The core problem with Ana is no self-healing I can’t say that enough. This is not the first clip size increase they have done with Ana. The best Ana buff they could give right now is self healing like seriously.
I take too much chip damage and then have to go out of my way to heal myself or waste my nade. I’m giving no value to my team and on top of that I’m the hardest healer to play with the lowest reward.
You have to understand how much the effort the devs put into Ana is barely anything and then tell us we want her to have these weaknesses when the other support barely have them. It sucks spending so much time practicing a hero that nobody wants you using or telling you to switch ALL THE TIME basically saying there’s no point into using her.
Then when we hear the changes were like oh that’s nice but that’s not gonna fix her problem. It’s almost like telling Ana players f*ck you.
Then we will have to wait another year till they give in and admit they’re wrong.
There are times when you don’t want to be peaking enemies, especially when they have a good widow and barriers around that wall. Any experienced Ana player will have two options, depending on where enemy stands throw nade to air if you have knowledge on exactly where it will land in an attempt to deuff their team for a push(custom games help with these). The second way more practical thing most seasoned Ana players will do is stand around the wall and pocket their team as they take damage from a side angle and strafe constantly(making in harder for teammates to body block and constantly by getting a new angle). Often times as you pocket them, they will be taking damage, building up your Ult charge. On ptr the other healers gets to them first(zen orb already on them, prehealing them, Moira being out of range so spraying her team and throwing a damage orb, mass prehealing, same with Mercy unless she is damage boosting because she doesn’t think the her ally will take any damage there) because of reactionary klunky healing vs consistent pockets some slight ult charge is lost. A toggle option would help those of us who use these mechanics.
I doubt even with mobility and self healing she’d be top tier, right now mercy’s rez and zen’s discord just can’t be contested. Ana needs a new gimmick, something that’s on par with rez.
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If you think that these buffs are a joke for Ana, then you definitely don’t play her much. There have been times where a Tank gets in my way of shooting a dart onto a hurt squishy that needed it and even a time where I myself get in the way of her shots (not intentionally). That change is more of a big deal than people think as you can not shoot through an ally to heal another, but it can also shoot through them to hit enemies as well.
And adding 4 more shots into her magazine gives her more time to keep firing and healing without having to reload so often. Ana doesn’t need something to make her weaknesses lessened; she needs her strengths amplified as her weaknesses should be lessened by the presence of certain teammates who can enable her like Reinhardt for instance.
You say- as I check your profile seeing that you do not either. Either way, it is yes and no, it’s based on preference. If you play Ana as a sniper, it makes your pre-fire on flanking or pushing teammates not an option- a nerf in that aspect. If you play her like the deathball healer that the developers want you to, then it can be viewed as a buff, since your shots could often collide with people you are next to.
The higher HPS isn’t the only reason??? Ignore the anti heal, the heal buff(it amplifies other healing sources too, not just Ana’s), the best CC in the game?
Saying Zen’s self heal is good is quite laughable, what conditions do you play under where you find it reliable to wait 3 seconds to even start regenerating? There’s a reason they buffed Mercy’s self heal to a 1 sec delay.
Btw Moira’s self heal and pure output beats everyone else’s, it’s why she’s on a meter and can’t provide ANY utility at all.
Playing shotgun Ana is a symptom of her difficulty to play. Zen can play far back and so can Ana, she’s not a free kill any more than him.
To be fair, my combined playtime with Ana (looking at the statistics in my game) is actually 25 hours whereas the forums doesn’t really look back on your playtime with characters throughout your lifetime and instead just on the current season.
I can also see where you’re coming from in terms of the different playstyles, but these changes aren’t really a joke as the OP claims it to be.
Agreed, they aren’t as silly as they say, but I think they dodge Ana’s design flaws.
I do find it to be false advertising to see her be on top of the ToA arch when she doesn’t have a way to get up there. That being said, I do find myself concerned over the idea on giving her mobility since her kit is actually strong if you’re able to actualize it. (If that makes any sense.)
Except a healer is priority #1 in every fight in every game. You’re basically saying “Just don’t pick Ana” either she needs mobility or enough sustain and utility to offset the lack of mobility.
Pick one.
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To me, pre-healing is something you do before someone gets hurt as a preventative thing, i.e. applying heal-over-time or overhealing. The other healers only actually need their stuff after someone is hurt, the fact that you leave a healbeam or zen orb on someone is just a convenience to counteract reaction times - technically not “prehealing”, with no effect on full-health allies.
Semantics aside, I know Ana’s h-o-t is nice and all, but like I said, being able to, for instance, be closer to a Rein+Bastion pair and be able to shoot at enemies or diving allies without having circumvent them is more valuable to me. And that’s just one example.
And then make heroes that have no weakness like moira and Bagutte
Mercy’s self heal timer was buffed because she’s a close range healer lol. Zen works excellent at mid ranges where he can make use of orbs and do great damage while taking cover whenever necessary after taking chip. I literally told you this. Taking chip as Ana is much worse than any other healer because you are either forced to make a long retreat, make due with your lowered maximum health, or bust your best ability on yourself. I didn’t say shield was good or even the best, that’s on you- I said it was more reliable than a 10s CD ability that just like you stated has Anti and heal boost. Nice one. Ana’s sleep dart is great when landed, but it’s not a reliable defense and more suitable to use offensively for denial. Even then it can be foiled easily by teammates.Brigitte’s is more reliable for you and teammates.
I can’t reiterate it enough: Ana cannot take chip damage when played how she was designed to be.
What I am speaking of is mid to long range poke fights where you’d think Ana would have advantage over Zenyatta just due to having a sniper rifle but does not due to chip damage. In these fights people generally don’t do consistent enough damage to warrant you to get out your pocket watch and count to exactly three. (Even if you did Zen’s orbs linger for 3s anyway.) Generally I take cover for a second or two.
Sure, Moira doesn’t have utility which can be considered mechanics that are not damage or healing. She does fantastic healing, reliable damage, and keeps herself alive with a very self beneficial, fast charging ult and low CD on Fade on top of that Leech. She stays alive easily in when played the way she was designed. Therefor she performs well and outputs a lot. Playing Ana the way she was designed is risky for little reward and often leads to using this utility selfishly to stay alive due to things like being easily dived/flanked, and having no way to way to mitigate chip damage.
I guess Geoff meant that Ana was unique in that she is both a sniper and a healer with a unique weakness that both of those classes don’t suffer from? Aka self sustain for healers, and relocating/mobility tools for snipers.
Look, I don’t mind the challenge of Ana. I love it actually. I just want something that other easy healers enjoy naturally to be able to more reliably do their job and use their abilities while staying alive. I didn’t say it had to be equal to their sustain levels, it could even be weaker as an excuse that she’s a harder character with more range. I’m almost certain that’s why Zen has shield health and not something like Mercy or Moira, for his excellent range. It suits someone who won’t take front-line damage but is susceptible to chip. I just want something like this for Ana, it doesn’t have to be strong.
Not to mention I just want healing mechanics that are more suitable to the speed of the game- which I can go into detail with you about if you like.
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While it’s a fair point, you need to think about that exact thing. Reaction time.
No human has perfect reaction and a fraction of healing can save someone from dying, which in time will change the outcome of a fight.
We’ll just have to wait and see how the change plays out. It will open up new options too, and I know there’s pros and cons, but I will like the new rifle better. I think you will too, overall. I could be wrong, but I hope I’m not.
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It’s funny how high mobility characters have high damage, good self sustain and healing and Ana has neither. Her buff while nice won’t change and added bullets are nice but paper stats mean nothing. If Ana if going to be no sustain low mobility mediocre heals she needs to be a dps hybrid like zenyata. At least that would help her be placed in teams more. And make her ignore armor because she can’t crit so why should her bullets be affected …?? Anyone ever thought of that???
ana need to be a full hitscan hero like mcree
Your solutions ridiculous. New changes are perfect.
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You’re entire argument hinges on chip damage and how terrible she is at taking it, despite the fact that when you are poking in a team fight, chip damage is the least consequential kind of damage because there is AMPLE time for your other support to top you off. Ample. Is it a pride thing at this point for one support to have to rely on another? It certainly feels that way now.
I agree that Ana needs looking at, but the popular self-heal suggestion would be such a waste of a buff when she can mitigate that 'weakness" so easily by just not being a solo healer. I 100% would rather they keep amplifying her strengths.
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Aside from being the new features to test out, ultimately they won’t be of any real consequence.
You see none of these buffs actually address any of the real issues that kept the hero from being played or being successful since her big nerf to begin with. She’s still a hero that is too easily countered by too many heroes and too easily forced to swap.
Honestly they need to do more play testing on the DEV end than putting out cheap buffs that only kick her problems downstream to be fixed yet another day.
Meantime we have to fight the fact that we’ve been “buffed” — even tho they don’t at all put her on par to where she ought to be as a support hero.
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