If you ask Overwatch players what they think about Symmetra, everybody’s got a different answer. She’s a cheap pick for someone who can’t aim, some will say, or a trump card on defense; she's an essential part of the team or the worst decision you could ever make. Parts of her fit into every role there is—she’s a builder, defense, support, and DPS—but she sits on the sidelines more than any other character. She's the least picked, the most despised. She’s a misfit who captured my heart when Overwatch launched in May 2016, and, call me a masochist, but her roller-coaster cycle of development and ubiquitous hate have only made me love her more.
Overwatch was the first multiplayer shooter I picked up since Team Fortress 2, lulling me in with its similarly colorful class of characters combined with a focus on diverse representation. As I flicked through the familiar classes, I paused on Symmetra, smiling because she reminded me of my best friend, a daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants. It was the hair, I think: so thick it’d almost look coarse if it weren’t for the healthy sheen.
I noted the similarity almost subconsciously and went to move on, but a question stopped me. Had I ever played a South Asian character before? Realizing the answer was “No,” I became possessed by a new determination. “Well, we’ve got to fix that,” I thought, picking her without a second thought.
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