3 Reasons you think your supports suck in Overwatch 2 (and why you’re wrong)

A screenshot of when I hit Plat 1 on support in OW2

With the launch of Overwatch 2 and the game’s new 5 vs 5 format, many words have been written on the various platforms of the internet complaining about the support role. From DPS Moiras to the ever present misogyny against Mercy players, everyone seems to have a bad take on the current state of support in the new version of the game.

Most complaints are from players who think they’re just not getting healed anymore since the game lost a tank in the switch over to the sequel. And for sure, at lower levels, support players will struggle to heal in that maximally efficient way that higher level players are able to achieve. But the reality is that the ability for, let’s say, a silver support to heal their teammates is roughly equivalent to a silver DPS player’s ability to kill an enemy, and a silver tank’s ability to take effective space for their teammates.

You all suck at it.

There’s this misconception that support players have somehow become worse since the release of Overwatch 2. It’s true that there has been some adjustment to how support players need to position without an extra tank in the game, but reality is these are the same supports you had in Overwatch 1.

Here are 3 reasons why you think your supports suck and why you’re wrong about it.

1. Your positioning sucks!

In order for every support in the game to be able to heal you, they need to be able to see you. Most supports try to position themselves so that they can see their whole team, with minimal line of sight of the enemy team.

If you play split from the rest of your team, or you are constantly going on crazy flanks, you’re probably not going to find healing from your supports. A good support player will recognize teammates who take strong off angles and will support them, this is usually done by the main support (Lucio, Mercy, Brig, and sometimes Zen when they’re playing with an Ana, Bap, or Kiriko).

It goes without saying that if you push up around a corner from your supports’ lines of sight, you shouldn’t expect to get healed. If you do take a flank, try to play neat a health pack that you can grab during your escape back to your team. If you die in a…