Should the Next Support be a "pure support"?

If someone plays hide n Rez / babysit the bastion all the time then I can understand finding her boring, the fun comes from being able to use guardian angel to weave in and out of danger. It gives me such a rush :smiley:

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I sure can’t play em, myself. Got a favorite weapon you think would be great for a combat medic?

But would you want one, or a different archetype of support?

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Pure support, a symmetra thats all shields and teleporter, would be really cool.

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Absolutely. The next support should appeal to support players. Overwatch has a large contingent of players that came here from non fps games specifically to play supports. Mercy is currently the only healer built with this crowd in mind, and it would be nice to have a second option and a newer take on the matter.

I really think they should stop trying to get dps players into the healing role. The game already has plenty of players who want to heal, and it’s rarely a problem finding healers in a match. What they should focus on is getting dps players to tank.

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Definitely want one.

(20 characters.)

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I think this is what i was trying to say, but i doesn’t seem like support mains are in agreement as to what a support for support mains would even be like. With all this discussion and controversy, you’d think this kind of topic would pop up way more.

Got any ideas for fun mobility or utility abilities?

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THIS! There are multiple supports for dps players, there’s even a support for tank players, give us some more supports that are designed for the people who actually just want to be healers. Don’t make it a straight Mercy clone, cuz variety is important, but give us something that lets us own our support role rather than faking our way through mimicking a different role.

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Now THIS is why i made this topic! I can’t play supports without enough dps roots for me to “anchor” to, but now theres enough combat medics that i don’t need to worry.

With that in mind, i think its a good idea to add more supports that directly appeal to support mains, but as i just explained, i don’t understand that concept at all. I need real support mains to help me see what you guys want. I wish there were so many more topics on the subject cough hint cough.

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needs buffs and debuffs. Zenyatta & Mercy are pretty much the only heroes that do that without an ultimate except lucios speed boost. Everything is hp this and hp that (now immorality is thing too…) next hero needs to stat increases and enchantment or others things. A different way to “support” besides “go be the biggest meat shield you can be”

Maybe a hero that is primarily focused on projectile players. Like increases the projectile speed or increases damage the further it travels. Something clever and outside the box like that.

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I never even meant to be a support main, I wanted to be a flex. But the first 3 characters I learned were Tracer, Mercy, and Rein, and I found myself filling as the latter two way more often than being dps, and it just kinda stuck. But it worked out cuz I like not being the killer, I get joy out of keeping people alive, whether by shield or by healing. One of the great things about Overwatch is that you don’t have to have good aim, you don’t have to come from a shooter background (I don’t), and you have two categories of characters that you can contribute value to the team without securing kills yourself.

Of course I got fed up with filling and became a mystery heroes main for several months, but now I play most of the support and tank lines. And what I’m seeing is dps-tanks, dps-supports, and Brig who is somehow all 3 roles. (I love Brig, don’t get me wrong)

There’s nothing wrong with having each role return to its roots and focus on appealing to that role’s playerbase rather than trying to make a role appeal to players of a different role.

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I don’t really want to propose specifics, so much as guiding principles. I think there are several basic principles for such a hero:

  1. The vast majority of their contribution to the match should be in the form of healing or support utility.

  2. Numbers are important to people who came from MMO’s (for better or worse). This healer should output high healing overall. They should also have abilities that are quantifiable (like Baptiste’s lives saved stats), and those stats should be displayed after a match.

  3. They should not have mechanics that force/encourage them to dps.

  4. While aim based abilities can have a part in their kit, they should not be the focus of it.

  5. Their game play should focus on planning, resource management ,and decision making. The decision making should be critically important to their success, and it should be fast paced.

  6. It would be nice to have more than one ability that heals, and for the choice of which ability to use to be an important one.

  7. Their ult or their abilities should allow for fight changing moments if used correctly.

  8. They need to have mobility, and a play style that encourages them to view the entire battle field and not just to focus on one specific part of it (as Ana is encouraged to do with her scoping).

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For Utility:

  • Project a homing shield (much like Zarya’s barriers) that prevents an enemy from dishing out a certain amount of damage. Example, if the shield has 200 health, the enemy can’t deal 200 damage for the duration. Can probably be a weapon.
  • “Pacify” Ability - A skillshot-type/AoE-type Ability that immediately disarms an enemy’s weapons for the duration. Abilities are untouched.
  • “Ferrum-Field” Ability - A skillshot-type Ability that increases the hitbox size of enemies for a duration. I’m actually using this idea for a Talon Tank HC I’ve got, but eh. Here it is.

For Mobility:

  • Jump-pad. Insert trampoline “boing!” sound effect.
  • “Pulse Tube” Ability - Create a pipe-like structure in which the user and allies can use. It launches them off the starting point, so it can either be used to fly high, or increase your movement speed on the ground.

That’s all I got.


Cheers,
~ PyroPanda

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Ideally, weapons that can get the job done, but aren’t optimal to kill with so that dps still have a purpose. Think, a crossbow or dual semi automatic pistols.

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I’d love to see a new “boost”

Yup. Thats why i think there should start being more supports for support players.

I think a lot of those points cover the nuance behind making a really pure style support. Things like big sightlines especially.

Did someone say…
JuMp PaDs?

Now I want a crossbow support.

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They don’t have instant cast healing which is common in mmo style healers.

Like repair pack, but instant and on low cooldown.

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One important thing to remember is that to some extent, many support players are looking for a non traditional fps experience that draws some inspiration from other genres. In particular, they’re often looking for aspects that remind them of MMO’s, MOBAS, and RTS’s. The overview of combat. the resource management, and the decision making are part of that.

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I think thats very true and kind of why this topic started with such a focus on that style of support. However, as this topic has gone on, i’ve come to realize that thats definitely not what every die hard support main wants either.

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what do you mean “just look at him”?? everything about his kit screams “DON’T LET ANYONE DIE”

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Doesnt Bap do this though? I feel very much in a ‘main support’ role when I’m on him. Far more so than Lucio or Zen.

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That’s certainly true. I have a support main friend who loves playing Ana, and another one who loves the dps aspect of Moira. Neither of those appeal to me. I’m enjoying Baptiste more than they do (now that I switched the mouse buttons for shooting and healing). There will never be a clear consensus of what all support mains want. I think there’s room enough in the future to expand the roster to suit everyone.

A few general things that most support players want are:

  1. The ability to save lives. To put your foot down and say “Right now, at this moment, you will not die because I will not let you.”
  2. The ability to feel like a mastermind who controls the tides of battle.
  3. To be able to do things that their team mates appreciate, find useful, and are thankful to have.
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