There are games where you see your Killjoy hold onto her Lockdown ultimate for the entire half. Maybe you see your Gekko yeet his Dizzy into the ether, or your Breach trying to be a One-Man-Army. Every match has those players not using their abilities to the best of their abilities. Let’s see what you do right and maybe what you do wrong.
With the help of abilities, accomplishing your goals is easier. Abilities also deter your opponents from executing their goals. Deciding whether you want to aid you and your team or set back your opponents is important when using your abilities. Abilities can be used in both an active and reactive situation. Sometimes we can get so caught up in finding the moment where that answer is perfectly clear, we ignore when abilities could help us in muddier situations. Let’s think outside of the box and understand how and when to use certain abilities in beneficial situations.
Using a Viper’s Pit ultimate is an ability that can be beneficial when used as an action rather than a reaction. Planning this ultimate ahead of time and acting first puts control of the round in Viper’s hands.
To plan accordingly, you must remember the round starts during the Buy Phase. Buying weapons to best suit playing in this pit puts you at an advantage before the round starts. Buying a Phantom over a Vandal is beneficial because the Phantom hides the bullet tracers that the Vandal does not. If you need to save credits for team economy, planning to use a Viper’s Pit allows you to safely buy a Bucky, Judge, or a Spectre to spread credits to other teammates or your abilities. If you don’t need to save money, a Phantom and a Shorty is a perfect combination to play within your ultimate.
Using a Viper’s Pit in an active fashion puts you at an advantage. If used as a reaction (typically when you hear a lot of footsteps), this can cause you to play with less-than-ideal weapons or force a mass quick rotate from the enemies to an ill-equipped site on the other side of the map. There’s been numerous times when I’ve seen a Viper play their ultimate only to be sold out by the tracers of their Vandal. So remember, to plan accordingly in the Buy Phase.
Shrouded Step is an ability that is used almost only reactively. Shrouded Step is great to get you out of a dangerous position, but it is also a great ability to make you unpredictable. Omen, as a Controller, toes the line closest when deciding to be passive and aggressive in his play. Shrouded Step can be used aggressively like a Duelist to take off-angles and dangerous fights. It's not as efficient as a Jett Dash, but this element in his agent design can make him unpredictable, causing the opposition to be more wary when entering his site. Utilizing Shrouded Step to take off-angles rather than a get-out-of-jail-for-free card allows for more dynamic gameplay that will have your opponents on edge.
Phoenix has a perk in the capability of self-healing using his abilities. Too many times have Phoenix players foregone their abilities’ actual use to use them as a first aid kit. This makes Phoenix players use their abilities reactively, rather than actively. They are reacting to getting shot and giving up abilities that can help their team take site more effectively. So, rather than combining Hot Hands and Blaze to create your own emergency room, use them with the idea of utilizing their primary functions. Use the healing aspects of these abilities as a last resort.
Jett’s Cloudburst is an example of a great ability to use reactively and actively. An example of this would be to use her smokes to cover Sova Recon Darts and Killjoy Turrets to help gain safe passage or safe positioning. Jett is reacting to these utilities used by the opposition and using her smokes unconventionally, not to cover player sightlines, but utility sightlines.
Using Jett’s Cloudburst as situational sightline cover (reactive) rather than pre-planned smoke cover (active) mimicking a Controller’s job, plays into Jett’s strengths as a Duelist more. However, her Cloudbursts can be used as an active ability as well. Combining it with a Dash, allows her to obscure herself after quickly moving positions to distract enemies and allow for your teammates to get an easier kill. Recognizing when to use it in an active or reactive fashion is important to maximize your agent’s kit.
Reyna’s Leer ability is one that I see misused constantly because players equate it to a different debuff in the game. Reyna’s Leer is not a flash, so they have to be used in a different fashion. Leer gives the opponent a Nearsight effect rather than a flash effect, so using it to clear close corners is a lost cause. Leers obscure sightlines rather than blinds enemies, so using it with that in mind changes how players approach an execution.
Throwing a Leer either really high or really low is the best way to utilize the ability since going high or low results in the same effect of throwing it in the middle. All of them should be in the opponent’s sightline, so they will be affected either way. The difference is, is that for the opponent to destroy the Leer they have to mess up their crosshair placement if placed in an awkward spot for them to hit. Utilizing the Leer as a distraction is an active ability that can be used not only to blind, but to disrupt.
The great aspect about Gekko’s kit is that 3 of 4 abilities can be used again after retrieving them in their globule form. Gekko players must keep this in mind, so that they can have a lasting effect throughout the round rather than being something disposable. Instead of throwing Dizzy high and far away to blind and identify enemy positions, Dizzy should be thrown close and upwards so that it can be retrieved and used again after the 10 second cooldown. Using Dizzy actively to gather information allows you to use him again in a panic if need be.
An ability that should be used reactively would be Mosh Pit, since it does a great job at deterring the opposition from advancing their position. Wingman can be used in both fashions but remember not to hold onto him the entire round to plant or defuse Spike. Wingman’s concussion ability is heavily underutilized because they want to see the little guy react with the Spike.
Breach is a great support agent that should be racking up plenty of assists. However, there are many cases of Breach playing off of his own abilities. This makes him ineffective, due to the fact that it takes forever for Breach to pull out his gun and start shooting after his ability is used. Using Breach as a One-Man-Army is not using his abilities to the best of their abilities. Instead of setting yourself up, set your teammates up, so they can utilize his flashes and stuns more efficiently.
Breach uses his abilities in both an active and reactive fashion and he is great at doing both. Remember, to not use every ability as an action, but keep some to use as a reaction to the opponents as well.
Using your Turret as a second Alarmbot is common but using it as a reaction to the opposition and being aggressive with it can help you out of sticky situations. Save your Turret to use it as a sacrifice. Use your Turret to body block shots for you before you swing and shoot. Activate your Turret to pinpoint where enemies are before you peek, so that you can act like a second contact. Sacrifice it for a better chance to save your life.
Players can only use a Sage heal as a reaction, since you can’t overheal an ally. But, with recent changes allocating that heal became a lot easier and less selfish. Use Sage’s heal to heal allies rather than yourself. Healing allies gives them 100 HP whereas healing yourself only gives you 30HP. Unfortunately, it makes too much sense not to exclusively heal your teammates.
Use every agent’s ultimate with an active mindset. If players wait to use them reactively, they end up waiting for the entire half and their ultimates go unused. Don’t wait for the perfect opportunity, ultimates can win rounds, so use it even if you have a less than ideal opportunity. There is a chance you’ll get the ultimate back in time to use it for the perfect opportunity you were potentially waiting for.
Abilities are straightforward but thinking outside of the box and using them with purpose and intention can be hard to do midgame and mid-fight. Understanding the intention with every use helps you as a player make quicker and better decisions.
