Support Love!?

[Deleted]

Roadhog doesn't protect his allies? What are you smoking? have you seen his CC? Have you EVER seen a Reaper trying to ult your whole team on top of a cart when Roadhog is right there? He literally the best protector for your poor Mercy who has Genji or D'va in her face.

No Roadhog doesn't protect his allies any more than a Mcree does with a flashbang. Have you even tried playing as a healer with all the different kinds of tanks? If you try to stick to a Roadhog you're an easy kill for anyone as he's got zero ability to protect you.

[Charge me Doctor]

No Roadhog doesn't protect his allies any more than a Mcree does with a flashbang.

And exactly when mccree can survive on a front line, and not on a ledge jumping down off it on unsuspecting enemies, flashbang-hammering one person and running away? And good fucking luck killing Genji as Mccree. While Mccree tries to get in range of his flashbang, your squishies will be dead already, and you, probably, will get hit by a flashbang yourself and die

[Deleted]

And exactly when mccree can survive on a front line, and not on a ledge jumping down off it on unsuspecting enemies, flashbang-hammering one person and running away?

You were claiming that Roadhog could protect people with CC, you never stated that his health had anything to do with it. Roadhog is great at being disruptive but he can't tank for shit.

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nd good fucking luck killing Genji as Mccree. While Mccree tries to get in range of his flashbang, your squishies will be dead already, and you, probably, will get hit by a flashbang yourself and die

Your squishies will be long dead before you can do anything as Roadhog anyway, since Roadhog has zero means of keeping them alive.

[Charge me Doctor]

You were claiming that Roadhog could protect people with CC, you never stated that his health had anything to do with it.

His health and on-demand regen allows him to be in front line and soak up damage for his team (exactly what your definition of a tank is), his huge hitbox allows him to do that. Him being dangerous damage dealer also makes him target of priority (you can't ignore Roadhog or he will make your team into a mess, even if it takes a lot of time). His CC allows him to protect his allies AND be dangerous solo character. His ultimate basically gives you free 5 seconds on a point or murders even the most durable opponents en masse. By OV definition of a tank he is definitely a tank. Even by your definition of a tank, he is somewhat a tank

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Your squishies will be long dead before you can do anything as Roadhog anyway, since Roadhog has zero means of keeping them alive.

How exactly any tank character except Zarya can "keep them alive" from someone diving into your backlane? Is Reinhardt shield going to stop Genji from killing your Mercy? Or D'va matrix? Or Winstons barrier? What except projected barrier and a hook can save your squishy from inevitable death that close-range Genji is? As roadhog you don't "keep the alive" you hook this fucking mccree, genji, tracer, as soon as you spot them, drag them close, shoot in their stomach and ram a fist in their face to murder them and "keep ally alive"

[Deleted]

His health and on-demand regen allows him to be in front line and soak up damage for his team (exactly what your definition of a tank is), his huge hitbox allows him to do that. Him being dangerous damage dealer also makes him target of priority (you can't ignore Roadhog or he will make your team into a mess, even if it takes a lot of time). His CC allows him to protect his allies AND be dangerous solo character. His ultimate basically gives you free 5 seconds on a point or murders even the most durable opponents en masse. By OV definition of a tank he is definitely a tank. Even by your definition of a tank, he is somewhat a tank

Soaking up damage was not exactly my definition of a tank, but rather being tanky on top of being able to protect your allies. His CC is neglible and hardly protects anyone. Sure it can stop ultimates and even finish off great threats, but at the end of the day it can not stop lethal amounts of incoming damage towards his allies, his only means of doing this is to physically place himself in the way, something that is both awkward and unlikely.

How exactly any tank character except Zarya can "keep them alive" from someone diving into your backlane? Is Reinhardt shield going to stop Genji from killing your Mercy? Or D'va matrix? Or Winstons barrier? What except projected barrier and a hook can save your squishy from inevitable death that close-range Genji is? As roadhog you don't "keep the alive" you hook this fucking mccree, genji, tracer, as soon as you spot them, drag them close, shoot in their stomach and ram a fist in their face to murder them.

All tanks except Roadhog has means of preventing their support from suffering damage from incoming attacks, even from a Widowmaker sniping from far away. D'va, Reindhardt and Zarya can even to a degree save you from a Phara ultimate whilst Winston can easily protect you from sniping attempts.

Roadhog has again zero means of protecting his support with exception of trying to hook them, which is nowhere near enough.

[Jinxz]

as a mercy i love healing roadhog, I'm not an idiot so im not gonna be in LoS of the enemy team, but boosting roadhogs dmg=LOL. Hook, blast, dead. Rinse and repeat. Took some dmg? we can both heal.

I NEVER in all the games i'v done have thought to depend on tanks to protect me as a support character, it's good they're aware of my position, but not even once I have thought that the tanks job is to protect me. Just my 2 cents.

[Deleted]

as a mercy i love healing roadhog, I'm not an idiot so im not gonna be in LoS of the enemy team, but boosting roadhogs dmg=LOL. Hook, blast, dead. Rinse and repeat. Took some dmg? we can both heal.

Isn't it great when he heals himself even though he's in no danger thus giving you less charge for your ultimate? Also you can hardly stay out of line of sight at all times, especially not on payload missions.

[Jinxz]

Isn't it great when he heals himself even though he's in no danger thus giving you less charge for your ultimate? Also you can hardly stay out of line of sight at all times, especially not on payload missions.

I play with 5 friends, I don't pug. So no, he never heals when he's not in danger. It might be different for pugs.

[Deleted]

I NEVER in all the games i'v done have thought to depend on tanks to protect me as a support character, it's good they're aware of my position, but not even once I have thought that the tanks job is to protect me. Just my 2 cents.

So what would you say is the tanks job then? What is a Reinhardt supposed to do with his shield? Protect noone but himself? Are you saying that you don't take cover behind his shield?

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I play with 5 friends, I don't pug. So no, he never heals when he's not in danger. It might be different for pugs.

It's very different in pugs.

[Deleted]

So what would you say is the tanks job then? What is a Reinhardt supposed to do with his shield? Protect noone but himself? Are you saying that you don't take cover behind his shield?

And again with the big blue rectangle argument.
Reinhart is the only tank that specialize in actively protecting his allies. He is also close to useless for 3/4 of the match standing there with the shield raised doing nothing.

D.Va and Winston specialize in diving ball deep in the enemy formation and destroy it. Their shield 90% of the times are used for THEM while diving, not their allies. While diving, the enemy has to focus them, diverting fire from your team.

Roadhog somewhat stay between his team and the enemy, being a huge wall of health that soak damage. Since his hook+shoot can instakill half of the champion pool (if you're at least decent actually, with his "combo" you can instakill everyone who is under 300 health) he is a threat that can't be ignored. The enemy team WILL try to kill him, thus again diverting fire from your team.


But this will go to deaf hears again, since you obviusly think a tank is someone who spend his time being immobile to protect bad team mates.

[Demoncrash]

Almost exclusively play support when i solo queue.

Zen or Lucio when attacking.
Mercy or Sym when defending.

Actually end up winning more games in solo queue than when i'am with a full pre-made, and most of the time it's because the opposition doesn't run a support hero.

[WskyDK]

Like others, I try and have one char from each role that I'm decent at.
Support- Lucio (I'm actually really good with him)
Tank - Winston (though I really only started tonight, I love his mobility and map presence)
Defense- Widow (also play her on attack if we have competent DDs)
Damage- I prefer to play Tracer, but usually fall back to Soldier for his versatility.

[Maerrant]

I try choose what team needs

Tank= Reinhardt
Support= Lucio
Defense= Junkrat, Bastion
Dps= Reaper, Pharah, Soldier.

[Adam Jensen]

I'm too worried that as support, I won't get the support I need if I pick Mercy or Lucio. I love a good Mercy, just had a match with a good Mercy about an hour ago. But I don't want to go out there without knowing my team will have my back as I have theirs.

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I like playing support (mainly mercy); you get focused an awful lot though, which may be why people don't like it. You're not only not shooting anyone, you also have a huge target on your back. You're also really dependent on your team actually sticking together. If everyone is off somewhere you're completely ineffective and get stomped, which is frustrating.

Yeah, being a bullet magnet is a major turn off. I mean, as Tracer, I see Mercy, and I'm on her like a hobo on a ham sandwich.

[Fiska]

My definition of a tank is someone with a significant amount of health who can protect his allies, you know the general definition of a tank. There's been several people in this thread agreeing with me that Roadhog does indeed not really fill the role of a tank, but rather a tanky offensive hero that doesn't exactly tank, as much as he is simply in the way. Again he's a great hero to have on the team, but he does not fulfil the tank role.

This is my final reply to you as I've just had to restate the same thing again, if you don't understand it now you never will. You may not agree, but you should at the very least understand.

There's nothing wrong with your definition of what you feel a tank is. Everyone would agree that if your definition was the definition Blizzard used for Overwatch then Roadhog wouldn't be a true tank. But your definition isn't the definition Blizzard uses, and that's what some players are trying to explain to you. Roadhog is very much a tank by Blizzard's definition.

From https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/game/:
"Tank heroes soak damage and break apart fortified positions, like closely-grouped enemies and narrow chokepoints. If you’re a tank, you lead the charge."

Roadhog is a tank by Blizzard's definition by being a big presence in the battlefield.

[Reavyn]

As someone who has only bought the game since yesterday and has no friends who also play the game, support sucks ass in solo queue. I am fully aware I still need to learn 99% of the game to actually get to any level of noticable proficiency, but when I see PuGs always choosing full DPS (with a shit ton of doubling up on the same heroes) I tended to choose Lucio. But in pretty much all the games, people just randomly zip across the map and spread out without giving two shits about me trying to keep up with my healing aura. I end up spending more time in my speed aura, because otherwise I simply can't get to people who need support. How the hell am I supposed to play support in this scenario? (Serious question btw) As Mercy I have a fewer problems keeping up, but I really dislike the direct healing style (hence the reason I prefer Lucio in terms of playstyle). And even as Mercy I feel like nobody gives a shit about me.

Because of this, I can't be arsed to play support. Don't get me wrong, I actually don't mind playing support. But it feels like a pointless excercise if your 'teammates' don't give two flying shits about you. I don't mind getting my ass handed to me as a newbie, because everyone goes through that.

This is the reason I simply won't play support anymore untill I get a better grasp of the maps and such. I just go full-on DPS to try and learn the game's quirks, map layouts, etc and all the while ignoring the rampant already toxic in-game community in solo queue. Seriously, when everyone is running squishy DPS and start jelling at me (calling me 'cancer' etc) while I was playing support as a newbie for not healing my spread out group properly, I start giving less then a flying crap. Mostly I get yelled at by people who run around aimlessly, never switch heroes throughout a game, never tank and never play support.

Ugh, as far as first impressions go, this has not been a good one.

[Rivellana]

As someone who has only bought the game since yesterday and has no friends who also play the game, support sucks ass in solo queue. I am fully aware I still need to learn 99% of the game to actually get to any level of noticable proficiency, but when I see PuGs always choosing full DPS (with a shit ton of doubling up on the same heroes) I tended to choose Lucio. But in pretty much all the games, people just randomly zip across the map and spread out without giving two shits about me trying to keep up with my healing aura. I end up spending more time in my speed aura, because otherwise I simply can't get to people who need support. How the hell am I supposed to play support in this scenario? (Serious question btw) As Mercy I have a fewer problems keeping up, but I really dislike the direct healing style (hence the reason I prefer Lucio in terms of playstyle). And even as Mercy I feel like nobody gives a shit about me.

Because of this, I can't be arsed to play support. Don't get me wrong, I actually don't mind playing support. But it feels like a pointless excercise if your 'teammates' don't give two flying shits about you. I don't mind getting my ass handed to me as a newbie, because everyone goes through that.

This is the reason I simply won't play support anymore untill I get a better grasp of the maps and such. I just go full-on DPS to try and learn the game's quirks, map layouts, etc and all the while ignoring the rampant already toxic in-game community in solo queue. Seriously, when everyone is running squishy DPS and start jelling at me (calling me 'cancer' etc) while I was playing support as a newbie for not healing my spread out group properly, I start giving less then a flying crap. Mostly I get yelled at by people who run around aimlessly, never switch heroes throughout a game, never tank and never play support.

Ugh, as far as first impressions go, this has not been a good one.

Honestly, as you play more and get a higher MMR and level, you will notice people will appreciate you more. Don't go chasing flankers or snipers on your team who need healing. If they're doing that they should be plenty aware of where the health packs are and when they need to heal themselves, and to return to where you are when they need healing. Your job is mostly about staying near the payload/point and with the tanks who can do a better job of protecting you. As you get higher there will be more tanks as well. I've had groups even choose three tanks, it's not always just people choosing squishy DPS and running around.

[Actarius]

I main Mercy, and primarily alt Lucio, Reinhardt, and Torbjorn. God I am so bad at offense characters you'd just feel sad for me.

I am the type of player that waits for my team to pick their characters and fill in the gaps the best I can. This usually results in Mercy/Lucio (varying on comp&map) and sometimes Reinhardt if someone snags support. I have never played a match where my teammates covered both tank and support, outside of premades; so I always get my favorites

[Reavyn]

Honestly, as you play more and get a higher MMR and level, you will notice people will appreciate you more. Don't go chasing flankers or snipers on your team who need healing. If they're doing that they should be plenty aware of where the health packs are and when they need to heal themselves, and to return to where you are when they need healing. Your job is mostly about staying near the payload/point and with the tanks who can do a better job of protecting you. As you get higher there will be more tanks as well. I've had groups even choose three tanks, it's not always just people choosing squishy DPS and running around.

I understand my job as support. I've even watched some streams/guides before playing the game (when I was still deciding if I should buy the game). But what's the point of staying at the payload/point if everyone else just dashes off to chase the enemy players? And it happens a lot. I just played a game as support (Lucio/Mercy) and my team didn't even seem to bother with the payload. Everyone stayed well clear of it and we didn't even get it past the first point because everyone was sitting at range, trying to snipe (widow, McCree and a hanzo, no tank). I even switched to a tank (which I REALLY suck at) at the ass-end of the game to at least get the payload moving, asked if anyone could help in chat and everyone just gave me a big fat ignore. It almost felt like they were bots (at the very least people with the intelligence of a bot)... The other team wasn't even that good either.

That said, I did manage to knock several people off ledges with Lucio. That was fun.

But maybe you're right, it could just be because I, as a newbie, am usually playing with other new/bad players. Not giving up on the game just yet.

[Rivellana]

But maybe you're right, it could just be because I, as a newbie, am usually playing with other new/bad players. Not giving up on the game just yet.

I would just say give it some time, more games and higher MMR makes things a bit better. I get what you're saying...sometimes you just get a crappy team that all runs off. I was pushing the payload as D.Va by myself one game even though I knew I had a Mercy somewhere and some DPS that weren't flankers or snipers and they weren't anywhere near me. When the enemy team respawned and came back and owned my face in since it was like 5v1, I asked my team why I was pushing the payload by myself. One responded because I was the tank, and I said that doesn't mean I don't need any support at all. They stuck near the payload the rest of the match and I think we either won or it was a close loss.