Sometimes you're strapped for choice on who to pick. Either that or your team is forcing you to play a healer support. Arguably the two best healers in the game are Lúcio and Mercy. This is due to their healing per second being greatly superior to Zenyatta's. If you're a solo healer, one of these two is definitely going to be your pick. As a support player, I can understand how difficult it is to choose between the two. Which one is better for Escort? Which one is better for Control? In this guide, I will be explaining to you which pick is best and why.

Escort

On these maps it's quite difficult to pick which hero to play. It's down mostly to what you feel confident in or what your team consists of. This is mainly due to the fact that the payload is a moving object. Speed isn't necessarily needed on this gamemode. But there are some maps that require you to push at the beginning and get behind the enemies.

Dorado is quite a difficult one to pick. There are a lot of tight corners and smaller roads on this map. This means a lot of teamfights in enclosed areas which leads to low HP teammates. As Mercy is can be difficult to micro-manage every single hero on your team. Especially if they're stuck in an alleyway getting swung at by a Reinhardt. However, as Lúcio you can run up walls and evade enemy fire all while healing at the same time. This means that Lúcio is probably the better pick for attacking on this map. When defending though, Mercy should be top priority. She has her Resurrect, which means if your team gets down while defending a chokepoint they can get right back up.

Route 66 has less tight alleyways than Dorado. Instead it has a lot of buildings which enemies like to hide in. There's also loads of tight corridors instead of alleyways. The final push of the payload is where it's going to hit most though. There's a massive corridor that has little places for enemies to hide. Once again, Mercy will have trouble attacking here. Because she can't damage without stopping to heal, it makes it hard for you if a Reinhardt and Soldier are present. Mercy can definitely be played effectively here as Soldier can heal you while Reinhardt shields. However, Lucio will be who is picked most here. His AoE healing can keep the whole team's HP topped off at the same time. While defending, again, pick Mercy as she has her Resurrect. But while attacking, more often than not, Lúcio will be the main pick here.

The first push on Watchpoint: Gibraltar (Image courtesy of Blizzard)

Watchpoint: Gibraltar is more of an up-down type of map. Throughout the map there is are two different floors. This means that a lot of vertical fighting is going to happen. Who's good at going vertical? You guessed right, Lúcio. But Mercy can also use her wings to fly to a teammate that's in sight. So it's another difficult pick between the two. On this map your team is going to rely on needing HP as fast as possible. So instead of recommending Lúcio, I will recommend Mercy for this map. This map seems to be very slow paced compared to the other two when playing. A lot of fast paced team fights are happening all the time. The damage boost that she possesses can also make a huge difference when winning a battle. Therefore, I recommend Mercy for both attack and defense on this map. Her Resurrect, damage boost and constant healing stream means that low HP teammates can get back to full HP quickly.

Assault

If it was up to me, there would be both a Lúcio and a Mercy in my team at the same time. But, sadly it's not up to me. These maps require a lot of speed. You have to capture the points as fast as you can. This means that for attack, Lúcio will be your primary pick no matter what.

Hanamura has massive open area team battles. Like I said before, Lúcio will be your pick here. He can speed boost the whole team directly onto the point. This is needed as there's a huge chokepoint at the front door. If you speed boost past this door, you can make your way to the point insanely fast and start capping from behind. On defense, you will want Mercy though. You can Resurrect at a moment's notice and keep your team in the battle for longer.

Temple of Anubis is another open map. There's a lot of open areas but a few corridors that can get you killed easily as Mercy. When attacking pick Lúcio again, because, with your speed boost, you can get to the points fast and surprise the enemies. The best route to take is once you reach the first pillars, turn left and go around behind the enemies. With a speed boost you can quickly jump onto the point and take the enemies out from behind. Once again, Mercy will be your defensive pick. You can quickly heal your team back to full HP and keep them in the fight for longer.

Blizzard concept art for Temple of Anubis

Volskaya Industries has a massive choke point right at the start of the map. There is one big gate which keeps you from running past. With Lúcio however, you can go to the left and wall ride onto a ledge. This means you can get behind the enemies and surprise them. If you join your attackers in taking this route you can flank as a team! The attackers can deal massive damage to the opponents while you heal them back up. After taking this first point, it will be smooth sailing from there. Mercy will be needed when defending because holding that front entrance will be necessary at the start of the match. Holding that front entrance for as long as you can will mean the difference between a win and a defeat.

Control

Control maps feature a point in the middle that both teams have to fight over. This means that you want to get to that point faster than the opponents to gain map control. Lúcio is the only support hero that you will want to pick if you are solo support. The speed boost out of the spawn building means that you can get their before the enemies. His AoE healing can get most healing done to multiple teammates at once. Another fun thing is Lúcio's alternate attack ability 'Soundwave' can knock people off of the map. On Control maps there are a lot of places this can happen, like down the middle hole on Ilios and off the rooftops of Lijiang Tower. The only pick you want here is Lúcio. But, if your team are a happy bunch, picking both Lúcio and Mercy will give your team increased chances of winning. Mercy can Resurrect to stop her team from losing a massive team battle and can also keep the tanks at top HP all the times.

Hybrid

These maps are quite difficult to choose on. As they are very active maps with lots of room to move around on. Switching may also be something you want to do mid-way through these maps. The map will start off being an Assault map then it will switch to Escort mode once you've captured the first area.

Numbani has a lot of buildings and areas in which Lúcio shines. Because of his wall run, he can get to the point extremely fast. If you take a route on the left side of the map you can ride the walls all the way to the objective. If the enemy are pushed up you can capture it from behind, which requires them to retreat and gives your team a chance to take them out while they fall back. On attack it's key that Lúcio is picked here. The road to the objective is also a straight one. If you speed boost your team in, they can get on the point this way as well. When defending, Mercy has a lot of places to hide. Especially behind a Bastion or a sniper. A Bastion can set up somewhere hidden and easily take out the enemies while you damage boost him.

The final chokepoint of Hollywood

Hollywood also has a lot of random chokepoints and buildings to hide in. Lúcio speed boosting the team in is very helpful when getting past the front entrance of this map. If a Reinhardt has his shield up, speed boosting with your team behind it means you can get in easily and without taking much damage. When doing so, though, remember to instantly switch back to healing when the team fight occurs. If needed, use your ultimate ability to boost your teammates HP and keep them alive during the initial teamfight. Once you've captured the first point, switch to Mercy. The speed of Lúcio is not needed once you're past this point. Mercy's healing will be needed a lot more as tanks take a lot of damage when pushing the payload. Just make sure they stick with you and keep you alive. Again when defending, Mercy is the top pick here. Her Resurrect can keep the team in the battle if they get taken out over the first objective.

King's Row requires flanking. Lúcio is very good at flanking due to his wall run and not being able to be seen. If you get behind the enemies, you can surprise attack them. Ensure that at least two attack heroes are with you, though, or damage will be a big problem. The massive chokepoint at the start of the map will mean that tanks get stuck and can't get through. Using your speed boost can also ensure that a tank can get through the first point by just powering through it. Once again you will need a Mercy on defense. Her healing makes her good at keeping your teammates alive as the flankers push. It's hard to keep a Genji or Tracer away though. Ensure your team has your back on this map.

Conclusion

Normally on attack you want a Lúcio. He has a speed boost and a lot of AoE healing which can be insanely useful on certain maps. Mercy is very good at healing up tanks back to full HP so ensure that she's present on most defensive set-ups. Her Resurrect also helps your team to defend a site after falling.

At the end of the day, though, it's up to you what to pick and feel's right. These are just guidelines. Thanks for reading and I hope I helped in some way!

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