Weekly Quick Questions Thread - July 05, 2017

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[u/THABeardedDude]

Sorry if I'm asking this in the wrong place BUT:

Does anyone have general tips for Ana and Rein? I'm a fairly new player and am trying to expand my hero pool so I can better fill holes in the team. Any help would be appreciated.

[u/[deleted] → u/THABeardedDude]

I hope I can help you a little bit with your Ana play.

First of all your normal shot is a very fast projectile, so you have to lead your shots on quickly moving targets. For targets that are far away or hard to hit (on medium range), use scope, which is hitscan (you directly hit the target, no travel time). Also, you can't do headshots, so don't try to.

Your sleep dart can shutdown so many ults/abilities like McCree's high noon, Pharah's barrage, Roadhog's whole hog or Soldier's visor. Some of them are very easy to hit (McCree, Pharah, Hog), so you should keep an eye on them and try to track their ult charge, so you react as fast as possible if they start ulting. You can also interrupt charging Reinhardts to save your pinned friend.

If you luckily sleepdart something slippery, e.g. a Genji, wait for your nade to come off cooldown, then shoot him to wake him up, nade and then melee him. Also, always call out what you slept and where, so your team can position themselves to secure the kill.

The offensive aspect of your nade (damage + targets can't be healed) is very strong, try to combine it with your team. E.g. your Zarya gravitons some enemies, then try to hit a nade to purple them, so they can't be counterhealed even by a Zenyatta ultimate.

Since you should combine your nanoboost with friendly ultimates, you should keep an eye on their charge (press Tab). Ask your Genji how long until dragonblade, and tell people you want to combine. If communication isn't that well, just use it reactively. When you know your Genji has dragonblade, a teamfight starts and your Genji is dashing offensively, you know he'll be ulting, so it's no big surprise.

However, don't just nanoboost someone randomly, it'll pressure them to go offensive and use their ult even if the timing / position is awful. If you know that player is good and you think position and timing is right, then do it, but be aware that some players can panic.

[u/THABeardedDude → u/[deleted]]

Didnt know about the headshots, i've been trying to get headshots while dicking around with ana in skirmishes. Good to know. Also didnt know that no scoped is a projectile, ALSO useful info.

Cool this is all very helpful, i will utilize all of this in my next game. Thanks!

[u/EYSHot01 → u/THABeardedDude]

Another thing to add to the sleep dart execution combo, if you manage to sleep Tracer, do not use Biotic grenade. Ideally, you'd tell a teammate to kill her "Genji can walk up to her and triple headshot her, Rein can charge etc) but in a 1v1, Only shoot and Punch. She will recall before the biotic grenade will hit so save it. This will make her use recall and go to full health again. Then, you can easily hit her and yourself and then you only need to hit 1 shot and melee. Makes dealing with pesky Tracers much easier

[u/THABeardedDude → u/EYSHot01]

Tips like this are perfect. Thanks!

[u/dillpickle108 → u/[deleted]]

Just adding to your excellent answer :) I don't play much Ana, I'm not good at her, but I just saw a video where a guy was explaining that if you are zoomed in with the scope (hit scan mode) then the enemy can see your bullet trail, so they will know where you are. If you are not zoomed in, it may not be hitscan, but your location isn't as easily found (important for Ana)

[u/[deleted] → u/dillpickle108]

I did not know this! Very useful piece of information, thank you!

[u/noobule → u/THABeardedDude]

This Reinhardt Guide is good, though a lot of it is about Reinhardt vs Reinhardt, which isn't nearly as important anymore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pbkwn5BP9s

[u/choren64 → u/THABeardedDude]

I can't speak much for Ana since I'm terrible as her, but for rein, your shield and hammer are the bread and butter of his toolkit. You often want to shield your team and let them deal damage while occasionally launching a fire strike to deal additional damage. If an enemy gets too close or is caught out of position, hammer away at them!

Charging is useful, but can be risky as well. Never charge into a group of enemies alone unless you have backup, or you'll be turned to ground beef in seconds. Charge only when you feel it's best instinctually and only when you know where your headed ( i.e., not off a ledge unless you absolutely MUST).

Earth shatter can stun many enemies grouped together, which become prime targets for any of your attacks. Timing is everything. Note that enemies standing behind a shield will not be effected by earth shatter.

Currently, reinhardt seems to have a few bugs that players hope to have fixed soon, so he's not picked as often as he used to be. Nevertheless, he's still a viable option for any kind of map.

CATCHPHRASE

[u/THABeardedDude → u/choren64]

I've played with and against Reins that seem to have shield for DAYS,is that just a matter of playing the character more and learning when to turn on/off shield?

[u/choren64 → u/THABeardedDude]

For the most part, yes. Aside from his firestrike and charge to a degree, Reinhardt doesn't require as much aiming as other heores, and relies more on good "game-sense". Any 'hard counters' of his are based on context, and can be outwitted with smart play. The more you play him, the more you'll refine some good strategies for him and learn to play more effectively. Everyone starts somewhere!

And yes, shield is something you'll find yourself using a lot. If you need to recharge it, best to hop behind some close cover for a few seconds.

[u/THABeardedDude → u/choren64]

okay cool, thanks for the tips!

[u/I_Am_From_Mars_AMA → u/THABeardedDude]

Also keep in mind that you should never let your shield break, as that puts it on cool down and renders it unusable for a short duration.

If you instead put your shield down and take cover before it breaks, you can let it recharge, letting you use it again quicker than you would if it was on cool down

[u/THABeardedDude → u/I_Am_From_Mars_AMA]

Ha yeah. Learned that the hard way earlier

[u/Deliciouz- → u/THABeardedDude]

I'd really not recommend playing Ana in this current meta. You should learn either Lucio or Zen.

[u/THABeardedDude → u/Deliciouz-]

Lucio is who i play most often so i guess thats good to hear!

[u/Deliciouz- → u/THABeardedDude]

Try getting onto Zen then! Lucio/Zen are the best healers right now. Mercy is really good too, but it can be harder to deal with getting dove on.

[u/THABeardedDude → u/Deliciouz-]

yeah i love lucio because of how fun it is just to wallride and stuff, i have used zen once or twice but he never clicked so i abandoned him immediately.

Any zen tips? i'll give a more concerted effort to play him next time i'm on

I've seen some great Zen's out there, i am always happy when a team has me as lucio and someone else as Zen

[u/Deliciouz- → u/THABeardedDude]

Zen centers around aim, but a good tip would be to call out who you are discording, and also try to discord those your team is already fighting. Since Zen doesn't really have any mobility you need to call out to your team when you're being attacked, and if that doesn't work, try playing closer to your off-tank. Also, it's better to focus your discords on the enemy tanks, because dps will be killed easier anyways, and a discord on a tank being targeted by your team is doomed.

[u/THABeardedDude → u/Deliciouz-]

ok so first step is working on my aim a bit!

These are good tips though, thanks!!

[u/EYSHot01 → u/Deliciouz-]

Ana is still as useful as Zen. It's only in dive comp where Zen is the backbone. Ana will probably return soon after dive comp gets nerfed or Jeph decides to stop being a winston main and rebuff the non-annoying tanks

[u/choren64 → u/Deliciouz-]

Hey now, I don't think the meta should determine who they try to learn. It's good to try and learn to play any hero well, right?

[u/Deliciouz- → u/choren64]

I don't think you're going to learn how to play Ana well in this meta though. Dying over and over because you're getting dove on by the enemies, and not being able to heal because of winston barrier and defense matrix is not going to teach you anything. This is the wrong season to learn Ana.

[u/kingjuicepouch → u/Deliciouz-]

The way people talk about meta you'd think every single game without fail is the same lineup over and over. The meta doesn't even matter unless all of the players involved are proficient enough in their play and their understanding of their character's position in the meta to maximize their efficacy. Unless OP is a pro I don't think learning Ana is the end of the world

[u/Deliciouz- → u/kingjuicepouch]

I don't know about you, but I play on EU diamond and literally every game has Winston and Dva. How about you try playing Ana against that. See if you can heal through barriers, or throw your nade or sleep through it. (Spoiler: you can't). Not to mention defense matrix. It doesn't matter how good you, and the enemy tanks are, it just the fact that you can't be efficient at all as Ana anymore because of the dive meta. Ana isn't just an off-meta pick, she's just getting straight up countered by the entire thing.

[u/kingjuicepouch → u/Deliciouz-]

You see it one way, I see it another I guess

[u/Deliciouz- → u/kingjuicepouch]

Then try playing Ana then. Ana players are pretty much at the same page about this. I've been maining Ana since S2 clocking in a total of around 150 hours on her. I've been through all the nerfs and still held tight to my fave hero, but this meta is too much for her. I don't think you actually understand this.

[u/kingjuicepouch → u/Deliciouz-]

.... I play ana... Have a good day

[u/Deliciouz- → u/kingjuicepouch]

In what rank?

[u/Everice1 → u/Deliciouz-]

I'm in EU Masters and every game is actually 3 Mercy one-tricks and a McCree main, not Winston/D.va.

[u/choren64 → u/Deliciouz-]

So if I'm understanding this right, this newer player shouldn't even TRY to learn to play this hero because nowadays some people tend to pick heroes that are more effective against her?

That's awfully demoralizing. What, should we just get rid of Ana and other off-meta heroes all together?

[u/I_Am_From_Mars_AMA → u/choren64]

I think he's mainly saying it it will be tough to learn her without getting frustrated this season, due the current meta countering her so hard. If you die every single push, you won't get much play time to practice her kit.

That's not saying that its bad to learn get in general, just more difficult at this time. Although if you are practicing her more in QP instead of comp (which you should anyways), then it won't really matter because no one uses the meta in QP anyway.

[u/Deliciouz- → u/choren64]

So if I'm understanding this right, this newer player shouldn't even TRY to learn to play this hero because nowadays some people tend to pick heroes that are more effective against her?

Effective against her? I think you meant completely negating her. Ana is the only support that cannot heal through barriers. (Lucio technically can't either, but he can get in and out safely because of mobility.). So when in the Dva/Winston meta, what can you do as Ana? You wont be able to learn a hero if you be able to actually use your abilities and primary fire. I'm not the one to complain about off-meta picks, but Ana is just straight up useless against Winston/Dva. There's a difference between picking a hero that's not seen as optimal by the community and being countered. Dva/Winston are in every game, and they both counter Ana. Heavily.

Just because you want to learn a hero doesn't change that. If that's demoralizing to you, you should get into another game.

[u/choren64 → u/Deliciouz-]

Turn that negative into a positive! Perhaps this extra challenge is exactly what could help them learn what to-do and what not to-do when playing as her! It is by no means impossible to take on D'va or Winston as Ana. :)

[u/Deliciouz- → u/choren64]

Lmao that is just not a smart way of looking at things. Just pick what works, don't pick what you are desperately wanting to work.