How Do I Climb as Support in Overwatch 2

The sequel to Overwatch, 2016’s game of the year, and one of the most popular online multiplayer shooting games of all time, has launched recently, and players are as excited as ever to win enough games to reach the top.

However, there is one group of players having the most challenging time climbing the Overwatch 2 ranks, and there’s no surprise as to why. After all, no group has to rely on teammates more than support players, because of which, as a support, you might find yourself losing a match that you could seemingly do nothing about.

Well, we consulted with some high ranked solo support mains, and found out there are a few tricks you can use to ensure that you increase your win rate, and we’re here to go through them all.

Method #1: Do whatever it takes to stay alive

Because there are three roles in Overwatch 2, there are also three goals for each of those roles. A DPS has to deal as much damage as possible, a tank has to direct damage away from their more squishy teammates, and your role, the support’s role, is to keep the other players alive. You can’t do that if you’re waiting to respawn for most of the match, now can you?

For this, there are two key things you have to keep in mind every time you queue in a competitive Overwatch 2 match as a support hero.

Communicate

This might seem obvious to most of you, but the difference between a good and a bad team is how well the players, especially the supports, communicate. Remember that you aren’t alone, and your entire team is aiming to win the match. 

Although most guides ask for you to hop on team or game chat, we realize that isn’t always possible because of several external factors, Your teammates might not be joining, your headphones might be busted, there might be too much background noise from your side or, well, you might just not feel like it.

That’s what in-game pings are for. If there’s something you need to communicate with your teammates, then there’s no better way to do so than pinging them. If you’re a console player then you can do this by pressing the d-pad on your controller, while PC players have to press the middle button on their mouse.

Don’t rush in and die

Oftentimes, supports get so caught up in healing a teammate that they end up walking into a situation they can’t possibly get out of alive. Remember, that it’s almost never worth it to heal a teammate at the cost of your life.

Of course, there are certain exceptions to this rule, such as if you’re a Mercy, the match is about to end, and a Genji or Reaper who has their ult ready can be revived by you if you risk it all and just go for it.

However, if you’re under regular circumstances, remember to always stay aware of your surroundings, as well as where the teammate you’re trying to heal is headed. Players who play Mercy especially end up in difficult situations because of the ability to make a beeline toward their targeted teammate.

Method #2: Remember you aren’t a heal bot

A majority of support players focus on healing so much that they neglect the other potential of their heroes. Don’t do that. Healing is important, of course, but you have to ensure you’re getting value out of the other abilities at your disposal.

If you’re playing Zenyatta, for example, you should heal, but you should also attack orbs of discord when it makes sense, all the while taking advantage of the massive damage this specific hero can deal.

If no one in your team requires immediate healing, then it’s more than recommended for you to switch modes and start dealing damage. After all, every little bit counts. The one exception to this is Mercy, who isn’t able to deal too much damage on her own, but can still more than help the team with her damage amplification beam.

Perhaps the best way to climb out of a low rank in support is to just play DPS Moira, Kiriko, or Ana and heal your teammates only when necessary, although this is only recommended if your team isn’t able to deal damage at all. If you come across this problem too many times, then that might be a sign to boost yourself out of your low rank by hiring a booster from Eloking.

Method #3: Perfect your ultimates

A support’s ultimate potential is perhaps greater than every DPS and tank champion combined. Not only does the ultimate bar fill up really quickly, but the ultimates themselves also have the potential to change the course of the game almost instantly.

Therefore, you should try to perfect the ult of the support champions you play, and try to use them only when you can get the maximum benefit. For example, say you’re playing Zenyatta and your ultimate bar is filled. Try to keep track of the enemy team’s ultimate status as well, to ensure that you’re able to use your ultimate at such a time that it can soak in the most amount of damage possible.

Method #4: Don’t be afraid to change heroes

What many players do is that they stick to one hero without even trying the other available options. Don’t do that. Different support heroes have abilities that benefit different situations. You have those that focus more on healing, such as Mercy, who is one of the best choices for when your team is able to dish out good damage, and just needs to stay alive.

However, say your team isn’t able to deal as much damage as you need them to. In this situation, it’s better to switch to someone like Zenyatta or Baptiste to take advantage of their devastating damage-dealing capabilities.