Hela's season 1 Nerf was the best handled nerfs ive ever seen in a competitive multiplayer game

Hela was the terror of season 0. There is little discussion about her status as best character and lobby admin whenever she wasnt immediatly banned. People were begging her to be gutted, to lose whole abilities and have nerfs to every single aspect of her kit.

The response? Reduce just a little but health and 4% of her damage.

People were saying it wasnt enough, that it didnt do anything, that she needed stromger bugger nerfs.

Now she has has a 5% banrate and a 15% pickrate. Dont get me wrong- she is by no means weak, and is still one of the best responses to fliers and a great all rounder for most team comps. But she no longer holds her destructive meta status. She is... balanced. In perfectly healthy meta position. Instead of sacrificing her strenghs, the devs just made her ever so slightly easier to dive, and asked a but more skill to secure kills- still allowing for 2 shots, mind you, and one of the strongest offensive ults in the game.

What they did was amazing, a calculated nerf that kept Hela fun to play for those skilled with her, didnt sacrifice the fantasy of playing her, but made her less oppressive by making her easier to be killed.

The current meta isnt perfect, but looking at the result of the season 1 patch notes and how reserved and thoughtful they were fills me with great hope for this game- for a game where characters arent gutted for their strenghs, and where their playstyle and feel are conserved and adjusted for their fun. Im very happy with how things are going.