Before I get into this, not trying to make a plug or something but I want to say I’ve blacklisted overwatch from my personal “games I like to play when I’m bored” list for a few months because this recent update has absolutely destroyed comp, so though that has happened, my advice is still relevant, I’m sure.
TLDR–
My rank suddenly changing from average 2000’s to 1400 in the span of a single season when I’d worked months, almost years to get there, really made my whole experience with comp just turn rotten, and the sudden increase in disturbingly bad DPS makes matches nearly unplayable… I mean, it’s been an ocean of bad DPS, a pharaoh’s curse of bad DPS… I’d always thought “Hey, if it’s only 2 people in the team messing up we can still carry, right?” Well, sadly that’s not the case when those two people are the DPS, unless the tanks are just phenomenal.
TLDR—
So anyway, I am a healer main! My favorite is zenyatta, but I main basically almost all healers. My strats in comp has been to main a healer until I get their gold weapon, then just start up on the next… With this strat in mind, I’ve gotten all heroes from right to left up to lucio, and I’d currently be maining brigittte, so those are the heroes I’ll be giving advice on, staring with-…
Zenyatta------------------------
=Where you should be=
BEHIND YOUR TEAM… Zenyatta is NOT A DPS… If I had
a nickel for every time I mained zenyatta, and picked off a player who saw how good I was doing, changed to zen, and tried to one-man-army their way over to me only to get picked off BY me, I’d be making a dollar a day when I played him.
Yes, zenyatta can deal some good damage, but if you’re in the fray, you’re going to wind up a priority target. Never assume the enemy isn’t smart enough to prioritize targets, because even stupid players will still tend to go after you assuming you’re an easy kill. Just because you can pick off a brain-dead rein who never seems to put up his shield doesn’t mean you’re a god, it means that rein’s just a massive idiot.
Stay behind your team, this allows you to observe the battle safely, giving you a good perspective to do your work.
=What you should be doing=
Zen’s job is simple, but can require a lot of focus. Zenyatta is what I like to call a “Taskmaster” class because he does many things all at once. Mainly, three things.
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Always heal whoever has the lowest health, this is a rule of thumb for ALL healers, not just zenyatta. If a tank has 50% health and a soldier has 50% health, heal the soldier first, then the tank. Don’t go by the health bar entirely, remember HOW much health each class has, and that a tank with 50% is still much more durable than a DPS with 50% health…
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Typically you want to debuff ANY enemy whom is closest to, or being attacked by your teammates… Don’t be the “Team Leader” zenyatta, who calls out EVERY discord he throws, and just expects his team to attack them… Work “with” your team, don’t force them from an area or risk their lives just because “you” see an opportunity for an easy kill on their behalf.
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Watch for flankers. If you are a good zenyatta, you’re basically like the yappy guard dog of your team. If there’s a reaper, a genji, ect going around to flank your team, YOU will most often be the first to notice, and you MUST notify your team. Don’t silently try to take them down, even if they attack you. Let your team know they’re being flanked, and immediately start to backpedal and fire off a few salvos at the flanker. If they’re not focusing you? Pelt them with fury, to either distract, or even kill them, until/unless they start to target you.
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If at any time you find yourself not performing tasks 1, 2, and 3, fill every blank second of time by pelting the enemy at long range with your weapon. Don’t worry about kills, or helping to deal damage, just shoot whomever and where ever you can. If you see a rein sheild peeking a corner and nobody else is shooting at it? Shoot at it. Every bit of damage can help, and softening up a shield makes it easier for your team to break it further down the line.
=Other Tips=
- Never “only” use zen’s alt fire to attack enemies. Smarter enemies will
anticipate this, and opt to either overwhelm you quickly, or bait your shots into missing - Only use your ult under two conditions. If an enemy has just used their ult near 3 or more of your teammates, or, if one or both of your tanks are very low health and the battle is very intense.
- Don’t try to DPS… Seriously, just don’t…
- It’s okay to prioritize your discord orb on snipers, as this basically acts like pest spray to them. Discord a widow, and she’ll be forced to retreat out of nervous habit for a few seconds just to shake off the effect, which gives your team some added safety.
Mercy-------------------------------
=Where you should be=
Just behind the front lines. A good mercy can be nearly impossible to hit, and in most cases if you’re performing well, enemies won’t even bother trying to attack you. DON’T COUNT ON THIS, and if you see enemies like roadhog, mei, or mcree, any enemy with stun attacks, keep AWAY from them. Where ever the battle is happening, you want to be only slightly behind that line, to give you maximum reach over healing your team.
=What you should be doing=
Healing your team. Mercy is pretty self-explanatory in this case, but there are a few extra things to consider.
If your entire team is over 80% health, it’s safe to use your alt-fire to damage boost someone. Aim to damage boost not just DPS, not just tanks, but any hero which falls under the criteria of “shoots a lot of projectiles/bullets quickly”.
A good mercy will keep an eye on her rein, and time her damage boost with his projectile attack, since it can penetrate shields and does high damage. If a rein is in heavy combat, they’ll typically pop it off the second they have it, so it’s easy to simply count down the time in your head and briefly damage boost them when you know they’re ready to strike again.
ALWAYS watch your team. Never just assume that 45% health mcree is running for cover to retrieve a health pack, never just assume that zen behind you will regenerate his shield back, if you see a teammate below 75% health or more, GO TO THEM, and heal them. The things that makes mercy so powerful is her mobility. You never have to worry about abandoning your team to heal a straggler, as you can always get back to them quickly.
Rezzing can be tricky, but the best way to look at it is to simply ask yourself a question. “Are they worth the risk?” Say you have a soldier who died right on the choke, who has his ult, or a rein who was sniped slightly behind the front lines. Who do “you” go for? The rein of course. Because as a mercy, you NEVER force yourself into a chokepoint, for rezzing OR healing. If a teammate over-extends, don’t risk your life just to keep them healthy. Let darwinism take over from there.
If your entire TEAM over-extends, give them a verbal disclaimer that you will NOT be giving them support unless they fall back. This is not “you being a bad teammate”, this is you watching the flank, and avoiding being picked off by a flanker. Simply stay back, and wait for your team to realize their mistake, and be ready to heal them when they fall back. The only exception to this is if the enemy team is almost entirely dead and your team is simply trying to maintain a guard over a minor chokepoint. But even then, get out of there the moment things get hairy, and don’t die with the rest of your team. Consider the mercy like the parakeet in a sulphur mine. If your team has a good mercy, and she’s either dead, or a fair distance away from you, you’re probably not where you need to be.
=Other Tips=
- Don’t use your blaster, unless you are completely alone, and are in the process of retreating. (In other words, if most of your team has suddenly died and you need to get back to spawn to regroup)
- Depending on how much damage your team is constantly soaking, you can have some freedom to use your ults safely without worrying about there being a time where it’s much needed. Typically, it’s useful to pop your ult when you see an enemy pop theirs, if they’re using any kind of ult that isn’t a “instant high damage or one-shot” type of ult, like pharah’s or reaper’s.
- If most of your team is dead, OR if you are being viciously targeted by an enemy like a genji, use your dash ability to purposefully fly quickly over long distances between living/dead teammates. This makes you EXTREMELY hard to hit. If you have a pharah, even if she needs no heals or damage, fly to her, to give yourself a good vantage point and check on your team safely.
- Do not pocket…Never pocket… Only bad mercies pocket… If you’re ignoring your team, you’re ignoring your duty as a healer. The only exception to this rule is if one of your teammates has a lasting ult, like soldier’s or ana’s.
- If your 2nd healer is doing a very good job or is ulting to keep your team sufficiently safe (Lucio/zen ults are good for this), use your damage boost to fill in the time and keep the heat up on the enemy.
Moira------------------------------
=Where you should be=
Anywhere! Moira’s insane mobility allows you to completely control where you are on the battlefield. A good moira will almost never die, but a bad moira uses this fact as an excuse to become a sub-par DPS and ignore their team.
Look at it this way. If your team is doing well, stay in front of them and act as a flanker, picking off stragglers. If your team is taking heavy damage or stuck at a choke point, stay at their side, assisting their firepower and keeping them healed. If your team is losing ground, stay behind them, and watch for flankers, keeping them healed to try and help them get back on their feet.
=What you should be doing=
Like zenyatta, I consider moira a “Taskmaster” hero, meaning they have to manage a large amount of things all at once. Typically a good moira’s task priorities look as such.
- Heal team. Tanks first, then DPS. If team is collectively damaged, or taking fire in a small enclosed area, throw healy ball.
- Locate enemy team. If enemy is close to team, stay nearby to provide healing, and if hunt down low-health stragglers, both enemy or teammate. If enemy is scattered or disoriented, move up, and antagonize squishy heroes like genji/sombra, or any healers you can find.
- If team is fully healed, and enemy is either mostly dead or simply not around at the time, stay near the front but still within line-of-sight of your team, and act as a scout. If the enemy is trickling, move in and hunt. If the enemy is grouping up, notify your team and retreat.
=Other Tips=
- Train yourself to only use your damage ball if a single enemy is below 25% health, or if there are more than 2 enemies in a clump at a time.
- You are not a one-man army. Efficiently surviving does NOT mean you’re doing well… While you’re killing that ana in the back lines and taunting the rein to chase you, their DPS might be ducked behind an orisa on the front lines shredding your team… BE AWARE OF THE FRONT LINES…
- Follow the Healer’s Code… When healing your team, heal ALL of your team… If you see someone missing because they’re either hiding for cover and/or flanking, find them, and make sure they’re fully healed… Even topping off a 10% bit of health to a wandering reaper can be the difference that saves you or your team in the long run. NEVER assume your team knows where health packs are located… Or that they even know what one looks like…
- Don’t use your ult haphazardly. Your ult should only be used on two conditions. To either be used as suppressing fire to disperse/scatter the enemy during a big push, or to force them back when they’re clumped up at a tight chokepoint. NEVER use your ult unless 3 or more of your teammates are nearby. Simply intimidating the enemy isn’t worth using your ult, always make sure you have your team around to take advantage of the opening you’re creating.
Lucio----------------------------
=Where you should be=
INSIDE OF YOUR TEAM. Lucio is very unique because his heals are AOE (Area of effect), meaning you should basically always pretend like there is an invisible dog leash attached to you connecting to your team. If there aren’t 2 or more teammates within your AOE, either you’re not doing it right, or your team ain’t doin’ it right.
If your team is unresponsive to team chat, or just never seems to stick together, don’t be afraid to just change healers on the spot to accommodate… Don’t be a lucio if your team doesn’t need one… I know it can be frustrating if you main him only to see your team scatter 90% of the match, but changing healers is ALWAYS a better option than just trying to be a DPS/Enemy-Annoying Lucio.
=What you should be doing=
Because your healing happens automatically around you, lucio can focus a lot more on annoying the enemy, or using his vast mobility to remain untouchable in heavy combat. Like the mercy, most enemies won’t even bother targeting you, but some might stick to you the entire match.
Always use your weapon to attack. Similar to zenyatta, ANY damage is good damage. Don’t aim to kill, just do damage, to enemies, shields, it doesn’t matter, always be firing while you are healing.
It’s an unspoken rule between players, when you’re playing a lucio, you ARE expected to use your speed boost whenever your team is leaving spawn en masse. In any other occasion, it’s still considered very polite to backtrack a bit simply to help speed boost a tank to the front lines. Those extra seconds of time shaved off to get a tank or a clump of 3+ heroes back to the front lines can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Don’t take this courtesy too far though. Don’t abandon more than 3 teammates on the front lines just to speed boost a tank. Know when, and where your team needs you.
If you have a mercy, or a strong dedicated healer on your team besides yourself who’s keeping your team taken care of, opt to use your speed boost on the front lines during combat, to give your team a bit more mobility. It might not seem like much, but a team that moves faster is harder to hit, and harder to anticipate.
If your team is faltering, and 2 or more of them die on the front lines with you there nearby, as a lucio, you have a very important choice to make… Do you run back to speed-boost them to the point? Continue to heal whoever’s still alive on the point? Or just speed-boost/heal like crazy and hold that point bouncing off of walls like a madman?.. The correct answer, is all three, in this order
- Keep remaining team alive until it’s only just you and one other.
- Use speed boost/heal and delay the point being taken as long as you can
- The second you see your team collectively respawn, if you are still alive, head back to help speed boost them. If the trip back is long enough to roughly take the length of time for them to respawn anyway, just head back immediately. Unless the cap is nearing 100%, it’s more efficient and safer to just get to your team and boost them back there.
=Other tips=
- NEVER use your ult alone. Only ult if there are 2-3 or more teammates nearby, AND one of the enemies is ulting.
- You are not alone. The other healer on your team will pick up the slack in healing, and if they’re doing their job well, you can loosen up your priorities a bit and assist your team in other ways, such as speed boosting, or helping to attack a flanker.
- Remember your boops… Booping in itself is an artform, and I won’t explain it in detail, since booping is its own entire little strategy. Just remember your boops, and use them well, when appropriate.
- If not using the boops for bunging, remember that they can also be used as a way to briefly immobilize a target. Shoot them once, then immediately boop them at an upward angle so they fly up in the air. While in the air their movement is severely crippled, giving you time to safely land another burst of shots into them. If used correctly, this can be the best way to quickly dispatch a foe who’s messing with you, or take out a nearby straggler.
Brigitte-------------------------
=Where you should be=
Near your tanks! As a brigitte, you must consider yourself like a tank-bodyguard. A good brigitte protects her tanks, and keeps them healed up. Similar to lucio, brigitte has some leeway to actually break the healer’s code, and NOT focus on her entire team when healing, seeing as her actual healing ability is very conditional.
Where ever your tanks are, YOU should be. If they are slightly apart? Put yourself in between them. If your tanks are away from the rest of the team? Verbally notify them and try your best to coral them to their team, so that “They” can do their job properly… Even a good brigitte can be crippled in usefulness, if her tanks do nothing but overextend or wander apart.
=What you should be doing=
Fighting near your tanks. As a tank bodyguard your job is to help fend off any flankers. That is almost specifically your job. If you see a lone DPS attacking a tank, it’s YOUR job to swarm them like an angry bee and either ward them away, or pound them to dust.
Try to focus on using your long-distance healing on DPS and your other healer, and leave your passive ability to do the work of healing the tanks, unless they urgently need it.
Similar to symmetra or rein, Brigitte is what I refer to as a “Panic Attack” hero, meaning she’s most effective against enemies who are either too distracted with your team or just can’t focus on single targets to properly fight back at you, so during a big conflict, you can just calmly saunter in flailing around your mace and pick them off one by one, and you’ve got plenty of tools to protect yourself even if a few of them start to target you (including your team). And all the while you are doing this, your passive will be healing your team around you.
In the heat of the moment, when dealing a lot of damage in proximity to her team, a good brigitte can be nearly invulnerable, and with a good team, an unstoppable driving force.
Keep an eye on your tanks at ALL times though. If one or both die, don’t try to play rough and take the enemy on. Protect whoever’s left, and ALWAYS stay on the defensive. If your team is doing very well, and DPS is mopping up stragglers, keep an eye on them from afar, and send a heal over to them once in a while, even if they’re full on health. That little extra armor can mean the difference between them making it back from a sudden rush or not.
=Other Tips=
- Remember to boop when you can. Don’t focus too much on trying to get a bunge as sometimes the mere act of the boop can briefly disorient enemies, making them easier to pick off. A good slap-bop-slap-boop-slap combo can pick off most low-health stragglers, or ward away/severely agitate tanks.
-Your ult is actually best used OUTSIDE of combat, when regrouping to charge the enemy, as it gives armor, as WELL as a faint speed boost. Try to avoid using your ult in an attempt to “give more heals”, as this will normally end up being wasted on a team that’s being killed regardless of your efforts. Think of it this way. Would you put on a suit of armor “before” battle, or “during” battle?
I haven’t quite mastered the other healers yet so that’s all I have to offer. I hope this information helps, it’s from a year or more of experience of maining healers, so have fun out there, and good luck!