One of the most challenging aspects of Overwatch is collaborating with five teammates to construct a balanced and effective team. There are over twenty characters in Overwatch, and each fills an attack, tank, defense, or support role on a team. There is no perfect team composition, but it’ s rarely if ever a sound decision to leave support units off of your squad. Despite the importance of having a healer to keep the team alive, filling the support role is anathema to many players.
If you’ re playing a first person shooter with the goal of blowing lots of stuff up, it makes sense to choose a character with a big gun and heavy armor. From what I’ ve gathered, the mechanics of play and the“ squishiness” of support heroes turn players off of the role. Support units are harder to maneuver and take damage quickly. The cast of characters in Overwatch is diverse, though, and there are some support characters with even better toys than big guns.
If I’ m playing as Mercy on a team that doesn’ t protect their healer, I switch to a character with a little more survivability and damage dealing potential: Zenyatta. This robot monk’ s thoroughly harmonious disposition and entertaining voice lines make him a joy to play as, and it is oh-so-satisfying to float around the map in a full lotus pose throwing deadly glowing orbs at
enemies. If you get on a hot streak for damage or kills, he announces to your team:“ I am on fire … but an extinguisher is not required.”
While many players find support mechanics frustrating, I think of them as evidence that Overwatch is built around more nuanced gameplay than one-dimensional, guns-blazing, bomb-happy first person shooters. It is challenging to play as Zenyatta, who, unlike other characters in the game, cannot teleport or leap across great distances, making it all the more satisfying when I earn MVP. Navigating the map as Mercy is a puzzle game with life-or-death consequences. Sometimes it’ s fun to play as the character with the giant rocket launcher, but I get more of a rush from strategically keeping myself and my team alive than I do from blowing up our enemies. It’ s also beyond thrilling to get kills as Mercy- nothing frustrates an opponent more than losing to an angel.
My advice for anyone who wants to try playing support is to follow Zenyatta’ s example and embrace tranquility. Games that involve working alongside strangers( or even friends) can be exasperating, and trying to keep a fragmented team of buffoons alive is its own special challenge. Overwatch is an exciting, fast-paced game no matter what character you choose, and you can always switch heroes- especially if you’ re the third sniper on your team.