This is not a discussion about whether Uther can fill this role. I think the pro scene has more than proven that it’s a role he’s well-suited to, and that solo healing isn’t the best use of him.
The question is, in a game full of ignorant players who just see “Uther = healer, yeah we only need one of those, switch or report,” how to convince such people that it’s actually a solid pick? It’s one of my all-time favorite roles/builds, but getting a team to go along with it comes along so rarely that I almost never get to play him. Either I pick Uther early and no one else takes a healer no matter what I say, forcing me to go full heal build, or I last pick him and risk getting flamed.
This leads to the other side of the problem: if you pick something even slightly out of the ordinary or what teammates consider “meta,” you’re automatically at fault if it doesn’t go as planned - which it will (no comp has a 100% win rate) - no matter what the actual reason was. They already have their scapegoat lined up at draft.
How do Uther mains deal with this prejudice against the best possible setup/role for their hero?
Honestly you can’t convince people to do anything, because they see that Uther is drafted and they’re like ‘‘mE SeE UtheR He SolO hEaL’’. Like this game is full of some of the most ignorant players I have ever seen in a MOBA i’ll tell ya what. Plus people don’t even like to play healer the majority of the time so it makes it even harder to get someone to follow along with what you want. You can’t expect a potato to listen to you.
Edit: Solo healing as Uther feels godawful so when this happens to me I just start tilting because I know my team is gonna be hard to work with if they won’t even pick a second healer/support.
Another edit: @banelingline makes a good point about having self-sustain heroes on your team. It can take the problems off your shoulders a bit. The problem is whether or not your allies are gonna pick someone who can self-sustain or pick a ranged assassin with only a kit that does damage lol.
I disagree that it’s the best role, though it does neatly avoid Uther’s problems. He’s still a great anti-burst healer, and if two or more of the other team members have decent self-sustain or auxiliary healing, he can handle the burst that they have issues with.
As for how I deal with it, I just accept that I’m going to have problems with timing everything out so people aren’t dying off. I don’t think I’ve ever actually had a proper off-tank/off-healer Uther game, come to think of it… The perils of mid-Silver
This. You can offtank or extreme cases main tank as Uther (not necessarily recommended), but you will never convince the average player it’s possible.
If you want to avoid toxicity or some player just leaving right after the game starts as a protest against your pick, it’s not a good idea. Only do that in a premade party.
You just need to be more confident, even commanding, while also being warm and relaxed. People who get away with picking Uther as second support/frontline are people who wear their balls on their sleeve. Just also be smart about picking it when it’s really good. If you have like Greymane Jaina and the enemy team has a Zera or something freakin’ go for it.
Just say “lmao” about the enemy team’s draft in chat and then say “I’m tank, trust me this is fire. __________ still offlanes”
After that just stay positive about everything and exude loving confidence to your team as you run the enemy team down one E at a time
Sadly when it comes to things like drafting a hero outside their assigned role that’s also been my experience with people. They just can’t wrap their minds around the idea that it’s possible, and will either tilt at draft or at the very latest if/when we lose a teamfight.
I, too, don’t really like solo healing with Uther, especially since I draft him with the intent of taking his very fun stun/shock build and usually get forced into the solo healer role where that build doesn’t bring the needed healing throughput.
Oh, I agree that he’s also a strong anti-burst healer in comps with strong self-sustain, but as you say it avoids Uther’s main weakness and frees him up to play more aggressively while still being available to provide his anti-burst when needed.
Hm, I suppose one could see it that way, but I’m not asking for players to understand all the nuances of a hero. I just don’t want them to fly off the rails in nerdrage because of their ignorance. If they could accept that they don’t know what they don’t know and defer to me in those games as to how I draft Uther, I’d have no problem with said lack of knowledge.
I’m sure there are still builds/scenarios I’ve not seen or thought of for certain heroes, and when I don’t know the hero well and someone claims to know what he’s doing why would I deny him the pick? Compared to some off-the-wall stuff out there that I’ve seen work, the idea that Uther can take a beating and be a sort of healy bruiser is practically common knowledge.
“If I can’t make them believe in Uther, make them believe in me.” A good idea - one that often doesn’t come across as planned in text chat - but I know what you mean and should try that more often. I don’t often type much after draft, but on teams with people who stay positive and say nice things to teammates I’ve noticed a definite correlation to less tilt and higher win rate.
Ignorance can’t be cured by outside forces.
You can only show them the truth (if they allow it) or wish for more openminded teams.
I never had trouble with ppl when I picked Uther in double Healer comps in ranked. But maybe it’s luck, or the fact that ppl at Master are more chill, because they can’t really climb and they don’t fear the fall.
When you are un a full-potatoe team that first pick Butcher & Nova, and you enjoy playing healers… It’s fun to pick Uther and drop the hammer upon everything until the inevitable loss comes!
They probably play with 4 other friends where intent is easily coordinated and accepted.
I know when I play with my friends, they’re obviously going to be much more accepting of my pick because they know how I play and they’ll build around me for that game.
Then, subsequent games, I’ll build around them and so on. There’s give and take with friends, not so much with randoms.
Anyone who can capably solo heal. Uther works well when he has another healer on his team, since he can buff their healing. Good examples would be Rehgar, Ana, Kharazim, Morales, and Malfurion imo.
