Okay, I usually don’t make these sort of threads but due to the recent outcropping of “Picking Ana is throwing” threads I felt the need to make this.
After all, how could I call myself an Ana-Main if I don’t come to Ana’s defense?
Now, I’m not going to assume that every player that picks Ana in Quick Play or Competitive actually knows how to play her efficiently and is great with her, because there’s a good chance that yeah, the Ana player on your team might not be all that great with her.
NOTE: I’m aware of some Ana-Mains refusing to switch off of her in the event she’s being countered.
That said, I also noticed that most people don’t actually know how to play with an Ana on their team and 9 times out of 10, actually end up being their own worst enemy when it comes to getting healed.
-
Tank-Mains / Players: Please do remember that while Ana can heal you from an infinite range, that doesn’t mean that you should always be in the fight and far away from her as possible. If you start to feel like you’re being overwhelmed, it’s okay to step away from the fight. Too often I witness Tanks get overly-aggressive in fights and end up going out of Ana’s line of sight, or worse, they end up going behind a barrier and by that point, it’s game over.
-
Damage-Mains / Players: Like Tank-Mains, staying within Ana’s line of sight is most crucial to your survival and overextending is the easiest way for you to not get healed because Ana doesn’t have the mobility to keep up with some of you. However, this issue is less so with you guys (in my opinion) because you have the mobility to quickly get away from barriers in comparison to that of the Tanks. On another note, do try to remember that you all are the prime targets for Nano Boost, so do try to be within Ana’s line of sight in the event you can combo with her.
-
Support-Mains / Players: Ana cannot reliably heal herself like you might be able to and because Ana sits further in the back, away from the fight, she’s going to need you to peel and top her off more than ever. Our Tank might need help surviving in the front lines but the second that Ana goes down (who should be handling the Tanks a lot better than the off Support, unless you’re Mercy or Moira) your job becomes a LOT harder than before.
Another thing that I’ve noticed that players don’t usually do when playing with an Ana is that they don’t capitalize off of targets who have been had their healing blocked by Biotic Grenade (purple health bar).
These are actually the times when you want to be the most aggressive as the enemy cannot heal through any damage brought onto them.
Overall, Ana’s playstyle more or less asks for a team to be a lot more measured in their advancements instead of trying to push through a team with just overwhelming force.
Barriers & map obstructions are Ana’s biggest foes on the battlefield, so a team that tries to push through barriers instead of trying to work around or even breaking them tends to suffer. Same thing for the team that advances too far into the battle.
Now, there are DEFINITELY a lot of situations where Ana isn’t really the most optimal of heroes and those rest solely on the shoulders of the Ana-player.
That said, I feel like Mercy’s prevalence within the Support roster have sort of enabled and reinforced everyone’s habits of terrible positioning which in turn makes it extremely difficult for people to get used to Ana’s more slow-paced playstyle. As a result, Mercy has become a crutch of sorts…which is not a good thing.
All-in-all, please be mindful of these things and if anyone as any other tips or concerns to voice, feel free to do so.
OH, and one more thing.
If an Ana has put an enemy to sleep and you don’t have an ability or are on a hero that can instantly deal with them, do NOT shoot them.
Thanks for reading and please have a nice day!
- EpsilonKey14 (A Disgruntled Ana-Main)