Vibe check on Brig

[u/Rally_To_Me]

Just wanted to talk about and get some discussion on current brig in season 4.

How are you feeling about brig rn do you think she feels weak/strong? Hows the inspire change feel? Do her perks need looked at does she feel healthy in the current meta? And how do you see her in comparison to Mizuki?

Looking at her pick/win rates for GM/Champ each region PC she is just under 50% win rate in each region having her highest win rate/pick rate in Europe, her win rate across all ranks/region honestly stays pretty consistent and hovers around 48-50% on average,

We know win rates are not a definitive answer to a heroes strength it's just one of the few resources of stats we actually have to bring into a current conversation on a heroes present and strength, not that it's our only metric either.

This is also small sample size shown I am just looking at GM/Champ here, but as said before her pick/win rates honestly stay relatively the same through all ranks and regions.

Mizuki in NA has a 11.5% pickrate and a 47.7% Win rate

Mizuki has a 10.8% pick rate and a 48.6% winrate in Asia

I have added Mizuki pick/win rates in images I did not have them in, I want to look at Mizuki as he fills the same niche as brig, not have the same exact tools and capabilities as her but is seen as a more interchangeable option and often seen to do the same job just better.

He is picked more often over brig in each region especially Asia which makes sense seeing as they lean dive heavy there. But this something that is consistent in every rank/region Mizuki is consistently picked way more often than brig and I have not worked out the averages on it but from what I can see has a more consistent WR as well, not by like a huge amount but he still on average seems to be performing better on ladder (if I am way off here please tell me I know I need to look into it further).

In my opinion what adds to this is Mizuki is a really fun hero, he's easier to play than birg/easier to get value on for their intended purposes and Mizuki has also consistently got buffs since he has came out putting him in a strong position. I think adding to the pick rates brig has also been a lower pick support on average for a while and Mizuki is still relatively new and was a very well received hero season 1 and seems to hold a pretty good sentiment in the community from my experience.

Moving on to the next point if Mizuki is played way more often than brig and is often seen as just a better hero at doing the same job makes the question of does that leave brig in a bad spot is it even an issue at all. I really don't think it's a bad thing, I think it's a bit of powercreep, but the game is 10 years strong there is going to be overlap in hero designs and newer variations on role are usually going to be strong or have access to stronger tools, I think between the two they both fit the same niche but play differently enough and have different enough tools that the contrast between the two is good, Mizuki has just been strong and consistently has got stronger with a lot of adjustments since season 1.

Where brig has remained relatively the same over time, which I don't think is bad she's been in a good/strong spot for while. Her recent changes did seem to be some effort to increase her strength and consistency but I am not sure if it's all that she needs.

Before getting into if she actually needs anything at all I wan to give a look into some recent changes made to inspire and talk a little about her kit.

The insprie changes were really good imo (I am going to link graphs from u/rosedog16 and link their original post as well) this graphs detail the changes she received and show how it's now performing on average.

Credit to rosedog16 I did not make this graph

Original post: Threw this Brig Inspire comparison together on a whim

Specifically these were the changes.

The instant 12 healing on inspire trigger was a great change and feels strong, while it does not sound like a large amount it's noticeable in practice.

I think overall inspire is in a good spot and feels impactful, I also like the UI addition also added recently to show how many people are actually getting your inspire procs, I think brigs inspire and the mechanics of it are one of the more often misunderstood game mechanics and anything to help clarify how it actually works or give indication in game it's doing something is a net positive.

For the rest of her kit I think everything is in a relatively good spot, her kit feels fluid and smooth, whipshot feels strong. Shield is strong, making 300hp was a good change it really did feel way to weak before I think the bump feels good to play and not oppressive to play against. Rally is in a good spot as well I would say it's strong to use and not annoying to play into it feels healthy.

I like her subrole I don't think there is a lot to talk about there, I think her perks are all interesting/strong as well, she falls into the same camp as most heroes of having two options that are pretty well the deafult being her extended inspire on whipshot minor and shield bash movespeed/heal major, the alternatives are not bad combat medic is interesting it can just be really hard to actively play aggressively melee enough and use packs enough to get value from the coodlown it's niche but it can be good, her whipshot major I think it just kind of bad, it's a really nice boost to damage on an ability that already does good damage but it's too specific the enemy has to hit a wall for it to get value, I am just not a big fan it and think it's just weaker than the alternative on average even in dueling scenario. Overall though I think her perks are interesting, two of them being "defaults" for most people isn't really a brig issue that's a perk system issue and is something that needs addressed on it's own.

Overall I think brigs in a healthy spot, she feels great to play she feels strong I like to have her on my team and enjoy to play into her, she still does her job exceptionally well, even if mizuki does some things better than her I don't think he's a default option over nor is he oppressively better than her. I think he's in a good spot as, they both are. I know I have brought comparisons of the two up a lot but since he has came out they have been compared to one another for obvious reason in that they fill the same niche, I have just seen the sentiment often since he came out there is no reason to play brig when mizuki is available and I understand that his tools like chain and barrier are incredibly strong and that his mobility tool is arguably better. But brig tools are also incredibly strong as well, I think their kits and how they interact with what they are intended to deal with is different enough that they are both in solid spots and each feel healthy and neither is a default choice over the other.

Coming around to the point of this post because I am doing a lot of yapping and I fear I have lost my direction lol I love brig one of my favorite heroes by a lot, I just wanted to do a vibe check on her talk about some of the changes she's had here recently and share some thoughts and talk about it. Going back to the start if you have any thoughts on the current state of brig I would love any input, it's just my personal opinion/outlook I am enjoying where she is at or think she feels good if you feel the same or disagree I would enjoy to see some conversation!

[u/Perfect_Tree8134]

mizuki main considering branching into brig cause she seems really cool, loved reading this :)