Improving communication and shot calling

For season 11, I’ve decided that my main focus for improvement is going to be communication as a whole. While I’m well acquainted with the normal calls, enemy position, ult usage, low health, etc. I’ve tried to move into the nebulous realm of shot calling. Now, I know a lot of it comes from simply knowing the game and having experience with it… but that doesn’t really help if someone /doesn’t/ have experience with it.

It’s one thing to formulate some kind of strategy before the engagement, but once the fight starts, that’s where things go chaotic and wonky. So… this is where I’d like to learn. Specifically, how do you know which targets to call out for focus? Instinct would say the healers, since they’re usually the backbone of a team fight but that isn’t always practical and trying to focus a healer could actually result in giving the enemy team free picks.

I know that there can’t be one or two answers that will apply to every situation, but I was wondering if the more experienced players here could share some of their thought processes, what situations they tend to look for to capitalize on or stuff like that. Really, I’m mostly looking for a foundation, something to start with that I can build upon with my own experience beyond “learn when to focus targets”, which is about all I’ve been able to find.

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At my rank Silver/Gold, “Focusing the healers” usually means focusing the Mercy:

  • Ana players at my rank are ineffective.
  • Few Moria have the skill to balance damage and healing to keep a constant heal stream flowing.
  • A good Lucio player can’t be focused (too slippery), a bad one isn’t worth it.
  • I run into a few good Zen players, but they usually get focused anyway (the DPS get tired of dying to him).

The primary failure seems to be when “nothing is dying” and your team continues to fire at the DPS and/or tanks. 9 time out of 10 your facing a fairly good Mercy who’s keeping their entire team alive.

At this point it is necessary to call out what is happening and then ask your team to focus the Mercy.