Playing with an Ana

General Discussion
1

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)

11 Likes
2

In my opinion, Ana is a good hero. But first and foremost, she’s a healer and you don’t get rewarded for having great aim with her.

It’s a lot better to have someone who can constantly and consistently heal at 60 hps and rez than someone who can heal75 hps with the risk of missing some shots.

Ana isn’t a bad hero, it’s just that Mercy is a much better option.

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As Ana main myself her problem is enough of value from the work you put in even if played correctly compared to other support.

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I don’t think i could agree any harder. People don’t peel for healing like they used to. They over extend and expect to get pocketed in the enemy backline. Mercy has encouraged people to make the most risky plays because high risk high reward isn’t nearly as risky when Mercy can erase the mistake with res.

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Believe me, I and many others are aware of this, but that still doesn’t stop egregious and reckless play from happening.

Even if Ana was to suddenly become the best Support hero again, people will actually struggle with her because they’re used to having that pocket healer to be with them at all times, whereas Ana forces you to be more mindful and surgical about the way you progress.

2 Likes
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Honestly, I prefer saving people with the boosted heals. They are in critical, toss the nade, hit them 2 or 3 times, voila. It would take Mercy 10 seconds or so to fully heal a tank (and neglect an entire team) whereas Ana can do it nearly instantaneously and move on to the next target.

Do not get me wrong, consistent heals are powerful, but obviously I am not interested in that nonsense. I just want to shoot at my ungrateful teammates and pretend that I am injecting them with some sort of virus with the side effect of developing their manners.

Ana is the clutch queen. You make those sick plays and feel great about it. Mercy feels like a slave or something.

1 Like
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Just pick Mercy dawg.

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Ana is really hard … and that’s why I like her.

But I hate one thing that most of the community does (not only to Ana but to every support):

  • If they are low on health and you tell them to come to you for healing or just simply group up with you , they keep running away , searching Health packs or simply hiding somewhere safe but far away from the healer.

Like , why don’t you go and help the support get his/hers ultimate faster so you’ll win more team fights but instead you go as far as possible , ignoring the supports calls for defence or simple : TO HEAL YOU!

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In all honesty, the Mercy rework was the biggest mess I’ve ever seen in a video game.

But what you’re saying is completely true. People now expect to get rezzed ez after dying out of position because of that rework.

I saw ml7 (one of the best Ana mains) say something along the lines of “if I have the same aim as a Widow main and the brain of a Mercy main, you still do not get value out of Ana” and I agree wholeheartedly with that.

It has to do with the way she works, she’s just too hard as opposed to Moira and Mercy.

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10

:face_vomiting::face_vomiting::face_vomiting:

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I know the EXACT clip you’re talking about my man.

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Haha thanks for the help, much appreciated!

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https://memegenerator.net/img/images/16512729.jpg

“Shhh…you speak words you do not truly understand.”

3 Likes
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I never really care when they do it while I am on Ana, I get her ultimate so fast and hold it for so long that it is rarely a problem. I guess once the buff comes through, that will probably change. But in general, I prefer if they pretend I am not even there. I hate it when they stop moving to make it easier to hit them. A nice way for me to drop you to the lowest priority

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I agree. Though it’s undeniable that an extra 3-5k healing in a game for your team goes further than clutch heals more times than not. I honestly believe that’s more a problem with Mercy though. Her healing average is way too high for how much utility, survivability and ease of use her kit is.

See, this is where I disagree. Ana’s healing was tuned down in season 4 after they nerfed her nade and she’s been in a great spot for healing numbers since. I’m more inclined to believe Mercy gets too much value for how easy she is.

I think Moira’s kind of in an iffy spot where she is now. She does amazing for her niche, and she deserves the healing output she does get. All she has is healing going for her. With a decent but not forgiving escape. The problem with Moira is she can easily be denied value in high elo’s if you deny her grasp. Barriers and range cripple Moira.

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I’ll still heal them, but I find the whole standing still thing to be sort of insulting and it motivates me to heal my teammates even more. XD

It’s like you’re telling me: “Ana you’re missing more shots than Shaq missed Free Throws”.

…and I’m NOT going to be the Shaquille O’Neal of Ana-Mains.

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17

That last part needs to be shouted over the forums like once every day. Sometimes it’s the result of not having time to react, which is understandable, but I have video evidence of a Tracer shooting the slept target from 5 meters away way after the sleep had taken effect damn it.

Also, a shout out to the Zen player in QP who didn’t want me to play Ana for the last round but still made sure to keep me healed so we could absolutely demolish the enemy team. We had a very nice and positive chat afterwards. :heart:

18

Oh no, I’ve actually had Reinhardts who just swing at them with the hammer and a Widowmaker who shot them…with her sub-machine gun.

She did this TWICE in the same game.

This absolutely killed me on the inside.

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Enjoy!

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That’s usually when they get headshot from a widow and then you see them rage in chat. Honestly if they just kept fighting in line of sight, they would get their heal quicker. When your scoped in and focusing on the people who need those clutch heals in the thick of a fight, the person standing still beside you is kind of invisible.