will be an ‘at a glance’ view of the different heroes, to see how their usage and effectiveness stack up against one another. In addition, I will spotlight a different hero each week, that I will explore with more in-depth stats, draw comparisons, and ultimately rank the best players currently at the top of the game. This week’s focus is on Mercy, down below the break.
Here are the general hero statistics through four weeks of play:
Hero Averages
(EDIT: I have found an error that affects some of my Hero Averages formulas, and will be adjusted for Week 6)
Please note that the less bold the data, the lower the sample size — and thus, the less reliable the information is. There is currently no data available for Mei, Symmetra, or Torbjorn (finally got some for Doomfist!).
This Week’s Focus: Mercy
Methodology
After having collected all of the available data, I separated it all on a per-player basis. For the purposes of this comparison, I have limited it to the primary Mercy player for each of the 12 teams. I then averaged out their stats on each of the following categories: Resurrects, Offensive Assists, Defensive Assists, Healing Done, and Deaths to see how they stack up against each other.
I calculate how well each individual performs, compared to the average, and total those numbers. Due to the limited data-set, I have also weighted each player’s stats up against the level of competition they were playing against. Averaging out the raw data with the weighted data brings me to my final rankings.
All data is extrapolated on a ‘per 10 minute’ basis, both to provide a point of reference for comparison, and to match the standard that Blizzard has set.
Healing Done: Raw Data vs Weighted Data
Here you can see how each Mercy rates in what is the most fundamental role of the hero - healing. In raw numbers, Zebbosai edges ahead, nearly 8% above the average, with 11,563 healing. His stiff level of competition gives him an even higher weighted amount, 12,586, good for a whopping 19% above average.
Conversely, Unkoe* is situated over 13% below average, at just 9,343, and his weaker opponents bring his weighted number down even lower, to just 7,532.
I would like to note that, while Unkoe is seemingly a bit lower than the rest of the pack, he is also the individual for whom I have the lowest amount of data for - as he has swapped to the role of playing Mercy with Kariv, as well as being out with an injury for week 4 and being subbed in by Verbo - so his data allows for the largest discrepancy.
Defensive Assists: Raw Data vs Weighted Data
Linked to Mercy’s healing ability, defensive assists are kills made by your teammates when you are healing them. Here we start to see some more fluctuation between players. Kellex leads the pack, with just over 25 (23.5, weighted) defensive assists per 10 minutes. Biggoose is the caboose of this train, with only 16 (but weighted a bit higher due to his strength of opponents).
Offensive Assists: Raw Data vs Weighted Data
While defensive assists are when teammates get kills when being healed, offensive assists are when your teammates get kills when being damage boosted. The chart has a nice symmetrical quality with Altering and Zebbosai’s mirrored poor performances in this category (both right around 6). Kellex shows that he is the master of assists, again in the lead with over 16 offensive assists per 10 minutes (nearly identical to Biggoose’s numbers in defensive assists).
Resurrects: Raw Data vs Weighted Data
And here we have what is likely the strongest, and definitely the most polarizing ability in Overwatch. The reason for Mercy’s resurgence in the meta leading to the start of the Overwatch League.
Neptuno, at just over 8 resurrects per 10 minutes, stands tall above Bani, Chipshajen, and Zebbosai - all who average just a hair under 8.
Deaths: Raw Data
For this category, to get the most accurate numbers I used the data from Winston’s Lab, as they are able to track data from the kill-feed from every match. I tallied the numbers and playtime for each individual player, and due to the larger sample size, felt that a weighted average wasn’t as necessary in this case.
In this case, obviously the less times you die, the better, and nobody does it better than Ark, at just 3 deaths per 10 minutes. Chipshajen, on the other hand, has nearly twice as many deaths. As to whether these numbers reflect more on the skill of the Mercy, or the protection by their teammates, there is room for debate - but there is no debate on how important it is to keep your Mercy alive, and the focus placed on ensuring you kill the enemy’s.
First Deaths: Raw Data
Perhaps even more important than how often you die, is when you die. As Mercy players are always a key target in any team-fight, dying first can often be the death knell for your team.
Zebbosai and Ark are neck-and-neck in this category (at 0.38 and 0.39, respectively) - although to Ark’s credit, he’s maintained that level of consistency through a significantly larger playtime on Mercy. Biggoose, on the other hand, leads the league in both the total number of first deaths (31), as well as the frequency of them (0.99 per 10 minutes) - one metric that you definitely don’t want to lead the league in.
Summary: The Overall Rankings
Based on all of the numbers above, I’ve come to this conclusion.
- Bani, despite not leading in any singular category, performs well at all of them, and leads overall.
- The Koreans, plus Kellex, who’s team has been on an uprise lately, round out the top five.*
- Dhak, who has been under much scrutiny for his Mercy play, ends up just shy of last place, because as we all know, that spot is reserved for Shanghai.
*EDIT - Due to popular request, I added the “First Deaths” statistic, and adjusted the totals accordingly. For the most part, the placements stayed the same, but Chipshajen and Nus switched spots, and Unkoe and Biggoose did as well.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll talk to you again soon!
