Playing support is to heal, buff and provide utility in a game of Overwatch. Supports are the backbone of any good Overwatch team and staying alive and being elusive to the enemy team is one of the most important factors of playing the Support role. Positional awareness is a massive part of being a good support player and understanding where your teammates are around the map so you can play around them. This will be some tips and tricks on each support and positional tips to stay alive in conjunction with your other support.

Ana

Ana is a ranged support equipped with a sniper rifle that allow her to shoot your teammates to heal them and shoot enemies to deal damage. She is also equipped with a Biotic Grenade that boosts healing for your own teammates and give enemies a debuff that doesn't allow them to heal. She also has a Sleep Dart that puts enemies to sleep, giving her hard CC. Ana has the highest healing potential in the game with 75 HP restored per shot firing at 1.25 rounds per second. Her grenade also provides 100 burst healing in addition to giving your teammates a healing buff so they get 50% more heals from other sources. Her tool kit allows her to be a versatile healer that allows her to save teammates that are in her sights and defend herself when others harass her.

Positioning yourself as Ana is very important as it is important to be in line of sight of your teammates and also be hard to get at from the enemy team. As a healer that is very effective at long range, it is quite easy to fall into the trap of being as far from the fight as possible. In some cases this is the right decision, but if you are against flankers and divers who are constantly looking for you, good teams will be able to pick you off as you are alone. In those situations, the key is to be far enough away to not be a target but also close enough so you can run into your tanks for them to cover and peel for you. Being able to make the right decision in these tough situations is the differences between a world-class and average Ana players. It is also something that you can only get a grasp of with experience and analysing how and why you died so you can avoid dying in the same situation.

Scenario: Ana Defending Point A Temple of Anubis

Here is a scenario on Temple of Anubis where your team has taken the high ground and dropped onto the point. Both your tanks, in this case Reinhardt and D.Va, will be on the point with the Tracer. These three on the point allows you to have the strong presence on the point while dueling against the other team. While your team is fighting on the point, you’ve taken a really good position on top of the balcony. Here you are close enough to your team and have the added protection of the Lucio and Soldier 76. You are also close enough for your D.Va to fly over towards to peel flankers off of you.

Here with the enemy attacks you with a Pharmercy and D.Va pushing the balcony. In this situation there are two decisions you can make with your team. First, the D.Va has to immediately peel for your balcony group. Here you should support the D.Va and Soldier 76 to try and kill the enemy Pharmercy combo. If you can’t kill the Pharmercy combo before the enemy D.Va arrives to peel for the Pharmercy combo, you should all Speed Boost and instantly drop back to your Reinhardt and turtle up behind him. This allows your team to regroup and creates room for your Tracer and Soldier 76 to deal with the D.Va and Pharmercy. In a situation like this, it is vital that you pop your ultimates such as a Nano-Visor combo or Sound Barrier to try and survive. This is one of these situations where you are in advantageous position of both your team being able to peel for you and also being able to escape to the safety of the health pack behind you or your team on point.

Mercy

Mercy is a support hero that uses her Caduceus Staff that locks onto teammates. While locked on at a maximum range of 15 meters, she can heal for 60 HP per second and provide a 30% damage buff. With the ability to fly towards allies every 2 seconds, she is able to fly towards teammates and souls of dead teammates allowing her to get around the map swiftly, which allows you to juke enemies for a quick getaway.

Positioning yourself as Mercy really depends on the team composition you are playing with. Playing Mercy is most optimal when playing with a Pharah. Pharah gives Mercy a constant escape option in the air. Being attached to a Pharah allows the Pharah to push up and play aggressively. Even though you are attached to the Pharah, you still have to keep an eye on everyone else to keep them topped off. When doing this, the Pharah in the air is your main safety route to get out of trouble. When playing Mercy with a traditional 2/2/2 Composition with a Reinhardt, it is always important to position yourself behind the Reinhardt always keeping him topped off. Fly towards teammates that are low to heal them while keeping your distance. It is also important to spot your escape routes when pushing forward to heal teammates. Mercy’s ultimate is a very important part of playing her. Mercy’s ultimate allows her to Resurrect fallen teammates back into battle. When you have Resurrection, it is imperative that you do not die! Communicate with your teammates to die together on the point, allowing you to get maximum value out of your ultimate. Again, it is crucial that you do not die!

Scenario: Pharmercy King's Row Attack

Here is an attacking scenario where you're playing a dive composition with Pharmercy. The scenario is that you have Resurrection available while your team engages.

In these situations, it is really important to communicate with your teammates that you do have Resurrection. When you have Resurrection, it is vital that you stay completely hidden. Tell your teammates to dive in to get picks but to not use all their ultimates. Discuss which ultimates you want to use while dying together. Don’t attach yourself to anyone to make sure the enemy team has zero information about where you are. Stay on the outside side of the hotel or the hotel balcony when your team engages. Once your whole team dies on the point, Resurrect 5 members of your team and attach yourself to the Pharah so you are instantly in the air. Being hidden and not being in sight is vital in this situation for Mercy. This is a situation you will be in a lot when you play Mercy. Stay hidden and communicate with teammates!

Zenyatta

Zenyatta a deadly support hero who provides Orbs of Harmony to teammates and Orbs of Discord to enemies. He is a support who is able to pump out a large amount of damage and who can easily defend himself when attacked. Zenyatta's Orbs of Harmony are given to teammates to heal them. The Orb provides 30 HP per second. It is important to try and give the Harmony Orb to your diving DPS players, such as Genji and Tracer, at the start of combat. With the extra protection of diving tanks such as Winston and D.Va, it allows your DPS to deal as much damage as possible. When your tanks start to get low, try to juggle the Harmony Orb between the Tanks and DPS who are in combat. Discord Orbs are debuffs that are placed onto enemy targets. Once a Discord Orb is placed on an enemy, they will take 30% more damage. It is important to communicate with your team to tell them which of the enemy is has the Discord Orb place on them. It is then important to focus that person down and move onto the next target. Try and Discord targets who are pose the highest threat in team fights such as enemies that are using their ultimates. Zenyatta’s ultimate is Transcendence. Transcendence is an AoE healing ability which heals everyone in a 10 meter radius 300 HP per second while making you invulnerable. You also gain a movement speed of 11 meters per second allowing you travel quickly to save your teammates. Save your ultimate for lethal enemy ultimates such as Zarya’s Graviton Surge and Genji’s Dragonblade.

Position yourself as Zenyatta at mid-range to deal a large amount of damage. Never go further than your frontline. When playing with a Zenyatta, your team needs to be proactive and play aggressively. Communicate with your teammates when you are getting attacked in the backline from a Genji or Tracer. You can deal with them 1v1 with your damage output but calling for help makes sure that you are certain to stay alive as Genji and Tracer are still always favoured in the 1v1 match up because of Zenyatta’s unusual hitbox. Try to stay out of line of sight from hitscan heroes such as Soldier 76 and McCree, but try to be close enough to your team so they can peel for you.

Scenario: Zenyatta Hollywood Point A Attack

Here is a scenario with a traditional 2/2/2 dive composition attacking Hollywood's Point A. Zenyatta thrives in ground-level midrange combat. Playing Zenyatta, you are expected to deal a large part of the team’s damage. In this scenario, your team should dive in two groups with a frontline and with the healers being covered by D.Va.

As Zenyatta, you should try and place your Harmony Orb on the Genji as he can’t heal himself, allowing him to push up further rather than falling back when he gets hit a few times. This allows your frontline dive to apply way more pressure. Try and Discord the one of the enemy tanks. Once someone has an Orb of Discord attached to them, immediately call it out to your teammates. Your teammates should instantly all focus that target and snowball to eliminate the team. In this scenario, you’ve placed an Orb of Discord on the enemy Reinhardt so your team should go in instantly and kill the Reinhardt. After the frontline dives in, You as Zenyatta, D.Va and Lucio should all Speed Boost in so that you can deal extra damage, but remember to never go in deeper than your frontline. You should be trying to pump out that damage and rely on your D.Va and Lucio to peel for you if someone jumps on you.

Lucio

Lucio has been a staple pick in the competitive Overwatch scene since release. He is the only hero in the game that provides natural AoE healing for the team and the only support hero that provides speed to his teammates. He is able to ride across walls on his roller-skates, amplify his AoE healing and speed effects, and push back enemies with his Soundwave. Lucio’s ultimate is Sound Barrier, which gives his team a massive rapidly deteriorating shield. Keep his ultimate to counter enemy ultimates such as Soldier 76’s Tactical Visor and Genji’s Dragonblade.

Lucio’s positioning is all about reacting to what your team composition needs and what your teammates are doing. You are your co-healer's bodyguard and first line of defense. Every decision you do make as Lucio in terms of going to DPSs or Tanks with Speed Boost should be followed by going back to your other healer if they are Zenyatta or Ana so that you can protect them. If you are a Lucio playing with a Pharmercy, you should just sit on the Tanks to keep them healed up and provide them speed. It is also important to hang around teammates that have their ultimates to allow them to get around the map quicker and provide additional healing for them.

Scenario: Lucio Hollywood attack Westworld

In this scenario, you're playing Lucio and your team is on the second phase of Hollywood attacking with a Triple Tank composition against a 2/2/2 Dive-style composition.

Your Ana is slightly out of position as your whole team pushes forward. As Lucio in this situation, you need to use your Speed Boost to allow your three tanks to engage. If your three Tanks manage to get picks in the fight, your Ana should be fine. Communicate with your teammates that you are going to Speed Boost them all in to engage.

Make sure you are the first team to engage or the other team can jump behind you and target your Ana. In a situation where your Ana is being targeted, it is important again to communicate with your teammates to say that she's under attack and that you need to fall back. Speed Boost your tanks back to peel for your Ana. In this situation only the Winston and Tracer can dive her, leaving their other four teammates behind. Tell your Reinhardt and Soldier 76 to stand their ground while the D.Va and Roadhog take out the Tracer and Winston. You should immediately win this fight. Heal your Ana up and then you get to go into a 6v4 fight. This is a perfect situation to explain why peeling for your healers can be advantageous. When playing Lucio, it is important to communicate with your teammates and try to micromanage plans of attack.

After thoughts:

Playing support at the top level is something that requires good technical skills and more game knowledge than other roles. These are basic tips on how to play each healing support character. I left out Symmetra and Torbjörn because they are fairly niche picks for defense whereas Ana, Mercy, Lucio and Zenyatta are heroes that can be played on every map, defense and attack. The scenarios that were used as examples are common situations that many support player’s face when playing Overwatch. I tried to emphasise the importance of how positioning yourself in advantageous positions which are easily accessible for your teammates but also difficult to get to for the enemy team. Communication is also a massive part of playing the support role. Being able to communicate on voice comms that you are being targeted can save you, as, with your positioning, your team can instantly turn and take out those flankers. If you have any questions feel free to message me on Twitter @Zefhus

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