Since Symmetra's rework, it's become very clear that, as much of a non-entity as she was before, many people never really learned how to deal with her effectively. Before the rework, the answer was simply to switch to Winston, take Point A, and then you were free to switch to whatever you preferred because she wasn't very viable beyond that. Or not even switch, as any AoE could clean out her turrets.

However, the truth is that Symmetra is now a viable hero, and must be accounted for properly. So, let's discuss what she can do, her strengths and weaknesses, and how to shut her down entirely.

For the record, I am of the feeling that Symmetra should be properly classed as a Defense, not a Support hero. Her support abilities lie only in her Ultimates, while her primary kit is all about controlling an area.

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**Symmetra's Abilities**

* *Photon Barrier* - One of Symmetra's new abilities, the Photon Barrier projects a shield with the exact same properties as Reinhardt's barrier, but with half the HP (1000). It's also uncontrollable, as it simply travels forward at the same speed as Symmetra's movement rate. It will follow upward slopes but otherwise travels in a straight line.

**Benefits**: During a chokepoint defense, the shield can be used to great effect, protecting allies and minimizing damage output from the enemy. In a fight, it can be used to allow a Symmetra to approach with relative little danger.

**Weaknesses**: The barrier is completely uncontrollable, and it's not very large. It's relatively easy to move forward through it, or move to the side, in order to get clear line of fire again. And a poorly aimed barrier provides no protection at all. Finally, the barrier is effectively useless during a close-range fight, as it manifests a few meters in front of Symmetra and will almost immediately pass through whoever she's fighting. And if the central structure touches any kind of wall at all, the barrier immediately breaks.

* *Sentry Turret* - After the rework, Symmetra can stock up to six of these little buggers, and place them at will. Sentry turrets can be placed on most surfaces, and can be used to great effect to help defend an area. They lock onto the first hero to enter their firing arc, and do a constant 25 damage, as well as reducing movement speed by 25%, and multiple turrets firing on a single hero stack their effects. Up to six can be placed at a time.

**Benefits**: Sentry Turrets are very effective at chokepoints, reducing enemy movement for easier kills, as well as doing significant damage in a group. They can also be used as actual sentries, warning when a hero is flanking if placed properly. Well-placed turrets can make attacking an area much more difficult.

**Weaknesses**: Sentry Turrets have only 1 HP, so any AoE ability can clear out groups of them very quickly. They do have firing arcs, and can be destroyed easily by alert heroes without being exposed to damage, particularly if poorly placed.

* *Photon Projector* - Symmetra's primary weapon. It has two firing modes. The alternate fire charges an energy ball, which starts at 26 damage and can be charged up to 125 damage, which takes 2 seconds. The ball is fairly slow-moving, but passes through Reinhardt/Symmetra Barriers (but can still be eaten by D.Va's Defense Matrix or reflected by a Genji). It also passes through heroes, doing damage to each as it moves. The primary fire creates a sort of energy leash, latching onto the aimed-at hero within 7 meters and doing damage continuously until the leash is broken, by either moving out of the disengagement range of 10 meters, or by breaking Line of Sight (lock-on breaks after .5 seconds of meeting these requirements.) It begins at a only 30 damage per second, and ramps up once per second of continuous lockon, moving to 60 damage, then 120 damage at maximum charge. Every second it is not locked on, it drops one level of charge.

**Benefits**: The Energy Ball is very good for spamming at chokes to cause damage throughout tightly packed formations, and discouraging the enemy. It can also be used against stationary targets to good effect, such as a Bastion or Torbjorn Turret. The primary fire is a very capable 1v1 weapon, enabling Symmetra to focus a single target and wear them down quickly. It's also very effective at clearing out enemy Symmetra turrets, or other objects (such as a Junkrat trap).  When comboed with multiple turrets, a Symmetra at close range can destroy most heroes quickly.

**Weaknesses**: The Energy Ball is slow, and can be easily dodged, reflected, or cancelled by a Defense Matrix, and is very useful for a Zarya to gain a lot of energy quickly. The primary fire is very short-ranged, and must ramp-up to do effective damage. Quick-movement abilities, such as Genji's Dash, Winston's jump pack, or D.Va's Boosters, can be used to break Line of Sight quickly. Other abilities, such as Zarya's Particle Barrier and Mei's Cryofreeze, also break lock-on instantly.

* *Teleporter/Shield Generator* - Symmetra's ultimates. She can choose between each by pressing Q again before placing them. The Teleporter allows up to 6 allies to move instantly from spawn, while the Shield Generator provides 75 points of shields to all allies within 50 meters. Both structures have 50 HP and 350 Shields, making them durable.

**Benefits**: The Teleporter is the go-to ability for Point A defense, enabling quick returns after death, neutralizing the Attacker spawn advantage. The Shield Generator makes the entire team much more durable (providing a total of 450 additional health across all six teammates, which regenerates automatically). Both are situational, although the Shield Generator typically has a much wider range of uses.

**Weaknesses**: Both are destroyable structures, and intelligent flankers (in particular Genji, Tracer, and Pharah) can destroy them very quickly. In a Teleporter's case, if destroyed quickly enough, it provides zero value at all. Both also require good placement - placed badly, they're easy to find and destroy, or are too far away to be useful. Even the Shield Generator's 50m range, while huge, can be worthless if placed too far away.

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**How to Deal with an Enemy Symmetra**

Symmetra's kit allows her to make choke points and capture points much more difficult to assault, and she can punish bad positioning or unawareness quickly. She can, however, be dealt with.

* *Counter #1: Range* -  Symmetra is simply incapable of effectively fighting at range. The Energy Ball is too easily dealt with, and the Photon Barrier too easily gotten around. Any hero who can attack effectively from beyond 10 meters can easily destroy Symmetra. In particular, Pharah is extremely strong here, as her AoE rockets can quickly demolish a dodgy Symmetra while also destroying Sentry Turrets, and can do so from extreme range. Soldier 76 is a strong contender here, as is an accurate McCree. Hanzo and Widowmaker, or an alt-firing Mei, can also prove deadly. Junkrat can work here as well, able to shoot from angles Symmetra cannot deal with, or fire straight over her barrier. Bastion can do this as well, but is vulnerable to Energy Balls if he isn't paying enough attention, and may be frustrated by well-used Photon Barriers.

* *Counter #2: Raw Damage* - Symmetra has only 200 health. While half of it is shields, enabling her to regain health if left disengaged, she can be bursted down very quickly. Reaper is quite capable of killing her quickly, and using his Wraith Form to do so safely if he makes a mistake. Mei, as well, for similar reasons - she can freeze a Symmetra quickly then headshot her, and her Cryofreeze and Ice Wall give her a lot of leeway in case of mistakes. Zarya is effective here as well. Tracer and Genji *can* work here, if they have high accuracy, although it can be harder for them to disengage quickly if Symmetra's beam is at full charge. A sneaky Sombra, particularly if she has her ult, can ruin a Symmetra's day this way as well. Attentive Reinhardts, D.Vas, and Roadhogs can also kill her quite quickly (Roadhog gets special mention for his hook, which can allow him to 1-shot her.)

* *Counter #3: Winston* - Winston, yes, gets his own category here. No other hero has his ability to sweep away Symmetra turrets in no time flat. His weapon being a cone makes it easier for him to keep consistent damage on Symmetra more than almost any other hero (except perhaps a capable Mei), and if he lands his jump on her he typically has a solid advantage. It is worth noting that in a raw damage battle, he has little margin for error - it takes him a little over 3 seconds to kill a Symmetra without a Shield Gen, and about 4.5 seconds with one. This time is reduced by 1 second if he hits his landing on her. Meanwhile, a fully charged Symmetra can kill a Winston in about 4.5 seconds. If not at full charge, it takes nearly 6 seconds. It is to his benefit to make certain he lands on Symmetra at full health, preferably after having denied her the use of her Shield Generator.

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**How to Fight Symmetra**

Most of the hero roster is capable of dealing with Symmetra quite handily, but frequently don't because of mistakes, which Symmetra's design punishes quite brutally.

* *Lesson #1: Don't ignore her* - The biggest mistake I see is whole teams ignoring Symmetra as she casually microwaves them into oblivion. Just like any DPS character, if you ignore her, you die. If a Symmetra gets into killing range, focus her down quickly to deny her the ability to charge up her beam and do massive damage.

* *Lesson #2: Don't 1v1 her at close range* - Symmetra is designed to ruin a single hero quickly, and as a result, will frequently have the advantage in 1v1s. Only a few heroes can reliably win that, if they avoid mistakes. Reaper, Mei, and Winston are the primary ones, and all three have ways of getting back out of the fight if in deep trouble. Zarya can do this as well, if she has decent aim and uses her barriers well. Reinhardt's massive swing can also be effective, but only if he goes on the attack immediately (or he manages a pin). Ideally, kill her from outside of her leash's range.

* *Lesson #3: Have good awareness* - When you know there's an enemy Symmetra, be on the lookout for turrets, particularly along flank routes, at choke points, or near the capture point. Every hero can take them out from outside their engagement range, and quickly. It's rare that you can't get an angle on a sentry turret to destroy it without taking damage, as well. And during teamfights, pay attention - the Symmetra is very likely to jump through your team, getting behind and melting squishies. She may also place turrets behind.

* *Lesson #4: Use a Mercy* - Symmetra can only overpower a Mercy's healing at maximum charge. Otherwise, she's just giving the Mercy free ultimate charge. Any sort of DPS being pocketed by a Mercy should be able to kill a Symmetra quickly and relatively safely.

* *Lesson #5: Movement* - The most common mistake I see when fighting a Symmetra is that, once she locks-on, that player immediately tries to backpedal away from her, shooting wildly or simply trying to run straight away. Unless you have an ability that very quickly removes you beyond 10m (such as D.Va's Boosters, Winston's Jump Pack, or Phara's Jump Jets), disengaging is a bit tricker. You must break Line of Sight. Many times, the easiest way to do that is run straight *past* Symmetra. Particularly if you're a Genji or Tracer, doing so is a necessity. If there are good corners nearby, the can also work - a Lucio going around a corner and immediately wall-riding up can get away, particularly if he uses his speed boost.

* *Lesson #6: Ultimates* - Symmetra's ultimates can be destroyed quickly by flankers, but there are times it may be better to simply ignore them. A Control Point or Escort Point capture immediately cancels out her placed ultimates. A Teleporter or Shield Generator placed too far away are as good as worthless, and if ignored, Symmetra is unable to charge another ultimate while they exist. A Teleporter can even be beneficial to your team, as it can encourage the enemy to trickle in one at a time, racing through the Teleporter only to be mowed down by your team.

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Symmetra is very counterable, but you have to pay attention, and treat her as a serious threat. Much like Bastion or Torbjorn from he early days, once you learn *how* to counter her, and accept that her kit is designed to punish mistakes quickly, she becomes a great deal less frustrating to fight against. If you're having trouble with her, switch heroes and try a different tactic.

She has a fairly low skill floor, and her design is such that she can be aggravating to play against. But her skill ceiling is relatively low as well, and most of her skill comes from intelligent placement of her turrets and ultimates, rather than mechanical aim.

This is all written from the viewpoint of someone who has played a *lot* of Symmetra, both before and after the rework. In the last month, I've been forced to switch off Symmetra much more frequently doing to being shut down hard by, in particular, Pharahs and Winstons, while right after the rework it seemed no one knew how to handle me.