Season 44 Hero Performance Report: Liu Er becomes the new most popular hero, and Bian Que's popularity soars.

Season S44 has officially begun, and the Rift is back to its former liveliness. The Six-Eared Macaque battles the Golden Cicada, and new heroes and skins are all free to obtain. There are also first-run bonuses after the update. Surprisingly, the Six-Eared Macaque is set as a second personality split from Sun Wukong, not entirely an independent hero. It's unclear how the skins will be designed. After the personality change, training levels are reset, and skill mechanics are altered. With the season update approaching, how popular are the heroes?

Six Ears: Top-tier popularity on the first day

First, let's talk about Liu Er, Sun Wukong's clone. He's unstoppable. He was immediately unbanned on the first day, with a 37% appearance rate and a 47% win rate. Perhaps too many people are testing his feel and gameplay, resulting in a lot of enthusiastic responses, but they've also ruined his strength. He's extremely popular and is still being re-explored, so his data doesn't reflect his strength much. However, it's a testament to his power. His performance on the first day is a significant leap ahead of characters whose win rates have consistently been below 47%.

Bian Que: Many people are supporting him, but his win rate is declining.

Another major highlight is Bian Que's rework and skill upgrades, which unsurprisingly boosted his popularity. His return to prominence is phenomenal, with a 28.5% pick rate and 48.5% win rate across all ranks. While this represents a 2.8% drop, it's a significant 24.8% increase compared to the old version, exceeding expectations. He's sure to become even more formidable in the future. Let's have the experts continue to analyze the details. Another less-mentioned mage is Haiyue. Buffed in Season 44, her popularity is moderate. She's never been a top pick in ranked matches, only truly shines in high-level games. Her pick rate is 9.4% and win rate is 45.2%, with some stat reductions compensated for by adjustments in certain areas. It's only been a few days since the update, so let's continue observing and not jump to conclusions.

Huang Zhong: Mines in Small-Scale Control

This season involved adjustments to 18 heroes, with the two mentioned above standing out. Some are happy, some are sad. Just like Shadow, who was nerfed to the point of being useless. The content says it's been buffed, but perhaps the current essence can't be found. The win rate dropped by 3.1%, below 50%. Loyal fans defended him, saying there is a lot of room for growth. Soft attributes such as output are much higher than before, but the difference is there, which is hard to believe.

Huang Zhong, the renowned target of the canyon, has had his mines adjusted to include crowd control. Will this be of much help in actual combat? Most people think it's insignificant until Marco Polo ambushes them, and then they realize that this small control is crucial, interrupting the opponent's core skills.

Image source: Internet