#working on comms still i just needed a quick tf2 break

[classicsonic]

didnt feel like drawing their weapons but perfectly normal soldier and demo (based on this post)

[ubercharge]

some more misc tips (that you may very well have heard of before) because i’ve been playing a fuckton of comp. again, i’ve played everywhere from upper gold to mid diamond. if you’re a GM reading this, i can’t help you

something i’ve found that helps ground me in a teamfight when playing ana (especially if my stupid cold hands get shaky) is reminding myself to make every shot count. she doesn’t fire too quickly, but this has been helpful in helping me land shots on teammates (sometimes on enemies), as i play her unscoped most of the time.

another important tip particularly for heroes like ana and mccree is not to constantly reload in a fight. i’m terrible with this because i got very used to autoreloading in tf2, but maining a hero like ana, you really have to put your ammo to better use. especially with ana being a healer, the time spent reloading can mean the difference between life/death for a teammate.

know how your abilities work and how/when they work well. for example, the angles to launch a d.va ult and from where to launch it (around a corner at approx. 45 degree angle is pretty effective). the arc and range of biobomb. cooldowns. genji’s dash resetting upon kills and when ulting. the range of reaper’s ult (which reaches UP a pretty high distance, too). etc.

be mindful of launching projectiles around a d.va. this is coming from a d.va main. i eat grav. surges and dragonstrikes for fucking breakfast.

don’t be afraid to ask your teammates to switch with you. if you feel you’re not doing well in your role, switch heroes or ask to switch roles. (e.g., ’i don’t think i’m doing very well as tank, would anyone mind switching with me?’)

don’t be afraid to switch heroes. be mindful of your ult %; you probably want to use it before switching if it’s high.

the above tip imo applies even more for DPSes. e.g., if you start out as genji/tracer and are instantly hard countered by an enemy winston, it’s probably good to switch sooner than later.

if the enemy tracer/genji/winston/pharah/d.va is good at picking you off as mercy, it’s probably good to switch sooner than later. if they’re gunning for the mercy pick (as they should be), be mindful of that. being dead when you need to rez sucks, because if you get picked off that’s the enemy’s cue to make their ult plays to start wiping your team (which is why you want that luci/zen ult)

hit tab often to check on the enemy team. take note of when they switch heroes.

know when to retreat. this is crucial. it’s better to back up (or throw yourself off a cliff) and not feed enemy ult % when you’ve decisively lost a teamfight.

don’t trickle. going in as a full team is more effective than going in solo and dying immediately because 1. you feed enemy ult % and 2. your team has to wait for your spawn again

please for the love of fucking god pay attention to the group up commands. be mindful of where your teammates are, where they’re going, what they’re doing.

don’t stand still unless you’re 100% certain you’re safe (e.g., just outside of spawn) and the enemies are far away from you. this sounds like it should be common sense but people get picked off for this shit because they stood still on the cart, assuming they were safe, when the enemy sniper was watching from afar

seriously if you’re waiting for your team/healer be aware of what’s going on around you and who could be around you/looking at you don’t get fucking sniped!!!

try to keep track of enemy ults, whose ult was just used, which ults your team has, which ults your team just used, which ults your team is charging/will be ready soon, etc. ults can be the deciding factors in teamfights and i fully realized this at like 3am one match, thinking about how much math is involved in this.

also try to keep track of what combos both teams can do.

as a combo of the two above: if the enemy team just decimated you with a graviton blade and your mercy rezzed, can they follow up with a hammer down/barrage? did they just use their other ults? does your team have a sound barrier/trans to combat it? what other ults can you use to combat them? etc etc.

do not expend more ults than needed. if you can get it done without ulting, do it. if you win the teamfight and don’t need to ult for the cleanup, don’t ult. save it for the next fight.

keep an eye on the time and the objective

get on the objective

remember that the cart needs people on it or it won’t fucking move forward

YOU HAVE TO BE PRETTY CLOSE TO THE CART TO PUSH IT

TOUCH THE CART

GET ON THE CART

3 people on the cart will make it move the fastest. if you’re on 3rd/4th round payload constant overtime, stay on the fucking cart because the overtime meter will run down QUICK if you get off.

positioning is key. three of the major factors in overwatch are aim, positioning (which i think goes with general game awareness), and mental state/morale/etc.

(to cont. the above) most important for mercy but applies to a lesser extent for luci/zen: if you find yourself getting picked often in teamfights, especially if you have ult, ask yourself if you should be somewhere else.

you know that video ‘what 200 hrs on mercy looks like’? the way that they avoided the reaper ult on numbani? think like that.

to give a recent example, i was playing lucio on eichenwalde attack. the zen was sitting still on the cart, which was midway across the bridge. i booped him off into the river. the mercy was crouching behind the cart/by the wall, maybe hoping nobody would see here (even though i was right there??). two hits of m1, eight headshots and she’s dead. this was play of the match.

if you can, record your games so you can rewatch them and ask yourself what you could’ve done differently. maybe another position would’ve been smarter, or the use of a certain ability, not ulting or using ult at a certain time. switching to a certain hero, whatever.

familiarize yourself with the maps and hp placements, especially if you play characters like lucio (wallride - know the boundaries and whatnot of the walls and surfaces you can get on) or flankers.

understand the advantage of high ground and when you can take it. for example, pushing hanamura point b usually means going for the balcony (top right). from there, you get a good view of the point and quite a bit of the castle interior. it’s great for mccree ults. if your team can get balcony, it’s an easy cleanup of the enemy team then a drop to the point. high ground makes it easier for you to hit enemies below while making it harder for them to hit you, you can just back up to avoid shots, etc.

please join team voice chat if you’re playing comp (and are not deaf, in which case i understand why you’re not joining). you don’t have to talk; just listening to teammates’ calls can be helpful. it’s good to know when genji’s behind you, if you should focus a certain enemy, if an enemy is low hp, which way to push, etc.

if someone in comms/chat is being shitty, then that’s your cue to mute them.

the in-game commands are useful. let your team know your ult %, if you need healing, where to group, etc. especially important if your team has ult combos, particularly zarya.

say hello to me in pregame or i’m solo rezzing/boosting the hanzo with 10% weapon accuracy

know when to take a break/stop playing! get yourself some water and snacks. sometimes you just need to pull away for the night and call it quits. chill in qp/arcade if you want, watch some netflix, scroll through your dash. you can always try again tomorrow.

have fun :)