Not Heather, but my boyfriend and I (both around HR 130-ish) went into iceborne with fully augmented high rank gear that we were kind of attached to, and I can tell you our experience.

She has no speed in a class where speed is the difference between life and death, that’s what’s wrong with her. :P And she doesn’t even have the def to make up for it. (That said, I kind of like her anyway, and she can be made to be viable with a little extra investment.)

Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re arguing about whether characters’ sexualities have a relevance to canon, and not about what happens in fanfiction, correct? (If fanfic is what’s bothering you, unfortunately the only thing to do there is to adopt a “don’t like don’t read” mentality, because fanfic isn’t going to…

Why do these characters need sexuality, you ask? Well, why do they need any distinguishing traits at all? They could all just be flat, blank slates indistinguishable from one another, and it wouldn’t affect the gameplay, but it would still be pretty boring, right? Sexuality is just another trait a character has…

Re: the changing of Urchin Underpass, I think it had to do with chargers never getting clear sight lines. I’m a roller/inkbrush/slosher gal myself, so I also preferred the old one, but meh.