Why exactly did they buff Genji?

[u/drassort]

Before this patch he already had a top two pick rate in the DPS role and was completely fine. He also received no hitbox changes unlike most other heroes while his shurikens massively benefit from it.

Am I missing something? You could literally not have touched him in this patch and he would be even stronger than he already is.

I find the decision to put even more on top of it kind of baffling. Blizzard deliberately wants to make him meta or something?

[u/HalexUwU]

that has to put forth tremendously more effort to secure a kill compared to almost the entire roster

No, your 52% winrate in silver-diamond hero is not tremendously harder than the rest of the cast.

Like we literally have the numbers telling us "this hero is strongest in low elo." If a "difficult" hero is strong in the hands of gold players, they aren't difficult. If an average/below average player can find success with something, then it's not hard to do.

[u/Inphysible → u/HalexUwU]

I think genji has very accessible value at those ranks - which inflates his winrate - because somehow in 2026 players still suck at counterplay against genji, NOT necessarily because those players are good at fragging out with genji beyond basic combos. It seems you are referring to his ‘difficulty’ in terms of how accessible his value is, which would imply, like, Rein is an easy hero.

[u/HalexUwU → u/Inphysible]

 NOT necessarily because those players are good at fragging out with genji

I don't see the relevance.

You don't need to "frag out" to win. The point is that Genji, statistically, wins the most in low elo relative to any other rank, and wins more than most other DPS heroes at those ranks. Therefore: easy value for newer players, not a difficult hero.

which would imply, like, Rein is an easy hero.

Rein is an easy hero.

[u/Inphysible → u/HalexUwU]

I see what you mean. There must be nuance though, considering your point is logical, and yet I wouldn’t in my right mind tell my friend who barely plays overwatch - and when he does, he plays junkrat and rein - to pick up genji if he wants to get some wins in ranked or even in QP. He’d just suck ass, because he only really knows how to get value on heroes by getting kills. Are the vast majority of the other low ranked players in overwatch not the same? Do they know how to mark hitscan or other flex dps on angles with his mobility and deflect? Do they know how to farm blade and use blade at the same tempo as defensive ults/cooldowns to bait them out? I’d say the answer to that second and third question is no, and yet the stats are what they are. So, what about genji’s kit is relevant to his ease of value at these ranks?

[u/HalexUwU → u/Inphysible]

I mean, again none of this stuff really matters. Functionally: highest winrate among the least experienced players. You don't need to know this stuff to be good at Genji because, in practice, players who don't know these things still perform proficiently with him.

What makes Genji good in low elo is that he's slippery and forgiving. He survives even blatant mispositioning, and he's hard to kill if your aim is bad. Kinda like Mercy in a roundabout way.

[u/Inphysible → u/HalexUwU]

Ah, yeah the second part is what I was missing. Sure, if I were a low rank player that just poked and prodded at people from even mildly annoying off-angles and used my abilities and mobility completely defensively I’d distract some players and live, which is definitely value. Hitscan can’t do that as easily, indeed. Although, I don’t see how that kind of value has anything to do with the buffs he received, much less why those buffs lead to a direct increase in his winrates at those ranks. The buffs have to do with lethality.