I’m no gladiator. I’m not even an arena master. Hell, I quit RSS in S1 at 1400 because it was too toxic. I tried this season because “why not?” and hit 2100. I want to share my experience for average healers (i.e., harstuck 1600-1800 like I was):
1. Your DPS have better achievements than you. That doesn’t mean they’re better.
DPS rating is inflated because there are more of them. You need to know this because some bad DPS will do dumb stuff like running in and dying, and if you ask them not to, they’ll throw out their duelist achievement and call you bad. Ignore them.
2. There’s less toxicity than before.
This surprised me. In S1, I got rage whispered basically every game. This happened just 2x on my climb from 0 - 2100 this season, even in games I lost 1-5 or 0-6. Ignore or report the rage whispers, but if you are worried about toxicity, at least know there is less of it.
3. The climb is slow, but finding the bad DPS makes it faster.
A good 50% of games end 3-3 because there’s usually a really bad DPS that throws unintentionally. It sucks, but it also means if you can win 1 match with the bad DPS on your team, you’ll climb. Try to identify the bad DPS early if there is one. If they’re bad because they keep not using CDs, try to pump more heals into them. If it’s because they have bad targeting, tell them who to hit. You’ll still lose usually, but it can make a difference.
4. HEAL.
This was the biggest change I made to escape 1800-1900 ELO. We all want to clutch the game with an awesome HoJ, fear, clone, or whatever. Great players do that, but for us average players, running out just means we end up in CC and fall behind. Some DPS will be mad at you. “WHY NO HOJ?!?!?!?” They’re probably right, but you should ignore them anyway if you know you’re not at the skill level to judge when it’s safe to run out. Remember: if you keep people alive longer than the enemy healer, you win.